It seems I only just signed on with the Albatross, but it's been more than two years since I saw the great Elden Tree or walked along a forest path in Brackenleaf. To think I might return home with a share of treasure and a King's pardon—my gran won't be able to swallow, her tongue'll swell so big! But mam always believed in me. Even when I told them I was leaving Southpoint. She cried, of course, because that's what mams do when their sons leave. But she had no harsh words for me.