The night breeze was cold, and Shard looked toward Miss Princess at his side, whose dress was obviously not warm. But as a Five-Ring Sorcerer, she was unlikely to catch a cold easily.
They found a small boat moored at the northeast end of the pier. As soon as they boarded, the boatman, wearing a straw hat, rowed them away from the pier. This was just a small wooden boat, of course, not the vessel to take them to the high seas.
There, in the harbor of Coldwater Port, lay a double-decker steam cruise ship, its deck alight with brilliant lamps. A smokestack rose from the deck, and the flag of Carsonrick fluttered in the wind.
From the outside, it looked like a private yacht belonging to a wealthy merchant from Carsonrick, who had invited some thrill-seeking guests for a party tonight. In reality, a powerful local Circle Sorcerer from Coldwater Port City, who had bribed the harbor management, was holding an auction of sorcerer items on the ship tonight.