Masquerades h-10

by Kate Novak

  "Hardly," Victor laughed. "The first time the Night Masks demanded protection money from House Dhostar-that would have been at least fourteen years ago, when Father was serving his first term as croa-markh-well, Father threatened all-out war in the streets. To hear Father tell it, he was prepared to torch his warehouses rather than pay any tribute. They have stayed away from most of House Dhostar's concerns."

  "I see," said Alias. "Is no one else in Westgate as brave and virtuous as your father?"

  "Well, I doubt Lady Nettel of House Thalavar has any dealings with them," Victor replied. "She keeps a lot of halflings on retainer, though, and some people call them the economy Night Masks. I don't suppose that's any more fair than assuming all merchants are heartless. It's my suspicion that House Urdo and House Ssemm are up to their eyeballs in dealings with the Night Masks. Possibly they even serve as members to the Faceless's inner circle, the Night Masters. The other houses, I suppose, just pay them protection and only hire them on special occasions." "You mentioned the Faceless? Who's he?" Alias asked.

  "The Faceless is the Night Masks' supposed lord. There's a lot of speculation about him. Some say he's a powerful spellcaeter, others that he's not even human. A few people insist he does not exist."

  "So, without denying that your father may care about the people of Westgate, tell me: Why has he waited until his fourth term of office to hire me to take care of them? And why hire me of all people?"

  "Well, as to the first, I suppose during his first three terms he didn't take the Night Masks very seriously. Because he faced them down, he presumed they weren't bothering anyone else. He does tend to be removed from the problems of the common people. When he lost the office of croamarkh to Lansdal Ssemm, the Night Masks' activities got much more aggressive and Father began to reevaluate their threat. I suppose I can take some credit for his new outlook. Since I turned thirty he's begun to take me more seriously, too. And I think something must be done about the Night Masks. I really believe the people should have justice.

  "As for why you, well, Father's been looking for the right person since he was reelected this spring, and you appeared. If Westgate were a theocracy, you would be seen as a sign from the gods. To a businessman like my father, you're the knock of opportunity. From what we heard of your exploits of last night, you have the skills and the momentum. Businessmen do not slam the door in the face of opportunity. And speaking of business, please excuse me for a moment, I need to attend to something." Alias nodded and stood beside Dragonbait as Victor walked down a pier to speak with another man wearing a family Dhostar trading badge.

  "Well, what insights into the Dhostar heir?" Alias asked.

  "He is all he appears," the paladin replied with satisfaction, delighted to have found another pure soul of sky blue in this city of vice. "What, another puppy-lover?" Alias asked.

  "Why must you joke about it?" Dragonbait asked. "I do not tease you for your virtue."

  Alias flushed again. She was never comfortable when the paladin reminded her that he perceived virtue in her. She harbored a secret fear that he saw what he wanted to see in her, and should the veil ever be lifted from his eyes… Alias didn't like to think about that. She diverted the conversation back to Luer Dhostar. "Whatever Victor may say, you aren't convincing me that the croamarkh isn't motivated by his vanity and love of power."

  "No," the saurial agreed. "The elder Dhostar is not all his son contends. Victor sees him with the eyes of a loving son, and he defends him as a loyal son would. He reminds me of you, the way you always defended Finder Wyvernspur, despite his many flaws."

  Alias, determined not to be drawn into an argument about the man she'd thought of as a father, returned her attention to Victor Dhostar.

  The young man appeared to be trying to negotiate an argument between the servant of his own house and a halfling dressed in the green livery of House Thalavar, who stood on top of a stack of crates. Despite Victor's efforts, both servants had gone beyond the stage of arguing rationally and had begun screaming at one another at the top of their lungs, each waving a bill of lading in the other's face.

  Behind the halfling servant was a Thalavar ship crewed by halflings, and behind the human servant was a Dhostar vessel crewed by humans. The crews of both ships had also turned their attention to the dispute and had begun to scramble off their ships onto the pier to back up the servant of their respective house.

  Alias began moving down the pier, against her better judgment, but knowing she would feel bad if something happened to the young Dhostar. Victor managed to talk his family's servant into walking away from the halfling, and it seemed as if a brawl had just been averted, until the halfling called out, "That tub shouldn't just be hauling garbage, it ought to be hauled away as garbage."

  The Dhostar servant whirled around, bellowing with rage, and lunged toward the Thalavar servant. Victor shouted, "Brunner, no!" but it was too late. Drawing back instinctively from the charging human, the Thalavar servant apparently forgot his footing, for he took one step too many off the stack of crates and tumbled from the pier. There was a short, high-pitched shriek and a splash as he hit the water.

  Everyone froze, including Victor, for the space of a heartbeat, then, spurred by an anonymous shout of, "Get 'im!" a wall of halflings rushed the Dhostar servant Brunner. Brunner tried to swat them away, but there were far too many, and within moments he'd disappeared beneath a pile of green-liveried halflings.

  Victor moved toward the pile, but Alias reached his side and pulled him back. "This could be messy, milord," she said. "Please, leave it to the professionals."

  Alias waded into the fray and began plucking biting, scratching halflings off the pile, handing them to the Dhostar crew members to be restrained until they calmed down. More halflings surged from their ship and began brawling with the humans who held their comrades. The swordswoman realized she was in a race to get Brunner on his feet and away from the fray before someone, halfling or human, lost his or her temper and drew a weapon.

  Then, just as she caught a glimpse of Brunner's black tabard, Alias heard the whistle and felt the breeze of a blade as it cut the air just inches above her head. Someone had drawn live steel.

  Instinct took hold of her. Although she stepped back to avoid skewering anyone at her feet, the swordswoman had her blade drawn in the wink of an eye. She whirled about to meet the challenge she sensed from above. She took a defensive stance, determined that this fiasco should not end in a bloodbath, but equally determined to disarm the fool who'd first brought steel into the fray.

  Her attacker's sword swept down again, still too high to catch her, but just low enough for her to block the weapon with her own. She lunged forward, and the two blades slid along their lengths until they were locked at their hilts.

  Alias glared up at the armed halfling who now stood on the stack of crates. This halfling was female. She wore a scarlet-and-amber cloak cut in the latest Cormyrian style, with the hood pulled up and shadowing her face. Alias reached up with her free hand, caught the end of the tassel fastened to. the back of the hood, and yanked hard. The hood fell back, spilling long red tresses about a grinning face.

  Alias's jaw dropped open, and she stood momentarily stunned.

  "Well, hello, Alias!" the halfling Olive Ruskettle shouted over the din and their locked blades. "I'd been hoping we'd have a chance to cross swords again."

  Six

  Alliances

  As Alias struggled to overcome the surprise of meeting Olive Ruskettle, and the shock of discovering that the halfling had pulled a blade on her, Olive took advantage of her. The halfling bard, with a practiced up-and-down jerk of her wrist, was able to bring her short blade to the outside of the human woman's sword, and with a quick push downward, strengthened by her own weight, was able to smash Alias's hand and blade into the top of the crate. Pain shot down Alias's arm, and she jerked backward.

  "Olive! What do you think you are doing?" Alias growled as she swung with the flat of her blade, trying to sw
at the halfling on her legs.

  "Same as you, I should think," the halfling replied, parrying Alias's blow and delivering a quick, shallow thrust. "Fighting for the good guys!"

  Alias extended her sword and lunged, startling Olive into a step backward. Alias leaped onto the top of the stack of crates. "Have you gone crazy?" she upbraided the halfling. "Suppose someone sees you've pulled out live steel and decides to follow your example? You want the pier bathed in blood?"

  "I hadn't thought of that," Olive said, looking momentarily repentant, but then she shrugged. "No. Everyone else is still going at it with fisticuffs. The only person paying any attention to us is that cute Dhostar lackey in the riding boots."

  Alias half turned her head and caught a glimpse of Victor, standing back from the fray. With Alias's attention distracted, Olive smacked the swordswoman on the shoulder with the flat of her blade. "Verily, a touch," the halfling squealed.

  Alias whirled around, furious. Her chain mail had absorbed most of the blow, but she was sure to have a bruise. That is quite enough," she snapped. She slid her blade back down along the halfling's until they were once again hilt to hilt. With her left hand she grabbed Olive's wrist and squeezed. "Hey, that hurts," the halfling complained. "Release your weapon," Alias demanded.

  "Well, since you feel so strongly about it," Olive replied, and she opened the hand that held the hilt of her sword.

  Alias grabbed the shorter blade with her left hand and turned the blade's tip on the owner's throat. "Now, you're going to behave," she ordered "until this thing is sorted out.",

  "Okay," the halfling replied with a meek smile, but a moment later she added, "Oops, too late. Fight's over."

  Behind her Alias heard a high-pitched whistle that she recognized as Dragonbait's. Alias turned to find the saur-ial, his scales glistening with water, standing on the pier beside the halfling who had fallen into the harbor. The small servant was sodden, but uninjured.

  The others on the pier had also turned at Dragonbait's bidding, pausing for just a moment from their aggressions.

  That pause was all Victor needed. The merchant strode to the wet halfling's side, shouting, "Please, stop fighting. This gentle being has rescued House Thalavar's shipping clerk. Should you continue this pointless brawl, we will have to call out the watch."

  The combatants remained frozen, certain that they did not want to be hauled in by the watch, but uncertain that they should abandon the fight just yet. All halfling eyes were on the Thalavar family's shipping clerk.

  The wet halfling glared up at the Dhostar heir. "What about my ruined clothes?" he demanded, indicating his soaked velvet tabard and breeches.

  "I will be glad to make reparations," Victor replied, "once you've apologized for insulting my family's ship."

  "Oh, I didn't realize it was your ship, milord. I can see now it's a bonny little craft," the halfling replied cheerfully. Then he added, "But our ship still beat it into the harbor and was at this pier first." "Agreed," Victor said.

  The Thalavar shipping clerk smiled broadly. Then he turned angrily on his own workers and shouted at them like a drill sergeant. "What do you think you're doing? I didn't hire any of you to brawl on the docks! You're supposed to be hauling crates to the deck!"

  The halflings scurried back aboard their ship. Two of Dhostar's men helped Brunner to his feet. The big man was quite disheveled, and his nose was bleeding, but then several of the halflings sported black eyes and bleeding noses.

  "They got here first only because they cut our ship off in the channel," Brunner growled.

  Victor replied with an insistent patience, "But they did get here first. They have first access to the inspector." There was a hint of warning in his tone.

  Brunner scowled and shook off the two men who'd helped him rise. "Is that understood, Brunner?" Victor asked.

  "Yes, milord," the human servant replied grudgingly. He turned and stomped back aboard bis ship.

  "Is that what this is all about? Who's next in line?" Alias hissed to Olive, astonished at the nonsensical reasons people chose to fight one another.

  "Yeah," Olive whispered back. "Thalavar's ship had right of way, but Dhostar wouldn't yield. Thalavar's sails stole Dhostar's wind, though, and went whipping past. Dhostar nearly grounded out on a sandbar. They just can't stand giving up anything to a halfling."

  "That doesn't explain why in the Gray Waste you pulled a sword on me," Alias growled.

  The halfling took her sword from Alias and sheathed it. "It was all for show. The Dumpster's-excuse me, the Dhostar's-minions have to be shown they can't go around stepping on Thalavar halfling toes whenever they want. I had to draw you off before you kicked the Thalavar halflings' butts. And now Dhostar's people'll remember there was a Thalavar halfling who took on Alias the Sell-Sword. They won't remember which halfling, since they can't seem to tell us apart, so they'll have to be more cautious around all of us."

  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 Fd 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 Dhoetar. 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, Fm 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. "Well 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?

  "Fve 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?" Ticked 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.