[[timeline-wise, this would be set directly after his thread in OH, so just later the same evening, before the disband]]

He didn't really need directions. Months in the land had given him a vague awareness of where certain landmarks were. He'd asked primarily to keep up appearances. Rather than waste a night and have to re-do his disguise later, he headed in the direction of the opposite coast directly after leaving the hollows behind.

Night had begun to properly fall by the time he neared the tell-tale scent line. His features had been carefully arranged into the guise of a tired, travel-worn, somewhat unsure traveler long before then. When he'd asked about a 'black Sigrun', the grey woman had named a @Magnus and a @Nadia, and informed him they led the lagoon. Whether that was true or not, well...he'd learn soon enough, wouldn't he?

He slowed as he approached, lowering his nose toward the sand to sniff and determine where the border actually was. A hesitant pause as he found it, an unsure glance across the invisible line as he paced one way, then the other. For all appearances, the lost rogue, his posture softened and subdued, an air of exhaustion to him and a coating of dust on his pelt. One couldn't be too careful, any pride might have night guards watching for anyone approaching the borders.

After a moment, he chuffed out a tired, but respectful, call to summon the leaders of the place. He'd have his answers soon enough, he supposed. Either the grey woman had told the truth and led him in the right direction, or she hadn't and he'd need to start over.

It wasn't unusual for Nadia to be out and about during nightfall. Spending well over a year within the Hollows had gotten her more accustomed to darkness then she had ever been before, and it was only natural for her to move across the Lagoon during the cover of nightfall. Her melanistic pelt made her nearly invisible as she moved across the land, ignoring the rattling in her chest with each step. It was by chance alone that the lone call would hit her ears. Immediately she shifted her path, heading towards the summons. Only a few moments were between her and the stranger until eventually @Ryker came into view. He was unfamiliar to her but she regarded him with a neutral stance before she pulled to a halt, dark gaze watching him curiously. "Hello, can I help you?" She asks him, waiting for him to supply some more information before delving further into the conversation with him.

[sleuth exp]
+5 - Learn a character's name and rank
+5 - Study the landscape of an area

As he waited, he sat and let himself slump slightly, as if exhausted from a long journey. Soon, however, he was heaving himself back to his paws as a woman approached; the young male offered a tired but friendly smile as she spoke, "masa' alkhayr," a beat, and he translated himself, effortlessly putting on the accent of his mother - a thing that had taken him far longer to unlearn than he liked to admit, "Good evening, I am hoping you can." Black as night, was this one of the lions the hollows woman had mentioned? "You are being Nadia, maybe?" Head titled to the side in innocent curiosity.

The dark male would seat himself again, as if he lacked the energy to continue standing as they chatted, "I am bringing message for a 'black Sigrun'. Cave woman - ah...Ulla!, She is saying there is two black Sigrun siblings here. One Magnus, one @Nadia - I am thinking message is for the brother, but maybe is for you, or both." He shrugged, offering a crooked, helpless sort of grin and a shrug. "Is there being a Magnus here? To be making sure message is delivered, you both listen, maybe?" Could she summon the man, if he was actually here? There was greater danger to himself with both of them present, but the level of danger rarely factored in to any choice he made. If it made his act stronger, more believable, and reduced the chance of error, he would deal with them both if he must.

She regarded the stranger with a level gaze, watching his seeming exhaustion with a careful consideration. "Good evening, I am hoping you can." How curious he was now wasn't he? But Nadia knew better then to let her guard down, especially for a stranger nonetheless. And considering just how high tensions had been lately with the Rike ever present Nadia wasn't so willing to be as accommodating as normal. "You are being Nadia, maybe?" "Well that depends who's asking.." She said with a wry grin, she wouldn't just let him have what he wanted, if it was information he sought she wouldn't just lay it out there for him, he was a stranger after all. "I am bringing message for a 'black Sigrun'. Cave woman - ah...Ulla!, She is saying there is two black Sigrun siblings here. One Magnus, one Nadia - I am thinking message is for the brother, but maybe is for you, or both." Ulla knew this man? Nadia would have to pick her brain later but for now he would be dealt with.

"Is there being a Magnus here? To be making sure message is delivered, you both listen, maybe" "Any information you have will be given to @Magnus, but please do tell me your name?" She said then, though she doubted he would give his actual moniker if he was a spy of some sorts. Or perhaps he really was just a tired traveler, but still that didn't answer why he was seeking her out. Magnus was in no shape to be facing a potential threat and the last thing she would do would be to highlight that. For now she would placate him, plus she was curious on just who this guy was and why he was here. "Please, do tell your reasoning for visiting the Lagoon stranger." She encouraged, though she remained ready just in case things would take a darker turn.

@Ryker

She seemed more suspicious of him than the last woman had been. Ulla had seemed disarmed by his friendly, exhausted, and lost act - but whether it was successful or not, he would keep it up until he was either found out or the perfect moment came for the reveal. He continued to maintain an open expression, his friendly smile never fading to less than a hint and his attention fixed politely on the dark woman. He even made sure to hesitate just that extra half a second before reacting when she spoke, as if slow to understand the meaning of her words.

His name? Oh, yes, he could do that. And it might even barely be a lie - he knew what his mother would have called him had he been born in her homelands. "Apologies! Yes, you are calling me Abd al-Malik Zaman bin Dalal bin Malik, please. Abd al-Malik is good also." Such complicated systems, listing out ancestry - son of Dalal daughter of Malik - annoying. If his grandfather had had his way, he certainly would have been born a different man, in a different land, but only required to list out one generation prior. Whether it was precisely correct or not, as far as naming traditions and such went on that side of the family, it rolled off his tongue with a practiced ease, as if he introduced himself that way every day.

There was a flash of annoyance as she asked about his purpose, but he wouldn't let it show. He'd explained already, hadn't he? Was this a common issue with the lions of this land? A failure to listen and comprehend? Ulla had asked him a similar thing after he'd given his purpose.

Shrugging one shoulder, he kept the open, friendly, expression in place. "I am telling you already, yes? I bring message for a 'black Sigrun' - maybe you, maybe a Magnus, instructions were not clear. Cave woman is first one I meet here, by chance, and she direct me to visit 'lagoon'." He paused briefly, morphing his expression into one of consideration, "Is bad luck to ignore dying lion's last wish, but if you pass message, it is same as if I deliver, you think?" Seemed unlikely he would be taking home any 'souvenirs' this time around, but he could deliver information.

@Nadia

Nadia's patience had been rather limited lately and perhaps she was more guarded then usual but with good reason. The Rike were an ever looming threat and given the circumstances of her husband's health AND the recent events in the Brook Nadia didn't want to be too careful. This stranger spoke his name but it seemed as if he were telling a never ending story of his lineage, one that Nadia didn't care for. Her ears would flick nonchalantly, face still stoic as she listened to him. "I am telling you already, yes? I bring message for a 'black Sigrun' - maybe you, maybe a Magnus, instructions were not clear. Cave woman is first one I meet here, by chance, and she direct me to visit 'lagoon'." Claws flexed beneath her instinctively, dark eyes narrowing slightly. "Well the black Sigrun you are searching for stands before you." She states bluntly, here she was in the flesh. If giving away her own identity meant protecting Magnus then so be it. "Is bad luck to ignore dying lion's last wish, but if you pass message, it is same as if I deliver, you think?" She chuckled at his words, clearly the man hadn't been told enough about her before his journey here. "I don't believe in luck but hell, you are here aren't you? What is this message you have for the Sigruns? I'm listening." She says to him then, her eyes never wavering from him. She wasn't naïve, but she was willing to listen to him. After all whatever it is he wanted to share seemed important enough, for now.

@Ryker

[[trying to drag this out as long as possible for exp purposes XD ]]

It was hard not to chuckle as she spoke. He really wanted to. She was so guarded and suspicious, not at all like Ulla had been, really. His visit to the hollows had been almost too easy, so he supposed it made sense that he might run into trouble here. Not that it mattered much in the long run. Whether he'd been set after Nadia or Magnus made little difference if they were both 'black Sigrun'. He hadn't been given that much instruction, after all. A given name might have helped immensely...he'd have to mention that upon his return. Ryker thought, so far, he'd done very well with such limited information.

Friendly, open, placid, his expression didn't shift, unbothered by her blunt manner. Honestly, he didn't believe in luck either, but it had sounded very good, he thought. A believable reason for a perfect stranger to go out of his way to deliver a cryptic message for another stranger. "Yes. Okay. You listen close, and remember, and pass on for me." He nodded, as if accepting the technicality that, since no given name had been specified, she was an acceptable recipient. She fit the entire description he'd been given. "I meet dying man in desert, with last breath he asks me to carry message for him. He says 'tell that Sigrun, the black one, 'the king of wolves seeks blood'', and then he points me in direction, and I find island." He shrugged once finished, "It is meaning anything to you?"

The fun part, now, was that it genuinely did have a meaning if she could puzzle it out. He kept his expression, and body language, innocently curious, as one might expect a weary messenger carrying a mysterious phrase to be.

@Nadia

Her face remained stoic as she waited for this stranger to tell this message that was so dire. She didn't necessarily believe him and she certainly wouldn't permit him to lay one foot within Scilla borders, but if there was a message that needed passing on to Magnus she would do it. Her ears craned forward as she waited and then finally he spoke, I meet dying man in desert, with last breath he asks me to carry message for him. He says 'tell that Sigrun, the black one, 'the king of wolves seeks blood'', and then he points me in direction, and I find island. The king of wolves seeks blood, it didn't ring any bells to her. But immediately her mind went to the Rike, perhaps it had something to do with them? She refused to let the stranger see her mulling things over so instead she spoke, "I'll pass the message on immediately. Is there anything else you need from me stranger?" She asked him then as she paused, waiting. He wasn't going to get an invitation if that was what he was waiting for, but still she couldn't help but wonder why on earth he would even bother passing this message on to begin with.

@Ryker

She absorbed his message, but he saw no understanding in her face or eyes. Perhaps she was as adept at hiding things as he was, or maybe it really had gone over her head. He liked to think she hadn't understood at all; it made him feel clever.

He shrugged casually "You say you pass on, I say my task is complete, yes?" Maybe, for most, it would seem odd that a stranger would go to such lengths to accomplish a task (he was certainly among those), but there were many cultures with codes of honor, so maybe it wasn't actually all that strange. Regardless, he would not be bringing flesh or blood or even fur back home, but it was more entertaining to him to plant seeds of doubt and suspicion and worry sometimes. What did his words mean to her, he wondered.

"Nothing else, only directions to nearest fresh water, if you can?" Could she spare a weary traveler that small kindness?

@Nadia

He was perhaps one of the strangest individuals she had met but regardless she would take the message back to Magnus, perhaps he could decode it better than she. "I will pass it on, you can feel satisfied knowing that." She informed him carefully, still watching him closely. His question about fresh water caused a nonchalant shrug from the woman before she gestured toward his left, "Keep going a little less than a mile you'll find a creek. You can get fresh water there." She nodded to him then, but she wouldn't move from where she stood. She would watch him leave and be sure that he left the territory before she went on her way.

@Ryker


exit unless stopped.