Chapter 27

"I don't really like heights, Sophia!". Lark was terrified. I, however, was enjoying the view. Mountains, Hills, Forests, and Rivers stretched as far as the eyes could see. We were on a vessel travelling through the clouds, and I could not be happier for this assignment.

Our presence had been requested in the Kingdom of Thul, by none other than King Jeffrey himself.

However, this was nowhere close to where we were in Haven. As we were being diplomatically requested, there was the option to use the [gate] outside the Thulian Embassy to travel to Thul via gate. This is what Lark had asked for, and I didn't really understand. However, I had never seen anything outside where Lark had taken me. Before him, my world was the warm dark of our caretaker's spawning pool, and before that the transport, where so many of our own had died.

I wanted to see this world, and I could think of nothing better than the non [gate] option. That was, to hitch a ride on the next Skygge cargo transport to Thul.

Haven had an agreement with Thul, and would continue to provide these large shipments in return for the unique magical items from Thul called 'totems'. These would spawn a monster or creature the totem was made for. While relatively weak in combat and such, these items were absolutely imperative to the changelings, whose development would stagnate if they stopped receiving genes from different animals.

Lark and I had decided to meet in the middle. On the way to Thul, we would take the cargo ship. On the way back, the [gate] to Haven.

Lark was securely strapped to the mast of the ship, afraid to walk near the edge. I however flittered and jumped around the ship.

"Although you look like a Lybringer, you move around the ship like a born and bred Skygge, Lass."

It was Hassan. It seems he had come up from below deck.

"Hassan! It is good to see you!"

"It is good to see you too, Lady Sophia. You have made quite an impression among our people, and to see someone so gracefully use our magic again warms my heart. Even if you are missing horns."

Hassan winked.

"Hassan, are you the captain of this vessel?"

"Oh no, lass. My days of captaining a ship are a bit behind me. I need my mornings to stretch, ha ha. No, now I spend my days overseeing aerial transport, and have been assisting Thul with their own vessels, although it's probably better to call them 'floating houses' than it is to call them ships."

I was surprised. Hassan was getting up in years, but was still a very active member of Haven.

Hassan then motioned towards Lark, who was out of earshot. "I am glad to see he found you. We are few in number, and it was not right for him to spend the rest of his life alone."

I was surprised. Hassan, seemed to see much. He smiled. "The wide skies suit you, Lass."

He smiled at me and looked towards the horizon. A few hoxies, small flying marsupial monsters, had begun flying off the bow of the ship, using the ship as a way to more effortlessly travel.

"Are there ever any problems with monsters, Hassan?"

Hassan laughed. "Usually yes. Most smaller flying creatures don't tend to fight something bigger than them. They confuse our ship with a dragon i suppose. However on the rare instances that we encounter larger creatures, well that's Red's job."

Hassan pointed to a younger Skygge with dhamphir sunglasses sipping on a drink while reading a book.

"What's he going to do, Hassan? Flirt them to death?"

Hassan laughed. "I know, he does seem to be a layabout. But that is because he can't be tired if he gets activated. His job is to enter his ship that is parked in the bow of the ship. Its a Skygge windrunner, fast as they come. He gets in, harassses all of the targets, then leads them away from us, preferably towards Haven, where they are shot out of the sky."

I was impressed. "Is it dangerous?"

Hassan laughed, "Very. Some of the monsters we have encountered could spit fire or acid, so if Red was a bad pilot, he wouldn't be a pilot for long."

"I assume he isn't a bad pilot?", I asked. I was worried that such a relaxed person would be able to keep up such a critical task.

"No, he is one of the best." Hassan remarked. Hassan pretended that Red was not doing anything out of the ordinary as he sat there.

I then thought about it. Something didn't add up. "Hassan, is it a coincidence that a Skygge's representative and the top Skygge attack pilot just happen to be on the ship taking Lark and I abroad?"

Hassan smiled, "You are clever Lass."

I rolled my eyes. "Of course Sute would have me guarded. I assume that the wizard below is not on vacation?"

Hassan laughed, "Actually, he is. But he was offered free passage if he left now on this ship."

I was a bit put off. "Hassan, is all this necessary for a single mission? It seems a bit over kill…"

Hassan smiled, "Sophia do not discount how important you two have become. You have been making waves for both your peoples, in a good way. The two of you have now been adopted as Royalty, and you are the first person that has happened to that wasn't Skygge in over a thousand years. Although the authority of such positions is defunct in Haven, it is still culturally recognized by our people. You are celebrities, and for no small reason."

I looked at Hassan. "Are we going to have an escort everywhere we go?"

"Most likely" the response came from Red, who I had assumed was out of earshot. "Also your skjoldbaerer is below."

I knew the Skygge tongue fairly well, and knew that they meant a very special person, a Shield Bearer. However, I was confused. "My what?"