Masquerades - Kate Novak [30]
The carriage followed the road down the peninsula that sheltered the western half of the harbor from the bay and pulled to a stop at the end of the Watch Dock. The driver hopped down, unfolded the stairs, and opened the door.
Kimbel hopped over the stairs, displaying a liveliness Alias suspected was meant to impress his master, then offered his hand to his charges. Alias accepted the servant's help without thinking about what she knew of him, but Dragonbait hissed him back and hopped over the stairs unassisted.
A great canopy had been erected before the Watch Dock warehouse, and a pole planted before it displayed the banners of those officials currently engaged in business there: the harbor watch's, the customs inspector's and, at the top, the croamarkh's.
Alias and Dragonbait followed Kimbel into the shade beneath the canopy. Rows of tables were set up beneath to process the paperwork required of anyone coming into or out of the city via the harbor. In one line stood ships' officers with bills of lading, in another, servants of various merchant houses with petitions to release seized' goods, and in a third, private passengers with their baggage. Alias and Dragonbait had come through this last line the evening before. This morning there was a noticeable improvement in the efficiency of customs personnel.
Alias could pick out with ease the inspiration of the efficiency-a large, solidly muscled man with a stonily impassive face, who hovered behind the customs officials seated at the tables. Each time the man moved to stand behind some worker, the worker wriggled nervously and concentrated with fervor on the work before him. The reaction was so pronounced that even were the man not wearing the chain of office about his neck, Alias would have guessed he was Croamarkh Luer Dhostar. His mantle of snow-white hair was swept back and held in place with a gold headband. The long, sleeveless robe he wore over his silk shirt and velvet trousers was made of the most elaborate brocade Alias had ever seen. Every finger sported a ring set with a stone worth a princess's ransom.
As Kimbel and the adventurers approached him, the croamarkh was leaning over the table beside one worker who perused a document banded to him by a servant wearing the trading badge of the Urdo family. The croamarkh leaned forward and drummed his fingers on the table beside the worker as he read the document over the worker's shoulder. One might have thought the servant would have appreciated the extra attention his paperwork was getting, but instead he shifted uneasily from one foot to the other and bit his lower lip repeatedly.
Kimbel brought their presence to the croamarkh's attention with a simple, "Milord," but the older man motioned him to silence.
Alias noted Kimbel's jaw tighten, and was pleased to learn the servant did on occasion betray his feelings.
The Croamarkh pulled a document out from beneath the worker's elbow and chastised him. "If you would keep abreast of the documents sent from the council, you would realize that this shipment was cleared last week." He pointed out the relevant lines to the worker. Flushed with red, the worker whispered a terrified, "Yes, sir," and stamped the servant's release papers.
The servant from,the house of Urdo reached for the papers, but Luer Dhostar grabbed his wrist. "You tell your master," he said to the servant, "that this document releases only the statuary, not the ten pounds of smoke powder we found hidden inside. He will also be charged with the time it took our men to drill out the bottoms of each statue and empty them of the proscribed substance." With that, he pushed-the servant's hand away.
The servant fled from the scene like a game bird released from a trap.
Only then did Dhostar turn his attention to the newcomers. "Well?" he addressed Kimbel.
Kimbel smiled pleasantly