[Alaric]

I sat in my dock office, the rhythmic scratching of my pen the only sound against the backdrop of the evening tide.

I was robotically filling out paperwork, logging shipments I didn't care about, while my mind felt like a house with the floorboards being ripped up one by one.

"Hey, boss."

I jumped slightly, my hand jerking across the page. I looked up to see an employee standing in the doorway. I forced a genuine, if weary, smile onto my face. "Yes, Jeff."

"Sorry to bother you, ...