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(suspenseful music plays) The Thieves' Guild,

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by Jake Kerr.

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Episode 53:

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Walking the Ash Fields.

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The ash fields were too open to the prying eyes of
wretched quarter gangs, so

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the Blade of the Craft Guild worked his way south
and west.

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The wall extended all the way around to the base
of the mountain, and his plan was

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to walk in its shadow to the mysterious tower.

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He had followed the wide road that ran along the
smaller wall that blocked the ash fields

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from the great river. It was well-built and
well-maintained, which was another

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surprise for the Blade. But among the surprises
that he had experienced already on

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the other side of the river, nothing prepared him
for what he saw when he finally reached

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the wall. The wall ended as it intersected the
road he had been walking.

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That wasn't surprising. With the sheer mountain in
front of him, there was no need for the

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wall here. The mountain was more than enough
defense.

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What was surprising was that the road continued
past the wall and up to the

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mountain. In the distance, the road appeared to
enter the mountain.

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The Blade squinted into the shadows and could make
out pillars and an arch framing the

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way into the mountain. It was clearly part of
Ness's ancient history.

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Looking around, everything seemed abandoned.

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Perhaps it was an entry to a mine, where all the
veins had run out of ore.

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That seemed most likely, even though the entrance
was decorated and the road appeared to

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be one used for commerce or travel, not mining
operations.

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There was so much that needed to be investigated
in the wretched quarter, but the Blade

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knew that he had a specific mission. It was one
thing to investigate a tower

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while sneaking in, but it was another to go off on
a completely unrelated trip to

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examine an abandoned mine. Maybe someday.

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Turning away from the road into the mountain, the
Blade walked to the base of the wall and

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stayed in the shadows. He couldn't see the top of
the wall, but like everything else

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on this accursed side of the river, he assumed it
would be either abandoned or overrun

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by thugs. With each step, the Blade's wonder at
the mysterious

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tower increased. It was truly massive, nearly
twice as tall as

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the merchant tower. It was made of the same stone
as the mountain, which rose

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sheer and mighty behind it. The result was that
the tower was practically

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impossible to see, unless you knew to look for it.

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At the top was a balcony that seemed to provide a
view over the entire walled city.

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"This is the tower of the true leader of the
city," the Blade thought.

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But that was the past, he knew. No one lived in
the tower any longer.

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It was abandoned as the populous crossed the
river.

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It was a monument to folly and history and nothing
more.

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Turning his attention on getting across the Old
Fork, so that he could get to the wretched quarter

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and the mighty tower to his left, the Blade snuck
toward a bridge.

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Pausing to make sure that he was unseen, he
finally looked back at the tower.

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To his shock, he noticed men dressed in black
entering and leaving, and a

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group of guards walking around the tower toward
the wall.

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Glancing at the wall, the Blade could see men on
top with bows.

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They were also dressed in black. Thieves. The
Blade couldn't quite believe it.

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There is no thieves guild. It is but a myth to
keep the populous's hate focused on

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something outside of their control.

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There was no denying it, however: The area was
busy with people acting in the same

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fashion as he would see outside the merchant guild
tower.

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That thought made the Blade look at the tower.

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"Is that the thieves guild tower?"

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As the thought entered his mind, he knew it to be
true.

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The Old Quarter wasn't run by lawless gangs, it
was run by the thieves

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guild. At that point, he knew his mission had
changed.

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He had to escape back across the river and report
to Orion that there was an

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organized thieves guild, complete with armed
guards and a tower that dominated the

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entire city. There was a shout, and the Blade
looked to his right.

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At the bridge in the distance, a group of knights,
all dressed in black, were walking

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straight toward him. He turned, hugged the
relative shelter of the wall, and

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fled toward the road.

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With the knights in armor, he considered it likely
that he could easily outrun them

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and escape. The trouble was that he had few
options on what to do

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after that. The Blade had just decided that he
would flee into the mountain

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via the unused road, and then regroup there, when
he heard the clattering of

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hooves.

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(dramatic music plays)