'So who is this Ludovoco?'
'He's a commander in the Crown Guard. They're something like Altapasaeda's Palace Guard, though with a broader mandate — and of course, far greater territory. Within their jurisdiction they have absolute authority, answering only to the King himself.'
I gave a low whistle. 'That's a lot of power. No wonder Ludovoco doesn't go in much for manners.'
'He's doing us a favour,' said Alvantes. But he sounded sceptical. As was so often the case lately, it was obvious there was more here than I was seeing.
I was too tired to riddle it out then, though, and trying to get straight answers from Alvantes was wearisome at the best of times. It could wait until morning. I lay back on my bunk and pulled the single thin blanket over me. 'Well,' I said, 'I suppose it beats another day on horseback.'
I slept a broken and murky few hours' sleep, unable to find any portion of the hard bunk that didn't make my damaged flesh hurt more. I was almost glad when Alvantes clambered down and relit the storm lamp.
With no portholes, it was impossible to judge the time of day. However, sounds of activity from the rest of the boat suggested it was well past sunrise. I sat up, kneading swollen eyes, to see Alvantes looking down at me.
'We should show our faces on deck,' he said. 'Damasco, if you only ever listen to one thing I say, let it be this. Be careful around Ludovoco and his men. Don't engage with them if you can help it. One wrong word could put us both in grave danger.'
'I'll be on my best behaviour,' I said. 'Better still, I'll be on your best behaviour.' I tried to sound glib, but I couldn't help wondering what exactly we'd swapped Synza for. There'd been definite unease in Alvantes's voice.
On deck, Ludovoco greeted us with a curt nod. 'Good morning,' he said. 'I won't be assigning you work, but please take care to stay out of my men's way.'
I glanced at Alvantes, wondering if this suggestion of delegating labour to the guard-captain of Altapasaeda was as much a slight as it seemed. If it had registered, Alvantes hid it well. 'Perhaps the upper deck?' he asked.
'That would be suitable. One of my men will bring you food when they eat.'
I followed Alvantes up a near-vertical flight of stairs. As he must have observed, there was no one on the small aftcastle deck. He picked a spot upon the horseshoe of balustrade that ringed its edge and sat with his back against it. I followed his example, choosing a point as far from him as possible.
And that was how we spent the day. Within minutes I'd come to two obvious realisations, which only grew more apparent as the hours wore by. Being on a riverboat was boring. Being on a riverboat with Alvantes and a crew that made no secret of resenting our presence was the most boring thing imaginable.
At first, I found some distraction in watching Ans Pasaeda go by and noting how its sights differed from the scenery back home. Unfortunately, in most ways the answer was barely at all. The fields looked like Castovalian fields, the trees like Castovalian trees, and the dim purple hem of mountains far to the west looked very much like the mountains that bordered the Castoval. Even the farms and small settlements we passed were only a little dissimilar, built mostly of unplastered yellow brick with pale thatched roofs. The only significant differences were a sense of wide-open space the Castoval could never offer and the wheeling white specks in the sky far to the east that marked the presence of the ocean.
After a few hours of having my mind turned steadily to mush, I asked Alvantes, 'How long until we reach Pasaeda?'
'Perhaps two more days,' he said. 'Assuming this wind holds.'
I groaned inwardly, cursed my own survival instincts. Would it have been so hard to let Synza kill me? Better that than death by scenery.
I'd realised by the second day that if I didn't find a distraction I'd undoubtedly go mad.
At first, I entertained myself by wondering at all the things Alvantes might have hidden in his saddlebag. Perhaps it was a rare treasure he'd stolen from Panchetto's palace. Perhaps he was a spy, sneaking documents to shadowy conspirators in the Royal Court, or was bolstering his meagre guard salary by smuggling rare contraband. Maybe he was really an assassin like Synza, with some outlandish weapon stashed for the one moment he'd need it.
While the possibilities I came up with offered brief amusement, they were all absurd — which only made me more determined to satisfy my curiosity in a more practical fashion. However, that line of thought led me quickly to the second of the day's insights.
For guests, we were being treated an awful lot like prisoners.
It took a while to sink in. Though Ludovoco and his crew lacked manners, they weren't without discretion. Hour on hour, however, it became more clear that whatever the business on deck, someone always had an eye trained in our direction.
What did it mean? Would Alvantes have been foolish enough to fill Ludovoco in on my career history? Had my notoriety crossed the border into Ans Pasaeda? Yet the attention didn't seem aimed specifically in my direction; quite the opposite in fact. Perhaps it was just that Ludovoco's service to the King had made him unduly paranoid, even towards his own. After all, being guard-captain of the Castoval's only city might not carry much weight to an Ans Pasaedan.
As it turned out, both questions came to a head late in the afternoon. We'd arrived at a junction in the river, an almighty confluence of fast-flowing water. The Casto Mara (called the Mar Corilus here, according to Alvantes), continued east towards the sea, already twice as wide as it ran anywhere in the Castoval. To the north-west, it was met by another river, narrower but still impressive, known as the Mar Paraedra. That was the course that would take us on to Pasaeda.
On the left bank of the junction was a small harbour town, and here the Prayer at Dusk docked, for reasons no one felt the need to share with us. A few of the men immediately hauled the gangplank into place and descended.
To my surprise, Alvantes left his place against the stern railing and strode towards the ladder joining upper and lower decks. It was the first time I'd seen him move purposefully since we'd come on board — and that immediately stirred my interest. Whatever he was up to, it might just help alleviate the day's tedium. I hurried to follow.
Ludovoco had just arrived on deck. Alvantes swung down the ladder and came to a smart halt in front of his fellow officer. 'I see we've stopped,' he said. 'Perhaps I could take a few minutes ashore to stretch my legs.'
'I'm sorry,' said Ludovoco, 'I can't spare anyone to accompany you.'
'I won't need any assistance.'
'Let me speak plainly. You are under the protection of the Crown Guard. As long as that remains the case, you're my responsibility. To have you wandering unescorted is a risk I'm not willing to take.'
'I've no intention of going far, let alone placing myself in danger.'
'Nevertheless…'
'Commander, I must insist.'
The silence that followed was heavy as the minutes before a storm, as though the very air was holding still in anticipation. The moment seemed to stretch impossibly. Then, as if nothing untoward had been said, Ludovoco waved over one of the sailors. 'Labro,' he said. 'I'm assigning you to Guard-Captain Alvantes. Take him wherever he'd like to go in town.' He put particular emphasis on those last two words. To Alvantes he added, 'Might I suggest you take your companion with you.'
'Fine by me,' I agreed.
'I can give you an hour. After that, Labro will escort you back.'
'An hour will be ample,' Alvantes agreed.
'Good.' With a gesture somewhere between a salute and a wave of dismissal, Ludovoco turned and disappeared into the lower deck.
I watched his retreating back in fascination. What I'd just witnessed was a pissing contest, pure and simple, and Alvantes had instigated it. I wondered if the results were what he'd hoped for. Ludovoco had given ground, but in such a fashion as to make clear who was in control — and that we were going nowhere without his say-so. If Alvantes had been feeling out the limits of his status aboard the Prayer at Dusk, he had his answer right there.
Now it was time for me to do the same. I'd seen an opportunity that might not come again. 'Just a moment,'
