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The Thieves Guild

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by Jake Kerr

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(dramatic music plays) . Episode 44:

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With the Rangers.

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The Ranger camp was exactly how Raylan pictured
the outlander villages would be,

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tents and fires and sentries. It was small and
without women or

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children, so it was obviously an outpost and not a
village, but add those

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pieces and Raylan would have considered this an
outland metropolis.

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Clearly, he was wrong, and the idea of an
outlander city intrigued him.

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After stabling his horse, the two rangers walked
Raylan through the camp.

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Men would greet them and look at Raylan with
curiosity, but no one talked to him,

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and no one seemed particularly confrontational.

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They approached a larger tent in the center of the
camp, and Bode said,

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"Captain Jesser is not one for niceties.

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He's a good man, a strong man, but he will not say
words to comfort your feelings or cushion any
verbal

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blows."

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Raylan nodded. "I understand. I appreciate that.

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Being in the city, you deal with quite the
opposite from the money counters."

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Bode and Gray both nodded their head. Raylan felt
good.

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He was being considered one of them. There were
two guards in front of the tent.

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Although the camp was so well-defended, Raylan
wasn't even sure they were necessary.

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"A knight from the Wall has a mission in the
Plains.

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We bring him to discuss his mission with Captain
Jesser."

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Both guards looked Raylan up and down with a
practiced eye.

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He was certain that they had assessed him as a
threat without even having to examine him for

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weapons. "Wait here," the one on the left said and
entered the

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tent. A few minutes later, he returned with four
other people.

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They all were muttering as they walked out.

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"Captain Jesser would like to see you alone."

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He pulled back the canvas of the tent and motioned
over his shoulder.

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"Thank you," Raylan said as he walked through the
entry.

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The tent was about 30 feet square and was divided
into two sections.

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The part where Raylan entered was sparsely
decorated and included most of the area of the

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tent. There was a wooden desk with two chairs in
front of it and an open area with

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more chairs rather chaotically spread about.

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It appeared to be a combination office/meeting
room.

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A thin man sat behind the desk.

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Although height was difficult to determine, Raylan
got the sense that he was

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tall. He had a fierce look with thick, full, curly
hair, and a closely

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cropped beard of similar dark curls on his chin.

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His dark skin was similar to Allard's, although
that was where the similarity ended.

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He looked at ease, but confident. He was dressed
in brown, but

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wore leather armor, unlike the rangers in the
field.

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"Come in," he said, motioning to a chair.

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Raylan walked slowly but confidently forward.

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"I'm Captain Jesser." He spread his arms wide.

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"It's not often I am visited by a thief." He
motioned again to a chair and smiled.

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"Welcome. I cannot wait to hear your story." It
took all of Raylan's

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concentration not to reveal his surprise that
Jesser knew he was a

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thief.

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Ever since he had met Bode and Gray, Raylan
thought he was doing a good job

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playing a role that was part lie and part truth.

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As he took his seat, Raylan decided that the best
thing to do was to be honest, at least to a point.

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"Your men thought I was in the Night Guild."
Leaning back, Raylan folded his

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arms across his chest and peered at Jesser.

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Jesser's demeanor continued to be thoroughly
relaxed.

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He continued to smile and replied, "There are a
lot of rumors about the Wretched Quarter.

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It is haunted. It is deadly. Even the Night Guild
has abandoned its protection.

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There are others, but you get the idea.

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For a thankless and dangerous guild like the
Rangers, there are reasons to perpetuate the
legends of the

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city being dangerous." "It minimizes deserters,"
Raylan

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stated. Jesser shrugged in reply. Raylan was
tempted to ask

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Jesser what he knew of the Old Quarter, but he
considered the question an opening to a

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conversation he did not want to have, so he
remained quiet as Jesser

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stared at him.

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Finally, Jesser spoke up. "I have heard of
Guildmaster Pietro's death.

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My condolences." "Thank you. He was a great man."

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Raylan lowered his head. "For some reason, even
Quinto liked him, even

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though Pietro traveled to Gautland." "Do you mean
the Outlands?"

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Bode and Gray had mentioned Gautland, and Raylan
wondered if it was

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some specialized name for the area where the
outlanders lived.

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Jesser shook his head. "Does no one care about
what happens outside the wall?"

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For the first time, he looked upset. "Gautland is
the capital city, and

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the name of the nation that lives at the edge of
the plains before the Great Desert." Jesser pulled
out a

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knife and stabbed his desk at the edge to Raylan's
right.

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"Here is Ness." He then stabbed about two inches
closer to the center.

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"We are here."

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And then nearly all the way to the other side of
the desk, he stabbed one more time.

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"Here is Gautland." "That's very far," Raylan
marveled.

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Was Karch traveling all the way to there?

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"Not so far that the outlanders haven't been able
to send raids nearly to the city.

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We do our best, but they are becoming very
aggressive." "So, the outlanders are attacking

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Ness?"

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There was so much that Raylan didn't know. "Don't
be foolish. No.

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The outlanders are attacking us, the Rangers'
Guild.

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We are stopping them from attacking the city."
"Why would they do that?" Jesser

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smiled. "Seeing as they are constantly raiding our
stores and appear to be trying to create a supply
line to

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the north in the outer fields,

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I would guess that they are looking for food."

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But who knows?

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Jesser frowned.

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So I assume Allard is the guild master thief?

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Raylan wasn't sure how to reply, but it was
obvious from Jesser's tone that he would not be
happy with

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Allard as the guild master, and Allard himself had
told him that the Rangers

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hated him. So Raylan told a partial truth.

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No. The other guild masters named the brother of
one of their own as the guild master.

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Oh, that's just delightful.

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Jesser said, the smile once again appearing on his
face.

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I don't even know what your guild does other than
walk the wall outside the wretched quarter, but

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having someone other than Allard as the guild
master can't be bad.

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Raylan relaxed. He finally had the information he
needed.

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How much did Jesser know? The answer was, not a
lot.

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Jesser placed his hands on his desk.

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Enough chit-chat. I assume you are working for
Allard, even if he is not the guild master.

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Why would you think that?

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Allard has a well-known affection for the
outlanders.

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I'm sure that he was waiting for old Pietro to die
off so that he could send a permanent ambassador
to

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Goatland.

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Jesser leaned forward.

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Is that your mission or are you replacing Mio?

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Raylan had no idea who Mio was. No. The new guild
master is obviously close

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to the other guild masters, and he was aware of a
plot to betray Ness by one of the money counters.

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Raylan smiled inside. He enjoyed the dismissive
slang of the

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rangers.

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I was to stop him.

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What is this plot?

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Jesser looked unconvinced, which worried Raylan a
bit.

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I know not. I know that he left via the great gate
and is heading to talk with the

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outlanders.

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Raylan wondered how Jesser would respond.

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His men seemed to think that Karch's mission was a
suicide mission.

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Are you to kill him?

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Raylan thought for a moment before answering.

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I'm to stop him.

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Jesser nodded.

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If he left via the gateway, you are far behind
already.

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There is no clear road to the river from this
side, and the river crossing south of here will be
slow and

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treacherous.

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Is your horse fast?

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Raylan nodded.

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Very.

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Then you will catch him, uh, but it will be days
before you do.

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Jesser shoved his chair back and stood up.

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I will provide you with an escort to the other
side of the river. At that point, you are on your
own.

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You may run into Quintos' forces as you rejoin the
road. Our main encampment is north of there.

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If you do so, make sure to mention my name and
that we talked.

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Standing up, Raylan wasn't quite sure what

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to make of the rangers. Jesser walked over and
shook his hand while calling out for

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someone.

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The rangers seemed dismissive of those that lived
in the city and yet lived in the

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harsh conditions of the wild and risked their
lives to defend it.

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Jesser knew Raylan was a thief, and yet he trusted
him.

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As they walked together to the front of the tent,
Jesser paused.

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Raylan stopped and watched as Jesser turned to
him.

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I never liked that Guild Master Pietro visited the
outlanders,

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but the attacks always lessened for a few weeks
after he visited.

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And without any further explanation or questions,
Jesser walked

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Raylan to the stable.

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(dramatic music)