Suspiciously quiet

The five of you manage to enter the city without incident, though the eyes seem to follow you the whole way. Even Iris can’t explain what they are, or if they are agents of Queen Mayella. If they are, all your efforts at stealth are wasted. However, there are no guards at the gates, and no one seems upset at your presence as you walk down the streets. The city actually seems fairly normal, despite the fact that most of the people you see are clearly undead; well preserved, and in many cases quite attractive, but still not living.

For a city isolated by a dome of energy, there are quite a few people still simply living their lives. It helps you remember a basic truth of reality, that despite the machinations of the ruling class, the average person simply wants to live their life. Most things happening at a national level only affect them peripherally, so they are generally ignored.

You notice something that has you turn to Iris as she leads you through the streets. “I notice a lot of undead, as expected, but not a lot of evidence of…well, decay.”

Iris smiles. “Just because we are the risen dead doesn’t mean we disdain our appearance, Josh. Unless an undead is starving, decay is held back by the magic animating us. It’s also why you don’t see zombies and ghouls attacking people. As long as we feed ourselves, we remain simply people.”

She sighs. “Part of why I was so listless and stiff when I came to you was that I was starving. Had you turned me away, I likely would have become a mindless predator within a week. Once that happens, there’s no coming back.”

You realize what a risk she took coming to you, and how desperate she must have been. “Well, I’m glad you’re better now. Although, I haven’t seen anything that deserves the risks you took yet.”

Maya nods. “This just seems like a fairly normal city, if I’m honest.”

Iris sighs. “It’s not bad at the moment, but you have to realize that a lot of what happens is people vanishing, or draconian rules, not massacres in the streets. I also don’t think it’s entirely the fault of Queen Mayella. She wasn’t a tyrant until her husband died. That has to be the influence of one or more of her advisors.”

Uzume grumbles. “Politics. It’s so much easier when we can just smash our enemies in honest combat!”

Sadie grins. “Or simply seduce them, like Kali!”

You chuckle. “That’s not exactly how it went, and you know it, Sadie.”

The djinn shrugs. “It’s how I prefer to remember it. Your magic dick saved the family!”

Iris raises an eyebrow, but doesn’t ask. Instead, she leads you down a side street. “Here’s the place. It’s where we agreed to meet upon my return.”

She steps up to the door and knocks. You hear some locks being released, and the door opens, and a large, grey skinned man with milky white eyes looks out at your group. As he sees Iris, he stops and gasps.