(dramatic music plays) The Thieves Guild
by Jake Care.
Episode 125:
A Great Wizard.
Raylan was surprised at the woman's claim that she was Pietro's granddaughter,
but not as much as he was annoyed that she kept presenting each bit of information
as little riddles. He didn't even know her name.
He decided to do something about it. "Do you have a name or should I just
bow and call you Madame Pietro's granddaughter?"
"Oh, so I give up some information and now you have some
spunk in you?"
She laughed, and for the first time, Raylan sensed at least some mirth in the
woman.
"My name is Rebecca, and before you tire me with endless questions
attempting to get to the answer you really want,
my goal is for the lands to be united again.
Beautiful Callisto, mysterious Drak, Ness's dark brother
across the Dragon's Teeth.
Dragon Road should extend from east to west once again."
Rebecca lowered her head.
"But such things mean nothing to your poor isolated self."
Raylan smiled. She didn't realize how much he actually knew.
"My horse is named Callisto, the glittering prize far to the west."
Rebecca's eyes went wide. "And the city across the mountain, unreachable
as it may be, is not unknown to me. And Drak, the home of liquid
cloth. I would indeed like to visit it someday." Rebecca looked more and
more shocked with each comment Raylan made.
"And I know there is significance to your wearing red, but I am very curious as
to why you are wearing it."
"And what, pray tell, guild master, does this color signify?"
"You are connected to the Wizard Guild in some way.
As for the why, I think we should talk about that in your grandfather's study after I get
dressed and can at least look presentable."
Rebecca stood up.
"To say I am surprised would be a disservice to the word, young
Raylan.
I will retreat to the study and await you.
You have done something very, very few people have been able to do.
You have made me curious."
Raylan thought over Reiff's research as he got dressed.
Who knew that the dusty old books in the Thieves' Tower and in Pietro's old
living quarters could contain so many valuable secrets?
This Rebecca woman was clearly connected to that old wizard guild from
Ness's distant past, and she obviously knew a lot about the thieves from
Pietro. Perhaps more than even Raylan and Allard.
As he put his shoes on, it suddenly hit Raylan that this woman was not just
important in her connection to Pietro, but she clearly had some kind of role to
play in the political future of Ness.
She knew too much and was connected to Ness too closely via Pietro
not to.
But what did she really want?
Walking into Pietro's study, Raylan finally got a calm and clear view of the
woman. She was not just pretty, she was beautiful.
She appeared to be in her late 20s in age.
The red of her dress showcased the long locks of her black hair, which shone like
water as it framed her round face. She was sitting at Pietro's
desk, fiddling with some metal instruments in her hands.
Without looking at Raylan, she held up a long thin metal rod.
"Did you know that this lock pick set is rumored to have been crafted in Drak?
As no one in Ness would create something for thieves.
It's magnificent."
"But Pietro had no access to Drak. Dragon Road had
closed long before then."
The woman looked up, a smile her only response.
"How many in your guild are masters at picking locks, Raylan?"
"I don't know. We aren't that kind of guild.
We steal goods and move them to where people need them."
Raylan walked over to the woman. "We take so we can give."
"Indeed,
but you are that kind of guild. Did you know that my grandfather, and your
predecessor, once picked the lock of Guild Master Troy's secret safe without his knowledge
while right in front of him during a dinner party?
And he gave the document he found there to the guild master harvest at that selfsame party,
which created a major scandal over craft shop pricing?"
Raylan sat down opposite Rebecca. "No, of course not.
That was nearly a hundred years ago."
Rebecca put the metal instruments down and looked directly at Raylan.
"The point is that everyone has secrets, and it is dangerous to assume those secrets will remain
hidden.
So, Raylan,
you know more than I remotely expected you to know.
What are your secrets?"
Raylan wasn't sure why he did it, but it felt right.
He was a captive. The knowledge didn't seem particularly dangerous in front of
someone presumably wearing the red of the Wizard Guild,
so he outlined everything.
Rebecca nodded as he spoke. He mentioned his brother, the current
politics of Ness, and all of the amazing things Reiff had discovered with his
research. "So, in the end, I have no secrets.
I simply want to bring peace to Ness and help the outlanders who suffer from Ness being
closed off."
"After Wilhelm betrayed your trust and sent an army to
conquer Ness, you still trust him?"
Rebecca leaned forward. Raylan thought long and hard over his
answer, because against all logic, the truth was that he did trust
Wilhelm. The man just seemed desperate.
I don't know if I trust Wilhelm, but I trust his motives.
A mature answer, young guild master.
You have clearly told me the truth, and I am surprised at how much you know.
Shocked, in fact. You know more about the truth of Ness than anyone other than Pietro
himself, and your remarkable librarian.
Let me share with you your future.
My future?
Yes. As it is in my hands. The secret to
Ness is in this room.
Rebecca waved her arms around, encompassing the stacks of
handwritten books.
I have spent years trying to decrypt the secrets in these books, to no avail.
I realized much too late that Pietro didn't want me to know the secrets
in this room. He wanted his successor to know them.
Rebecca picked up a lockpick and absentmindedly twirled it.
And that, Raylan, is you.
I don't understand.
Have you tried to read the books?
No.
And you won't be able to, but you will someday, because of that.
Rebecca pointed to Raylan's hand.
Do you see that ring on your finger?
Raylan looked at his smooth, black guild master seal.
Yes.
I believe the bearer of that seal is the only one who can read these texts.
The Thieves Guild seal?
No. The Wizard Guild seal.
Rebecca sighed.
But there are pieces missing.
Rebecca stood up and walked over to the wall, where there was an empty display case.
There are three steps, and I couldn't even get past the first one, which is this.
She pointed to the empty case.
The Wand of the Guildmaster.
A wand? Raylan thought. The only wand he knew of was in a tavern
in the Upper Triangle. There was no way that could be the same thing, could it?
Before he could even broach the idea, however, Rebecca continued.
The second is a book or books. They contain the incantation or oath
or whatever accursed words they are that will anoint the new guild master magic in their
seal. The key to the book is the wand, and the key to the seal is the book.
And...
Rebecca swirled around and walked to the center of the room.
The key to these books is the seal and the person wielding it.
As Raylan watched the woman over his shoulder, she approached and rested her hand on
his back.
And that key
is you.
At some level, Raylan knew that he was the centerpiece to Rebecca's plans.
He still wasn't sure what they were.
She wanted to restore and unite the land, but why all this mystery with the
Wizard Guild? That was intriguing, but so old that it had been
completely forgotten other than in dusty books.
Why was Pietro's secret so important?
Couldn't she just help Wilhelm conquer Ness and then open the pathway,
uniting the lands?
And then it hit him.
None of this matters. The wizards blocked the road to Ness and Drak.
Even if you establish a friendly leader in Ness and you are able to unite the
lands from Calysto to Ness, you still will be blocked by the Dragon's
Teeth.
Rebecca lifted her hand from Raylan's shoulder and walked around the
desk. She spoke as she sat down and once again fiddled with the
lockpicks.
My dear young guild master, you seem to finally be getting it.
I don't need you to lead Ness. I don't even need you to be involved in Ness at all.
Why do you think you're locked in this room?
I need you for one thing, to clear
the road
under the mountain.
But only a great wizard can do that.
And now you understand why I need you.
But I'm not a great wizard.
Yet.
You're not a great wizard yet.
And wearing a smile that seemed both inspiring and sinister,
Rebecca stood up and walked toward the door,
stopping a few feet past Raylan. She turned and tossed a small leather
bag that she had somehow closed with the lockpicks inside.
While you wait, learn how to pick locks.
You never know when it will come in handy.
(instrumental music plays)
A Podcast Alchemy
production.