Melanie stayed in the hull of the airship for what felt like hours. Even with a few lanterns nearby it was still unbearably dark and Melanie was longing for some company. After some thought she decided she'd at least make it to the steps leading up to the bridge if nothing else.
On top of the bridge Krile sensed that someone was behind her and turned around startled to see Melanie's head poking up from the bridge floor. "Lineya! Are you sure this is such a good idea for you to be up here?" she cried out rushing towards Melanie.
Melanie's legs were already feeling weak and her heart was beating hard as wave after wave of anxiety rushed through her body like a tornado. "I wanted to try and overcome my fears, and I was getting lonely down there by myself" Melanie replied with a slight stammer.
Krile offered a hand to lift Melanie on the bridge but Melanie gently pushed back. "I'm sorry, this is as far as I can go for now" she said, her voice wavvering with nervousness at the thoughts of either falling down or catching a glimpse of how high up they really were that would send her into a fit of panicked screams that would be heard all the way back to Ala Mhigo.
"All right, just take your time" Krile said in a calm and reassuring voice.
Melanie looked at herself standing just a few steps away from the top of the stairway and let out a slight laugh. "I must look like a complete fool for being stuck here" she said. After a few moments she slowly turned around and sat herself down on the top steps and looked over her shoulder to Krile. "I guess this'll do for now." Her nerves started to settle as she felt secure in her spot and knowing she wasn't going to just suddenly fall.
Krile smiled a little and sat down next to Melanie at the top of the stairs. She then pulled out a small brown bag that was hiding underneath her yellow coat and from inside the bag pulled out a brown cloak that was neatly folded and handed it over to Melanie. Melanie was still amused over how something as big as a cloak could be inside a bag that was as tiny as a coin purse. "I almost forgot, before we arrive in Ul'dah you'll need to wear this instead of your current gear, and you'll need to store away your weapons too."
Melanie took the cloak and felt something hard folded inside it. Wrapped inside the folds of the cloak was a white wooden mask with simple brown etchings along with a pair of simple leather shoes and a basic linen skirt.
"This will be necessary to hide you from plain sight. Nobody must recognise you until we've met with Jandelaine. Even then you must play extra caution. From now on you must act as if you're a new adventurer and keep as low a profile as possible. Until you've re-learned how to fight and use magic nobody must know that you're Leineya. You'll need to think up a new name for yourself too."
"Okay..." Melanie said staring back at the plain cloak and mask. There was absolutely nothing special or exotic about them. In comparison to what she was currently wearing these were extremely basic and boring looking garments that screamed out "amateur adventurer" and would blend into any simple society. "I guess I should try to get back downstairs so I can put these on" she said as she pushed herself back onto her feet. Her legs began to weaken again and she quickly squatted and gripped onto the edges of the stairway entrance.
"Do you need a hand?" Krile asked worriedly as she jumped onto her feet. Melanie shook her head again.
"It's ok" she replied, trying to take in a few deep breaths before slowly descending down the stairway. Being dark made it harder to see the bottom and Melanie wasn't really sure if this was any better than being able to see down the stairs, but after some fumbling she was able to make her way down to the bottom of the stairs. By now she had noticed that the hull was starting to feel more warmer than it did earlier, even the air had changed and was becoming more drier and hotter. There was a sweet and earthy musk in the warm air with a mixture of spices, cactus blossom and honeysuckle.
Melanie picked a dark area of the hull and began to strip off her fancy red mage attire and stuff it into her backpack. Her rapier just slid into the backpack as if it didn't exist, although Melanie still felt necessary to look at the bottom to make sure it didn't just slice through. Satisfied that it didn't just make a big gaping hole that would cause everything to fall out Melanie removed the rest of her garments including rings, earrings, necklace, and bracelets and dropped them into the backpack. She then donned the plain clothing, making sure her hair was tucked inside the hood of the cloak, then placed the mask over her face and began to make her way back up the stairs.
Krile was still waiting at the top of the stairs and nodded as she saw Melanie in her basic attire. "Good, and in perfect timing too" she said. At that moment Melanie noticed the sky changing from a starry moonlit sky to bightly lit red stone with tall and thin arch windows and rounded slate roofs with tall spires. The air was stifflingly hot yet Melanie didn't seem to mind it, if anything it was as if she was already accustomed to hot temperatures. Krile on the other hand looked as if she was struggling with the heat and started to fan herself down with her hands and wiped her browline.
The airship dipped down causing Melanie's stomach to stir. The mechanical gears of the airship were now starting to echo against the stone walls and the airship started to sway side to side as it pulled up with a slight jolt inside a docking area that was high up inside one of the buildings. Melanie nervously climbed up the stairs to the bridge hoping she wouldn't suddenly have a panic attack from being dozens of feet above ground. At the sides of the airship were wooden steps that aligned with the landing area and with a little effort Melanie was able to cross over them and onto the shiny stone flooring. Never had she felt so relieved to be standing on solid stone, although she was still aware she was pretty high up and all that rocking about in the air made her feel slightly unsteady. Krile ushered Melanie to follow her towards a nearby lift. As they set foot inside the lift Krile quickly whispered to Melanie. "Have you thought of a name yet?" she asked.
Melanie was stumped for a moment. She hadn't yet come up with a new name for herself and knew that it would have to follow the Sunseeker Miqo'te standard, but without a name generator she had no idea what kind of name would suffice and she couldn't think of anything else that would work as an anagram of her only name. Nanaa Mihgo maybe? No, that sounds too much like Ala Mhigo and could easily mistake me as someone who shares ancestry with the people who built the city. I need something that's more inconspicuous than that but that I could easily remember.
Melanie shook her head and Krile started to ponder for a moment, then she smiled and looked back up at Melanie as if she had an idea. "No worries, I have a name that I think you'd like" she said confidentally. Melanie looked down at Krile with a surprise. "I hope I can remember it then, maybe I should write it down somewhere so I don't forget?" she asked.
"Oh, I don't think that will be necessary" Krile said with confidence. Melanie was now curious. I wonder what kind of name she's picked that I won't need a reminder for?
The lift finally arrived at the ground floor and both Melanie and Krile stepped out into a busy street. Nearby onlookers watched whilst cheering on a small group of Miqo'te dancers, a few merchants were packing away the last of their large crates having closed business for the day.
Krile and Melanie continued walking past them until they reached a double doorway leading into the Adventurer's Guild known as The Quicksand. With it being so late at night most people had already gone home save a few new adventurers who were quietly chatting amongst themselves at a table over drinks. Krile walked Melanie over to one of the long bar counters lining the back walls of The Quicksand where a red-haired Proprietress stood on a small stool looking over the counter.
"Mistress Krile, it's been an age! What brings you to The Quicksand?" the cheery young lalafel spoke out to her.
"It's certainly been a long time since we last spoke" Krile said with a smile. "I've come with a new apprentice who's a little nervous but assured me she wants nothing more than to learn how to become an adventurer. She has a few skeletons in her closet but I'm pretty sure that with proper training she'll overcome her fears and become an invaluable member of the guild."
The Proprietress looked up at Melanie with a smile. "Another aspirin' adveturer eh?" she said as she whipped out a form sheet and pen from below the counter. "If you'd like to sign your name here Miss?"
"D'brovola Selah" Krile spoke out.
"Very well then, just sign here Miss Brovola and then you'll be officially a member of the Adventurin' Guild!" she said with an even bigger smile.
Melanie's eyes widened with surprise and her heart leapt at hearing the name. She's named me after my childhood best friend, but how did she know that? Looking down at the form it all looked like gibberish. There was an area at the bottom that looked like a spot to sign her name so without much thought she wrote down "D'brovola Selah" on the dotted line and handed back the pen and form sheet to the Proprietress.
"And that makes you an official member of the Adventurer's Guild!" the Proprietress said excitedly as she then handed over a small card over the counter to Melanie with what she assumed was an ID card with what looked like her name written in Eorzean. "Now if you'd like to take a seat whilst I explain what it is you can do here..."
"I've already briefed Brovola about how Adventurer Guilds work so I think she'll be fine from here. If it's no problem for you however I'd like for us to have a chat somewhere private perhaps?" Krile interrupted her. The Proprietress looked a little taken aback but nodded at Krile.
"'Course, Otopa can keep watch over the bar for a few minutes whilst we catch up on a few things" The Proprietress then looked over to Melanie. "If you speak to Otopa at the end of the counter he'll set you up with a room for the night. We can talk more in the morning after you've had some rest" she said to her. Before long she and Krile had disappeared leaving Melanie alone. Melanie decided considering how late it was now that she might as well book a room and turn in for the night, so she casually walked over to the other side of the counter where another young lalafel stood by checking various papers in front of him.
"Excuse me please, I'd like to book a room" Melanie said to him.
"Of course! I saw you chatting with Miss Momodi so I take it you're now a registered adventurer?" he asked. Melanie nodded as she flashed him her new ID card. "Most excellent Madam Brovola. You'll be in room 27 which is just up the stairs to the right of me and the 7th door down the hall to the right" he said whilst pointing towards the stairs behind him.
"Okay, how much is it per night?" Melanie asked. Otopa chuckled. "As a registered member of the Adventurer's Guild all inn expenses are covered for, didn't Miss Momodi inform you?" he said a little amused.
"Ah, of course I remember" Melanie replied, remembering that in the game she never once paid for boarding. Melanie walked up to a small wooden gate that barred the entrance to the stone stairway and made her way up the stairs. Thankfully the stairs weren't too steep and Melanie was far too tired enough to not care, and after a brief wander down an ambiently lit hallway was standing in front of what she assumed was room 27, although there was no numbers written down anywhere. She was about to fumble around in the inner pockets of her cloak when she realised she wasn't given any keys, but as she looked at the heavy looking dark oaken door she couldn't see any keyholes. I never really noticed until now they don't have keyholes, I guess I just walk right in then?
Melanie walked into a dimly lit open room with 3 arched windows side by side opposite the door. The windows were made from strong metal with what looked like fine paper to diffuse the brilliant sunlight from outside and prevent desert sand from blowing inside. The polished stone floors shined almost like marble in contrast to the red cut-stone walls and pillars. Some of the furnishings embedded into the walls including a bookshelf with a selection of books mostly about the history of Ul'dah and its surrounding areas, and a stone shelf with a welcoming jug of fresh water which she helped herself to. In the corner of the room a tall golden orchestrion played a gentle melody.
Melanie placed down her backpack next to a nearby bed and ran her fingers down its linen sheets. Sitting down for a few moments she stared across the room to where she saw her reflection from a tall dresser mirror. Melanie pulled down the hood of her cloak, removed the wooden mask from her face and looked back again at her reflection. It was still a little disorientating seeing a face so different from her own back on Earth. She reached up to feel her large soft ears atop her head. Yep, these are definitely my ears. I'm definitely not hallucinating or dreaming all of this. The warm air was starting to make her feel drowsy despite that it was starting to cool a little. After all she had been travelling since dusk and it was now well late into the night. She let out a long and wide yawn as her eyes and body became more heavier. I wonder when Krile's coming back? Maybe it'll be ok if I just rest for a few minutes...
