After another hour of walking, a large gate appeared before their eyes. It didn't have any real use; it was easily climbable. It emanated a gloomy aura, just like the cemetery. Its height was not imposing, but it would discourage anyone who showed up from leaving.
«Last chance to turn back.» Herega said to himself.
That thought, however, vanished after a few seconds. He took Eavelin by the hand.
«Are you ready?» He asked, smiling, wanting to make her feel at ease.
She wasn't ready at all, but it was already too late to back out. She squeezed her companion's hand tightly as if to move forward, and Herega accompanied her. They managed to climb over the gate easily.
«So... you have quite a strong grip.» Herega whispered, trying to make himself heard just barely.
«Huh? Look at the mark you left on my hand!» Eavelin replied, raising her voice a bit.
They continued to tease each other a little until a man armed with a knife descended from a house.
«Rare? Do you have something valuable?» He shouted.
His words were barely understandable. His deformed tongue couldn't stay in his mouth, ruining his pronunciation. The direction in which his eyes looked wasn't aligned, and his nose was bent to the right. He seemed like a madman, and probably, he was. The two didn't even attempt to speak; he probably wasn't capable of holding a conversation. Running, he approached them. He had a strange way of walking, barely managing not to fall. At that moment, a dagger sliced near his ear, severing it from his body. Herega stepped in front of Eavelin once more. The madman lay on the ground, screaming in pain, trying to stop the blood flow with his hands. The youths, still confused, spotted a shadow above the roof of a house. Instinctively, Herega took the knife from the injured man, putting himself on guard.
«Hold on, boy. I just saved your life, and this is how you thank me?» A female voice was heard from the same spot as the shadow.
«Quick, tell me who you are.» Herega said, trying to make out something in that total darkness.
«Please, drop the weapons, I just want to talk.» The girl in the shadow replied again.
«Why should we trust you? After all, if you're here, you're a thief, aren't you?» The young man said.
They remained silent for a moment, the sound of two daggers echoed in that stony ground, then also that of a landing. The girl came out into the open, with her hands up. She, too, had red hair. Her blue eyes were dull, and her gaze was bored.
«Why the man who tried to attack us is a madman and you seem like a normal person? Shouldn't your mind be corrupted?» Herega asked, seeking an answer from the girl.
«I can give you some answers, I just ask you to drop the weapon and believe my words.» She replied.
Herega and Eavelin looked at each other. They still couldn't trust a thief. The young man hesitated to let go of the weapon. The red-haired girl took off her clothes, leaving on only a white tank top and camouflage trousers.
«As you can see, I have no other weapons, and I can promise you that, besides us, there is no one here, but if it makes you feel safer, keep the knife.» She finished. At that point, they both felt safe enough, but not entirely.
«Is there a safe place to go?» Herega asked, trying as much as possible to prevent unpleasant incidents.
«There is no safe place here. Probably, the least dangerous is the entrance. If there was this madman now, it was just by chance.» She replied, dragging away the wounded man. All three looked at each other for a few seconds. Herega changed his stance, putting aside his guard position.
«Come on, give us the answers you spoke of.»
Eavelin returned near her companion, leaving only the gate behind them.
«Well. First, though, I would like to tell you my story and the story of this place.» She replied.
♦️
«As I hope you've noticed, there is a characteristic that unites the people of the island of Triosa, respect. Some time ago, however, this was lost. For the first time in the history of the island, a theft occurred. The action was unacceptable, not for the act itself, but because it started a series of actions that drastically changed the dynamics of the island, leading to increasingly frequent thefts. The Keeper, the most important person on the island, decided it was time to take serious measures. He called a sorcerer, Meta, so that he could bring vengeance upon these people. He was able to raise a barrier inside which criminals are driven by their own corrupted minds after committing the illegal act, with no possibility of escape. When I was little, my family suffered a terrible theft. We lost all our belongings and were forced to live in poverty. The food my parents managed to get, they gave to me, promising they would find some for themselves. I was foolish enough to believe them. The following year took my father away, and the next took my mother. I lived in misery for a few more years. Doing some research and documenting myself as much as I could, I managed to get a description and a portrait of the face of the thief who led us to that life. So, I entered the island of thieves, for months I searched for that man, until I found him and killed him. I knew I wouldn't be able to, but I still tried to escape from this place, but without success. I don't know exactly why my mind wasn't corrupted, but I might have a hypothesis. Probably because I was already here, so there was no need to make me reach this destination. The thieves inside here are driven to steal, against their own will, all except me, the only one whose mind is not corrupted. At undefined times, a man, called the "collector," enters the thieves' houses. His task is to reduce them to near-death. There is only one way to avoid this practice: offer a valuable object. However, resources in here are running out, so mercilessly, the thieves have no escape. I, however, decided that my life couldn't end. My goal would be to protect all the pure-hearted who would enter this island. If I could go back, I would have chosen a peaceful life.» That was all she said.