Play of Shadows

3.04: Dead City

The crowds were thinning.

A young woman sat alone, perched on the lip of an ornate fountain. Stone cherubs rose like a flock of songbirds behind her, blowing sparkling streams through little gilded trumpets. The midday sun painted rainbows in the current and turned the water gold.

The woman alone sat in shadow. She watched the city with absent eyes, chin propped on a bent knee. The side of a high-rise building towering over the plaza darkened again, turning into a screen. The woman eyed the countdown blinking over rows of windows.

"Three hours, forty-one minutes. Do you know what it means?" a voice asked.

Sasha leaned back on her arms with a sigh. "Nope. How was your walk, Lieutenant?"

Lieutenant Arendse scanned the surroundings, then Sasha herself. "Illuminating. We will discuss once the others return."

Sasha nodded absently. She tilted her head to look at Lieutenant Mei Arendse. The woman's stern expression bled shadows down her neck, the sun a pale eye in a paler sky above them. A mirthless smile turned Sasha's lips.

"It's a perfect day, won't you say?"

Lieutenant Arendse looked at her askance, but didn't answer. She didn't sit either, choosing to prowl around the fountain and a little further down the street while they waited. Sasha didn't bother with her. She leaned back on her hands and looked at the sky until her eyes watered.

It didn't take long for the others to return. One after the other, they emerged from the faceless crowd, each bearing a subtle expression. Vernon ambled over first, then Frances. They talked about half-finished buildings and roads that led nowhere.

"Found an NPC with a face," Vernon said.

"I think we all did," Sasha muttered.

Frances frowned. "What do you suppose it means?" he asked.

"We will discuss once everyone is present," Arendse said.

Michael was last to return, and he was not alone. The players craned their necks to see the man through the crowd. "That the Empress?" Vernon boomed.

Frances went ahead to meet the unexpected duo. Arendse said nothing, but her relief was evident. The loss of a teammate before the instance had even begun weighed on them all.

Only Sasha remained where she was. Her posture was relaxed, but her eyes had lost their lazy sheen.

"Found her in the market down south," Michael's voice became audible over the noise of the crowd as they drew near.

"Don't talk about me like I'm not here," Ann snapped.

"Why didn't you wait for us?" Frances demanded over Michael's muted apology.

Ann Sufort rolled her eyes. She had a summer dress on, Sasha noted. White lace with a sunflower trim. Her face was bare and twisted in a scowl.

"I was meant to run recon, and I did. As I see it, I got some extra time. It would've been stupid to waste it," she said.

Vernon scoffed something about fools and hard heads, but Arendse was nodding in approval. "We are glad you made it into the instance safely, Miss Sufort. This way, if you would please," the woman said, pointing to a secluded corner of the plaza boasting a few empty benches and a whole lot of cooing pigeons.

"What the hell happened to you, anyway?" Vernon asked as they shuffled over. Sasha lingered at the back of the group, head bowed.

"Hell if I know," Ann said.

Unseen, Sasha's mouth twisted in a sneer.

The players settled like nervous birds, turning their heads every time an NPCs drew near. There were less and less of them around, however, and soon the plaza was deserted enough that they could talk without the fear of being overheard. None of them knew if secrecy mattered. Whether the NPCs crawling over the city were neutral sprites or foes was yet to be determined.