Kate Novak - Masquerades

"We've got to get out of here, Olive," Alias shouted, but the halfling did not reply. She was still breathing, but her leg was oozing blood where a piece of twisted metal had cut a gash through the flesh to the bone. There was no time to bind the wound. Alias slung the woman over her shoulder and stumbled to her feet. She cursed under the weight, realizing a good deal of it was gold coin.

Out in the main hall, the wall hangings were ablaze and the house was filling with smoke. Alias took a breath of the still-untainted air of the treasure room and dashed down the hall to the secret panel.

Dragonbait stood at the top of the stairs, anxiously looking for the swordswoman.

"Pull the panel closed behind us," Alias ordered as she half ran, half tumbled down the secret stair with her halfling load.

Dragonbait tugged on the panel, but the statue of Mask had toppled into it, wedging it into place. Sheathing his sword, the saurial moved out into the corridor to shove the statue over.

The front door burst open, and a large wooden keg rolled into the front hall. The paladin wasted no more time on the secret panel. He slipped into the stairwell and flew down the steps.

Overhead, an even bigger explosion rocked not only the house but its foundation as well. Brick, mortar, and wood began pouring down on the paladin's head, and the spiral staircase, which Dragonbait had just stepped off of, fell over into the basement. No one was going to notice that the secret panel was out of place, the paladin realized. In the dark he could sense the heat coming off Alias, Olive, and Melman, and he hurried down the passage to where they waited in the dark.

He pulled his sword and whispered the command for it to ignite. By the light of the flame he could see Alias holding her hands over Olive's leg, trying to stanch the blood that oozed from a great wound. Melman stood pressed against a wall, breathing heavily, his eyes wide with terror.

Thinking they would be safe enough in the basement for at least a few minutes, Dragonbait handed the flaming sword to Alias and bent over the halfling to heal her wound.

Alias stood up and was instantly aware of how much warmer the air near the ceiling was than the air at the floor. The flames from Dragonbait's sword flickered toward the ruined secret staircase. Air coming in from the secret passage to the outside was feeding the fire above.

Something overhead spattered to the floor and spread out with a gleam. Alias looked up in astonishment. One of the heavy floorboards beneath Melman's treasure room had cracked in the last explosion and molten gold was now dripping into the basement.

"I've stopped the bleeding, but she's still unconscious," the paladin said. His mouth dropped when he caught sight of the shower of gold. "Pity she'll miss this," he added.

Alias thrust the flaming sword back in the paladin's hand. "Get Melman out," she ordered. She scooped the halfling over her shoulders again and ran after the paladin and the Night Master. At the secret door, she hesitated. She could leave it open, feeding the fire so that there would be nothing but ash left-making it certain the Night Masks wouldn't expect to find Melman's bones. Concerned that smoke might drift out and reveal the passage's existence, though, she decided against it. With a quick tug, she pulled the door closed and hurried down the passage.

It was quiet in the passage, but Alias hustled them through it, fearful that it might collapse. When they finally reached the dry wash, she set down the halfling and took a rest. Melman collapsed on the ground.

Dragonbait stood over the Night Master, assuring himself that Melman didn't try to escape before Alias was through with him. "What are we going to do with this one?" he asked the swordswoman.

"Well, I had thought we might lock him up in one of the cells below his own house," Alias said. She peered over the edge of the dry wash and watched the flames dancing along the roof of Melman's former abode. "I don't think we should bring Lord Victor into this, considering the deal we've made with Melman."

"You're going to have to impose on Mintassan again," the paladin noted.

"I know," Alias sighed. In the south of Westgate, a false dawn blossomed as the roof of Melman's house collapsed and the flames shot higher into the air. "He's not going to be happy about my turning his house into a home for retired Night Masks." "But he will oblige you, I think."

Alias nodded, realizing uncomfortably that, while House Dhostar was paying her to take out the Night Masks, other people were shouldering even greater shares of the burden to get the job done.

The fog that had drifted through Westgate's streets the night before now climbed as high as the city's wall and poured into the outlying countryside. The midday sun, covered with layer after layer of clouds, was powerless to burn off the mists. From the top floor of the Tower Alias surveyed the few islands of solid matter high enough to poke above the gray shroud: the towers of the merchant nobles' castles, the heaven-aimed spire of the Temple to Ilmater, the Westlight, and the Tower, where she stood.

She'd come to the Tower to see Durgar, but he'd gone out to investigate the remains of last night's mysterious fire. Taking one last look at the covered city, Alias hurried back downstairs to meet Dragonbait and Olive, who had waited for her in the reception hall below.

The halfling, who had regained consciousness soon after they'd left the secret tunnel, now paced up and down the hall, unable to hide her eagerness to hunt for the Facelese's lair. She bore a long, jagged scar on her leg, but Dragonbait had healed her wound sufficiently so that it gave her no pain. Dragonbait stood very still beside the gate, but from the twitch in his tail Alias could see that he, too, was anxious to be going. He had even grown less annoyed by Alias's promise to Melman that she would free him later; an attitude that would hold only as long as it appeared Melman had been truthful with them.

"Looks like we go alone," Alias said after explaining Dur-gar's absence. "The watch captain on duty says he doesn't have the authority to send a patrol out to investigate unless the peace is being disturbed."

The three adventurers donned their heavy cloaks, and Olive lit the lantern she carried before they went outside. Westgate was like a ghost city, for the fog shrouded commerce as well. There were no booths or carts set up in the market; very few shops appeared open, and those that were had no customers. Even those people hardy enough to venture the streets at night remained indoors in the fog. Alias wondered if even the Night Masks avoided working in the fog.

The sound of their footsteps was muffled by the water in the air so that the adventurers appeared to be three wraiths gliding along the streets. Dragonbait squinted, concentrating on using his shen sight so that they wouldn't be surprised by anything coming out of the fog. They strode due east on Silverpiece Way to the bridge that crossed the River Thunn.

Five stone archSs supported the River Bridge, and the road across it was wide enough for two large wagons and several extra pedestrians to use at once. The bridge was not only a masterful feat of engineering but a dumping ground for stone carvings looted from King Verovan's castle when he had died. Brooding gargoyles held out stone braziers flickering with oil flames, which pushed ineffectually at the foggy darkness. Curling sea serpents made up the bridge's railings. The statues of ancient historical figures lined the center, dividing it into two distinct lanes.

At high tide, the river below would slam into the rising waters of the sea, creating a surging wave that ran the width of the river just downstream from the bridge. Now, at low tide, the two bodies of water collided near the mouth of the bay, no more than a mere rill on the water's surface. The river level also dropped down a few feet, uncovering a wide expanse of muddy sandbank beneath the bridge. The adventurers veered from the bridge and made their way down to the sandbank.