(dramatic music plays) The Thieves Guild
by Jake Care.
Episode 120:
An Unlikely Partnership.
Carch was unsure that the man sitting across from him was actually the Blade
of the Craft Guild. After all, he had seen the man stir up
hatred against the Merchant Guild, which was in complete opposition of what Orion had
wanted, as indicated in the letter that lay on the table in front of Carch.
Something was going on here.
Carch decided to be silent as he could see nothing to be gained by saying anything.
The Blade, Vesper, stared at Carch an uncomfortably long time before leaning
back and smiling. He held out his hand.
Hand it over.
Hand what over?
The letter on the table in front of you.
The one that bears my guild seal, and the one that you clearly read as I was watching you
reseal the letter as I came in.
How do I know you're Orion's Blade? You wear the green of the Harvest Guild, and
in the room outside, you were stirring up hatred against the Merchant Guild, which, as we both know,
is now ruled by Orion's nephew.
Vesper smiled as he pulled his hand back.
What an interesting place we find ourselves in, Carch.
I am presumably betraying my Guild Master's interest, and you are spying on his letters.
Vesper slid a knife out from a sheath on his thigh.
I can easily prove I'm a Blade, but that would leave you dead, and I don't
necessarily want that to happen.
So, why don't you just hand over the letter, and then we can talk with more
clarity?
Carch considered fleeing. Vesper was entangled in the chair, and the door
was not far. But what would happen next?
Vesper wore the Harvest Guild colors, and a shout from him would have Carch
quickly apprehended within the tavern. He handed over the letter.
Vesper carefully opened it along the wax seal with his knife, which appeared
disturbingly sharp. He read the letter while glancing up at Carch
every so often. When he finished, he tossed it back onto the table.
What do you think of it?
It was a key question. If he told the truth and this Blade was loyal
to Orion, it could end up with Carch dead.
But perhaps the truth was what this Vesper wanted to hear.
After all, he had just flamed the fires of rage against the Merchant Guild
minutes before.
It's a foolish attempt by Orion to save himself from his doomed partnership with
Larsen. I'm sure Orion felt that the risk of voting against the Harvest Guild at the Founder's
Day Banquet was worth it. But everything after that...
Carch shook his head.
... was pure insanity.
As he spoke, Vesper nodded his head.
Carch took it as a good sign, but you never could tell with
Blades.
And you left with the Knight's Guild because you recognized this insanity?
Clearly.
And Orion gave you that letter?
Sax gave it to me on Orion's behalf. He told me to deliver it personally to
Polo. I told him that as Larsen's former deputy, I would most likely be imprisoned or
killed, but Sax didn't seem to think that was a legitimate concern.
He's stupid and arrogant. It's a dangerous combination.
Vesper stood up, and for a moment, Carch thought that the conversation
was going to end with Vesper killing him.
But Vesper turned the chair around and sat back down, crossing his legs
and leaning back casually.
The knife, however, still stayed in his hand.
I believe we both find ourselves torn, Carch.
I was imprisoned by the Thieves Guild, but they spared my life and let me go if I acted as a
spy for them with Orion.
The Thieves Guild?
The Blade smiled again, which was starting to annoy Carch.
You're not aware that the guild is real and powerful?
Carch had started to consider just that, but there simply
was never any proof. The robberies of the warehouses and shops often
appeared a bit too organized, and the efficiency at which the goods simply
disappeared also bothered him. Where did they go?
But a full-fledged Thieves Guild, it still seemed unlikely.
I expected as much, but you clearly know more than me.
Carch left it at that, but it was all he needed to say.
Vesper outlined his mission to assassinate Raylan, and what he found in the old
quarter, and specifically the mighty Thieves Tower.
Carch felt it odd that the Blade seemed in such awe of something so
mundane as a tower.
This Thieves Tower, is it a small structure across the great bridge?
You speak of it in almost hushed tones, but I've never seen it.
It is massive, much larger and taller than the Merchant Tower.
It dominates all of Ness from its position at the base of the mountains.
That's absurd. Everyone would be able to see it.
It is well-camouflaged in front of the stone of the mountain, but you are correct.
I have not shared this with anyone, but I feel there is some illusion or magic involved.
It simply fades into the mountain the moment you step over the great river.
Carch could tell that Vesper was serious, but it seemed absurd.
Magic? A tower so large and one for, of all guilds,
the Thieves?
Carch decided to file away the description as a Blade's flight of fancy.
And you took on this mission from Raylan?
Carch almost couldn't bring himself to say the vile boy's name.
Yes. I met with Orion, and then Alard.
I had two options after that, working on behalf of the Thieves and sowing discord among the
Harvest Guild, or feigning to do so and work against the Thieves.
"It is clear where your loyalties lie."
"Oh, let me disabuse you of that sentiment.
My loyalties lie with myself alone."
Vesper again smiled his annoying smile.
"I simply have chosen the winning side."
"So you have chosen Relan."
Vesper took a deep breath, as if he was preparing to lecture a child.
"No, you fool. I have chosen Polo. He will come out on top no matter
what happens with the thieves. The thieves have also chosen Polo's side, so it is
convenient."
"I see. And how do I fit?"
"That's what I'm trying to figure out. The other guilds are a lost cause.
You wear white, so ostensibly have chosen a losing side."
Karch was about to object, but Vesper interrupted him.
"But you are a slippery one. You have power and you have skills that are rare.
You are also like me, delightfully transparent in your self-interest."
Vesper picked up the knife and pointed it at Karch.
"So tell me, how do you fit?"
Karch knew his life hung in the balance.
He was positive this was Orion's traitorous blade.
He also knew that he was most likely telling the truth.
He had chosen a side that made sense to anyone with even a cursory knowledge
of Ness politics, the Harvest Guild.
At that moment, his future revealed itself.
It was as if a light had exposed all that was dark before.
He would work with Vesper. They would depose Sax, Orion, and
his puppet nephew. There would be a leadership vacuum that Polo couldn't fill on
his own.
Who would fill it?
Why Larsen's deputy, the one who abandoned him due to his love of
Ness, the one who no one would blame for Larsen's and Orion's sins,
Karch.
He would lead the Merchant Guild into a new age.
Karch smiled and leaned back in his chair.
"Here is how I fit, Blade Vesper."
He held up Orion's letter.
"I will burn this letter in the tavern fireplace outside this room.
I will return to Sax and tell him that Polo rejects Orion's plea for unity, and
that the Harvest Guild is planning on marching on the lower quarter, clearing out the Merchant Guild,
the Craft Guild, and the Knight Guild.
They will use boats, they will cross bridges, they will swarm the Night Watch.
The Harvest Guild will let loose on the other guilds with a rage not felt since
the Ash Fields burned."
"Very good, Karch."
Vesper stood up.
"However, I fear Sax will not believe you."
He held up a finger.
"But stay, do not leave your chair."
Vesper walked to the door and left the room.
The Blade acted so oddly with his talk of magic, and now his random
departure. "He's unstable," Karch thought.
"I must be wary of him."
The door opened and Vesper walked in carrying a bottle of clear liquid and two
glasses. He sat down, filled both glasses, and pushed one toward
Karch.
"Drink."
Karch took a drink and coughed as the strong alcohol burned his throat.
He put the glass down.
"This is vile stuff, Vesper."
"It is a bottle of the fire of the outer fields.
Very expensive, very strong."
He nodded his head at Karch.
"Drink the whole glass, and one more."
"Are you asking me or telling me?"
Vesper took a drink of his own and grimaced.
"The fire burns, but it also cleanses.
Let me just put it this way, Karch, it is in your own best interest to drink two
glasses."
The Blade was clearly insane, so Karch did what he was told.
If he kept his wits about him, he may be able to leave the room not only with his life,
but with the Blade as an ally. He finished the two glasses, and
his throat burned and his lips were numb.
"How do you feel?"
"Numb."
"Very good."
Vesper stood up again, sheathing his knife.
"That was a good sign," Karch thought.
"Your plan is good, but it has one flaw.
Sax is stupid, but he's not that stupid.
He knows Polo will still blame you, at least in part, for what Larsen did."
Vesper walked around the table and slapped his hand on Karch's back.
"The good news is that it's possible that Polo wouldn't have you imprisoned or killed,
but it's also highly unlikely he would leave you unpunished."
And without any warning, Vesper swung his fist and punched Karch in the
face, sending him sprawling to the floor.
Before Karch could defend himself or even think to call for help, Vesper
battered him with kicks to the face, the arms, and the body.
Karch cried out, and still Vesper kicked him.
His lip was split and blood pooled around his head, and still
Vesper kicked him. He felt a searing pain as Vesper's boot connected with
the side of his chest.
"Hopefully the fire has numbed some of the pain."
Vesper walked toward the door.
"You are welcome."
He was in so much pain, Karch couldn't even roll over to watch Vesper
leave. He heard the door open and then Vesper's voice through the fog.
"Now Sax will believe you."
(dramatic music)