Sonder was by the shore, watching the waves come in.
She was standing so close that the waves wet her boots.
"I can't walk there," she said.
But of course, neither the Dico spell, or the ocean, or even Sireacht, if she could talk, gave an answer.
Looking around, Sonder didn't see much that could help her.
No boats. No people. Nothing that could tell her how to cross the ocean.
She could swim, she thought. She was trained, and undead. She had a lot of stamina to go on.
…But for how long?
As she looked out to the ocean and tried to trace the thread that led out over it, she couldn't see where it was going.
Would she need to swim for minutes? Hours? Maybe even days?
So she turned and followed the shore in one direction.
Maybe she'd find something, or someone.
Maybe the land was in a crescent shape, and Sonder just found herself on the wrong tip?
She just hoped that her destination wasn't on an island far away.
Sonder walked with the water on her left.
She stopped a few times, turned her head, and squinted at the horizon, but the result never changed. The thread always went over the ocean.
After a while, her boots were damp all the way through.
It was uncomfortable having to walk in wet shoes, but at the same time, it was a very grounding feeling.
Sireacht drifted lower and lower and closer to Sonder's shoulder until she seemed unable to fly on her own.
The salty wind must have drained her, or simply made flying uncomfortable.
After a few hours, the land still hadn't curved toward the thread as she'd hoped.
Quite the opposite. It seemed like she was moving away from the thread.
She stopped. If this wasn't the way, then maybe the other direction would bring her closer.
So she turned around, a bit frustrated, but what other choice did she have?
She followed the shore back past her own footprints, looking at stones and little pools of water she hadn't bothered to look at the first time.
But it also didn't seem to bring her any closer.
Sonder sighed and sat down on a smooth rock just beyond the reach of the waves. She rested the staff across her knees and watched the water move for a minute.
She stood up and went on.
Eventually, the shoreline changed. The rocks grew more regular, and there were a few wooden posts that jutted out from the sand, worn and some broken.
Then she could see that ahead the land rose gently, and beyond it were rooftops.
There were masts and salt-bleached walls.
It was a harbor that may lead to a city or a port town.