Ashes Of Deep Sea-Chapter 323 - 327 Going Ashore in Disguise
Chapter 323: Chapter 327: Going Ashore in Disguise
Chapter 323 -327: Going Ashore in Disguise
Emerging from the portal of flames were a disguised Alice, Fenna in ordinary attire, and Morris, carrying a cane and dressed in a dark grey overcoat.
Duncan needed Morris’s knowledge to aid his own understanding of the city and to find the whereabouts of “Brown Scott.” He needed Fenna’s expertise to locate the Heretics and, where possible, to establish contact with the local church. As for Alice…
Actually, she wasn’t much needed, but Alice wanted to come and have a look—on the other hand, considering Alice was wearing the face of the Frost Queen, Duncan thought it might be amusing to bring her along.
The eerie green Spectral Flame dissipated quickly in the air, and Ai Yi transformed back into a white dove, landing on a nearby branch. Morris tightened his thick coat against Frost’s chilly wind, lifting his head to look towards the brightly lit part of the city. Alice was curiously surveying her surroundings, while Fenna had already noticed a towering figure standing in the darkness.
A ghastly body stood before them, its fire-tempered appearance nowhere near that of someone who could still be standing there alive. Yet, there it was, firmly stationed in the darkness, observing them with a tranquil gaze, while the remnants of clothing on the body revealed its once held identity.
An indescribable “connection” emerged in Fenna’s heart, and in a moment of distraction, she was already certain the figure she was seeing for the first time was the captain.
“Mr. Duncan,” she approached Duncan and couldn’t help but size him up again, despite knowing that the captain’s incarnations used while operating in the City-State were all occupied bodies. Still, frowning slightly she said, “Your body…”
“Actually, it’s not too bad—just maybe a little frightening on the outside,” spoke Duncan in a deep voice, “Finding a well-preserved and suitable ‘fit’ of an incarnation is all down to luck, and this body is better than the ‘sacrifice’ you saw in the sewer when we first met.”
Fenna immediately recalled some rather unpleasant memories, her eyes seemed to flinch, and she spoke in a low voice, “…I’d rather not remember that.”
Duncan smiled, looking up at Alice, still looking around curiously, and beckoned her over, “Stop looking around and come help—did you bring everything?”
Alice snapped back to her senses and hurried over to Duncan, holding up a small box she was carrying, “Got it, got it! Clothes and bandages… Wow! Captain, your face is so dark…”
Duncan ignored the doll’s exclamatory tone and simply took the box she offered, and after opening it, inspected the contents: a black overcoat designed to conceal body details, with a high collar that, when erected, could cover the face and neck, a black wide-brimmed hat, gloves, shoes, some bandages, cash, and a neatly folded map of the Frost City-State.
Duncan raised an eyebrow—the items were even more considerate than he had imagined.
As he was adapting to this new body, most of his consciousness was focused here, paying little heed to the situation on the ship. When he relayed a message to Alice through the Goat Head, he only mentioned preparing clothes and bandages. The other items, including the cash… it seemed beyond Alice’s head to think of on her own.
“Mr. Tirian prepared them,” Alice chimed in without waiting for Duncan to ask, “He heard you were going to be active in the City-State and told me to bring these as well—oh right, he also told me to tell you, the map is the latest, and it has red marks for the Mist Fleet’s secret contact points, and some lines… lines something or other…”
“Informants, the living members outside the Mist Fleet,” Duncan interjected casually, his tone a touch pensive, “He says he won’t set foot on Frost’s land again… yet his gaze has never left this city. It’s as good as being here in person.”
“Oh right, informants,” Alice nodded repeatedly and then, while peering curiously into the box, asked, “Will these things be useful?”
Duncan nodded slightly, “They’ll all come in handy, Tirian has been attentive.”
As he spoke, he had already picked up the bandages and handed them to Fenna beside him, “Help me out—you know how to do this, right?”
Having foreseen Duncan’s intent at the sight of the items in the box, Fenna took the bandages, but before wrapping them around the captain, she couldn’t help but ask, somewhat uncertain, “Is this really okay? It still feels a bit conspicuous…”
“Just a cover is fine, I’m not planning to settle down in Frost with this appearance,” Duncan said, coordinating with Fenna’s movements, “Walking on the street without attracting the attention of the wardens is enough; if we come across a situation that’s truly inconvenient to manage, then I’ll need your and Morris’s assistance.”
“Okay,” Fenna nodded and had already begun to skillfully wrap the bandages around Duncan. Her movements were adept, clearly indicating that this was not her first time performing such a task.
In the frontline against heretical abominations, tending to wounds was as common and essential as breathing.
Alice watched Fenna work, seeming ready to try her hand as well, “Can I help too?”
Duncan glanced sideways at the over one and a half meter tall doll, then at the nearly two-meter-tall Fenna in front of him.
Then he looked down at his own form, which was likely over one meter ninety as well.
“Fine, if you look up, your head might fall off again,” he rejected the puppet, and then added with concern, “Don’t forget this is a City-State, and it’s the Frost City-State at that. Be sure to maintain your disguise, not just the wig and keeping your head attached, but also don’t remove the veil on your face, got it? Your face could easily scare away people over fifty here.”
Alice promptly responded, “Got it!”
Duncan nodded slightly, then his gaze shifted to Fenna.
To carry out a mission in the unfamiliar Frost, of course, she couldn’t stick to her conspicuous armor and giant sword; for the sake of moving around the city with ease, she had now changed into ordinary clothes.
A women’s grey cinched waistcoat, with black leather boots and trousers below. Her grey-white hair still casually flowed behind her head, maintaining her usual valiant demeanor, but without the armor and giant sword, her figure did seem somewhat softer.
However, standing at a towering height of one-meter-ninety, this getup probably wouldn’t draw interrogation, but blending in would still be highly unlikely.
While pondering, bandages were being wrapped around the face, layer by layer, enveloping the disfigured head.
Apart from his eyes and a small patch of intact skin near his left eye, his entire face was eventually covered.
Then he donned a high-collared black coat, finished with shoes, gloves, and that wide-brimmed hat.
Fortunately, his sturdy body meant that the clothes, which were nearly the same size as his original form, fit him well.
Duncan finally adjusted his clothes, meticulously buttoning up the trench coat to the very last one.
He couldn’t see his current appearance, but he could well imagine it.
Follow current novels on freewebnσvel.cѳm.
A black coat covering the whole body, a wide-brimmed hat and a high collar obscuring the face, black leather gloves, and layers of bandages faintly visible through the gaps in his attire.
After a moment, he turned to the young Judge standing quietly beside him, “Fenna, tell me the truth…”
Fenna sighed, “Inexperienced security officers and guards would probably stop and question you right away.”
Duncan was silent for a moment, “…And what about the experienced ones?”
“They would call for reinforcements.”
Duncan, “…”
“Well, it’s not actually that serious,” Fenna suddenly smiled a little, shaking her head, “The above would only happen in the core urban areas with high security levels—they have sufficient forces. In the general city areas, you should not run into trouble. This is what I infer from the situation in Prand, but it should be more or less the same in Frost. The only thing to worry about might just be your bandages…”
“Actually, the bandages might be a better disguise,” Fenna hadn’t finished speaking when Morris suddenly interjected, “These bandages might just help you avoid a lot of trouble.”
Duncan looked inquisitive, “Hmm?”
“The Frost reveres the Death God as its primary deity, and the customs and symbols associated with death are a feature here. Devout believers even deliberately add bandage-like ornaments to their clothes, and such elements are also present in the daily attire of the clergy,” Morris mused as he spoke, “You might be taken for a Death God adherent with unusual behavior at most.”
Listening to the old gentleman’s introduction, Fenna blinked, “I hadn’t known these details. I only know about the other Three Gods Church’s doctrines and taboos.”
Morris chuckled, “Getting to know the specific customs and traditions of each City-State without study is quite difficult.”
Duncan looked at the old scholar, “Is this what your ‘old friend’ shared with you?”
Morris fell silent for a moment, sighing softly, “Yes—that is. Brown Scott was a great folklorist. He traveled through many central and northern City-States all his life, especially Frost and Cold Harbor. He wrote me many letters describing the unique customs and beliefs here.”
