"This stinks." Shiloh muttered to herself as she kicked the dirt in frustration. Her statement addressed many things, figuratively and literally. Somewhere she had taken a wrong turn and instead of arriving at Adeluna City she was in a stinking swamp. The vague directions from that goatherd she questioned after leaving the forest echoed in her mind. "Just go straight south and 'round the bend when you reach the mountains–you can't miss it!" She repeated the words with snide sarcasm. She had walked all the way across the plains by herself, fighting off monsters and avoiding bandits. By now her patience had worn thin to the point where it was practically threadbare. "It would be straightforward, he said. 'Good luck' he said. Well you can have your rotten luck back sir, because I'm sure that this isn't Adeluna!" 

As if her mood couldn't sink any lower than it had already, the land turned into a swamp. The fog was making her see things moving in the shadows and she hated the dampness. Soon she came upon a massive necropolis. At this point she was no longer surprised when she entered a graveyard. After all everybody would end up here sooner or later. Stopping just outside of the outermost edge of the rows of headstones, she took out her map again. Now if only she knew where in this continent she was.

On rare occasions, Dalanesca felt it rather necessary to venture from Porta Inferi into the land of mortals. There was only so much in her realm to occupy her time, and she got bored rather easily. At present moment, she just felt like going for a walk more than anything. The cemetery near Vilpamolan had always been a favorite place of hers in her mortal life, and it called to her now and then to make an appearance.

She dressed rather quickly, and without a trace she was gone from her realm. Moments later, she had materialized in Perditi Cemetery. She scanned the area, noting no presence of life, and smiled to herself. Perhaps she would get that relaxing day that she wanted after all. She walked on for quite sometime, in the direction of the swamp that bordered the burial grounds. Before long, she could make out the trace of another being in the area.

She did not use much caution as she approached the area in which she detected life, but before long she had come across what seemed to be a woman, standing near a bank of headstones in an old necropolis. ”Lost?” she called out from a fair distance. Her tone was not threatening in the slightest. She was merely curious, and felt no ill will towards the woman. Her incognito capabilities allowed her to remain unnoticed as a deity, appearing merely as a normal human woman, wandering the area much in the same way that the one she found had been. ”Most people aren’t meaning to be here when they are here,” she said, raising an eyebrow as she waited to hear the woman’s reason for her being there.

Shiloh's head looked up, scanning the area quickly. Had someone called out to her? Auditory hallucinations were a common thing in graveyards, likely caused by a combination of paranoia and sound distortions by the wind and fog. Focusing her sight and senses she detected something or someone a little ways from her. Fearing it was a banshee or some other horrid graveyard apparition, she did not move from her spot as she replied back. "Yes, unfortunately I am. Though this isn't the first time I've taken an unnecessary detour outside of my plans. That's the last time I'll ask for directions from a goatherd ever again." In spite of all the obstacles she had weathered throughout her journey, she wasn't feeling suicidal to the point of abandoning all hope yet. In her lifetime she had encountered enough brushes with death to where they were probably close acquaintances by now.

"This clearly isn't Adeluna, so I've bound to have made a wrong turn somewhere." Folding up her map, she surveyed her current location as she considered retracing her steps to walk back. 

Dalanesca could make out the person’s form, and began to take a few steps towards her as she spoke since she seemed to be staying where she was. She stifled a laugh as the woman mentioned getting directions from a goatherd. ”That’s your problem right there,” she said, and picked up the pace in which she was travelling towards the woman. ”The only sense of direction a goatherd has is where to send his herd… other than that, they’re mostly useless,” she said. She tried to make her voice sound as warm and as friendly as she could - she was not in the mood to find souls to bring back to Porta Inferi. In fact, idle conversation sounded rather appealing to her right now.She walked until she was standing close enough for the woman to see her, but kept her distance enough to not seem threatening.

”You’re a long way from Adeluna, if that’s what you’re looking for,” she said, furrowing her eyebrows. ”It sounds like he sent you in the completely wrong direction.” She fell silent for a moment, before speaking up once more. She extended her hand to the woman in an effort to show she mean no harm. ”My name is Angela,” she said, lying quickly and not making it obvious. It was a bit of an inside joke to herself that she took on the name of a fellow goddess when staying incognito. ”If you’d like help, I could get you set back on the right path, towards Adeluna?” she offered.

"Yes… I've realized that now." Shiloh fumed between her teeth. It was a foolish idea at the time, but she had still decided to do it. Though at that particular moment she was dazed and disoriented, and desperate. It could have been worse; he could have told her to go north of all things. Still, she should've known better than to ask a random bystander for directions. "I know I'm in the southern part of this continent, though where exactly I have no idea." When the woman who referred to herself as Angela offered her assistance, Shiloh was grateful but wary. "Yes, I very much would like help. Though I'm not very good at approximating distances on paper, so if you wouldn't mind I'd like to ask a few questions to determine where I am. Once I know where I am in relation to Adeluna, I should have a general idea of where to go."

Miles and meters on a map were different than the real thing, so Shiloh had a habit of using landmarks to keep things straight. The cardinal directions were easy, but lines on a map didn't express the height, breadth, and depth of things.

”We’re near Perditi Cemetery… south of Vilpamolan,” Dalanesca responded as she seemed to question where about in the southern part of the continent she was. Canelux was a rather large place, and even one section of the continent contained numerous destinations. ”If you aren’t familiar with Vilpamolan, it’s not the nicest of places. Pirate haven, most refer to it as. You’ll find lots of unsavory types there,” she added, with a bit of a laugh. She remembered her last visit to the place - it had been before her ascension to divinity, of course, so the story was safe to share with her new acquaintance. ”Last time I found myself there, I ended up in a brawl with three very large men,” she said. She chuckled again. ”I was the only one who walked away, and I did so without a scratch.” Her pride was rather apparent in her voice. ”You seem like you would be able to hold your own,” she observed. ”Fortunately for you, Vilpamolan isn’t in the direction you need to head. You’ve got to skirt the southern side of the Ancense Mountains, and head west. If you go straight west, you’ll hit Adeluna in a few days time,” she added.

She grew quiet for a moment, contemplating on how to next proceed with their conversation. If she wanted to reveal her true identity, she would have been able to easily assist the woman in reaching Adeluna nearly instantly via magic, but she was unsure if she was ready to reveal that information yet. Instead, she decided to continue describing the route, and offering her accompaniment if she so wished - Dalanesca was rather enjoying being out of Porta Inferi for the time being.

”If you want, I can head with you - I haven’t been to Adeluna in a while,” she added. ”Once the range isn’t to the North any longer, you just keep going west along the river until you reach the port - that’s Adeluna,” she added.

"Ah, that hive of scum and villainy–I mean sea port. I was just there weeks ago. Nothing like coming out of the frying pan to fall into the fire." The last comment was a self-referential remark to how she had entered the place. Vilpamolan still was far too long of a name in her opinion, hence the epithet. Checking her map, she moved her index finger until she found the marked point of reference labelled 'Perditi'. It indeed was south of the pirate den, meaning she had walked a giant loop around a mountain range in the continent. Hearing the woman recount her previous adventures in said pirate den, she seemed to know her way around. She looked capable too, if her story was true. One did not simply say they entered a three-on-one brawl and left without a single injury unless they had the skill and finesse to back it up. There were always those who were braggarts, but from her words and tone she wasn't one of them.

Shiloh nodded as she listened to the description of the route. She must have passed the Ancense and gone east prematurely. According to the map's topography, Adeluna was further south from the mountains than when she made the wrong turn. It was a matter of retracing her steps, then making a left at the right place. At the woman's offer to accompany her, Shiloh shrugged. "I don't mind the company. I think I've already proven myself perfectly capable of running into trouble on my own. Maybe if I travel with another person my chances might go down," she remarked. She didn't really think that was possible, as logically speaking the chances would normally increase but with luck you never knew. Luck was fickle, and played favorites. Shiloh was very sure that she was not one of those favorites. Tucking her map away, she prepared for the walk back.

”Sounds like you know the place, then,” she said with a laugh. Vilpamolan was not one of those places that one could easily forget - which was rather disappointing, as there were many time Dalanesca had been there that she would rather not remember. From the way that the woman spoke, it was clear that she had been through a thing or two and had lived to carry on. She found it admirable, that the woman had such a ‘get back on the saddle’ kind of attitude about things.

”I can’t guarantee I can stave off trouble appearing,” she said. ”But if it shows up, I’m more than happy to assist in dispatching it,” she said, with a bit of a smirk. She found the woman to be rather pleasant thus far, and the prospect of traveling with her to Adeluna seemed appealing. ”Besides, I’m always fine with an excuse to go to Adeluna. The Winking Mermaid has a very fine aged whiskey that I quite enjoy,” she said with a grin. She stood for a moment with her hand on her hip as the woman prepared herself. ”You’ve not yet told me your name,” she said, rather matter-of-factly. ”I’m all for understanding secrecy, but at least give me something to call you, if we’re to travel together?” she asked. She pulled a hip flask from her waist and took a swig of the dark liquid inside, placing it back in its holster after she had finished. ”Can’t very well be calling you ‘woman’ or ‘girl’ the whole trek,” she added, with a laugh.

Shiloh thought it over for a while, then spoke. "…Shiloh. I've been called plenty other things, but you did ask." Putting her map away and adjusting the straps of her knapsack on her shoulders, she added. "Though to be fair, I'd rather a place be upfront about being a den of thieves than acting otherwise. At least they have the honesty to openly admit it. There's nothing more infuriating than someone who acts like their hands are clean when they wear gloves to cover the blood on their hands." She said the last sentence with a hint of resentment in her tone. Of all things that irritated her, that one made her blood boil. Then the thought reminded her of something important. This woman seemed far better informed on the state of the world than the one who had brought her out of Vilpamolan. If there was a time to ask about the governmental systems of the principalities of this region, this would be it.

"Out of curiosity, what do you know of the governments that rule the kingdoms on this continent? Would any of them include a council of sorcerers, perhaps?" The memory of her supposed final execution was still fresh in her mind, and she would never allow herself to forget the faces of the ones who tried to bury her alive. At this point she did not care about revenge. Let them bring themselves to ruin through their ignorance and narrow-mindedness. She just wanted to be as far away from the council of magi as she possibly could, and the sooner she was forgotten the better.

"Well, then, Shiloh, I am pleasured to make your acquaintance," she said, giving her a courteous nod in recognition of the introduction.  She found herself in disagreement with Shiloh at her next declaration, however, but did not bring that up.  Being the one who reigned over darkness and death gave her a bit of a bias towards the darker aspects of humanity, and hiding your true nature was a given part of that - but she did not want to draw attention to her true identity, just yet, at least.  She knew that in well enough time, she would not hide her true identity for the entirety of their journey - but she would save the revelation for a time when it was necessary.  "While I understand where you are coming from, perhaps there is a reason why someone would hide the blood on their hands.  Not as a general rule of thumb, but at least in some capacity," she said, and there was a definite air of mystery to her words.

When Shiloh asked about the governments of the kingdoms, Dalanesca paused and remained silent for a moment.  "I do," she said, thought it was clear that she was being rather hesitant.  "I know about them, that is… however, I do not necessarily acknowledge their 'governments' as a sanctioned entity," she said.  She found it rather droll that the cities and kingdoms of Canelux had chosen to rule themselves rather than look to their governing deities who made their very existence possible.  "I am more a follower of the divine than of man, if I am to be honest," she added.  "However, Adeluna is a monarchy - and a rather well-ran one, at that," she said, a fondness in her voice as she spoke of the town that had once acted as a home base for her, long ago.  "The only council of magic users I know of would be the Mage's College in Iria… but they do not like to be referred to as sorcerers," she said. She could garner enough that Shiloh was a bit hesitant in asking about the sorcerers, but chose not to pry at that moment.  

"Adeluna is mostly militant," she said.  "They use magic, but not like a lot of other places.  The kingdom has an army… and many of them worship the deities of Revaliir," she added.  "Might I ask why you are wanting to travel to Adeluna, anyway?"