Tevid Island stood alone in the dark sea like a fortress. A mountain rose on the island, but from Wagtail Strait, only its southern slope could be seen, thick with vegetation. Moonlight spilled across the narrow channel between Tevid Island and the western coast, shining brilliantly, as though a pool of silver foil floated atop the rippling waves.
The cape on the island's western side stretched into the sea, blocking the view beyond it. A lighthouse stood on the long cape, but its beam did not illuminate the surrounding waters. It rose darkly above the sea's surface, like a watchman standing beneath the curtain of night.
Several miles south of the island, three sailboats—two in front and one behind—sailed with their canvas fully spread. Their sterns dragged long wakes across the sea as they slowly approached the channel between Tevid Island and the western coast of Wagtail Strait in the still, silent night.
The sailboats advanced at six knots. They soon passed the cape, and Brando stood at the bow, watching the lighthouse, similar in style to those he had seen in the Eternal Dark Sea, the Noble Inland Sea, and elsewhere, slowly fall behind them. When the channel fully opened before them, he saw the port in the bay facing Tevid Island to the north.
"That is Gusell." Instaron also looked in that direction. "This place belongs to several necromancers. Among all the Dark Nobles, these fellows deal with humans the most. They need materials, bones, spellcasting components—in short, they're extremely troublesome. This port was built by smugglers. At first, it was only an anchorage, but it gradually expanded into the beginnings of a town. Most of the residents in the port are actually human."
"Humans? What about the undead?" The one who spoke was the youth leaning over