The argument was in full swing. The merchant was no longer merely complaining to the corvette’s captain about the price hikes; he was slowly beginning to accuse him of every possible misdeed. Strangely enough, the ship’s commander listened to it all with stoic calm. No one else around seemed affected by the tense atmosphere either, and the sailors stood alongside the porters, watching the ongoing spectacle with boredom. Even those merely passing by the commotion paid it not the slightest bit of attention.
Draco approached calmly and stopped off to one side, near a bored sailor. It seemed as though the sea dog was pretending to himself that listening to these shouts should at least catch his attention.
‘Has something happened?’ asked the dragon politely.
‘No. . .’ The sailor didn’t even bother to look at his interlocutor, which suited the reptile just fine. ‘Business as usual.’
‘Really?’ He tried to muster some interest that he could direct towards the unfolding scene, but his thoughts were preoccupied with bess. ‘It’s the first time I’ve seen anyone causing such a commotion in the harbour.’
‘You haven't seen much, or you're not from around here,’ the man snorted.
Draco sensed Kei’s growing irritation behind him. He could only hope that the werewolf’s belligerent declaration wouldn’t lead to a brawl over some trivial matter.
‘Not from here,’ the reptile nodded, watching as the merchant loudly dredged up some seemingly minor incidents from the past, gesticulating very expressively as he did so.
‘So you made it to the show.’ A note of interest rang out in his bored voice. It was clear the sailor was just waiting for an excuse to do something more interesting than standing there staring at the gesticulating merchant.
‘Do you often… see things like this?’ Draco tried to get the man to open up while he wasn’t looking at him. He knew full well that the sailor would quickly change his attitude towards him once he realised he was dealing with someone connected to the aristocracy, and one accompanied by private soldiers at that.
‘Whenever Lord Horvater sets off
