Aliases are alternative forms of a reference. They can include actual aliases for characters, nicknames, plural variations, gendered versions of some [Classes], and even typos.
And so they did. Daly reached the harbor docks just in time to see Luan finishing paying the [Harbormaster]—it wasn’t hard to spot where he was; a good number of Humans were standing around him and the tall [Rower] was laughing and trying to answer a dozen questions at once. He looked good. Tired, but good. And then Daly saw just how tired and pushed his way through. His was the voice of authority.
…Except of course that there were some people who didn’t obey the rules. They were not Archmages. They had no desire to be that public. And they viewed a nosy bunch of warships interdicting all ships as bad for business. [Smugglers] already had to dodge [Harbormasters] and inspections at the ports. So one faction happily set sail even before the votes had been cast.
Now, he was breathing a sigh of relief as he came into dock. The [Harbormaster] was waving him in; a man whose job was normally cushy, but who was right now cursing as dozens of ships came in and out. Per day.
Thus, as the Splendid Scale docked, not only was the [Harbormaster] and his team there to help count cargo, or speed up the unloading of passengers, a number of young [Mages] with diplomatic skills or inclinations were at the docks too.
From the railings of the trade ship, a pillar of stone smashed the gangplank to bits. The greeting party, [Harbormaster], and other [Captains] and crews recoiled as bits of wood splintered into the water. The pillar of stone caused a huge splash of water.
[Scriveners], [Record-Keepers], and so on were mobilized to find unusual immigrants. [Harbormasters] were called to give an accounting of strange young people bound to Wistram, with dates and places.
They found one more, bound for Wistram. Altestiel and Kiish were preparing to head for that harbor, to intercept the young woman waiting there, who apparently didn’t even speak the common tongue; the [Harbormaster] reported her as being ‘Drathian’, but not seeming at all like a native of Drath.
The Lizardfolk [Harbormaster] laughed as Seve set out from a city with his bag of holding loaded up. He even had a chest of holding that he’d have to stay away from, bobbing behind his repaired craft.
The [Harbormaster] reported absolutely nothing from the watch towers as Covieke’s Watch Captain, Zoreik, left his Watch Barracks with his own spyglass to take a look outside.
It began to glow. And there was only one ship he knew that did that. Against all hope, he trained his spyglass on the sail, searching for the ship’s emblem. But he knew the instant he saw it—and the [Harbormaster] began to ring an alarm—which ship it was.
Zoreik said nothing. Now, the Council and [Harbormaster] were shouting at him, and Zeres was on the line, demanding he respond as the gates closed. He should. But the Drake’s eyes were on the water. He was staring at the five ships…they were on the far left side, port of the harbor. Why there? The Drake fleet was approaching them, no less than nine ships, one of which was a warship bearing down and preparing for a fight.
One of the two other Drakes was screaming the wrong thing. Well, he thought it was the right thing. He thought he was a hostage. Zoreik recognized Councilmember Isger and the [Harbormaster], who also had a seat on the council.
Isger began screaming as he saw where they were taking him. The [Harbormaster] began fighting, and the Drowned [Pirate] had to strike him until his head was lolling.
To Paxere, there was—nothing. No sense of nausea, no unease, nor even that much of a feeling of loss. She wondered if the Watch Captain had deserved that, or the [Harbormaster], but if people who deserved their fate met it—the most she would ever say was that an execution was a bit messy or took too long or was too loud.
“Yeah, well, I was going to quit. But remember when Talenqual was a mess? Half the dockworkers fled, and the old [Harbormaster] was Featherfolk Brigade. Things were a mess, and it paid well—then I realized Lizardfolk didn’t organize how they loaded and unloaded. You know, with cargo docks and teams?”
