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The Thieves Guild

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by Jake Kerr.

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Episode 102:

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Fanning the Flames.

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Kalos had offered to escort Vesper via the sewer
under the North Fork,

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but Vesper politely declined. There were other
ways to sneak into places.

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He had worn other guild colors many times in his
role as a Blade.

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When you were spying, assassinating, or doing some
other deed that requires

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access to another guild's tower or quarter of the
city without raising

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suspicion, you wore the appropriate colors.

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It was particularly easy for Vesper to do this as
he was the Craft Guild

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Blade, and the Craft Guild made all of the
clothing for the other guilds.

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So as Vesper made his way into the Upper Quarter,
he felt entirely comfortable

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wearing a very specific outfit: thick brown
trousers and a simple

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green shirt. Topping it all off were his thick
leather boots.

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He wanted to look like a senior worker in the
Outer Fields, and a walk into one of the

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warehouses in the Warehouse District was all it
took to achieve that aim.

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As he crossed Trader's Bridge, it was immediately
clear that Caeris' outreach

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to the Harvest Guild had done little to calm
things down.

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On the Merchant and Craft Lower Quarter side, the
bridge was tensely guarded by

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merchant guards.

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On the Upper Quarter side, where Harvest House
stood, the bridge was heavily guarded by

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Harvest guards. Knight protectors were notably
absent in both

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locations. "Halt!"

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It was a Harvest Guild guard. "Fan the flames of

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hatred," Allard had said. "I may as well start
now," he

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thought.

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Vesper stopped and turned toward the guard.

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He was a large man with a heavy sword who clearly
wasn't there for show.

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"Where are you coming from, and what is your
business?"

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The guard placed his hand on the pommel of his
sword as he peered at Vesper.

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"I'm from the Outer Fields."

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Vesper waved off toward where the Outer Fields
lay, far in the distance

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beyond the wall. "I was concerned about my cousins
in the Lower Quarter and went to check on

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them."

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The guard paused, and then nodded. "And how are
they?"

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"I couldn't find them."

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Vesper clenched his teeth and practically spat out
the rest of his words.

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"I'd heard that the new Guildmaster Merchant would
set things right, and that they would return.

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But when I asked a Merchant guild member, he
laughed and said that there wasn't much to return
to,

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and perhaps we'd learned our lesson in offending
the Merchant Guild."

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The guard frowned, and the hand on his pommel
clenched into a fist.

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"He said that?" "In front of the smoldering ruin
of my family's

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home." "The Merchants have always been an arrogant
guild," the guard

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growled. "It is worse. The new Guildmaster is the
nephew of the Guildmaster

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Craft, and I mentioned Orion would rebuild our
homes for us." "That sounds

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something like Orion would do." The guard leaned
forward.

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"What did the merchant say?" "He laughed at me
again and said the Craft

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Guild is already charging extra for equipment to
clear the debris.

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Sure, he'll help, but that greedy bastard will
just use it as an excuse to bleed the other

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guilds dry, and his nephew will help." "I find
this hard to believe.

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Orion is a simple good man." "I do as well."

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The guard relaxed. "Uh, they were the words of one
money counter."

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Vesper nodded, but took note of the guard using
the pejorative for the Merchant

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Guild.

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That was rarely done in the open streets among
strangers.

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Waving Vesper on, he added, "Orion will set things
right."

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"Fan the flames," Vesper thought. "My fear is he
is

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too simple and jovial for the task. Remember how
he sided with Larson during the

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Founder's Day banquet."

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And with that comment, Vesper moved on.

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Vesper had a long walk to Harvest House, and he
intended to use the time to

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formulate a plan. He did not plan on talking to
Polo directly.

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That would be suicide. Indeed, it apparently had
led to the death of the

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Thieves Guild Blade.

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What he intended to do was leave a swath of ill
will toward Orion and Caeris

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by spreading rumors among the various inns and
taverns where Harvest Guild

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members met and shared stories and rumors.

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There were two inns where he was known as a
Harvest Guild member.

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The first was the Golden Wand, an expensive inn
located in the

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very wealthy and exclusive Golden Triangle
neighborhood.

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The other was the Golden Apple, a more
working-class tavern near Harvest

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House.

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He had intended on visiting the Apple first, as it
was closer to Harvest

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House and was the most popular intersection of
every part of the guild.

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The success of his sad story of a burnt house with
the guard changed

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his mind and coalesced his thoughts.

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The destruction was part of the story, but the
real anger would grow out of the

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Merchant and Craft Guild reaction to that
destruction.

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And if that reaction didn't exist, Vesper would
create it.

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His plan required him to be covered in soot, and
his new clothes would not work

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for that.

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Vesper pondered his options. The safest would be
to head to the Outer

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Fields and find one of the waste bonfires.

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They were lit at night, and there would be ash and
charcoal in the morning.Such a

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trip would take a few days, however. The much
faster option was to recross the

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bridge, head to the Greenbelt, and prepare there.

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The trouble would be crossing the guarded bridge
twice more.

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Vesper considered the risk acceptable and turned
around.

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As he expected, crossing back into the Lower
Quarter went without incident.

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The merchant guards were wary, but were clearly
guarding against a large collection of

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troops, and not a single guild member on foot.

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Once he reached the other side, he walked past
Merchant Tower to the Throughway.

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The tower was surrounded by merchant guards, and
while the words coming from Keres

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were full of welcome and regret, he clearly was
taking no chances.

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Vesper took note and continued onward.

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As he turned onto the Throughway, the devastation
appeared even worse than his

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previous journey. Entire neighborhoods had been
burned to the ground.

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"How can Keres welcome people back when they have
nothing to return to?"

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Vesper thought.

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His comment to the guard about the craft guild
growing rich over

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Lassen's insanity

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seemed all too real.

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It was difficult to shock Vesper, but what he
found on the Greenbelt was

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difficult to believe. The stately mansions of the
old Harvest House

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families were unguarded, and what hadn't been
burned down had been

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looted.

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He had expected guards and a difficult time
getting near the houses, but he

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simply walked right up. Entering a three-story
house that was collapsed

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granite, Vesper assumed the rock collapsed as the
wooden higher structures

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came down. "Could the merchants have torn it
down?" Vesper wondered.

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He was reasonably sure that the house belonged to
one of the families from the mines.

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They could use their connections to get the rock
here.

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Otherwise, getting large stone this far from the
mines was absurdly

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expensive.

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He navigated through scorched rock and fallen and
charred timber.

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A painting lay exposed against a half-fallen wall
to his right.

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The figures on the portrait were scorched beyond
recognition.

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An idea formed and Vesper pulled out his knife,
cut the canvas around

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the edge, rolled and folded it, and slid it down
the back of his shirt.

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It was uncomfortable but hidden.

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Hidden from the Throughway by the remains of the
house, Vesper leaned down and

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grabbed a piece of charred wood. He rubbed the
charcoal over his face and

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arms. He picked up ash and tossed it above his
head, letting it fall

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into his hair.

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Finally, he found a floor covered in ash.

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She lay down and rolled in it.

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As he stood up, he grabbed a handful and rubbed
even more into his knees and

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shirt.

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Looking like someone that had survived or fought
the fires in the Lower Quarter,

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Vesper started back to the Upper Quarter.

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The merchant guards practically turned up their
nose at his sad appearance and let

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him through without issue. On the other side, the
guards looked alarmed and

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asked his business.

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He replied that he was from the Outer Fields and
visiting his family in the

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Flats when the fire started.

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He fought the fires and resisted the merchants
rounding up his family, but

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in the end, he escaped into the flames.

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"I survived, but I fear my family has not.

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They are still gone, and they have nothing to
return to."

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Vesper then added with bitterness in his voice,
"Nothing!"

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The guards looked aghast. Offering their
condolences, they allowed him to

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pass.

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He made the long walk to the Golden Wand, where he
was friends with the

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proprietor and where he had a room under a
long-term rental as one of

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his base of operations. The Upper Triangle seemed
unchanged from

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his previous visits.

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Huge houses, smooth cobblestones, and meticulous

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landscaping.

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Being remote from the Flats and the Lower Quarter
certainly lessened the possibility

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of unrest over the blatant display of wealth.

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The public good centerpiece of the Upper Quarter
was the library, but no one ever

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visited it. Certainly no one from the Lower
Quarter.

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His last visit was to assassinate the son of the
captain of the Shipwrights.

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He was skimming money from the accounts, and Orion
was considered too

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simple-minded to notice. A vicious assassination
would raise the

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specter that he had gotten on the wrong side of
those he was dealing with, which would remove

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Orion's problem without anything indicating he was
involved.

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As he approached the Golden Wand, Vesper had to
admit he liked the creature

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comforts of wealth and the easy humor of those
that had attained it.

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The Golden Apple was full of bravado and gutter
humor, and slaps on the back.

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The Golden Wand had plush chairs and fine wine,
while the humor was of gentle

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mockery and wordplay.

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Even the inn itself was built on humor.

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The owner, a friendly chap named Thomas, regaled
Vesper about the odd

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name of the inn and the stories behind it.

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Mounted above the bar was a thin piece of wood,
which Thomas had placed in a

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glass case.

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The wood was set upon a bed of silk.

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Everyone knew the story. "That is the magical wand
of the very last guildmaster

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of the magic guild,"

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Thomas exclaimed. One of the patrons replied in a
droll voice,

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"If it's magic, why don't you use it to make
yourself less ugly?"

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Such conversations happened whenever a new patron
entered the bar at the front

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of the inn, always countered by some dry mockery
by the regulars.

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Vesper liked the tale. Of course, magic wasn't
real, and the idea

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of a magic guild was ridiculous.But it

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was a fun story, and it gave the inn not just
character but a sense of fun

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too, which made it all the more popular in the
Upper Quarter.

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Vesper stood at the front door. He had a mission
from Allard.

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He had a mission from Orion. It was not too late
for him to turn around.

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This would be the last chance for him to change
his path.

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If he entered and told his story, he had no doubt
that the word would spread among the

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powerful rich patrons of the Wand, and with it
would be a major setback

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for Orion and a clear commitment of Vesper to the
Thieves Guild.

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Vesper looked to his left across the Golden
Triangle, the Ash Fields

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and the mountain in the distance. Standing
resolutely and towering over

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all should be the Thieves Tower, but he could not
see it.

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Maybe magic does exist, and it is hiding the
tower,

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Vesper thought.

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Putting that absurd thought out of his head,
Vesper walked through the front door.

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As the door closed, a loud voice from inside
called out-

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"My gods, Vesper,

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what has happened to you?"

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(dramatic music)