Though not at the frontline there are many ailments from which cannoneers often suffer, the likes of which have become some of the most common treatments for the staff doctors at the Nuln Gunnery School. These documented afflictions range from hearing loss to facial burns depending on the proximity of the job to the front or end of the gun. Joheim had suffered from nearly all of them. His face was badly burned which made his beard grow in patches around the reddened sections of skin, and his ears rang with a high-pitched whine every waking moment. His leg was, of course, still gone, but gone as well was the ability of the man to hold still his hands for even a moment. Loud noises made the man jump somewhat like a cat and sounds of metal clanging made him turn in fright. He was, by all accounts, a shambling mess. Despite this he still confidently strode into the market of Nuln to find an end to his dreaming malady, of which he was still attempting to name, and to possibly purchase new clothes. Although, he reasoned that now that he had his cloak there was really no reason for him to buy new clothes and settled that he needed only to find the book store and then could return to his seclusion. As Joheim shuffled awkwardly down the cobbled road a yelp of shock arose from a nearby woman who saw his face and clothes in concert and was aghast at his wretched demeanor. Joheim, of course, could not hear her surprise, as she was too far away and the ringing in his ears had not grown any quieter.
The crowd grew larger and larger as the artillerist absentmindedly stumbled his way down the street, and soon someone began to murmur that he looked oddly familiar. Others joined in, saying that he looked like the man who had been running around their farms at night, shouting and hollering as if fighting some unseen foe. The crowd had grown a considerable size when a local guard approached the murmuring rabble and cleared them aside to see the commotion. The guard stepped into Joheim's path causing the man to bump into him, finally placing him back in reality. The guard stood considerably taller than Joheim with broad shoulders and a stiff upper brow. The man's stern gaze beamed down into the wild eye'd glances of the other making the smaller man shuffle in place. Joheim began wringing his hands and tried to produce a sound akin to words, but his recent lack of practice only allowed for a low wheeze and a sudden fit of coughing. He tried again, this time producing a raspy greeting to the guard. The stern-faced man looked unamused at the lame scarecrow that wobbled pitifully before him.
"Care to explain all the ruckus urchin?" The man raised his bushy eyebrow at Joheim awaiting his rasping reply,
"I was here to buy a book sir but I'm afraid I don't see the ruckus you're referring to." Joheim looked around for the first time and saw the group that had formed around his encounter, "Oh my. I'm afraid my hearing isn't so good anymore sir."
"And why would that be?" The taller man asked.
Joheim instinctively straightened his back and stood fully upright. His eyes stopped wandering and locked onto the guard's. The rasp in his voice was audible, but it now boomed with a new presence of authority it lacked before.
"7th Nuln Great Cannon Regiment, Joheim Burgenston, cannoneer, Sir!" Joheim belted as if under a strange kind of spell. The tall guard seemed intrigued as Joheim transformed before his eyes. Where once there was disappointment and annoyance there was now curiosity and pity.
"Burgenston… Ah! The manor at the edge of town is yours then?" The light went off in the guard's head as the dots connected.
"Indeed. I have just returned from duty and I have found my home empty." Replied Joheim as he shrunk back into his disheveled persona once more.
"Then perhaps I can forgive this… Disturbance for now as I'm sure protecting the empire has taken its toll on you, but you must stop running through these good people's lands far off into the evening like a mad loon." The guard gave Joheim a stern look of disapproval.
"Too right sir! I was just attempting to remedy this sleeping plague, but I needed to come to town to find a book on the subject first. It would seem my volumes are incomplete."
"You mean to say you have been asleep during your nightly outings?" The guard's curiosity was growing and soon the desire to help this strange man had overtaken his desire to punish him.
"Indeed sir. I have come to believe I am following back the steps of the war in my mind." Joheim felt the other man's tone shift and contemplated the situation. "I am rather sorry about all the tomfoolery I have been getting up to, sir."
"Come with me, Joheim, was it? I will take you to the book-seller. I am Jurgen by the by."
Joheim followed closely to the man as Jurgen parted the now placated crowd. The onlookers were unsure if to thank or to chastise the veteran and settled instead on mild indifference, and they dispersed to go about their days.
The rest of the day followed without incident as Jurgen Mannfred led Joheim through city streets that had been added in his absence. Joheim had grown up farther away inside the walls of the gunnery school and didn't recognise most parts of the city of Nuln, but Jurgen was quick to introduce him to his usual stomping grounds around the town. Joheim exchanged stories with the guard, swapping tales of explosive misfires and raining arrows for bandit raids and ganger thieves. The veteran didn't realize how much he had missed talking to people until he was there, longing to tell this near stranger the whole tale of his life. Jurgen was stern at first, but opened up to the man warmly as soon as he could confirm he wasn't some kind of rabble-rouser, instead determining that Joheim was simply a good man with some troubling issues. The two men got on like brothers and by the end of the day Jurgen had encouraged Joheim to purchase new clothes, shave, and make a proper crutch. The guard offered to lead Joheim about whenever he needed to come to town so could help to carry things and ward off unwanted attention from the townsfolk. Joheim accepted partially for the assistance he required, but mostly for the companionship. The sun began to grow dim and fall low in the sky as Jurgen led the cannoneer back to his manor. In the end Joheim could not find any texts that mentioned his illness, but he oddly did not feel the sting of discouragement he thought he would. Instead he found that he felt rather pleased with the day after making a new friend and he felt strangely calm for the first time in months after vocalizing the things he saw during his service. It was that evening that for the first time since coming home that Joheim lay still for an entire night and his dreams did not stray to far-off battles, but instead to the streets of Nuln.