(suspenseful music plays) The Thieves Guild
by Jake Kerr.
Episode 29:
The Blade of the Guildmaster.
The first meeting of the Thieves Guild captains under their new Guildmaster was not
going well, and Maylor couldn't quite blame them.
Raylan was racing off to deal with Karch and couldn't attend and without him
there, the captains were left with nothing but stories of his irresponsibility.
To make matters worse, the way he received the Guildmastership was itself insulting to the
Guild. It was done as a punishment.
Maylor gave mild endorsement to Raylan, but she herself felt insulted over how
he was named the Guildmaster.
There were 10 thief captains and Maylor was the captain of the Flats.
It was an important position. Not only did many thieves live in the Flats, but the
Knight Tower at the edge of the district was her responsibility.
She was the critical person responsible for keeping tabs on the Guild
charged with eradicating thieves.
Deputy Guildmaster Allard wielded his influence well, however, and as the
meeting wound down, everyone was at least begrudgingly accepting of
Raylan's new role as their Guildmaster.
Maylor found the entire proceeding amusing.
She considered Raylan as nothing more than a figurehead, and arguing
over him pointless. The real Guildmaster was Allard.
Allard moved on to the practical matter of the unstable political situation in
Ness, specifically the threat to the city by the potential assassination of
Polo, the Guildmaster Harvest.
Allard stood at the end of a long, rough-hewn wooden table near the very top of the
ancient tower. There were five men on one side and four men and one woman on the
other. Rafe sat at the opposite side from Allard.
"Callias, you will need to get to Polo and warn him about the assassination
risk. He is well-defended against a known enemy, but he doesn't know what he faces in an outlander.
Also, if he were to stop the outlander, Larson could still win if Polo were to
inadvertently rally the city to Sax and Larson's sides due to a collective hatred of the
outlanders."
Maylor had anticipated that Callias would get the job, as he was captain of the Harvest
district, but she had serious doubts about him.
He was old and well-liked by everyone.
The late Guildmaster Pietro had named Callias as a captain many
years earlier,
but managing the mood of the Harvest Guild members was one thing.
Getting past Polo's defenses to say the right thing in the right way to warn him
of an outlander assassin was something else entirely.
Maylor wanted the mission for the simple reason that she felt she was the only one in
the Guild who could actually succeed at it.
Knowing that she would never be given the job as long as she was captain of the Flats,
Maylor decided to use a bit of guild knowledge that Pietro had taught her in a
history lesson before he had died. "Isn't that the job for the Blade of the Guildmaster?"
Maylor asked.
Every face at the table turned to her. "What are you talking about, Maylor?
There is no such position."
It was Kalos, the captain of the Warehouse district.
He was the highest-ranking captain as he had to oversee the dangerous theft of
goods from the Ness warehouses. He was ferociously loyal to the Thieves Guild,
but also had no patience for niceties.
"There is no position now, but it is a traditional guild position.
Sneaking in and warning Polo is exactly the type of role the blade would fill."
Maylor realized she had to sell two things, the role of the position
itself and then her being the one to fill the role.
"Maylor, there has not been a Thief Guild blade for over 50 years.
While your logic is correct, this is the kind of mission the blades would historically fill.
We simply have no blade."
Allard's calm, deep voice was meant to close the discussion.
"I don't even know what this blade position is," Miyo, the young captain of the Plains
said.
Allard sighed, "It is a traditional position of the guilds.
It originally was the title of the Guildmaster's personal bodyguard, but it has changed over the
centuries into the role of spy or assassin.
The Blade of the Guildmaster for the Merchant Guild is who we believe assassinated Pietro."
There was a murmur of voices. Everyone knew that Pietro had been assassinated, but there
was no proof, and his great age made the accusation difficult to
believe.
Allard held up his hand. "I hear the anger in your muttering, and this is
exactly why Pietro eliminated the position when he took over as Guildmaster.
Thieves do not assassinate, nor do we seek vengeance.
We take so we can give."
We take so we can give. It was the motto of the Thieves Guild,
which stole from those with excess to give to those with
little. "This is my chance," Maylor thought.
"But the role of the blade is not for other guilds to define."
Maylor slammed her fist on the table.
Marshaling anger against the other guilds was a surefire method to get what she wanted.
"We can have a blade that does good.
We can have a blade that saves those about to be executed, who finds out about the evil that other
guilds do."
Maylor paused for effect and looked around the table at all of the faces of her fellow
captains. "We can have a blade that saves those about to be
assassinated."The timing of her comment was perfect.
She had linked the lingering pain of Pietro's assassination with the current mission of
saving Polo from assassination.
The murmurs around the table were positive, and Maela could see lots of nodding heads.
She glanced at Allard, who was staring into her eyes in the way that always
intimidated her.
It was as if he could see directly into her soul.
She held his gaze, doing her best to appear both defiant and righteous.
Her position was the right one.
Allard nodded his head, but his reply was not what she had hoped to hear.
There is wisdom in your words, Maela, but this is a decision for the Guildmaster.
Allard turned back to the others.
Now, let's discuss how we can help Kallias in his mission to warn Guildmaster
Polo.
With all due respect, Deputy-
Maela stood up.
... no one knows more of the Harvest Guild than Captain Kallias, but we have all heard his report.
Guildmaster Polo has retreated into Harvest House.
Even he admitted that he has done such a good job infiltrating the Harvest Guild rank and file
that no one there thinks of him as special.
She turned to Kallias and bowed.
That is what we need from a guild captain.
His influence within the Harvest Guild is where we need it, with those that live near Harvest House and
influence things from their day-to-day conversations.
She turned back to Allard.
But it is not what we need from a Blade.
We need someone who can mislead, hide, sneak, and divert attention,
and...
Maela patted the knife at her hip.
... utilize precise violence when necessary.
She didn't humiliate Kallias by looking at him.
Everyone knew he was too old to do any of the physical things that Maela had mentioned.
No one said anything, and Maela couldn't tell what was going through Allard's mind.
She felt strongly he would agree with her, but it appeared he was thinking long and hard over her
words. Finally, he spoke up.
Apprentice Rafe, what is your opinion of what the Guildmaster would think of us making such
a decision without him?
Rafe jerked to attention. He seemed surprised that anyone had
called on him.
Um, I don't think he would much care, other than that the right decision was being made.
Maela couldn't help but smile. Raelynn was reckless, and ignorant,
and maddening, but there was no denying he had a good heart and didn't much stand for
proper procedure. She could have hugged Rafe at that moment.
Thank you, Rafe. I happen to agree with both you and Captain Maela.
He turned to Kallias.
Captain Kallias, I believe I've done you a disservice by asking you to risk your important
and critical role as captain for a mission that very well may hurt us, even if you were successful.
Allard crossed his arms and looked out at everyone.
So the question before us is, who shall we name to this temporary position of Blade, with the
knowledge that this will be a temporary assignment until the Guildmaster returns?
Give it to Maela. She obviously wants it.
The speaker was Rogers, the captain of the Lower Triangle, and his voice was full of sarcasm
and unspoken criticism. He didn't like Maela, and she could never figure out
why. The Lower Triangle bordered the Flats, and so she and Rogers had to work
together fairly often, but he was always dismissive, if not insulting.
To Maela's concern, Kude, the captain of the Old Quarter, cleared his throat to get
attention in preparation for speaking.
Kude was the only other captain who didn't like Maela.
He was very powerful in his role as captain of the Old Quarter.
His job was more bureaucratic than the other captains.
He was to make sure that the Old Quarter ran well like a proper city while also remaining
outside the attention of the city across the river.
Maela had spurned his romantic interest, and he did not take it well,
which led to his constant criticism of her.
Before Kude could say anything, however, Allard's booming voice filled the room.
An excellent idea, Captain Rogers. We will make Maela our temporary Guild Blade.
Allard uncrossed his arms and softened his voice.
Unfortunately, your good idea has increased your responsibility.
We have no time to find a new captain of the Flats, so I will add that to your duties until the
Guildmaster returns.
Maela admired Allard's political cunning.
Kude gave up knowing anything he said would be dismissed.
Beyond shutting down Kude, Allard had also dismissed the criticism of Maela
implied in Rogers' tone of voice while making Rogers feel more important by giving him
additional responsibilities, and he did it by taking the responsibility
away from Maela.
To everyone in the room, Allard had just punished Maela and rewarded Rogers.
Meanwhile, Maela was left with a position that never existed and may not exist upon
the Guildmaster Raelynn's return. It was hard to suppress her smile.
Maela had no intention of failing in her mission, and she had no intention of becoming
a captain again.
She was and forever would be the Blade of the Guildmaster.
(dramatic music)