I shivered a little. He was going to be doing things the hard way again, and neither the half-blood nor I would be able to bail him out of it.
We would be saying goodbye to my shady companion once we reached the port. I had to say part of me would be relieved, but another, quieter part would be sad to see him go. Despite his oft-frustrating behavior, I felt like we had been making real progress in the communication department.
I began to see silhouettes of sails on the horizon. I could not wait to feel ground beneath my hooves again.
“Ready to make land!” Rio yelled, stirring several of his crewmembers from the stupors they had fallen into. They began to mill about the deck. I kept close to the railing. The last thing I wanted to do right now was to get in the way of a sleepy would-be pirate.
“Here it is,” I muttered.
The port of Lahnfabon was a famous district, full of the darkest sides of human culture and the most colorful nightlife. I saw the attraction of such activities, but it was far too many people for my taste.
Once the crew had finished their preparations, I scurried over to the stairs and hitched my bag over my shoulder. Mentally, I began to prepare myself for the sheer amount of people I would be encountering.
The ship slowed to a stop, and the anchor was dropped. It took a few moments to lower the gangway, but soon we were standing on a wobbling dock and staring back up at the Lady Theatus.
“I’ll see you later, Bolly,” Rio schmoozed.
“Never call me that again,” Bolivar scolded, then embraced his half-blood brother.
“Aww, why not? It was fine when you were seven.”
“Yes. Exactly.”
As I watched the two friends say their goodbyes, I realized that the kin was no longer standing beside me. I turned to see him striding down the dock toward town. He was not getting away without saying goodbye to me! I galloped over the uneven planks of wood until I had caught up.
“Hey! Just a minute, you.”
Levent looked at me like I was some oddity of a creation again, but I had sort