The Thieves Guild
by Jake Kerr.
Episode 110:
Rage.
As Vesper walked through the door, he purposefully stumbled, knocking
into a chair. The noise caught everyone's attention, including
Thomas, who was wiping the top of the bar with a towel.
"My gods, Vesper,
what has happened to you?"
Vesper pulled himself up and looked around.
The inn was about half full, and the entirety of the patrons were members of the Merchant
Guild and the Harvest Guild. "Good," Vesper thought.
"This is the audience I want." "I have come from my family's home in the lower
quarter."
Vesper paused, pretending to gather his emotions.
"It has been burned to the ground by your guild."
Vesper pointed at a Merchant Guild member, his face and voice full of
bitterness and anger. "Wait a moment.
This was all Larsson's doing. We-"
The Merchant Guild member Larsson had pointed to replied, "Are victims
too. We don't even enter the lower quarter."
The other Merchant Guild members nodded their heads.
Another spoke up. "Yes, that's right.
Orion and his nephew will make things good." Vesper stood up straight and looked from
Merchant Guild member to Merchant Guild member.
"So, you are telling me that this is all Larsson's fault, that the regular guild members
didn't take part?" There were nods, but no one replied.
Everyone knew that the Merchant Guild members had moved the Harvest Guild members from the
lower quarter, so there was at least some understanding of guilt from those
present.
A Harvest Guild member spoke up. He was dressed in fine clothes,
and his face was familiar. "Must be a captain or higher level guild
member," Vesper thought. "Hear, hear.
I'm sorry for what you have gone through, guild mate, but things are returning
to normal, and the good people are in charge now."
He paused to nods from the entire room.
"It is important that we focus on the future
and healing these rifts that were created by Larsson."
All eyes returned to Vesper, who untucked his shirt and fumbled with his
clothing as he spoke. "So, there is focus on healing, is there?"
Vesper finally grabbed the painting he had found in the burnt house and pulled it out.
"Let me tell you about healing. I marched across Trader's Bridge and the
merchant guards accosted me. They did not want to let a Harvest Guild member cross the bridge.
Do you want to know why?"
There were a few nods from around the room.
"Because they said Harvest Guild members were not to be trusted."
As Vesper let his words sink in, he continued.
"I'm sure you're thinking that those were guards. They are supposed to question everyone.
Well, for a guild claiming to welcome me and my guild members home, it sure doesn't
sound very welcoming."
Vesper paused to a completely silent room,
all eyes on him. "But that was not the worst part.
No,
not even close."
Vesper slapped his chest with the hand not holding the rolled up painting.
Soot flew into the air. "My family home was burnt to the ground.
My entire family is missing
or dead. But..."
Vesper held up his hands. "Those may be sins of Larsson's, but tell me
this."
Vesper took the time to look at every Harvest Guild member in the room as he
unrolled the charred painting, the remains of a family burnt beyond
recognition. "Why did the Merchant Guild members laugh at me when I walked in,
risking my life among teetering stone and charred timber to retrieve this?"
Vesper held up the painting. "They mocked my tears and told me to get a grip on
my feelings. When I expressed my dismay, do you know what they did?"
Vesper looked around the room. Utter silence before him.
"They took this painting of my family, which was all I had left." Vesper held
the canvas up again. "And they threw it in the flames of a still smoldering section of the
house as they held me to watch it burn."
Vesper's voice strained. "This was all I had left of my family, and
earlier today, the Merchant Guild burned it into charcoal and dust.
I pulled from their grip and retrieved this."
Turning from one side of the room to the other, Vesper showed everyone the
blackened faces of the painting one more time.
"Even today, the Merchant Guild mocks us, my guild mates." A
chorus of "Unacceptable," "Outrageous," and other more
profane phrases were shouted by the Harvest Guild members.
One of the Harvest Guild members stood up and pointed at a Merchant Guild
member. "This will not stand."
As chairs were pushed back and a fight appeared to form, Vesper shouted,
"Hold!" Everyone looked at him. "There is more, and it
involves our colleagues of the Craft Guild."
Curiosity replaced anger, and everyone sat down and stared once again
at Vesper. "I have discovered something that both terrifies me and amuses me."
It was at that moment that Vesper realized that being a spy and assassin
was not that much different than being a storyteller.
Every face in the room was rapt at his words.
"I met a senior Craft Guild member as I made my way back up the throughway.
He at first appeared sympathetic to my plight, and I was heartened when he said,
'Don't worry, citizen. The Merchant Guild will be servants of the Craft Guild
before too long.'"
He laughed, and it was that laugh that gave me pause, for it was cold and
heartless. "I asked him what he meant, and he replied, 'Look around you.
Look at your own ruined clothes, the houses, the inns.
Who do you think will be rebuilding all that?'" "'The Craft Guild,' I answered."
He nodded and added, "'And who do you think will pay for it?'
I had never considered the question, so I answered, 'The city.' The Craft Guild
member patted my shoulder and replied, 'No, my poor friend, it will be the
Merchant Guild, and the only way they can afford it is to pledge allegiance to Orion.'"
He looked at me. "'You know Orion?'
I nodded.
And that's when he said, "'He is a good man and will rule Ness with
decency. The Merchant Guild will become irrelevant under his leadership.'"
Vesper looked at the wealthy Merchant Guild clientele of the Golden
Wand and smiled.
"So it amuses me that you will all soon be living in the flats or the wretched
quarter as Orion bleeds you dry rebuilding the lower quarter."
This was met with curses and spontaneous conversations among the Merchant Guild
members.
Vesper turned to the Harvest Guild members.
"But this terrifies me as well, as the man who voted with Larson to eliminate
our guild will be the one who controls all of our city.
I fear what this means for our guild."
The room exploded with conversation.
As Vesper walked through, he suppressed a smile.
He had done his job well. He approached Thomas.
"I fear I need rest, my friend. It has been a difficult day, and I foresee
more difficulties ahead."
As Thomas escorted Vesper to his room, Vesper was already
plotting the stories he would tell at the Golden Apple.
It wasn't the same as expertly slipping a knife through a rib cage or poisoning
someone without detection,
but in some odd way it felt better.
(dramatic music)