The priests say there’s a certain symbolism in that.”

“People choose not to flaunt their sins in the light of the Holy Sun,” said Zamara.

“Aye, sin is always easier in the dark,” said Orson. “The natives say the Old Ones were more forgiving of human folly than the Holy Sun is.” He gave Kormak a sharp look to see how he was taking that particular piece of unorthodox theology.

“That would depend on the Old One,” Kormak said, “and what it considered a sin.”

“You have much more experience than such things than I,” said the merchant prince. “So I will take your word for it.”

“It might be best if you did,” said Rhiana. The merwoman glanced left and right. She was dressed like a man in tunic and trousers. A scimitar hung at her side. Her cropped ash blonde hair and her huge green eyes made her look as exotic as any of the costumed revellers. She smiled. She liked it here. Kormak supposed it reminded her of her home in the pirate city of Port Blood. There every night was like the Masque of Death albeit without the costumes.

“I, for one, am glad to see such revelry,” said Admiral Zamara. “We’ve been too much at sea and too long surrounded by death and disaster.”

That had been true almost since their first meeting. Zamara had been involved in endless strife and catastrophic adventures.

Still, he had not done so badly from it. He was still alive and their slaying of the pirate sorcerer known as the Kraken had been the making of his career. It had resulted in his promotion to Admiral and the fine new uniform he was wearing, resplendent with gold braid and the royal seal of two Sea Dragons flanking a five-pointed star.

“Terves! Clear a way for us to the Governor’s palace,” Zamara shouted. “I would get there tonight and present my credentials.”

He too was keen to join in the revelry. The women at the Governor’s court were famed for their beauty and the laxness of their morals.

“Aye, sir,” said Terves. He gave the order to march. The soldiers formed up in ranks and began to push their way inexorably through the crowd.

The streets were wide and the buildings solid. The lower floors rose well above ground level, and the stone verandahs suggested to Kormak that the road was expected to flood. The top two or three stories were of painted wood, with sloping shingled roofs. Intricately carved wooden shutters covered every window. It looked as if Siderean architecture had been adapted to local building materials. Kormak remembered the thick jungles they had seen as they approached the huge harbour of Maial.

A massive stone ziggurat loomed over the city like a volcano waiting to erupt. It had once been the temple of Xothak, an Old One, worshipped as a god by the local tribes before the Sidereans came. Now it lay abandoned, great gaping holes in its side witness to the fact that the Sunlander colonists had used it as a quarry.

A glance down an alley revealed two men humping a woman from front and back. The woman’s skirt was above her hips. The men’s breech clothes were around their ankles.

One soldier almost tripped as he watched wide-eyed. Terves bellowed at him to keep his eyes on the road.

* * *

As they marched, the sounds of music and revelry became more decorous. The buildings became larger.