Кейт Новак - Masquerades

Alias continued to glare at Olive as she sheathed her own weapon.

“Honestly, you shouldn’t take it so personally,” Olive insisted. “I swung high. I used the flat of my blade. You know I could have hit you if I’d been meaning to.”

Alias harrumphed, but then, with a grin creeping onto her face, she replied, “It’s true, Olive. You never missed a target with its back turned to you.” She sat down, slid off the crates to the pier, and turned about to give Olive a hand down. The halfling took her hand and jumped down.

“Thank you,” the halfling said as she fussily rearranged her cloak.

“You didn’t used to be so gracious about accepting help,” Alias recalled.

“The knees are getting old, my dear,” the bard replied.

Victor finished making financial arrangements with the Thalavar shipping clerk, then he and Dragonbait joined the two women.

Victor bowed to Olive. “Mistress Ruskettle, I’m Victor Dhostar. Thalavar’s shipping clerk just told me who you were. I’m so pleased to meet you. Please, excuse this unpleasantness. Brunner and his people tend to be …” Victor searched for the words.

“Less polite to people who aren’t like them,” Olive supplied.

Victor nodded with a sad smile. “Very provincial, I’m afraid. I hope Lady Nettel will forgive this unfortunate incident.”

“I’m sure she wouldn’t hold you responsible, Lord Victor,” Olive replied with a gracious smile. “And may I say, I’m pleased to meet you as well. It’s so refreshing to meet someone whose attitudes are more cosmopolitan.”

Victor smiled and said, “I’d appreciate any help in making sure that relationships between the Thalavars and Dhostars and their peoples run smoothly. If you have any other problems, please feel free to contact me.” He held out a hand.

Olive shook the merchant’s hand briefly.

“Well, now. I’m afraid I must ask you to excuse me. There is some paperwork I must examine aboard my ship.” He turned to Alias. “I should only be a few minutes,” he explained.

Alias nodded. “We’ll wait,” she said.

“He’s not only cute, he’s quite a charmer,” Olive said once Victor was out of earshot. “If he could bottle that, he could double his family’s fortune.”

“Yes, he is charming,” Alias agreed. “But enough about him,” she snapped. “You still haven’t told me what you’re doing in Westgate.”

“Hello, Dragonbait,” the halfling greeted the saurial. “You’re looking well. How’re CopperBloom and the hatchlings?”

Dragonbait signed in the thieves’ hand cant, Very well, thank you. It’s always a surprise to see you. What are you doing in Westgate?

“I’ve agreed to help out Lady Nettel of House Thalavar,” the halfling replied. “Lady Nettel does a lot of trading with the halflings of the Shining South and hires a lot of them to run her business. She tends to trust halflings since the Night Masks don’t accept us in their guild. Lady Nettel won’t have anything to do with the Night Masks, and since she refuses to pay protection, her ships and warehouses get robbed or vandalized more than anyone else’s, and a lot of her halfling workers are getting hurt in the process.”

“So you came here as a hired sword?” Alias asked.

Olive shook her head. “I started out teaching music to Her Ladyship’s granddaughter. I’ve sort of moved into an advisory position, trying to keep security tight enough so no more halflings get hurt, and so the Masks will decide we’re too difficult a target and leave us be. Of course, I still keep my sword ready at all times. We’ll probably be working together now that you’re going after the Masks.”

Alias’s brow furrowed in puzzlement. “Lord Dhostar made me a job offer only an hour ago. How did you find out?”

“Picked it up on the street,” Olive said.

“Mistress Ruskettle!” the Thalavar shipping clerk called out.

“Just a minute, Drew,” she responded. “Look, I have to attend to some things. You can reach me at House Thalavar.”

Olive joined the Thalavar shipping clerk, and the pair escorted the customs inspector aboard the Thalavar ship.

Alias gave a mock shudder. “Olive as a respectable member of the community. The Time of Troubles was less confusing.”

“Aye,” Dragonbait agreed.

“So, what do you think?” Alias asked the paladin.

“About what?”

“Should we accept Dhostar’s offer?”

Dragonbait sighed. He ran his fingertips down the tattoo on her right arm, the tattoo that had first bound them together. “Alias, you must make this decision for yourself,” he said. “You have many reasons to remain. Although you did not really grow up here, Finder put it in your heart to feel it was home. You still need to try to discover why he choose Jamal’s face as that of your memory mother. Olive is here. You could sing together again. And, of course, I know you would thrive on challenging the Night Masks.”

Alias bit her lower lip and fought back a wave of sadness. Dragonbait had been her companion from the day she’d been created. He was more a father to her than Finder had been. “But you’re leaving Westgate, aren’t you?” she asked.

“I wish to return home to CopperBloom and my family. I don’t expect you to feel obligated to return with me, and I don’t want you to feel you cannot stay without me. You have many friends here already. I will stay with you for ten days, whether you choose to work for the croamarkh or not. But I will not work for him.”

“Because of Kimbel?” Alias asked.

“Kimbel is part of it, yes. More importantly, I don’t think the croamarkh is worthy of my services. I will serve you, though, as best I can, while I am still here.”

Alias sniffed the air about them. Dragonbait’s emotions had perfumed it heavily with the smell of lemons and roses. “You’re both happy and sad,” she laughed.

“Parents always feel that way when they kick their children out of the nest,” Dragonbait explained. “Dhostar’s son is returning.”

Brushing a tear from her eye, Alias turned about in time to see Victor running down the gangplank of the Dhostar ship. His momentum carried him nearly into Alias. He stopped inches away from her. He stood looking down at her for a moment before he stepped back with a flush on his face. Running his fingers through his hair to brush it off his face, he made an embarrassed apology for nearly running her down.

“I don’t fall down so easily, Lord Victor,” Alias replied with a grin. “Shall we continue our stroll? Dragonbait and I were both enjoying it.”

“Yes,” Victor replied. “We should make for the Harbor Tower. There’s a spectacular view of the city from the top.”

Alias nodded, and the three left the pier and set out for the lighthouse that marked the harbor entrance. Looking south, across the harbor, the city lay spread out before them, rising from the water to the high wall. Alias could not remember seeing any other city with so magnificent a view of itself as Westgate.

“So,” Victor began, “what can I tell you to convince you to join us in our fight against the Night Masks?”

“You should tell me the truth, whether it convinces me or not,” Alias replied. With an ever so slightly flirtatious grin, she asked, “If I accept this post, will you continue to be my liaison to the croamarkh?”

“Oh, yes,” Victor said. “I’ll be the man to handle any problems for you. Father would hardly delegate this matter to Kimbel.”

“Tell me about Kimbel,” Alias said.

“Um, well.” Victor flushed. “Kimbel is—not very nice.”

“That was our impression,” Alias said, not yet prepared to explain about the saurial paladin’s shen sight. “Tell me more about him.”