The Thieves Guild
by Jake Kerr.
Episode 71:
A Slap.
The lower quarter was a mess, but Karch wasn't concerned about that.
He had to hand it to Pattis and Larsen.
They had burned the will out of the Harvest Guild in the flats and the Lower
Triangle the night before. Clearing out the Harvest Guild members was turning
out to be surprisingly easy as Pattis had noted.
It was everywhere else that was a problem.
Karch had done everything he could, but he was still nervous.
He had just returned from Trader's Bridge.
It was heavily defended by the guild's best troops,
but he was dismayed that no one had taken his command to prepare to destroy the
bridge seriously. It was stone, and destroying it would be difficult.
So, he had hoped that they would have procured some craft guild masons to dismantle
some keystones, but nothing was done.
The North Fork was well-defended with Knight Guild ships, so that was good,
but Sax had practically laughed at Karch when he recommended reinforcing the
defenses of the Nightwatch. The Nightwatch was a fortified tower at the
end of the Great Wall to the east, overlooking the outer and inner
fields and Harvest House.
Karch's fear was the Harvest Guild troops would overpower the White Guard
and rush along the top of the Great Wall, and then descend into the lower quarter
from the north with deadly archers stationed on the wall.
"Your ludicrous idea is insulting, Karch.
Insulting,"
Sax had declared from his stone throne.
He and Polo were the only guild masters who sat on thrones and not behind
desks, and Karch found it crass. "I am merely making a recommendation, Guild
Master. The Harvest Guild has the advantage of numbers.
Their assault could continue until the Nightwatch runs out of arrows." "That is madness,
Karch.
Why would the guild be willing to lose so many to take the wall?"
Sax waved a jewel-encrusted goblet, spilling some wine.
Because they have lost so many in the lower quarter already, Karch thought.
Sax was on the verge of drunkenness, a weakness of his that Karch
found intolerable, as it made Sax even more unpredictable.
"Be that as it may, sir, if they choose to assault the Watch, would it not be
wise to be prepared?" "Are you telling me I'm not prepared?"
Sax yelled out, tossing his goblet to the ground, which landed with a thud
as it hit a thick carpet, adding yet another wine stain.
As Sax's face turned red, Karch held up his hands.
"Not at all, Guild Master. I am merely outlining that Polo may be desperate and irrational."
"Polo is cowering like a rabbit in Harvest House, Karch."
Sax shook his head, his demeanor changing to one lecturing a child.
"I understand your fear, but it is unfounded.
My knights are capable of withstanding an assault from a bunch of farmers."
And with that, the meeting was over, and Karch's concerns over the Nightwatch
increased. "The arrogance of Sax and Larsen will be their
undoing," Karch thought as he returned to Merchant Tower.
Trader's Bridge and the Nightwatch were well-defended, but they were not
defended well enough to withstand a desperate enemy, and Karch was
positive that Polo was both desperate and angry.
As he walked through the giant gates of the tower, Kerris, the annoying nephew of
Orion, rushed over. He was a runt of a boy with an ever-present
sneer of privilege and arrogance.
Karch could not believe that Larsen named the boy Apprentice Guild Master,
even if the title meant nothing and it helped with Orion.
"Karch, I've been looking for you all day."
The boy stopped in front of Karch, his fists resting on his hips like he was
going to throw a temper tantrum. "I was busy," Karch said coolly.
He hated the boy more than Relan, if that were possible.
"Well, you're not busy now, and I need you to pick up my new garments from the
warehouse."
Karch stared at Kerris. "I'm not your servant.
Pick them up yourself or find someone else to do it."
He took a step to the side to continue past Kerris, when the boy moved in front of
him.
"How would you like to end up in the dungeon, Karch?"
Kerris nodded his head in the direction of the guild dungeon.
"You may have forgotten, I'm the apprentice guild master. You report to me.
So, are you going to get my garments, or am I going to call the guard to haul you away for
impertinence?" "I report to Guild Master Larsen, Kerris.
I recommend you talk less, and listen more if you know what's good for you."
Karch used every bit of his self-control not to berate the boy like
the child he was. He once again stepped to the right and started towards
the steps up the tower. Kerris grabbed Karch's arm to stop him.
Spinning around, Karch grabbed Kerris' arm with his left hand, twisting it.
With his right hand, he slapped Kerris hard across the face, staggering him
and leaving a red mark. "You do not touch me, boy." Karch let go of
Kerris' arm and shoved him away. "Listen, I will only say this once.
You are here as a favor to your uncle. That favor will only go so far.
So, play your games of power with others, but I don't have time for them." As
Karch walked away, Kerris shouted toward him.
"You'll be sorry for that, Karch. No one touches me.
No one."
Karch resisted the urge to go back and slap the boy again.
A messenger had just left, delivering to Karch an update from the Lower Triangle.
The Greenbelt was ash, and the Harvest Guild members were as demoralized there as
they were in the flats.
The clearing of the Harvest Guild continued to go well.
An earlier messenger had provided even better news, but it was the nature of
that good news that worried Karch. That message noted that there was no
movement from the Harvest Guild near Trader's Bridge or the Night Watch.
As far as anyone could tell, the Harvest Guild was doing nothing as their guild
members were being swept into the Wretched Quarter.
Karch knew that Polo was planning something, and the fact that Karch still
had no idea what that was worried him.
A third messenger arrived. "Larsen demands your presence," was
the entirety of the message.
I wonder if Larsen has received word on movement of the Harvest Guild outside
the wall. It was the only option that Karch would not have any view into.
If it was happening, then Polo would have chosen the riskiest option with the
highest likelihood of failure. As he made his way to Larsen's office,
Karch considered if Polo was that foolish.
He entered to a view he was long accustomed to: Larsen at his desk, looking
angry.
As Karch approached slowly, he could tell that Larsen's temper had spilled
over into irrationality as Larsen stood up the moment he saw Karch
enter. He stood there with his hands on his desk, confrontational and
ready to lash out. I wonder if the Harvest Guild has made their
move. From behind his desk, Larsen growled.
"Are you trying to ruin all my plans or are you just that incompetent, Karch?"
He's going to blame me for the Harvest Guild marching outside the wall, Karch
thought as he stopped in front of Larsen.
"Sir, I have been your faithful assistant for years.
I have made my mistakes, but I believe I have been a valuable asset." "Your plan with
Raylan, a disaster. Your mission to the Outlanders, a failure that cost me some of my
best men. And now this."
Larsen waved his hand in some vague direction.
Karch still didn't know what specific item Larsen was talking about, and he
was smart enough not to remind Larsen that the Outlander mission was
Larsen's idea, so he stood quietly.
Not seeing a response, Larsen took a breath, and in a calm voice added...
"Karch, who is my most important ally."
Karch hated when Larsen asked questions, as the correct answer depended on
Larsen's mood. The question he had just asked could have been answered as
Sax, for his help in managing the clearing of the Harvest Guild, or it
could have been Orion, for just staying out of the way when he could have caused great
difficulty. Or, it could have been some random person who caught Larsen's
eye by helping in some specific way,
such as Pattis.
"Sax, sir. Clearing the Harvest Guild would have been impossible without his cooperation,"
Karch finally replied, knowing he had to pick someone.
"Sax?" Larsen practically spat. "He isn't an ally.
He is an utterly predictable puppet.
All he cares about is his comfort."
Larsen shook his head.
"No wonder you made such an idiotic mistake, threatening our most important ally."
The pieces fell into place and Karch suddenly realized why Larsen was
angry. "Orion?"
"Yes, Orion!" Larsen roared, his temper
boiling over. "The same guild master you offended by slapping his nephew."
Larsen's voice rose even higher.
"His vote and his support are critical.
He doesn't care about anything but the security and success of Ness and his simple-minded sense of duty.
And Karch, do you know a key element of that duty?
His family."
Larsen screamed the last word while slamming his fist onto his desk.
"I understand, sir." "Do you, Karch?
Do you?
If you understood that Orion sees me as the future of Ness' security, and that his nephew was his way
of connecting his own family to my success, then why would you strike him?"
Larsen sat down while he shook his head.
"Idiocy."
Karch couldn't quite believe what he was hearing.
To keep Orion happy, Larsen was going to let Orion's nephew run
roughshod over the guild.
Based on the arrogance of the brat, Karch could see Larsen losing the support of
his guild in his effort in trying to appease Orion.
"I understand the boy's importance, but is it wise to let him terrorize the guild members?"
Karch knew better than to contradict Larsen when he was in one of his rages, but
Karch's patience was running thin from Larsen's disaster of a plan
to the reaction to Karch's own concerns from Sax, Pattis, and others.
And now, to Kerris' impertinence.
"Is that what you call it when someone requests you run an errand for them, being terrorized?"
The sarcasm dripped from Larsen's voice.
"Why, you must think I terrorize you all the time."
Karch knew better than to respond.
"I don't know what has happened to you, Karch.
You were my most loyal and accomplished deputy, but you continue to make mistake after mistake.
If I weren't so patient and understanding, I would probably have thrown you in the dungeon already for
planning against me."
"Sir-"
"Shut up, Karch. I don't need to hear any more excuses.
I have decided to give you one more chance.
You will go directly to Kerris and apologize.
Whatever punishment or demand he makes, you are to fulfill.
You will make it clear that you are sincere in your sentiment.
If I don't hear from Kerris that he is pleased with your behavior, I will toss you in the dungeon and leave you
there forever."
"I must object."
"One more word and you go in the dungeon."
Larsen held up a single finger. Karch knew he was serious and simply
bowed his head.
"You are dismissed."
Karch turned and marched the length of the room, his anger barely contained.
The arrogant, self-deluded Larsen was blaming Karch for Larsen's
own mistakes.
And now, with the worst mistake of all happening at that very moment,
Larsen was demanding that Karch apologize to a brat who was yet
another mistake, one that was undoubtedly alienating the guild
leadership. The door to Larsen's office closed behind him, and Karch
walked directly to his own office.
He had to think over what he was going to do.
His path, troubled as it was over the past few weeks, was now even
less clear.
Did he want to commit his loyalty to a guild master full of such delusion
and leading Ness to civil war? And if he did, could he manage things
in a way that he would be the one to swoop in and save things as Larsen was
hanging from a rope in Founders Park?
Whatever path he took, there was only one that avoided him apologizing to
Kerris: abandoning the guild. Karch was prepared to do that,
but was that the right path?
Not entirely sure of anything, Karch entered his quarters and locked the door
behind him.