Beneath the clock tower, the city lay silent and calm. It was quiet in the realm; the breath of the night-wind was as soft as a whisper when the lonesome thief snuck through the streets, infiltrated the local guild and effortlessly broke into its main building with a pair of keys she had been given by its master as a sign of their friendship. Some time had rolled into the land and she felt as though she was letting go of everything that stood between them and the bond both valued so very much. She was an old soul and thus the woman understood that dwelling on things was futile; for some of them, life was far to short after all. Nuala the Voidling had enjoyed weeks of sweet idleness after her last contract had been miscarried by her and perhaps some time away from trouble and chaos was just what she needed in order to regain the inner calm she cherished so much.
Tonight she was making first steps to returning to her usual, busy routine. Nuala was surprised to learn that no one was home; the guild hall was his personal choice of residency and she knew of no other places other than the vast wilderness of the world – which could very well be anywhere. ‘The Captain’s gone.’ Those were the words they chose and even though the guard, who failed miserably at his job whenever the thief tested him, had given no reason or location for her to begin her investigations, the Voidling’s ears perked up at the sound of rumours and and gossip that now travelled back and forth between the guild’s employees.
The night continued with a quick visit by his office, during which Nuala fiddled her way through his most recent paperwork and ended inside the library where she eventually fell asleep amongst a pile of books and maps relating to a multitude of independent islands that were all to be reached by ship from the coast of Astera. The next few days were quite the hassle for the Savannah-born female, who hated travelling by boat, but was forced to do so multiple times due to the fact that her horse, in all its magic and beauty, couldn’t fly to safe her life.
Nuala knew that the Captain was going through something very personal and while she had no intentions of creeping in on his private life, she wanted to be there for him as the friend he most certainly needed. If she could find him, that is. Kazimir seemed to have left to one of the many uninhabited islands within range of Astera and the Voidling saw no better opportunity to get both their minds off of the things that had been troubling them recently. A little dungeon crawl to brighten the mood, just like the old days.
There was one island in particular that caught her attention; the books she had read wrote about a ‘curse’ cast by ‘mythical power’ that was allegedly responsible for this places’ loss of population. A little more than a hundred and fifty years ago this island, albeit small, used to flourish with several small villages making a decent life amongst the island’s lavish flora and fauna. Now it was said to be haunted and even though rare plants and unique animals resided here, people had stopped visiting a long time ago. A perfect place for a Nephilim to find some peace, so she thought.
Upon arrival, Nuala could immediately sense and see the remains of the island’s former human population. The landscape was overgrown by ruins and everywhere she went, the woman could see traces of former life that were coated by an eerie sensation she couldn’t quite describe yet. Nuala wasn’t superstitious but she did believe that the island was surrounded by a fog of mystery. It was hard to explain, but her gut feeling told her that something had gone horribly wrong here – and whatever had caused all this loss of life was still hiding somewhere out there.
It was night time when Nuala arrived and even though she hated to adventure out alone in this unknown place, she immediately began her search for the Captain. Much to the Voidling’s delight, Kazimir wasn’t much of a pathfinder and thus he had stayed rather close to the initial village and its roads, making it relatively easy for her to find him. He was alone, sleeping peacefully at a campfire and Nuala silently snuck up on the Nephilim and took a seat by his side. She spotted a few flicked wounds around his arms which told her that he had been around for some time already. By what she had heard at the guild, Nuala was able to piece together the reasons for his escape, but decided to pay it no heed as this was not her story to think or speak about. Instead, she lied down beside him and propped herself up on her elbow.
Almost a month had gone by since their last meeting and a lot seemed to have happened to both of them. Even when asleep, the Nephilim looked tired, weary beyond his years. A few purple strands of hair had fallen into his face and Nuala gave herself the right to brush them away. If the Captain, who was so very used to her presence that he no longer seemed to actively register it, remained asleep she would stay by his side and watch over him until dawn.