Gamori

Part 3

Though it is a thing I have in common with a certain benthic beastie which has a most displeasing appearance, my family name actually reflects the professions of several ancestors. The Stargazers have been in Portsgate since its founding, producing many a superb navigator, astronomer or astrologer. I am directly descended from the illustrious Snaffrid Stargazer, whose greatest work was The Celestial Atlas, copies of which grace universities and archives the world over. Even I, despite having elected to devote myself mainly to mercantile affairs, am erudite in matters of the firmament.

As we stood on deck on a clear night, I swelled like a prideful puffer and shamelessly bragged of all this to Jezrin, openly trying to overawe her with my fabulous heritage and esoteric knowledge.

She was somewhat impressed by the achievements of my lineage, saying she owned a copy of The Celestial Atlas, and that Snaffrid had been a very smart man, to be sure. However, my bookishness seemed to gain none of her favor. In a tone indicating she was addressing a child, Jezrin explained that all Deathspiders are taught to navigate using the sky, since getting lost generally impedes long-range assassination missions involving such locales as the wilderness.

In recent years she had pursued the acquisition of deeper heavenly knowledge, with a focus on astrology, scouring libraries and putting up with pedantic academics. I found out that she was born when the sun traversed the constellation of the Serpent, and a horned moon hung in the constellation of the Sorceress, while the Spinner was ascendant. It was also revealed that astrological events had played no small part in her timing of this expedition.

Finally, she commented, "I was really hoping it had to do with that horrid upward-looking fish. That would have been far more interesting."