After the cigarette was lit, it released a light blue smoke with a scent that made one drowsy. Shard held his breath, waiting for the response of the sleepy Earl. It was only a few seconds before Shard, subconsciously yawning, noticed that the Earl had actually disappeared into thin air right before his eyes.
[Not disappeared, look carefully.]
"She" gently reminded Shard, who focused his attention and finally saw the Earl again. He wasn't invisible; rather, his presence felt severely diminished. Shard suddenly thought of the coins from the Black Mist Camp, but clearly, the two were unrelated.
Focusing allowed him to observe the Earl, who opened his eyes but seemed quite confused and drowsy, clearly not fully awake. He stood up from the sofa and then walked toward the wall he had just pointed to, the one with the "rift leading to Elysium."
