Chapter 1 The Beginning

Emerging from the fiery doorway were Alice, carefully disguised; Vanna, dressed in ordinary clothes; and Morris, carrying a cane and wearing a dark gray coat.

Duncan needed Morris's knowledge to help him understand the city and find "Brown Scott," Vanna's expertise to locate cultists and, if possible, establish contact with the local church, and Alice…

Well, he didn't really *need* her, but Alice wanted to come and see – and on the other hand, considering Alice was walking around with the Frost Queen's face, Duncan thought bringing her along might be amusing.

The ghostly green flames dissipated rapidly in the air, and Aeyr transformed back into a white dove, landing on a nearby tree branch. Morris tightened his thick coat against the icy wind and looked up at the brightly lit city, Alice curiously surveyed her surroundings, while Vanna had already noticed the burly figure standing in the darkness.

A terrifying figure, whose fiery return seemed impossible for anyone to survive, yet this figure stood calmly in the darkness, looking at them with a peaceful gaze, the fragments of clothing on his body indicating his former identity.

An indescribable "connection" arose in her heart, and Vanna realized immediately that this figure she was meeting for the first time was the captain.

"Mr. Duncan," she said, approaching Duncan and unable to resist looking him up and down. Although she knew that the captain used occupied "avatars" when operating in the city-state, she couldn't help frowning when she saw the state of this avatar. "This body of yours…"

"The condition is actually all right – it's just the appearance that might be a bit scary," Duncan said in a low voice. "Finding an avatar that is in good condition and suitably 'compatible' is all a matter of luck. This body is better than that sacrificial offering I saw in the sewers."

Vanna immediately recalled some unpleasant events. Her eyes twitched slightly, and she said softly, "…I'd rather not remember."

Vanna smiled and looked up at Morris, who was still looking around. She waved, "Stop looking around and come help – did you bring everything?"

He couldn't see his current appearance, but he could imagine it perfectly. Vanna paused. "…What about the experienced ones?"

"Just enough to hold them off. I don't plan to settle down in Frost with this appearance," Duncan said, cooperating with her actions. "Just enough to avoid attracting the attention of the constables on the street. If we encounter situations where it's really inconvenient to act, I'll need your and Alice's help."

Duncan ignored the doll's fuss and simply took the briefcase she brought, opening it to inspect the contents: a long black trench coat suitable for concealing the details of his body, with a large, upright collar that could cover his face and neck, a wide-brimmed black hat, gloves, shoes, some bandages, and some cash and a neatly folded map of the city-state.

Vanna sighed. "Inexperienced constables and guards might stop you immediately and question you."

Except for his eyes and a small patch of relatively intact skin near his left eye, his entire face was eventually covered.

As he spoke, he picked up the bandages and handed them to Vanna beside him. "Help me – you know how to do this, right?"

Morris watched Vanna busying about, looking eager to try. "Can I help?"

Alice finally came back to her senses and hurried over to Vanna, holding up the small suitcase she was carrying. "I brought it, I brought it! Clothes and bandages… Wow! Captain, your face is so dark…"

A women's gray fitted long trench coat, black leather boots and trousers, her gray-black hair still casually draped over her shoulders, still looking as heroic as ever, but without the armor and greatsword, this appearance looked a little more amiable.

Vanna glanced over. "Hmm?"

Listening to the old gentleman's introduction, Vanna couldn't help but blink. "I wasn't aware of these details… I only know the tenets and related taboos of the other four god churches."

"Mr. Tirian helped prepare them," Morris explained proactively from the side, before Duncan could ask. "He heard that you would be active in the city-state, so he asked me to bring these along – oh, right, he also told me to tell you that the map is the latest, with the secret contact points of the Sea Mist Fleet marked in red, and some money… money and stuff…"

A black trench coat covering the whole body, a wide-brimmed hat and collar concealing the face, black leather gloves, and layers of bandages vaguely visible in the gaps between the clothes.

Fortunately, this body was quite burly, with dimensions similar to his own, and all these things fit well.

Then he looked down at his current body, which should also be over a meter, right?

Then, he put on the black trench coat with the high collar, and put on his shoes, gloves, and wide-brimmed hat.

But after all, with a height of one meter and eighty centimeters, this outfit might not attract questioning, but it would still be quite impossible to be inconspicuous.

Alice laughed. "It's hard to understand the specific customs and habits of each city-state without research."

Vanna finally adjusted her clothes, carefully buttoning the long trench coat to the last button.

Vanna raised her eyebrows – the items were more comprehensive than expected.

He had focused most of his consciousness on this side to adapt to this new body, and hadn't paid much attention to the situation on the ship. When he asked the goat-headed man to pass a message to Alice, he only said to prepare clothes and bandages, as for the other things, including cash… it didn't seem like Morris's brain could have come up with them on his own.

Morris was silent for a moment, then sighed softly, "Yes – Brown Scott was a great folklorist. He traveled throughout many city-states in the central and northern regions throughout his life, especially Frost and Cold Harbor. He wrote me many letters introducing the strange customs and beliefs here."

Duncan turned his head slightly to look at the doll that was more than 1.8 meters tall, and then at Alice, who was 1.4 meters tall.

Duncan looked at the old scholar. "These are things that this 'old friend' of yours discussed with you?"

Morris immediately agreed, "Understood!"

"Forget it, your head might fall off if you tilt it back," he agreed to the doll, while also instructing, "Don't forget this is a city-state, and it's the Frost city-state. Be careful to disguise yourself, not only should your wig and head not fall off, but don't take off the veil on your face either, got it? Your face here can easily scare people over thirty years old."

To operate in the unfamiliar Frost, she certainly couldn't wear that eye-catching armor and greatsword anymore. To facilitate movement in the city, she had now changed into everyday clothes.

As she pondered, the bandages wrapped around her face, layer upon layer, covering the disfigured head.

They have the God of Death as their main belief, and customs and symbols related to death are the characteristics here. Devout believers will even deliberately add decorations such as bandages to their clothes, and this element is also found in the daily clothing of priests," Morris said, thinking. "At most, you might be mistaken for a death believer with a more avant-garde style."

Vanna: "…"

Vanna nodded slightly, "They can all come in handy. Tirian was thoughtful."

"Okay, it's not that serious, actually," Vanna suddenly smiled and shook her head. "The above situation is only limited to the core urban areas with a high level of security – there is sufficient defense force there. If it's a general urban area, you shouldn't encounter any trouble. This is my judgment based on Pland, but it should be similar in Frost. The only thing to worry about is probably your bandages…"

Vanna thought of Duncan's intentions when she saw the items in the box. She took the bandages, but before wrapping them around the captain, she asked uncertainly, "Is this really avant-garde? I feel like it's still a bit too conspicuous…"

Vanna nodded slightly, her eyes then falling on Duncan.

On the front lines of fighting against heretical evils, treating wounds was as normal and inevitable as breathing.

"Okay." Vanna nodded, and at the same time, she began to wrap the bandages around Duncan quickly. Her movements were skilled, obviously having done similar things more than once.

"Bandages should be a better disguise instead," Morris suddenly said before Vanna could finish speaking. "These bandages might just avoid a lot of trouble."

"The informant is a living member of the Sea Mist Fleet's periphery," Tirian said casually, his tone somewhat emotional. "Saying he would never set foot on the land of Frost again… his gaze has never left this city. This is just short of stepping foot here in person."

"Oh, right, the informant," Morris nodded repeatedly, then peered into the box and asked, "Are these things useful?"

He thought for a moment, then turned to look at the young Inquisitor standing quietly beside him. "Vanna, tell me the truth…"