(suspenseful music plays) The Thieves' Guild,
by Jake Kerr.
Episode 53:
Walking the Ash Fields.
The ash fields were too open to the prying eyes of wretched quarter gangs, so
the Blade of the Craft Guild worked his way south and west.
The wall extended all the way around to the base of the mountain, and his plan was
to walk in its shadow to the mysterious tower.
He had followed the wide road that ran along the smaller wall that blocked the ash fields
from the great river. It was well-built and well-maintained, which was another
surprise for the Blade. But among the surprises that he had experienced already on
the other side of the river, nothing prepared him for what he saw when he finally reached
the wall. The wall ended as it intersected the road he had been walking.
That wasn't surprising. With the sheer mountain in front of him, there was no need for the
wall here. The mountain was more than enough defense.
What was surprising was that the road continued past the wall and up to the
mountain. In the distance, the road appeared to enter the mountain.
The Blade squinted into the shadows and could make out pillars and an arch framing the
way into the mountain. It was clearly part of Ness's ancient history.
Looking around, everything seemed abandoned.
Perhaps it was an entry to a mine, where all the veins had run out of ore.
That seemed most likely, even though the entrance was decorated and the road appeared to
be one used for commerce or travel, not mining operations.
There was so much that needed to be investigated in the wretched quarter, but the Blade
knew that he had a specific mission. It was one thing to investigate a tower
while sneaking in, but it was another to go off on a completely unrelated trip to
examine an abandoned mine. Maybe someday.
Turning away from the road into the mountain, the Blade walked to the base of the wall and
stayed in the shadows. He couldn't see the top of the wall, but like everything else
on this accursed side of the river, he assumed it would be either abandoned or overrun
by thugs. With each step, the Blade's wonder at the mysterious
tower increased. It was truly massive, nearly twice as tall as
the merchant tower. It was made of the same stone as the mountain, which rose
sheer and mighty behind it. The result was that the tower was practically
impossible to see, unless you knew to look for it.
At the top was a balcony that seemed to provide a view over the entire walled city.
"This is the tower of the true leader of the city," the Blade thought.
But that was the past, he knew. No one lived in the tower any longer.
It was abandoned as the populous crossed the river.
It was a monument to folly and history and nothing more.
Turning his attention on getting across the Old Fork, so that he could get to the wretched quarter
and the mighty tower to his left, the Blade snuck toward a bridge.
Pausing to make sure that he was unseen, he finally looked back at the tower.
To his shock, he noticed men dressed in black entering and leaving, and a
group of guards walking around the tower toward the wall.
Glancing at the wall, the Blade could see men on top with bows.
They were also dressed in black. Thieves. The Blade couldn't quite believe it.
There is no thieves guild. It is but a myth to keep the populous's hate focused on
something outside of their control.
There was no denying it, however: The area was busy with people acting in the same
fashion as he would see outside the merchant guild tower.
That thought made the Blade look at the tower.
"Is that the thieves guild tower?"
As the thought entered his mind, he knew it to be true.
The Old Quarter wasn't run by lawless gangs, it was run by the thieves
guild. At that point, he knew his mission had changed.
He had to escape back across the river and report to Orion that there was an
organized thieves guild, complete with armed guards and a tower that dominated the
entire city. There was a shout, and the Blade looked to his right.
At the bridge in the distance, a group of knights, all dressed in black, were walking
straight toward him. He turned, hugged the relative shelter of the wall, and
fled toward the road.
With the knights in armor, he considered it likely that he could easily outrun them
and escape. The trouble was that he had few options on what to do
after that. The Blade had just decided that he would flee into the mountain
via the unused road, and then regroup there, when he heard the clattering of
hooves.
(dramatic music plays)