Cerberus Rex, Nameless

Doppelganger, 19

Feri accompanied Mr. Noarwin to a shack of a building. The sign with Xosa's etched into it tilted on its hinges, and the windows looked dark and webbed with dust. Moss and black fungus grew on the corners and in the cracks of its wooden walls. It felt out of place among the pretty fragrant and botanical shops with their mix of fake and fresh floral smells. Mr. Noarwin gestured Feri inside. She gave Xosa's a doubtful glance but stepped onto the cracked stoop and entered. The hut-like store smelled moldy, and she wished she were one of the prettily dressed ladies who pretended Xosa's didn't exist while they explored its neighbors' scents and flowers. Instead, she faced a few eclectic wares lining tilted shelves. A half-orc sent her a side glance from where he tinkered with a box. She paused, and Mr. Noarwin walked around her.

"Good afternoon, Waverly." He saluted the half-orc with dark hair, who grunted.

"Bringing a guest, Noarwin?" he asked.

"That I am. A sweet little thing with a talent I've only become aware of." He tossed her a conniving grin, and she winced. "We're going to test it out today," he said, and Feri knew she had revealed her said talent to the wrong person.

"Whatever." Waverly, the half-orc, pulled a rope hanging near the wall. The floor creaked, and a trap door swung open.

Mr. Noarwin faced Feri. "What do you think?" he asked.

Feri raised a brow at him and then Waverly. "I think the gap around the trapdoor makes it very obvious that it's there."

Mr. Noarwin laughed as Waverly snorted indignantly, and Feri slipped down before he either shut it or cursed at her. She heard Mr. Noarwin descend behind her. They didn't have to go far to reach the bottom. Feri looked at the dimly lit tunnel with a gentle slope and then at Mr. Noarwin. He patted her on the back.

"Let's go."

They traveled just past half an hour before Feri heard the sound of people ahead. Another half-hour later and the tunnel opened up. Feri gasped at the underground city. A variety of faces passed by. More than the elves, humans, halflings, and gnomes she mostly saw on the city streets. She didn't know other races, save a very few of the tolerated ones, would gather so near a prejudice hub.

"Welcome to the Cerulean Hatch. Go ahead and take off the ring if you like. No one cares who you are here," Mr. Noarwin said smiling at the buildings and colorful canopy booths hosting the interest of the even more colorful people.

"There's a bounty on me, Mr. Noarwin," she reminded him. She saw a lot of weapons and armor, most adorning the rugged, seedy sorts she wouldn't trust a toothpick with.

"The people who pass through here aren't interested in turning anyone in to the Summit Guard. The majority wouldn't receive the reward anyway. Give the magic a little break."

Feri pursed her lips but took his advice. She slipped off the ring then put it back on without touching the jeweled fragment, though she wanted to as soon as someone looked at her. Their eyes passed over her without slight, and Feri let out a breath before looking up at Mr. Noarwin.

"What are we doing down here?" she asked.

"Wandering. Looking for anyone suspicious."

Feri's brow twisted. "Everyone looks suspicious." She pointed with a jab for emphasis at the ghoul in the crowd, a creature she'd not seen in person but recognized at once. She couldn't reason why no one else seemed alarmed by his presence.

Mr. Noarwin made a throaty chuckle. "Ah, Mr. Sanders." He nodded at the pale-skinned undead man, his sunk in ribs barely disguised by his billowy shirt, and his sallow cheeks almost see-through. If Feri had looked more closely, she would have guessed him a devilishly handsome sort when alive. "He has to keep up a disguise as a living human elsewhere." Mr. Noarwin patted Feri's head. "You should know better than to judge people by their race and looks. He's an acquaintance of mine and a good fellow."

Feri huffed. "Then what is suspicious?" she asked. It seemed even undead were welcomed in the Cerulean Hatch. She couldn't imagine anything worse than that.

"Human. Female. She probably knows we're looking for her by now, which means she'll try avoiding us if we're spotted. Or, at least me." He tossed Feri that conspiratory smile, and Feri realized he meant Gunilla. "I'm going into the crowd. I want you to tail me. Do that sneaky Lunis stuff and see if you can spot anyone suspect. You're a warden. You know what I mean, right?" She nodded. What he described vaguely outlined her job.

"Then let's go fishing." He left her, and Feri let him mingle into the streets. She stuck to the shadows, pulling them towards her so she became a shifting figure. A person might see her out of the corner of their eye, but if they tried to look at her, their gaze would be directed to a spot around her. That she could manage without the moon wells' influence.

Mr. Noarwin paused by vendors, checked out goods. He feigned curiosity and interest. Maybe some things caught his eye, but he brooded over the price and moved on. Some cursed at him, others told him to come back with more coin. He flirted with a few ladies and caught the eyes of some men too.

Feri scaled the sides of buildings. She ducked across rooftops and leapt from one balcony to the other. No one noticed her, and she didn't notice anyone matching Mr. Noarwin's version of suspicious. She started to wonder if she could guess as well as he hoped when a mop of orange hair caught her eye. Had Asinis found his way back down? But the hair was longer, and the clothes a little different, though they matched in most ways. And then they saw Mr. Noarwin. Feri froze, crouched and watching as the woman stepped backward. The man she bumped into grumbled. She didn't pause to apologize but hurried awkwardly around him and raced the way she'd come from. Feri's inner radar buzzed, and she left Mr. Noarwin's trail to go after her. The woman shuffled and darted around people, occasionally having to push herself past them. Feri followed faster. A face. She needed a face. Then, as if sensing Feri's gaze, the woman turned and locked eyes with her. Feri gawked. It was Asinis—but a woman!

Fear flashed across the woman's face when she saw Feri watching and then darted toward the opposite side of the street. Feri scuttled down the building she watched her from to catch up. She dashed in leaps across the way, but by the time Feri reached that side, the woman was gone. Feri straightened, straining taller to try to find her, nose twitching to smell her. Nothing. Feri held the sides of her face.

A woman. A woman that looked like Asinis in every way save sex. Feri swallowed. Did she tell Mr. Noarwin? Did she ask Asinis about it? What if it was Asinis in disguise? She couldn't figure how he'd make himself feminine looking. His face was too square and masculine. Even his string bean body was manly in its shape. It couldn't have been him. What did she do? She couldn't go after the woman. Not now that she knew Feri was stalking her. The cobblestones offered no tracks, and Feri didn't see anything on the woman's person caught anywhere. Dejected, Feri strayed into the street and looked for Mr. Noarwin. He spotted her in his peripheral and wandered toward her.

"Oh? It looks like a bully just took away your favorite toy," he said.

"I saw someone but... I lost her."

"Oh?" Mr. Noarwin raised his brow then nodded to himself. "Then Arne was right. She's around."

"Arne?"

"Captain Fairwind." He offered her a smile before patting her head. "You did excellent. I didn't expect us to catch her today. Just spot her. Did you get a good look?"

"I'm not sure. But she seemed to want to avoid you like you expected."

"Oh. This is going to be fun," he chuckled. "Shall we head back? I'm sure the others are wondering where you are."

Feri, pursing her lips, nodded. She needed to talk to Asinis, and she needed to use the walk back to figure out what she intended to say. The last thing she expected to find was his doppelganger.