The Thief's Guild,
by Jake Kerr.
Episode 46:
Ambushed on the Great Road.
Bode and Gray returned to the foothills, and a single ranger escorted
Raylan along the path that led to the river crossing.
His name was Jango, and he was nervous and quiet, which suited Raylan
fine. Jango would wander ahead, his head darting left and right as
he looked for unknown danger.
While Jango rather easily trotted ahead keeping an eye out, Raylan had a tough time
concentrating on keeping his seat while navigating the path.
Like the foothills, where the ranger saw a path, Raylan saw ruts and rocks.
Jango kept stopping and waiting on Raylan until he finally barked out, "Have you ever
ridden a horse before?"
"I don't want my horse to twist an ankle.
This ground is treacherous," Raylan replied, a hint of
exasperation in his voice.
Shaking his head, Jango walked his horse back to Raylan.
"So you aren't familiar with horses then?"
Raylan was going to object, but he didn't feel like the time was right.
"Do you see these things?"
Jango pointed to the front of the horse's head.
"His eyes?"
"Exactly.
Your horse can see. Trust him to pick the right path.
Your eyes," Jango pointed at Raylan's eyes, "should focus there." He then
pointed off to the horizon. Without saying anything else, Jango turned his horse and
continued onward.
Raylan decided to at least give the advice a try, although it made him nervous not to
guide the horse away from ruts and rocks that could make it stumble.
He focused on watching Jango, and after a bit of time, two things happened.
His horse made good time without stumbling, and Raylan realized that Jango's
random nervousness was actually a deliberate pattern.
The ranger would look left, then right, then straight ahead, and then he would
pause to look toward the river, which was getting closer with each step.
Finally, he would scan the horizon in a long arc from left to right,
pausing only if he saw something that alarmed him.
It was this last part that made his process look random.
There presumably was something that alarmed him during every stop, and he
would restart the scanning process each time he dismissed what he had seen before.
The two of them finally reached the river, and the crossing was at a spot where the river
split around a sandy island.
The widening of the river made it more shallow, and the island acted as a land
bridge over what would have been the deepest part.
As they stood on the bank, Jango held up a fist.
"This is more dangerous than it looks."
Raylan looked around. He had no idea what dangerous or safe terrain looked like.
"We can see far in every direction, so there is no near-term risk.
However, once we reach the island, we cannot escape quickly.
We will need to struggle through the water.
That means that even enemies far away can still ambush us here." Raylan nodded,
which elicited further clarification from Jango.
"That means that you will watch as your enemies approach to kill you slowly and irrevocably."
Well, let's hope we don't have any enemies.
"We all have enemies," Jango replied as he spurred his horse into the river.
Raylan followed, and while the crossing took his full attention and a long time, it was
not difficult. At the deepest point, the water came to the top of the horse's legs,
but while it struggled against the current, it never appeared to be in danger.
The sun was going down as they reached the other side of the river.
Raylan waited for Jango to lead further, but he sat on his horse and did nothing more
than occasionally scan the horizon.
"Are you not going to lead me to the road?" Raylan finally asked.
Jango shook his head. "My duty is the south bank.
The road is not far. Just head straight away from the river and keep the Teeth to your
right.
You'll get there in time to camp for the night."
"Teeth?"
"The mountains, keep them to your right." Jango looked at Raylan's horse.
"You don't have a bedroll."
Raylan shrugged.
"I had to leave in a hurry."
"Food?"
"Enough to get by."
Jango reached behind and began to untie what Raylan assumed was bedding.
As he did, he spoke. "I used to patrol the Great Road.
I escorted Guildmaster Pietro on his last trip to Gautland."
As he mentioned Pietro's name, Jango shot a glance at Raylan.
Raylan thought, "He knows I'm a thief." "Of course, I
remained hidden.
My job was simply to make sure he came to no harm.
But the funny thing was that everyone knew it was the safest mission you could be assigned.
The Outlanders cleared the road as Pietro approached."
Jango threw his bedroll to Raylan.
"Jessa told me that the attacks lessened after Pietro's visits."
"Yes.
We would always discuss what Pietro did.
Some thought him a traitor, but others thought that the Outlanders feared him.
All I know is that they not only left him alone,
they steered clear of him."
"You saw him often?"
"No.
He traveled very rarely.
When I escorted him, he hadn't traveled to Gautland in many years."
"When was this?"
"Last year." Raylan couldn't believe it. Pietro was ancient.
How could he handle a trip to the Outlanders at his age?
"He took a wagon with an escort?"
"Alone, on a horse."
Raylan shook his head.
"There will never be another Pietro."
"Never."
Without another word, Jango tugged on his reins to turn to the river, but paused
as if reconsidering something. Finally, he turned to Raylan and added, "I
believe the Outlanders feared him. I know not why."
"Be careful, young thief.
Captain Jesser told me your mission.
The money counter will be stalked by outlanders.
He is not Pietro, and my belief is that he will be dead by the time you reach him.
But if not, be aware that you will not be the only one shadowing him."
Raylan bowed his head.
"Thank you, Django. I will take care and do my best to carry in Guildmaster
Pietro's footsteps."
Raylan doubted that the ranger would understand the meaning behind Raylan's words.
With a nod of his head, Django raised his hand, turned, and rode into the river.
Raylan decided to camp immediately, rather than risk being helpless near the
road.
Django's bedroll was little more than a thick wool blanket, but Raylan was
thankful for it as the night had a chill and the ground was hard.
Resting his head on his own cloak, Raylan fell asleep wondering if he would reach Karch the next
day.
Two days and nights later, Raylan was sore and thirsty, and wondering just
how big the world was as he looked out on a stretch of road that reached far to the
horizon and had no one on it. It hadn't taken long to reach the road and,
foolishly, Raylan had considered he would be able to see Karch in the distance.
While the terrain was flat and the road straight, Raylan couldn't see anything.
Running a hand through his hair, Raylan considered his immediate future.
His plan was to sprint to Karch, getting close enough to trail him until the
next sundown. Then he was going to sneak into Karch's camp and
sabotage things somehow to force him to turn around.
Of course, there were major challenges. The ground was flat.
How would he be able to trail Karch without being seen?
Also, he had no idea how far it was to the outlanders.
Did he even have time to catch Karch unawares?
Not having any other option, Raylan spurred his horse and galloped ahead.
He glanced back, wondering if one of the rangers patrolling the Great Road was
shadowing him.
He couldn't see anyone, but assumed someone was there.
He continued to make great time.
The road was well-maintained and made of large, irregularly shaped stone.
Raylan couldn't quite believe the road would be paved in stone the entire way to the
outlanders, but he was grateful that it appeared to be just that.
Despite the smooth road, the grueling length of the trip
started to take its toll. He hurt all over and he found his mind
wandering as the steady beat of the hooves lulled his attention away from
the horizon.
As he looked off to the left, Raylan realized that the mountains, which
Django called the Teeth, had turned away and were stretched
as far as he could see to the south. As he glanced to the right, he could
see the same thing. They stood as an impenetrable barrier behind him,
Ness nestled among the foothills.
Turning his attention back to the road, Raylan yanked on his reins.
In the far distance, he could clearly see a group on horseback.
Concerned they might see him, Raylan moved off the road so that he would at least not
be quite so easy to see.
It was still a few hours to sunset, so Raylan paced far behind,
waiting for an opportunity to sabotage Karch and his escort.
Unfortunately, being off the road meant that Raylan had to struggle with the
uneven ground under his horse. He trusted the horse to find the right
step, but he didn't quite know how to balance guiding the horse in the right
direction with letting it choose its path.
The result was an erratic back and forth that made progress achingly
slow. As the sun fell, Raylan was further back than he had
hoped, but at least it was unlikely that Karch or his escort had seen him.
To make things even better, Karch had set up a full camp with a few tents and a
large fire. While the firelight would complicate things, the open nature of the
camp made sneaking in much easier.
After securing his horse to a rock, Raylan closed in on the camp.
As he approached, the perfect plan revealed itself.
Off to the right, the horses were tied to a pole that had been planted into the
ground. All that Raylan had to do was grab the horses, and Karch would be stranded.
The group would have to march back on foot, which would take a very long time.
Raylan was certain that it would effectively end the mission.
To Raylan's shock, uh, the horses were unguarded.
There was one guard, and he seemed intent on focusing his attention on the
direction of the outlanders and guarding the tents.
Raylan was within 50 yards of the camp when a shadow rose in front of him.
"One more step and you die,"
a cold, flat voice stated.
Squinting, Raylan could barely make out the outline of a man. He was holding a sword.
"Did I miss a guard?" Raylan cursed his own carelessness.
His only hope was to explain to Karch's guards that he wasn't a threat.
A reasonable story came to him. "I'm a ranger.
I am watching over your camp." Raylan held up his hands, hoping that the dim
light would make his black cloak look close enough to brown.
"Another lie and you die,"
the voice replied. "I am a ranger, overseeing the safety of those that travel
the road.
What is your name and business?
You are no outlander."
A ranger. He would help Raylan.
Breathing a sigh of relief, Raylan stated, "Uh,
I apologize, ranger. I assumed you were a guard for the camp." They are money counters and on a mission to
betray Ness. I am to stop them." "Your name." The ranger didn't move.
"Raylan.""Reylen, it is against the law to accost travelers on the
road.
My duty is to protect them.
I could kill you now, but as you haven't done anything yet, you will stay with me until they break
camp." Before Reylen could reply, the ranger added, "You should feel lucky I will let you
go."
"I don't think you understand, friend ranger.
I was escorted across the river by Jango for this mission.
He used to escort travelers on the road.
The captain of the Foothills, Jesser, helped me as well.
Your own guild sees the importance of my mission."
"Fair enough, Reylen. You have two options then.
You can wait until daybreak with me, or we can travel to the Foothills,
and I can confirm your story with Captain Jesser myself.
Your choice." Reylen didn't know if he would have time to ride all the way back to
the Foothills and get back to Karch before he reached the Outlanders.
"How far is Gautland from here?"
"If that is their destination, they will arrive there late tomorrow."
Reylen cursed under his breath. He wouldn't have another opportunity to slow them down.
"Does it not concern you that their destination is the Outlanders?"
The ranger shrugged.
"They'll die before they get across the drawbridge."
Bode and Jango had said the same thing, which made Reylen wonder if Karch
had some secret way to get past the Outlander guards.
"The Outlanders would not welcome a group representing a guildmaster of Ness?"
"Only if it were Guildmaster Pietro." Pietro again.
Reylen could not believe the influence and hidden power that his predecessor had.
All the other guildmasters in Ness considered Pietro a buffoon, but he was
clearly the smartest and most likely powerful guildmaster, not just in Ness but
in the whole lands around Ness. "Sit, young man.
We shall welcome dawn together, and then you can follow the money counters and pick over their
corpses after the Outlanders get done with them."
"If the Outlanders don't kill me too," Reylen muttered.
"They won't," the ranger replied. "You wear the black."
(Intense music)