[center][url=https://biblehub.com/jeremiah/17-9.htm][img]https://i.imgur.com/qWI2ycc.png[/img][/url] [h1][color=palevioletred]A Cold Metal Coffin[/color][/h1][/center] [hr] [hr] [center][h3]Sendoff[/h3][/center] With the addendum that Raffaella would be going to the shipwreck to distract the Virangish posted nearby, the group had settled on something vaguely resembling a plan. Mahal had dropped her off on the isle on the way to the battle with the pirates, and now it was time to act. To say that she had her own plans would be generous, but an agenda... perhaps. Once again she would dip her hand into the water to summon her pet. [color=palevioletred]"Come on, girl... yeowch! Dah huwts!"[/color] Raffie stroked the claw attached to her cheek to quell the Queen's wrath, and she was let go. [color=palevioletred][i]Good girl. You have a new target—make sure they don't talk to the Tarlonese. Don't hurt them, but, well... just get in the way a bit.[/i][/color] She smiled as her torpedo thresher swam off to cause more chaos. This would also have the side effect of drawing a good portion of the threshers away from the... aquamarine? You know, the thing! As Raffie approached the ship, she was stopped by a pair of guards. Gracefully, she explained that she was there on behalf of a High Zeno of Ersand'Enise—one from the archaeology department—to ensure the condition of any historically significant finds that may be inside. That was the purpose of their mission, and she, as their own Virangish representative, was here to complete the more "delicate" work requiring their trust, as a gesture of good faith. She also assured them that, so long as she was here, Virang would surely get a lion's share of the wealth to be earned from this situation. The guards weren't fully convinced, but her story was reasonable enough that they agreed to let her speak to someone with more authority. Upon meeting this person, she'd no doubt have to tell her story a second time, and maybe even a third time to a higher level of command, all while being careful to stick to her story without changing any details. This... might take a while... [hr] [center][h3]Controversy[/h3][/center] [color=orchid]"Xiu,"[/color] Desi opened questioningly. [color=slateblue]"Yeah?"[/color] she replied, pouring her sister a glass of the same stuff she was drinking. [color=orchid]"Isn't this stuff illegal in, like, [i]seventeen[/i] countries?"[/color] She whispered, but pursed her lips disapprovingly. [color=slateblue]"I fuckin' hope so!"[/color] Xiuyang replied incredulously, grinning. [color=slateblue]"Cheers."[/color] She raised her glass. Instead of raising her glass, Desi lowered Xiuyang's. [color=orchid]"You've changed, Xiu. Since... that time. What happened? What haven't you told us?"[/color] [color=slateblue]"Not very good at holding back, are you?"[/color] Xiuyang replied irritably. [color=orchid]"I should say the same!"[/color] Desi shot back, yanking the glass out of her hand and setting both of them aside. There was pain in her eyes. Xiuyang sighed. [color=slateblue]"It's better that I don't talk about it. I've been fussed over quite enough."[/color] [color=orchid]"Xiuyang..."[/color] she pleaded, but was stonewalled. [color=orchid]"...Gods. Where did you even get this stuff?"[/color] [color=slateblue]"Auction. One of those filthy rich Virangish that came for the Trials kicked the bucket. Mataraci, I think."[/color] [color=orchid]"Oh, wow. That'll shake things up back home."[/color] [color=slateblue]"Know her?"[/color] [color=orchid]"[i]Know her?[/i] Xiu, she's famous! At least, in Virang she is. Used to travel all over the world—been to almost every country, wrote an autobiography. She was strong, too. Some say she could have been an Arch Zeno."[/color] [color=slateblue]"Huh. If she wrote books, maybe I'll read them,"[/color] replied the aspiring world-traveler. [color=slateblue]"So, she died suddenly with war on the horizon. That's totally not suspicious at all."[/color] [color=orchid]"Xiuxiu... not everything is a conspiracy,"[/color] Desi replied with a patient smile. [color=orchid]"She was well over a hundred years old."[/color] [color=slateblue]"I envy the peace that way of thinking brings you,"[/color] Xiuyang replied sarcastically. [color=orchid]"There's plenty to go around!"[/color] she chirped. [color=orchid]"All right, I'll humor you. Who benefits from killing her?"[/color] [color=slateblue]"Beneficiary? Next of kin?"[/color] Xiuyang replied, slightly flippant and very cynical. Desi considered. [color=orchid]"I don't think she has any."[/color] [color=slateblue]"What about Raffaella?"[/color] [color=orchid]"Struna?"[/color] [color=slateblue]"Who?"[/color] [color=orchid]"The orphan she took to Inipor. What about her?"[/color] [color=slateblue]"Didn't she adopt her? ...Actually, why don't [i]you[/i] know this?"[/color] [color=orchid]"Well..."[/color] Desi twirled her hair nervously. [color=orchid]"Raffaella is a bit... controversial. I only know that my husband told me never to ask about her. I only know her by name. I haven't even seen her face."[/color] Xiuyang was taken aback. Desi's husband was a good man, and not the sort to care about casual drama or celebrity gossip. The girl was fake as a knock-off brand diamond, and as much as the little twerp pissed her off, she just couldn't imagine her as a center of controversy. Everything about her appearance and personality was engineered to appear harmless and in need of protection from others. She was—though Xiuyang was loathe to admit it—cute, even adorable. How could someone like that be effectively unpersoned so hard that Desi, the most spoiled wife in all of Virang, was ordered to keep her nose down over it? [color=slateblue]"That's crazy. Everyone loves her over here. Why is it different in Virang? What did she [i]do[/i] over there?"[/color] Desi shrugged her shoulders helplessly. It wasn't like her to not know about things she was interested in. This was fishy. [color=slateblue][i]This isn't right. I'm getting to the bottom of it,[/i][/color] she decided. [hr] [center][h3]Into the Depths[/h3][/center] "Are we really gonna let her go in alone?" one of the guards outside the wreck mused. "Nothing else we can do. We don't let her in, it's a shitshow with the school. We give her an escort, it's a shitshow back home." "Why is she so untouchable? What makes her so important?" "Important? Nah. She's a hot iron, that's what she is. Get involved with her either way, you'll be burned. Simple as." "She's like the sultan's dirty laundry. Best to pretend she doesn't exist: don't disrespect her—but don't acknowledge her, either." [color=palevioletred][i]I can hear you, you fucking numbskulls,[/i][/color] Raffaella thought irritably as she descended. No matter. There was no need for an eagle to concern herself with the opinions of worms. [center][youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEiSbZKXhxE[/youtube][/center] The interior of the ship was much like its exterior: metal. Metal walls, metal ceilings, metal doors—the only thing in the hallway that didn't seem to be metal was the floor lined with a thin, coarse carpet for better traction. Even then, there were patches of flooring that were scraped away to reveal even more metal. Despite this, it wasn't unappealing to look at. While the architecture seemed the result of ruthlessly efficient manufacturing, there were enough small details and color changes to avoid a dull appearance. To Raffie, it had at least the impression of an important place built to last. With an absence of light, natural or not, she needed to light her own way while exploring, and she eventually chose to proceed with red light to preserve her night vision. It immediately gave the place an eerie vibe. Lining the walls of the hallway were doors upon doors. Each opened up to identical small bedrooms with small, single beds and wardrobes. It appeared empty and abandoned of residency aside from the odd thing left behind. There was a single shirt that lay haphazardly on the ground as if the contents of the wardrobe had been wrenched out in a hurry. It looked tacky but the quality of the tailoring was unmissable, it seemed made for Raffie's height too but far too wide. [color=palevioletred][i]A portly Hegelan?[/i][/color] she mused as she held it up to herself for comparison. Already, the lack of treasures had left her with not much to do but amuse herself. Swinging open a couple of doors at the end of the hallway revealed a wide hall given two stories of height. What lined the floor were row upon row of metal tables, benches to either side and all of it welded together and affixed to the floor with bolts. This was a dining hall area that was, again, abandoned of objects and life. One thing was clear: this place had been looted already—at least in these areas of the ship—but the Royal Asper Salvage Co. had made no mention of progress in exploring the wreck, nor had the locals, so... [color=palevioletred][i]Whodunit?[/i][/color] she mused, lacking critical information. In the quiet of the space, Raffied noticed a very faint singing echoing through from somewhere else on the ship. With some focus, the singing didn't sound like the idle musings of boredom, but a song intended to be heard. Raffie knew she wasn't the only student on this ship, but it didn't sound like Maura and it certainly wasn't Marz. The eerie, haunting melody continued to reach the girl's ears growing neither stronger nor fainter. If it [i]was[/i] something malicious, it could pose a threat to Maura and Marz—but they should be able to handle it themselves. Raffie was more curious than afraid. Dimming her light, she used the Gift to sense her surroundings as she followed the song. Soon, she heard shuffling and movement around her—sometimes far, sometimes close, but never right in front of her. Their movements sounded serpentine and certainly couldn't be confused for Marz and Maura. [color=palevioletred][i]Why'd it have to be snakes?[/i][/color] she whined, using the Gift to disguise her scent now, much more than her manipulation of the already virtually non-existent light. The trail led her down two sets of stairs toward the lower decks where pipework followed the walls. She touched them gently as she went, using them as a guide. Somewhere along the trail, she noticed that the song's intensity increased slightly, then began fading. The singer was on the move and moved with purpose. It could have spotted the other two. Those fools, couldn't they even stay out of the way?! She continued to follow the singing voice in the hopes of finding the other two and consequently the song became gradually louder—but now she had stopped moving and the song was still growing louder. All of a sudden, Raffie spotted Marz and one of Maura's puppets turn a quick corner down the hallway. Marz seemed to make a mess of the trail, swinging open doors before quickly but carefully retracing his steps and diving into one of the earlier rooms, closing the door behind him. [color=palevioletred][i]Does he really think he's gonna pull a fast one here?[/i][/color] Before Raffie was able to get Marz's attention or try to join him, though, the song's source turned the corner into the hallway. The barely visible translucent shape of some kind of creature was rushing down where Marz and the puppet went. It would probably have been invisible if it weren't for the speed of its pursuit! With the song no longer being an echo but a direct sound wave toward Raffie, the full extent of its power started to affect her, causing her to quickly become sleepy—but Raffie was always getting sleepy at the most seemingly random of times, and she didn't necessarily put two and two together in time to resist. It was frankly a miracle that she wasn't sleepwalking already in this darkness and—in her usual manner—she found herself asleep standing up, but still somewhat functional. The serpent, for a moment, seemed to follow the false trail that Marz set up, but then it stopped and seemed to realize what had happened. She stopped cloaking herself, stopped singing, and snuck up to Marz's door. Before long she had started the song again, directed toward the cracks of the door, confident she had secured her prey. Indeed, she was surely confident, as her comrades were nearby and could be here in but a moment if she felt the need to call for help, but she didn't. Or perhaps the others couldn't be bothered to be on patrol on account of some other duties—whatever those might have been. Before she could think of what to do, Raffie found her lips moving. [color=red][i]"Go."[/i][/color] [hider][img]https://cdn.donmai.us/original/f7/82/__dream_tiger_original_drawn_by_gegegekman__f7826bcc9af73b95afd12deac5eab6e6.jpg[/img][/hider] And from beneath her feet, from within her shadow, rose a creature she had seen before in her nightmares. It clambered forth and raced across the metal pipes, making a sound like knives on metal as it went. All Marz would have been able to make out from the noise was that it was a mid-sized, four-legged animal with claws. It tore down the hall the way Marz had come from, leading the serpent creature to follow it away—and there was Raffie, asleep in the hall, still on her feet. Did that really just happen? Well... they were safe for now.