Nigel Andersson

Nigel is a member of the Ferrymen, a crew often hired by the Dream Dealer of Doskvol to harvest souls from the recently deceased before the bodies can be disposed at the Bellweather Crematorium. He is a strategic genius and the mastermind behind his crew's heists, excellent at outmaneuvering both rivals and authorities in the shadowy underworld of Doskvol.

Nigel belongs to the lower class masses of Doskvol. Outside of heists, he works as a shoeshiner, collecting bits of gossip about which elderly millionaire might be the next to croak. Most of his meager earnings go toward improving his crew's hideout and supplies, leaving little leftover for vanity.

Nigel's father, Kristov Andersson, was gaining renown as a leviathan hunter until a fateful voyage cost him his leg. While recovering, he found solace in the company of a scullery maid, Mary, who later became Nigel's mother. Mary nearly died during childbirth, and although Nigel was born healthy, the early years of his life were overshadowed by her infirmity.

Kristov then ascended to captaincy, thus beginning prolonged absences that strained the bonds with his family. When Nigel turned 14, he discovered his father had been stealing away to hold an affair with the daughter of the nobleman who owned the leviathan hunting business. Upon being discovered, his father departed, marrying into noble status and inheriting the leviathan hunting fleet. Mary passed of grief, consigning Nigel to an orphanage.

Like many children raised on Doskvol's unforgiving streets, Nigel survived through a mix of begging, theft, and odd jobs. However, his life took an unexpected turn at 18 when he was caught stealing jewels from a corpse by a carriage driver bound for the Bellweather Crematorium. Instead of reporting him, the driver, Garreth, extended a job offer, leading Nigel into the employ of a mysterious woman eager to obtain souls from the deceased, a venture that necessitated evading the city law enforcement known as the Bluecoats.

Thus, the Ferrymen were born, with Nigel orchestrating their heists alongside Aldric, the Whisper, and Garreth, the Hound. Aldric's Spirit Mask, stolen from a Spirit Warden, allows him to hear the crematorium bell announce death anywhere in the city, while Garreth uses a deathseeker crow to locate corpses before the Spirit Wardens can claim the bodies for cremation. After picking up a body, Aldric and Nigel extract its soul into a spirit bottle, and Garreth ensures a seamless handoff at the crematorium. Under Nigel's guidance, the crew has evolved into a finely tuned operation.

For years, Nigel stewed in his desire for revenge against his father, waffling between schemes of public humiliation and outright murder. However, his plans were stalled by Kristov's second wife, Evangeline Debenham, who languished in a near comatose state for the past decade. Nigel was uncertain whether he pitied Kristov's plight or relished witnessing his stress-induced premature aging.

Then, word of Lady Debenham's miraculous recovery reached Nigel's ears. She reportedly remembered little beyond her relationship with her husband, but she appeared to be in good health. Curiously, servants and guards in the noble house began falling ill around the same time. Nigel seized the opportunity, infiltrating the Debenham-Andersson manor under the cloak of night, for once devoid of strategy and torn between thoughts of murder or reconciliation with his father. In the study, he confronted Kristov, gun in hand.

Evangeline, moving with supernatural swiftness, effortlessly disarmed Nigel, leaving both Kristov and Nigel stunned. She disclosed her true identity as a "vampire," housing the soul of Nigel's late mother, Mary, within Evangeline's body. After a decade-long struggle between the two women's souls, Evangeline's had been vanquished, allowing Mary's soul to fully inhabit the vessel. Mary confessed to sustaining herself by draining the life force of the manor's servants.

Clearly deluded about their family dynamics, Mary declared forgiveness for Kristov's past betrayal and expressed a desire to reunite as a happy family with her husband and son. Nigel escaped the study - overwhelmed by their gruesome family reunion and Mary's fantasy of familial bliss - leaving Kristov and Mary to pick up the pieces of their relationship.