The dimensional bubble rocked gently, like a ship at sea. Sparrow wasn’t the type to get seasick, and after all that had happened, all that had been explained, the silence and the movement was comforting. Her wandering thoughts walked along serene roads, pleasant memories instead of the mind-wracking notions Cormy’s lectures had inflicted on her.
She remembered back to a similar time, when she had returned to Freeport briefly to gather more supplies for her ongoing mission to hunt the rukh-sham bandits in Krachdul. The ship she had come in on was a huge warship, its girth too large and unwieldy to maneuver it into the Freeport docks just to drop off a few passengers. Instead Sparrow had been rowed in on a smaller boat, the water lapping gently at the bow. When she had hoisted her backpack to her shoulder and stepped off onto dry land, she had noticed a small figure curled up on one of the dock posts, one knee drawn up against the chest like a roosting bird.
After a double-take and a long stare, she realized she recognized the man. Captain Neddryn Zauth, an akor’mar who had arrived in Freeport sometime during her stay in Krachdul to take over command of some of the new trainees. Though Sparrow had heard his voice often enough on the Division’s magical communication network, it was still a shock to see him in the flesh.
