The Thieves Guild
by Jake Kerr
(dramatic music plays) . Episode 44:
With the Rangers.
The Ranger camp was exactly how Raylan pictured the outlander villages would be,
tents and fires and sentries. It was small and without women or
children, so it was obviously an outpost and not a village, but add those
pieces and Raylan would have considered this an outland metropolis.
Clearly, he was wrong, and the idea of an outlander city intrigued him.
After stabling his horse, the two rangers walked Raylan through the camp.
Men would greet them and look at Raylan with curiosity, but no one talked to him,
and no one seemed particularly confrontational.
They approached a larger tent in the center of the camp, and Bode said,
"Captain Jesser is not one for niceties.
He's a good man, a strong man, but he will not say words to comfort your feelings or cushion any verbal
blows."
Raylan nodded. "I understand. I appreciate that.
Being in the city, you deal with quite the opposite from the money counters."
Bode and Gray both nodded their head. Raylan felt good.
He was being considered one of them. There were two guards in front of the tent.
Although the camp was so well-defended, Raylan wasn't even sure they were necessary.
"A knight from the Wall has a mission in the Plains.
We bring him to discuss his mission with Captain Jesser."
Both guards looked Raylan up and down with a practiced eye.
He was certain that they had assessed him as a threat without even having to examine him for
weapons. "Wait here," the one on the left said and entered the
tent. A few minutes later, he returned with four other people.
They all were muttering as they walked out.
"Captain Jesser would like to see you alone."
He pulled back the canvas of the tent and motioned over his shoulder.
"Thank you," Raylan said as he walked through the entry.
The tent was about 30 feet square and was divided into two sections.
The part where Raylan entered was sparsely decorated and included most of the area of the
tent. There was a wooden desk with two chairs in front of it and an open area with
more chairs rather chaotically spread about.
It appeared to be a combination office/meeting room.
A thin man sat behind the desk.
Although height was difficult to determine, Raylan got the sense that he was
tall. He had a fierce look with thick, full, curly hair, and a closely
cropped beard of similar dark curls on his chin.
His dark skin was similar to Allard's, although that was where the similarity ended.
He looked at ease, but confident. He was dressed in brown, but
wore leather armor, unlike the rangers in the field.
"Come in," he said, motioning to a chair.
Raylan walked slowly but confidently forward.
"I'm Captain Jesser." He spread his arms wide.
"It's not often I am visited by a thief." He motioned again to a chair and smiled.
"Welcome. I cannot wait to hear your story." It took all of Raylan's
concentration not to reveal his surprise that Jesser knew he was a
thief.
Ever since he had met Bode and Gray, Raylan thought he was doing a good job
playing a role that was part lie and part truth.
As he took his seat, Raylan decided that the best thing to do was to be honest, at least to a point.
"Your men thought I was in the Night Guild." Leaning back, Raylan folded his
arms across his chest and peered at Jesser.
Jesser's demeanor continued to be thoroughly relaxed.
He continued to smile and replied, "There are a lot of rumors about the Wretched Quarter.
It is haunted. It is deadly. Even the Night Guild has abandoned its protection.
There are others, but you get the idea.
For a thankless and dangerous guild like the Rangers, there are reasons to perpetuate the legends of the
city being dangerous." "It minimizes deserters," Raylan
stated. Jesser shrugged in reply. Raylan was tempted to ask
Jesser what he knew of the Old Quarter, but he considered the question an opening to a
conversation he did not want to have, so he remained quiet as Jesser
stared at him.
Finally, Jesser spoke up. "I have heard of Guildmaster Pietro's death.
My condolences." "Thank you. He was a great man."
Raylan lowered his head. "For some reason, even Quinto liked him, even
though Pietro traveled to Gautland." "Do you mean the Outlands?"
Bode and Gray had mentioned Gautland, and Raylan wondered if it was
some specialized name for the area where the outlanders lived.
Jesser shook his head. "Does no one care about what happens outside the wall?"
For the first time, he looked upset. "Gautland is the capital city, and
the name of the nation that lives at the edge of the plains before the Great Desert." Jesser pulled out a
knife and stabbed his desk at the edge to Raylan's right.
"Here is Ness." He then stabbed about two inches closer to the center.
"We are here."
And then nearly all the way to the other side of the desk, he stabbed one more time.
"Here is Gautland." "That's very far," Raylan marveled.
Was Karch traveling all the way to there?
"Not so far that the outlanders haven't been able to send raids nearly to the city.
We do our best, but they are becoming very aggressive." "So, the outlanders are attacking
Ness?"
There was so much that Raylan didn't know. "Don't be foolish. No.
The outlanders are attacking us, the Rangers' Guild.
We are stopping them from attacking the city." "Why would they do that?" Jesser
smiled. "Seeing as they are constantly raiding our stores and appear to be trying to create a supply line to
the north in the outer fields,
I would guess that they are looking for food."
But who knows?
Jesser frowned.
So I assume Allard is the guild master thief?
Raylan wasn't sure how to reply, but it was obvious from Jesser's tone that he would not be happy with
Allard as the guild master, and Allard himself had told him that the Rangers
hated him. So Raylan told a partial truth.
No. The other guild masters named the brother of one of their own as the guild master.
Oh, that's just delightful.
Jesser said, the smile once again appearing on his face.
I don't even know what your guild does other than walk the wall outside the wretched quarter, but
having someone other than Allard as the guild master can't be bad.
Raylan relaxed. He finally had the information he needed.
How much did Jesser know? The answer was, not a lot.
Jesser placed his hands on his desk.
Enough chit-chat. I assume you are working for Allard, even if he is not the guild master.
Why would you think that?
Allard has a well-known affection for the outlanders.
I'm sure that he was waiting for old Pietro to die off so that he could send a permanent ambassador to
Goatland.
Jesser leaned forward.
Is that your mission or are you replacing Mio?
Raylan had no idea who Mio was. No. The new guild master is obviously close
to the other guild masters, and he was aware of a plot to betray Ness by one of the money counters.
Raylan smiled inside. He enjoyed the dismissive slang of the
rangers.
I was to stop him.
What is this plot?
Jesser looked unconvinced, which worried Raylan a bit.
I know not. I know that he left via the great gate and is heading to talk with the
outlanders.
Raylan wondered how Jesser would respond.
His men seemed to think that Karch's mission was a suicide mission.
Are you to kill him?
Raylan thought for a moment before answering.
I'm to stop him.
Jesser nodded.
If he left via the gateway, you are far behind already.
There is no clear road to the river from this side, and the river crossing south of here will be slow and
treacherous.
Is your horse fast?
Raylan nodded.
Very.
Then you will catch him, uh, but it will be days before you do.
Jesser shoved his chair back and stood up.
I will provide you with an escort to the other side of the river. At that point, you are on your own.
You may run into Quintos' forces as you rejoin the road. Our main encampment is north of there.
If you do so, make sure to mention my name and that we talked.
Standing up, Raylan wasn't quite sure what
to make of the rangers. Jesser walked over and shook his hand while calling out for
someone.
The rangers seemed dismissive of those that lived in the city and yet lived in the
harsh conditions of the wild and risked their lives to defend it.
Jesser knew Raylan was a thief, and yet he trusted him.
As they walked together to the front of the tent, Jesser paused.
Raylan stopped and watched as Jesser turned to him.
I never liked that Guild Master Pietro visited the outlanders,
but the attacks always lessened for a few weeks after he visited.
And without any further explanation or questions, Jesser walked
Raylan to the stable.
(dramatic music)