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(suspenseful music plays) The Thieves Guild

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by Jake Kerr.

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Episode 42:

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A Difficult Path.

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Raylan quickly discovered that being good on a
horse within the city walls wasn't

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remotely the same thing as being good on a horse
on the plains.

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Even when he rode amidst the outer fields, the
terrain was relatively uniform.

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The plains, however, were full of ruts, rocks, and
uneven ground that made for

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treacherous footing. It would have been easier if
there were a road, but the road through

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the gate beyond the Thieves Tower led along the
wall to the great gate.

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Raylan had to avoid the main road and the view of
the White Guard, which meant he had to head

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out along the foothills in the shadow of the
mountains along the path that the two

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thief guards had said would be there.

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The trouble was that what they considered a path
was invisible to his untrained

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eye.

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At some point, he was to turn to the right at a
river crossing and meet up with the main

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road.

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Like the entire plan, it depended on Raylan's
instincts to somehow get it right,

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as there was no identifiable path, and he was sure
there wouldn't be an

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identifiable crossing.

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As he left the gate, Raylan was excited, but after
two hours at more of a careful

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walk than even a trot, his confidence at catching
Karch was waning.

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The good news was that the fractured land of the
foothills had started to even out

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and Raylan could see the plains spreading out to
the north, which would give him an

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idea as to how best to approach the main road.

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An hour later, Raylan paused to plan his route.

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He had somehow made it to the edge of a promontory
at a point where the mountains turned

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sharply south.

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He had climbed higher into the foothills and had a
majestic view of Ness, the

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plains, and the mountains.

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He had never known that Ness was set within a
notch of the mountains.

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He knew it was surrounded on the north, east, and
south by mountains, but he

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didn't realize which direction the mountains went.

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Now he knew that they went north-south, with Ness
huddled in the midst of

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them. The plains went off far into the distance to
the west, flat and

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featureless. The only thing that marked them was
the great river which flowed out

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of Ness, splitting the plains in two.

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The river presented an obstacle that Raylan was
increasingly concerned about.

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The road ran along the river but was on the other
side.

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To make matters worse, the river turned south off
to Raylan's left.

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Squinting, Raylan was certain he could see the
road continuing west.

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How was Raylan to get to the road? He could not
see anything that looked like a crossing as

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described by his guild members. His only hope was
to gallop alongside the

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river and hope that he would find a shallow
section that would allow him to cross

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and then backtrack to the road. "Hold, knight.

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Do not move or you will be dead before your horse
takes two strides."

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The voice came from directly behind Raylan.

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He resisted the urge to turn to look at his
visitors.

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The man said not to move, and an arrow or sword in
his back did not seem like a good price to

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pay for curiosity. "May I turn to face you?"
Raylan asked, as a few

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thoughts went through his head.

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The first was that these were probably members of
the Ranger Guild.

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He had been warned that he would likely see them.

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The other thought was that they might be able to
help him.

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While the final thought was that they called him
knight and not thief.

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"Slowly,"

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a different voice replied.

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Raylan pulled on his reins and turned his mount to
the left.

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Facing him were two men dressed in brown tunics
with green detailing.

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Brown?

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They couldn't be guildless, could they?

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The man on the left had a nocked bow pointed at
him, while the one on the right had his

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arms crossed. They both had brown hoods, the type
that were generally

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worn under armor for comfort. For them, it
appeared more to allow them to fade

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into the dusty terrain.

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Dropping the reins and lifting his hands, Raylan
stated, "I'm Raylan.

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You can lower your bow. I will not flee and mean
you no harm."

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The two men looked at each other, and the one on
the right nodded.

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The one on the left lowered his bow and slung it
over his shoulder.

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"We've never seen a black knight in the hills,"

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the one on the right said. "Is there a reason you
aren't manning the wall?" the other asked.

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That's when it struck Raylan. They thought that
the Knight Guild had a special

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regiment or something that wore black manning the
wall on this side of the river.

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They had seen the thieves on the wall and didn't
know they weren't knights.

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How would they without venturing into the city?
Raylan thought.

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"You are rangers," Raylan said as a statement.

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"I'm Bode, and this is Gray,"

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the one on the right said, nodding in answer to
Raylan's statement.

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So the Ranger Guild colors were brown.

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Raylan found that interesting on multiple levels.

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The first was that brown was the despised color of
the guildless in Ness.

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He wondered if the Ranger Guild knew that.

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The other was that the Ranger Guild was a
sub-guild of the Fighters, which meant that they
should have

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had white at least somewhere on their clothing.

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Putting it together, Raylan concluded that the
Ranger Guild was pretty much outside of the

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influence of Ness. That could be an opportunity
for him.

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“Well met, Bode and Gray. Indeed I'm a Black
Knight.

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I am on a mission for the guild.

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The deputy guild master of the merchant guild is
on the main road heading to meet with the
outlanders.

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His departure was sudden and I have already lost
much time.”

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Bode shook his head. “We have no love for the
money counters, but his is a fool's

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mission. They will kill him before he reaches the
bridge to the city.”

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City?

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Raylan assumed the outlanders lived in tents or in
caves somewhere in the

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plains. They were borderline savages.

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What was this talk of a city?

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“You did not tell us the nature of your mission.”

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It was Gray who looked much more suspicious of
Raylan than Bode

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did.

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“I'm to stop him.”

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Raylan didn't add anything and the two Rangers
stared at him.

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The silence created a tension that hadn't existed
before, and Raylan was

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about to break down and explain more when Bode
broke in.

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“You will save his life.

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It is a worthy mission. Only the money counters
would be so foolish as to bargain with the

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outlanders.”

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Bode's voice turned bitter.

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“They have no idea how many lives have been lost
by our guild as we protect the city from their
constant

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attacks.

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They raid our supplies. They test our defenses in
the hills, in the plains to the north, to the

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west and here.”

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He waved across the southern part of the mountain
range.

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Gray nodded.

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“I've never seen them so aggressive.

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Quinto is talking about traveling to the city to
discuss things with Saxe, and the two of

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them hate each other.”

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Raylan nodded, remembering Allard mentioning
Quinto as the guild master of the

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Rangers.

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“Our guild masters may have their differences, but
we both defend the city even if we

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aren't appreciated for it.”

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Raylan held up his hand palm out.

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“You speak the truth. We will help you,” Bode
replied.

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He nodded to his left. “Why did you not just
follow him from Gateway?”

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Raylan assumed that Bode meant the Great Gate.

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He didn't have a good answer to that question, so
he stammered a bit and then

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replied.

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“I have no idea. I was just told to leave via the
south gate.”

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Raylan shrugged.

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“Maybe they wanted me to surprise him and his
guards.”

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Gray squinted at Raylan.

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“Or maybe they're just incompetent.”

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That evoked a laugh from Bode.

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“That sounds more likely.”

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He pointed to his left.

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“Follow us this way.

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Our captain is Jesser. I'm sure he would love to
have someone escort you on a fast horse to catch

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up.

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The plains are not good for surprising anyone, but
the distance to Gautland is long, so you will have
no

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problem catching up to a money counter.”

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Walking his horse over, Raylan held out his hand.

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“Thank you, Rangers. I will not forget your help.”

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They shook hands and Raylan followed the two down
a barely recognizable

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path to the camp of the Ranger Guild.

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(dramatic music)