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The Thieves Guild

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by Jake Kerr.

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Episode 127:

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Let the River Run Red.

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Rodgers had no escort and he had no men.

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He was given new clothes, a sword from Polo's
armory, and a pat on the

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back.

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As he made his way to Trader's Bridge, he realized
he didn't even have a mission,

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just to cross the bridge and keep our guild
members in the lower quarter safe,

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as Orion put it.

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Making things up as he went along wasn't
necessarily Rodgers' favorite way of

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operating, but it was clear he was good at it.

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Also, Polo had said he dispatched a guild member
to the old quarter to

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tell the guild members to stay there, and if they
could,

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arm themselves.

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Their job was to wait and then attack across the
Great Bridge when the time was

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right.

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That left Rodgers with a few Harvest Guild members
in the lower quarter, who had

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remained behind.

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They were most likely the sick and elderly.

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The challenge was that when the civil war arrived
in earnest, he would need to protect them.

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But how? In fact, how could he avoid being
captured?

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Running around in the colors of the enemy wouldn't
exactly avoid the attention of the

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knights and merchants.

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Rodgers stopped and stretched. He was nearly to
Trader's Bridge, and he figured

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that he would come up with something during the
remainder of his walk.

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He had just started walking again when he realized
that the war he was preparing

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for had already begun. Harvest Guild members were
rushing down the

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street, away from the lower quarter.

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Rodgers picked up his pace, and moments later, a
young man just out of

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boyhood stumbled past him, bleeding from a wound.

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Rodgers grabbed him by the arm. He looked
terrified.

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"What has happened?"

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The boy looked up. He was shaking. "Are you hurt?"
The boy

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noticed Rodgers' captain stripes. "Oh, thank the
gods.

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Captain, it is the knights. They swarmed Trader's
Bridge and slaughtered our guards,

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and would have killed every guild member on the
bridge if we hadn't fled."

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Rodgers glanced down the road. The bridge was too
far to see, but he

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didn't hear the clang of swords or fighting.

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"How many, and did they enter the quarter?" "I
fled, sir, but there were perhaps a

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dozen. They just walked across the bridge, killing
any of us in their path."

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Rodgers nodded. A dozen? So their goal was to
simply

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take the bridge, not overwhelm the upper quarter
with a surprise attack

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by a large force. Rodgers looked around and saw a
Harvest Guild member

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leading a horse with a small cart down a side
road.

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"You there." The guild member turned and looked at
Rodgers.

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"Take this young man to Harvest House and report
to Esma.

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It is critical you get there as fast as possible."
The guild member just stared at Rodgers,

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slack-jawed. Rodgers unsheathed his sword and
marched toward him.

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"Do it now." The man turned his horse and cart
around and headed toward

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Rodgers. Rodgers gently squeezed the injured man's
shoulder.

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"Go directly to Deputy Guildmaster Esma and relay
to him everything you've seen.

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Tell him that Captain Rodgers is heading to the
bridge to help, but that he needs to immediately
send a huge

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force to reinforce the Upper Triangle."

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The man and cart arrived and the young man climbed
into the cart.

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It was laden with vegetables. Rodgers closed his
eyes.

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He knew that it was probably the last time he'd
see a cart with vegetables in a long

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time. From now on, they would be filled with
weapons, or armed, or wounded

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guild members.

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Rodgers rushed down the road. He had only one
fear: that the

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knights or merchants would destroy the bridge.

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That would be a horrific blow to the one advantage
the Harvest Guild had:

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enormous numbers. But such numbers did little good
if they couldn't

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flood into the lower quarter. Even if the rangers
took the wall, there was

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still no entry from there to the lower quarter
other than the night watch and the Night

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Guild Tower.

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No, if Trader's Bridge was destroyed, the war
would be fought

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via boat crossings and long marches to the Great
Gate through the outer

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fields. He had to retake the bridge, and he had to
do it before the knights or

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merchants could reinforce it with more troops.

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As he rushed down the street, he gathered a few
Harvest Guards.

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They were patrolling the streets, but immediately
joined up with Rodgers as he explained

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what was going on. By the time he was peering from
an alley toward the bridge in the

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distance, he had a mighty force of six guards.

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Six!

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The boy had at least estimated the night force
well.

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There were 10 of them, and they were amassed on
the upper quarter side, walking along

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with swords unsheathed, glancing into the upper
quarter as if daring

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anyone to try and assault them.

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Rodgers turned to the oldest of the guards, a
woman named Ji.

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"We can't surprise them, and we can't take them
with just our small force.

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We need more.

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Uh, take your fellow guards and look for more
might, guild members with axes or scythes or

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even hoes.

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If you can find any with bows and arrows, that
could be the decisive difference." "It shall be
done."

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She turned to the group. "Let's go directly to the
Black neighborhood.

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It isn't far, and they are strong and will have
what we need."Rogers

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didn't want to admit to his lack of knowledge as
to what the Black neighborhood was,

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so he pretended to go along. "Yes, that's an
excellent idea." Ji

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smiled.

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"The miners will have pickaxes and strong arms."

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Miners, of course, Rogers thought. They would get
to the mines

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via the river and have an enclave of families
here.

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"And I-" Ji smiled even wider. "Know a

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family that has an expert bowman."

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The group rushed away while Rogers kept an eye on
the bridge.

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The knights continued to march around, oozing
arrogance.

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They clearly had no intent on destroying the
bridge. Was that for the next group?

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Or was Sax and Orion so arrogant that they didn't
think destroying this

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entry to the lower quarter was necessary? He hoped
it was the latter.

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The bowman arrived first, but he wasn't the bowman
Ji had mentioned.

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"Your son is in the outer field." Rogers had just
been told the marksman

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was away, but that this old man would do as well.

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Rogers had his doubts. The man was stooped and
appeared in poor health.

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He had long, gray hair and dark eyes, so dark that
they appeared

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black.

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Rogers wasn't sure he could pull the string back
to loose an arrow, let alone hit the

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mark. "My grandson is in the outer fields."

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The man deftly slid the bow off of his shoulder.

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"But at this short distance, I can fill his
place."

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Rogers looked at the more than 100 yards between
the houses and the bridge, and found

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he couldn't trust the old man's confidence.

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"I am Raif."

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Rogers couldn't help but smile. The ancient bowman
had the same name as

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Raylan's loyal friend. That had to be a good sign.

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"Can you hit a guard or two?

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I simply need you to distract them from our
attack."

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The man laughed. "Young captain, the name Raif
appears unknown

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to you.

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She knows."

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Raif motioned with his shoulder to Ji. She nodded.

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Her smile was so wide that Rogers could see nearly
every one of her teeth.

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"But rather than have her regale you with stories
of

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harvest festivals past, let me show you."

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Rogers couldn't do any more than nod his head.

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He wasn't quite sure what was happening, other
than Ji had somehow found one of the

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best marksmen in the upper quarter. At least,
Rogers hoped that was what he was

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hearing. "Let us go to that building.

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I can distract them from the second floor."

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The man chuckled as if distraction was a pretty
funny description for what he intended.

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"We will need to wait for the guards and
reinforcements."

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Raif turned, walked over, and put a gnarled hand
on Rogers' shoulder.

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His coal black eyes looked directly at Rogers.

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"No, we won't."

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The man let go and wandered to a building that
faced Trader's Bridge.

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It was perhaps 100 yards from the guards, who all
wandered along the edge of

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the bridge. Rogers followed close behind.

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"There are 10 of them. Can you hit a few of them
from this distance before they retreat or

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assault us?"

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The old man just shook his head in reply, as if
the question amused

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him. The owner of the house immediately gave them
access and escorted them up to

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his master bedroom. He appeared wealthy, as he had
a large window that looked out

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upon the bridge and the lower quarter.

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It was a wonderful view and a perfect spot for a
bowman.

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Raif looked sad as he turned to the man.

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"I'm sorry, young guild mate. We will need to
break your window."

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"I understand what is happening

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and what others have lost.

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It is the least I can do." "You are an honor to
the guild."

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Raif swung his bow and shattered the window,
shards of glass falling to

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the lawn below.

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Without saying anything else, he pulled an arrow
out of his quiver with such speed

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that Rogers wasn't even sure how he did it.

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"The first arrow, you pull it at random so there
is no

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insult to the others. It is an honor,

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and its flight will inspire its brothers to fly
true."

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Rogers not only didn't know how to reply, he had
no time to reply.

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Raif crouched down slightly, nocked the arrow, and
let it loose before

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Rogers had even formulated a thought.

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By the time he had turned to see if the arrow hit
its mark, the old bowman had

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already nocked a second arrow and let it loose. It
was extraordinary.

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By the time Rogers realized that Raif was pulling
arrows from his quiver and

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immediately shooting them in rapid fire, three
guards were lying on the ground,

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unmoving.

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Rogers peered out. He wasn't sure, but it looked
like an arrow was sticking out of the

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eye of each guard.

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Two more guards fell before they had even realized
they were under attack.

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There was no place to hide on the bridge.

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There were small decorative towers at the end, but
they provided scant protection.

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In fact, a guard hid behind one as his fellow
guards fled across the

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bridge, only to fall back into the river as an
arrow struck him in the neck.

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In mere seconds, Raif, the old bowman who was
presumably famous

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within the guild, had shattered the knight
defenses, killing over half the

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defenders. Rogers looked over at the old man, who
was already sliding

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his bow onto his shoulder.

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The old man wasn't smiling. In fact, he looked
grim.

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He stretched his fingers. "Thank you."

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Raif turned to Rogers, his grim look turning to
sorrow or relief,

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or some other complex emotion that Rogers couldn't
read.

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"Now the hard work begins."

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He once again put his hand on Rogers' shoulder.

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"A piece of advice, young captain." "Yes?" "Toss
the bodies

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in the North Fork. Let the river run red as a
warning to those who threaten our

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guild."

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Rogers would let the river run red.

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He would let the streets run red.

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But first, he had to secure the bridge.

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And as he looked at the road that led up and down
the North Fork, he had just the idea

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on how to do it.

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(dramatic music)

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A Podcast Alchemy

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production.