He squeezes out of his vantage point, maneuvering between people as he draws closer to the pair. He is not as fast as he wishes unfortunately as they load their things onto their ship, a small fishing vessel. He found it strange, they knew the man's name but they were fishermen? Something doesn’t add up but he knows  he needs to find a way to follow them.

He weaves through people, dodging crates, fish, and other goods being hauled around the dock. As he closes in, he begins to listen from behind a tower of crates near their small boat.

“We almost have everything, there are a few things left on V-” she stops herself, “the list.”

“Not hard to slip up huh?” The guy jeers at her.

He hears a stumble as the girl replies, “Just get the remaining things okay? I have to finish loading everything else.”

As footsteps trail closer to where Romulus is hiding, he maneuvers down the dock, farther from the boat than he’d like but he isn't spotted. His eye twitches, there was no opening he could use to his advantage. Patience, Romulus reminds himself. He watches the girl packing items into the boat, placing them neatly underneath a tarp.

He wonders why a girl so seemingly young would associate with someone like Varian. A blood source maybe? Was he keeping people prisoner on his ship? He dismisses the thought. She wouldn’t be wandering freely if she was being held against her will. It confused him, she clearly didn’t want him to see the carnage that the Blood Fiend had caused but she seemed to be working for him. Not many knew his actual name afterall, most just toss his monikers to refer to the vain creatine.

Every thought brought more questions than answers.

No matter the reason, if she was freely doing his bidding, that made her and that guy just as guilty as the man himself.

His thoughts had him entrapped, as the girl began to look around after finishing packing the boat. His gaze shoots up as the sound of the jostling dingy ceases, the girl has begun to move away from the boat. Now was his chance. Once she is far enough away, he makes his move.

Her figure disappearing among the crowd and Romulus is quick to move from behind the cargo crates.

He moves swiftly down the dock, the boards creaking under his quick feet. No one seems to pay him any mind as he examines the boat. Romulus shifts around the dingy, looking for a place to hide. The only place that may be able to hide him was the tarp itself. It was a ridiculous idea, he wonders if it would even work. However, he can’t risk losing the one hunch he had after all that time.

Unaware of how much time he has before their return, he shuffles through the tarp, moving some of the items around to squeeze to the back while attempting to keep most items where they had been. He struggles to keep his balance as the boat rocks under his weight. Romulus manages to tuck himself underneath the tarp, covering himself with his cloak just in case. He made sure to hide his satchel behind himself, even if he was seen, they wouldn’t find that.

It was just in time thankfully, as familiar voices returned to the boat.

“Gimme that!” The girl shouts. “I have everything organized so just hand me stuff and I’ll pack it.”

He held his breath under the tarp, hoping they wouldn’t lift it. Even if they weren’t going to lead him directly to Varian, they seem to know than he did at the least.

After a few moments, the boat dips as someone steps in, followed by another before it starts to move. Romulus has to try his best to control his breathing as the boat went who knows where.

The boat remains rocking in time with the waves, causing Romulus’s stomach to lurch. He’d never been one to do well on the water. The smell of the salt in and of itself is enough to disgust him but he had a goal and nothing would get in his way. The only thing worse than the turbulence in his gut is the sound of the bickering between the two rowing the boat.

“Yeah yeah, I totally stole your fish even though they were all the same!” The girl shouts, he now knew her name was Isadora.

The guy, whom he now knew as Jackel, snarks back, “I have a bigger stomach than you do, you know that!”

And these were the people working for a man known as the Great Devourer? The Blood Fiend of the Tides? They were rather pestilent to be under someone so foreboding. Maybe the tales spun of the man were wrong, he grits his teeth at the thought. There was no way that man was anything but vile and depraved. He knew that.

His stomach churns again as the boat lurches against the waves. His stomach would continue to twist in knots as time passes, while he is unable to see anything but the light that seeps through the tarp. It made it all the more obvious when the light was obfuscated by something.

Romulus could hear a shout, muffled by the tarp, that he is unable to make out. Though, he was able to hear Isadora’s reply. “Ready!”

There is a sound of metal clanking as the boat tilts against the water. Suddenly, the boat shifts, but not by the waves. It feels as though they were suspended in the air. More voices fill the air from various directions.

He made it.

While he didn’t know whether or not Varian was on this ship, he could tell he is on a large vessel. All but made clear by the sounds of rushing feet against what he assumes to be the deck.

“I’ll make sure Azeral knows we got it,” Jackel huffs as the boat shifts, releasing his weight.

The boat rocks as he can hear things moving around him. He held his breath, this may be the moment he gets caught. He can see her hand reaching under the tarp, the sound of it crinkling. Would Romulus never be able to accomplish his goal? He could feel a twinge of anger flicker. He wouldn’t let that happen, no couldn’t.

The crinkling of the tarp draws his attention once more as she withdraws her hands, some items missing from their places. The boat tilts again as he hears the girl huffing, the huffs growing more distant from the small dingy.

Maybe he wouldn’t have to move, the deck was full of sound and scuffling, commands being thrown by someone he can’t see. He has to wait to leave his small area. The cover of night may be ideal.

That would be the best idea, he surmises. His eyelids were heavy, the lack of sleep from his travel tugging them downwards. He’s been so focused, barely taking a moment of rest to get here. His eyelids falling over his irises, he fights to stay awake. She could come back at any moment, if he was found asleep who knows what they’d do to him. 

A sickly sweet scent wafts nearby. 

But then again…Maybe some rest wouldn’t be the worst decision.

With that final sentiment, he falls into slumber.

His eyes flicker open, taking in the darkness that surrounds him. He squints, trying to make out anything of note then recalling the tarp he’d hidden himself under. The world around him is no longer full of running steps and random shouts, but an unnerving stillness. The vessel he is now on sways and creaks, it felt eerie. A shiver of unease making its way up his neck.

Romulus shuffles under the tarp, he assumes most of the people on the ship were no longer awake. His stomach is still tied in knots, the sickening salty smell filling his nostrils again. Damn he hated the sea.

He tries to listen for anyone, anything, any distinct sounds that alerts him. He didn’t know if it was safe, even if it was silent that didn’t mean someone wasn’t waiting for him. 

Either way he can’t stay in the dingy forever.

He stretches to remove the tarp from over him, doing so quite easily. Moonlight illuminated his face, as well as the creaking deck. But most surprisingly, the man in front of him. The curly black hair glistening in the moonlight, small red highlights interwoven in it. He wore a long brown trench coat with red accents, a puffy shirt underneath. The man's eyes a piercing yellow, ones that had permanently seared themselves into Romulus’s memories.

The Blood fiend sits atop a barrel just a foot or two away from the dingy, his yellow eyes glinting like a blade in the light as their eyes meet for the first time in ten years.

He places a hand on the hilt attached to his side, “Rather bold of you to try sneaking onto my ship.”

Romulus froze, he finally found him at last.