Toril's starry sky was beautiful.
Riding Purvi, Hill drifted slowly toward the Crystal Sphere Wall of Realmspace. He could feel eyes watching him.
Some gazes were gentle.
A trace of sunlight and a trace of moonlight even shone softly on Purvi from across countless stars... Lathander and Selûne were openly declaring that Hill was under their protection.
Hill did not miss the shadows and blue traces of a web that occasionally flickered beneath those two beams of light.
Tyr made no move, but Hill spotted Torm, Guardian of the Crystal Sphere System, standing there and watching the surroundings like a hawk... Hill had no particular friendship with Torm.
Only Tyr, whom Torm respected above all others, could have asked him to watch over Hill as he passed safely through these Crystal Sphere passages, where problems sometimes arose.
Hill smiled from the bottom of his heart... For all the things he disliked about Toril, he had learned a great deal there and made good friends: one or two close friends, two or three people dear to him, and five or six more he could meet with a smile and sincerely greet or bid farewell.
That meant these past dozen years had not been for nothing.
Purvi flicked his tail and headed straight for the Teleportation Gate leading out of the Toril Galaxy... After using every means at his disposal and consulting several beings of Greater Divine Power, Hill had confirmed that this was one of the most stable gates.
Still, Hill thought that if he had been unsure, one look at Torm's enormous figure by the gate in the Crystal Sphere Wall would have told him which passage was safe.
He stood and respectfully placed a hand over his chest in salute to Torm... Kindness deserved respect, no matter where it