The Thieves Guild
by Jake Kerr.
Episode 60:
Orion's Plans.
Orion could not believe the security around the Merchant Guild Tower.
When Larson sent him a message saying they needed to talk, he expected Larson to visit
him. He nearly always did. It was one of the things that Orion enjoyed,
Larson thinking that he was appealing to Orion's fragile ego by visiting him,
and that taking on the minor inconvenience was one of the things that helped Larson get his
way.
The reality was that Orion let Larson get his way because Orion took
the long view. He let Larson win every minor disagreement,
knowing full well that Orion himself was arranging all the pieces for him to eventually
rule Ness, not Larson.
In that eventual major conflict, Orion would come out on top,
yet he was visiting the merchant tower at Larson's request.
Not only that, Orion and his guards had to go through a series of security checks that were
absurd in the care they took. Orion finally barked,
"Fine, uh, if you question the weapons of my own bodyguards, tell
Larson to come visit me in my tower."
As Orion turned, the merchant guards changed their minds and let him through.
As he walked into Larson's office, he found out why Larson had finally made
Orion go through the effort of being the one to travel for a meeting.
Larson stood up and walked briskly toward him.
"Ah, so great to see you, old friend."
Orion had to suppress rolling his eyes.
He was hardly an old friend of Larson's.
As Larson approached, Orion almost didn't recognize him.
He looked gaunt, almost fragile, and he had deep circles under his eyes.
"By the shadow of the mountain, Larson, what has happened to you?"
As they shook hands, Larson said, "I've been threatened with assassination."
"Certainly such a threat is not credible.
Who would want to take your life?"
Orion could think of a large number of people that would want to cause harm to
Larson.
Larson laughed. "Polo, for one."
Larson sighed as he turned and walked back toward his desk.
"He wasn't fond of our plan for our guilds to merge." "Yes, but his opinion didn't
matter until your younger brother ruined our plan."
Orion was still bitter over how Raylan had destroyed their work, but he also
enjoyed Larson squirming over every reminder of it.
"Well, that was unexpected, but as you know, Raylan was only one no vote."
"If you believe Polo is trying to assassinate you, then I doubt that he's open to
changing his vote." Orion grumbled, "There are other solutions to that problem."
Larson sat down and gave Orion a hard stare.
"I'm afraid I'm not following you," Orion replied, playing his role of the bumbling,
stupid guild master. He knew exactly what Larson was saying.
Larson shook his head slightly and leaned back in his chair.
"I will be blunt, because our interests are aligned.
I've been trying to assassinate Polo for some time."
Orion scratched his chin. "That does seem to solve the problem." "Yes, yes, I
know that."
Orion liked that Larson was getting impatient.
Impatient people made stupid mistakes.
"The trouble is that Polo is safe in Harvest House, and there appears to be no way to reach
him." "And you feel that Polo knows you're trying to kill him and has sent
an assassin after you?"
Nodding his head, Larson replied, "There was a message on my nightstand when I awoke a few days ago.
It said, 'If Polo dies, you will die next.'
Uh, do you see my difficulty here?"
Orion had to suppress the surge of joy he had just felt.
If he could have his blade assassinate Polo, and the Harvest Guild then
assassinated Larson, his entire plan would come to fruition without any
risk at all.
Still, he had to play a role and express concern for his friend.
"Indeed.
But what about Raylan? You could just kill him."
Orion was trying to do just that with his own blade. "That's a lost cause.
The Wretched Quarter is too dangerous. I've already told you that.
We would need to take an army through, killing everyone as we cleared it." "I do not have a
problem with that." "It won't happen, Orion.
We need another plan." "Well, I'm not good at planning, Larson.
You know that. I'm afraid I can't help you." Orion enjoyed the suppressed anger
on Larson's face. Larson actually thought that he was dealing with a simple mind when
Orion was already putting the pieces in place for Larson's fall.
"Yes, I appreciate your humility.
Thankfully, I have a plan that is not so different than your plan to clear the Wretched Quarter."
For the first time, Orion was intrigued.
When he entered, he'd expected Larson to complain about Polo and ask for assistance in
killing him. This was new. "And what is this plan?" "We shall clear the Flats and
Lower Triangle of Harvest Guild members. They will be forced to relocate across the bridge.
We will limit residency to members of the Knight, Merchant, and Trade Guilds."
Orion tried to make sense of the plan.
He understood the strategy right away.
By moving all the Harvest Guild members to the Wretched Quarter, they would
be miserable.
The idea of merging with the Merchant Guild would be something that the members
of the guild would embrace wholeheartedly, as that would allow them to return to their
homes.
Larson was effectively creating a guild merger from the ground up, with
Polo left powerless to the will of his guild members.That's a
fantastic plan, Larson, Orion exclaimed.
He noticed that Larson breathed out as Orion spoke.
He was nervous I wouldn't go along with him, Orion thought.
Of course, while the strategy appeared sound, the actual plan was
disastrous. The Harvest Guild members wouldn't run to the arms of the guild that kicked
them out of the flats. The idea that they would merge with the Merchant Guild
out of necessity was absurd. Beyond that, the entire idea of
relocating hundreds of Harvest Guild members without violence or other
major problems was similarly absurd.
Thank you, Orion. I'm glad you see the wisdom in it.
Orion could not believe Larson actually believed his plan would work.
It would effectively make him the most hated man in Ness.
Thinking it over, Orion decided that he didn't need to assassinate Polo.
This was even better for him.
Larson would undoubtedly lead the city into a disastrous civil unrest,
and in the midst of it all, Orion would come in and squash Larson,
illustrating his own wisdom and leadership.
As he picked up the pieces, he would put them back together with one person, the
undeniable emperor of the city, Orion.
Yes, Larson, this is a plan that I can support wholeheartedly.
Orion stood up and reached across Larson's desk.
Scrambling to match Orion's sudden movement, Larson stood up and took Orion's
hand. I will always be there for you, Guildmaster Merchant.
Thank you, Orion. With the city united under us, we will usher Ness into a
golden age.
As he smiled and nodded, Orion saw a different future, a fractured Ness united by
Orion hanging Larson from a tree in Founders Park.
Yes, Larson, I see a golden age ahead.
(dramatic music)