Masquerades - Kate Novak [86]
"There isn't really a quelzarn, is there?" Alias asked, knowing that such giant sea serpents were reputed to be very rare.
"Of course there is," Victor insisted. "What do you think eats all the garbage tossed into the bay?"
Alias gave the nobleman a suspicious look. "Have you ever seen this quelzarn?" she demanded.
"Many times," he replied, then added, "though only on foggy nights, when I'm alone, without, alas, any witnesses to back up my story."
Alias laughed. "So where is Haztor now?" she asked.
Victor looked around the deck, then shrugged. "I've no idea," he answered, raising his eyebrows theatrically.
"Victor, you wouldn't-" Alias looked around the deck uncertainly.
The young nobleman chuckled. "He's over there, hugging the mainmast. I don't imagine he'll go anywhere near the rails this evening. He's not a strong swimmer."
Alias looked in the direction Victor had nodded. Haztor Urdo was surrounded by several young men and women who chatted with him amicably, but he was indeed keeping the mainmast at his back.
"I haven't seen Ssentar Urdo," Alias noted. "Wasn't he invited?"
"Each noble house is invited, and each sends at least one representative so the rest of the houses cannot gossip freely about it. Ssentar Urdo, however, is prey to seasickness. Ordinarily Ssentar would send his oldest son, Mar-don, and Mardon's wife. By sending Haztor in his stead, his father is showing Haztor his support. Haztor, despite the scandal of being arrested as a Night Mask, will remain a power. Consequently, sycophants will flock about him, seizing this opportunity to offer their support. Such people are liable to snub you, given a chance. They aren't worth worrying about."
"Considering the company I'm in, I doubt I should notice them," Alias replied. She set aside her empty plate and glass. "Shall we continue our tour?"
Victor smiled, took her arm, and steered her aft. "The masts and keel," he explained, "were fashioned from redwood logged in the far north, around Hartsvale, land of giants and giant trees."
"And where do you get the oarsmen?" Alias asked, "Sentenced criminals?"
"Sometimes," responded Victor. "This particular crew however, is made up of shareholders."
"Shareholders?"
Victor nodded, "Of course. You didn't think we'd risk all the heads of Westgate in a boat with a crew of criminals, did you? People work better when they have a stake in the outcome. In this case, fight better and row better. They get a small portion of the profits this ship will make for House Dhostar. Any who agreed to serve for this frivolous maiden voyage gets a double share of the first venture. We have no trouble finding rowers."
At the deck level, the stern castle was open to the fore. In the rear, two sailors manned the tiller, but the rest of the area was taken up by tables for the guests. Luer Dhostar and most of the noble clan elders sat at a table in the front of the sterncastle, drinking, playing dice, and telling sea stories from their past. The croamarkh nodded briefly at his son. He gave no indication of noticing Alias. Durgar, who sat on the croamarkh's right, smiled ever so slightly at the swordswoman, but then turned his attention back to some elderly noble describing a run-in he'd had with pirates back when the world was young.
Victor led Alias past the tables to the stairs in the back.
"Up or down?" Alias asked.
"Up," said the young noble. "Down is storage and berths for the crew."
Alias climbed the steep stairs and paused at the first level. Victor gave her a peek into the officers' and guests' quarters. All but the captain's cabin looked cramped, but all were snug and smelted pleasantly of fresh pine.
They climbed another set of steep stairs and stood alone on the roof of the sterncastle. There was no one else up there. They could look down on the party below, but when they turned their backs, it seemed to disappear. Alias looked up into the darkness overhead, but due to the glare of the stern light,