"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 l all were snug and smelled 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, the lighthouse, and the waxing moon, she could pick out only the brightest stars. Victor strolled to the stern railing, and Alias drifted behind him.
For the first time Alias felt as if they were truly at sea, and not just because they'd left the bay. A stiff breeze shot across the port side. Alias shivered in the wind. "I forgot I might need a cloak out here," she said.
"In the interest of chivalry, I feel obliged to offer you an arm around your shoulder," Victor said.
"In the interest of encouraging chivalry wherever I find it, I feel obliged to accept," Alias replied.
Victor slid his arm around her back, and Alias leaned against his side. The wide sleeve of his tunic served well as a shawl, and the warmth of his hand on her shoulder was wonderfully pleasant.
Westgate was ablaze with lights that rivaled the stars above: the lighthouse, the streetlights, the campfires on the shore.
"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Victor said, regarding the city. "Lit up on a clear night like this, it looks every bit as magical as Evermeet, as exotic as Kara-Tur, as wealthy as Zakhara. Like a place of make-believe, a place where legends can be born."
Alias made an agreeable and noncommittal, "Mmmm," unable to put out of her mind the Night Mask rot at the city's heart.
As if he could read her thoughts, Victor added, "If only we could excise the Night Masks without damaging the city."
"Well, we may be another step closer," Alias said. "I've traced a protection racket from the Shore back to a wealthy vintner in the city. His name's Melman. I wanted to be sure he wasn't some noble's cousin or brother-in-law."
Victor furrowed his brow in thought. "Melman. My father and I have exported some of his wine. No, he's not related to any of the noble houses."
"Good. Гт hoping he's a high-ranking Night Mask or will lead us to one."
"I've heard some stories. His house has an evil reputation," Victor said. "Promise me you won't go there alone."
Alias nodded. She didn't mention she knew the house well, or that she planned to visit it later this very night. There was no sense worrying the young nobleman.
"Better still, why not just have Durgar arrest the man?" Victor asked. Alias shook her head. "Jamal," she said, "has suggested that if we can just find the Faceless's treasury, we should be able to capture the artifact that keeps him and the Night Masters magically sheltered from scrying and divinations. I'm hoping Melman might lead me to the Night Masters' lair. He's not going to cooperate, locked in a cell in the Tower." "How does Jamal know all this?" Victor asked.
"She has a network of her own informants," Alias answered.
"I realize she must be a friend, but, well, she seems to know so much. Are you certain-do you think it's possible that all this theater against the Night Masks is maybe a smoke screen? She could be one herself. She could be the Faceless, for all we know."
Alias shook her head with a scowl. "That's no more. likely than your father being the Faceless." "Father! That's ridiculous."
"Is it? You said he refuses to pay the Night Masks protection, yet the Night Masks haven't wreaked their revenge on your operations as they have on House Thalavar."
That's because they're afraid that Father would make good on his threat to start a war in the streets."
"Or they have orders not to harm your oper-" Alias halted, struck by a sudden idea. "What is it?" Victor asked.
"Or they've been geased not to harm your family. Kim-bel would certainly make an excellent candidate."
Victor shook his head. "I keep an eye on Kimbel. If he were running a thieves guild on the side, I would know. But I'm also sure the Faceless is not Father." "So am I," Alias agreed. "But you just said-"
"I was just pointing out that there are some inconsistencies. I suspect your father pays the Night Masks, but is too proud to admit it. He's simply not a logical candidate. He has more money than an ancient dragon and the most powerful position in the whole city. He has no reason to belong to the Night Masks." Victor remained silent for too long.
"What's wrong?" Alias asked.
"Nothing," Victor assured her, shaking himself. "I was just thinking about how much my father wants to be croamarkh. You might almost say he covets the post. After his first two terms, I was sure he'd recommend me, but then he insisted the time was wrong for a new man and he offered himself for the third term. Then, after Lansdal Ssemm made such a mess of his four years, father told me he had to take up the next term, so I wasn't blamed for any problems Ssemm left behind. I know I'd make a good croamarkh, but I need father's support to be elected." "I know you'd make a good one, too," Alias said. "I have such plans." "I know. You told, me about them the day we met."
"Those are just the plans if I find Verovan's treasure. I have others I'd start without it. Build a navy to protect our trading ships'from pirates, for one, and train an army of Westgate citizens, not mercenaries, to protect our caravans from brigands, for another. I've even begun to toy with your idea of offering more people a vote in the council. Not everyone, like you said. That would be chaos. But smaller merchants and important artisans and craftsman. Bring in some new blood, like my father said about you."
"You should be croamarkh," Alias said. "Don't wait for your father anymore. When his term is up, tell him you're running with or without his support." "I don't think I'd have enough support to defy him."