A Steampunk Guide to Hunting Monsters 17 | Page 12

wedding ring . The monster appeared and I saw an undulating tentacle rise up , but it left them unharmed , surfacing only briefly to slap down onto the stone , and scatter the market tables . It ' s all very peculiar . But a strange thought entered my head . The monster seems to be attacking every time I witness some form of golden ring being transferred , and the Ladroncellos seemed intent on moving the giant golden ring from the ball during the attacks . Is there a connection ?
Not two stalls further down the street the mayor was valiantly standing on a broken book-cart , coat flapping in the wind , lesser politicians looking at the ground , helping a street vendor pick up his wares . Two men in the Ladroncello livery were posted nearby , carrying an ornate chest , their path barred by the sea-monster attack .
" Why are these kraken attacks allowed to continue ?" I asked the Mayor , once he had dismounted the cart . " Surely , Venice has some means of defense e ."
" From the Sea ?" the Mayor exclaimed ." Venice does not need to be protected from the Sea ! Venice , she is married to the Sea !"
" Then it does not seem to me ," I replied , " that this marriage is very happy ."
The handsome young politician then gave me a detailed history of the Bucentaur and the sunken gold in his ridiculous accent .
" The Bucentaur , which you mentioned looking at in a book , was a golden ship that the old Doge used during a ceremony called the Festa della Sensa , or , Marriage of the Sea . The Doge would sail to the Lido and cast a golden ring into the sea as a token of the unity of the sea to Venice ."
The Mayor described the sea as being the
woman in this scenario — being obedient and subordinate to Venice — which , in that moment made him look a little less handsome to me . Venice , who here was standing in for the man , knew what was best and was always sensible and correct — it was all I could do to suppress a titter — and was sovereign over the sea , which is why Venice married it .
" I suppose ," I began , " that if all those rings and all that gold were brought up , there would be enough to make one perfectly immense ring . Perhaps the Ladroncello family is not being entirely forthcoming about the provenance of their gold ring ?" I asked , and the footmen with the treasure chest looked furtive . A strange coincidence then occurred . I saw the British couple from earlier , the ones who had lost their rings , and the woman was berating the husband for having forgotten their anniversary . The tentacles threw things around in the distance . Perhaps the sea was behaving like that angry spouse , as if Venice has forgotten the anniversary one too many times ?
I asked the Mayor , " What do you think the sea might do if her husband forgot her anniversary or took back her wedding ring ?" I postulated that , " any woman might throw a fit of temperament if neglected for too long ."
I indicated the arguing couple as they disappeared around the corner .
" Perhaps all the gold that the Ladroncellos stole from bottom of Venice ' s canals is drawing the sea monster to your town ," I said . The two footmen leaned in closer to listen .
" The sea monster appears to be drawn to the ring ," said Percy , running down the street with a book . " First , it attacked the ballroom where the ring was displayed , and now again while these