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The Thieves Guild

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by Jake Kerr

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(dramatic music plays) . Episode 78:

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At What Cost.

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Graf sent two young men out to spread the word,
starting at the edge of the pit

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and moving inward. The most important thing from
Rogers' perspective was to

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organize the archers. Hand-to-hand combat with
heavily armed knights would

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lead to many casualties, but long bows and skilled
archers?

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They could cut the guards down en masse in
minutes.

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As the archers made their way to the center of the
pit, Rogers was

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disappointed, but not full of despair.

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There were not nearly as many archers as they
would need, but there were enough to do very real

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damage, and their bows were exactly as Graf
described:

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deadly, and made for hunting, not short-distance
target shooting.

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Graf pointed at Rogers, and a group of men bearing
short swords approached.

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"Graf said you were organizing the defense,"

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one of them said. "I am," Rogers replied,
surprised yet

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appreciative that Graf so gladly gave up his
authority.

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"Roe has left to draw the guards to this spot." He
pointed to a cobblestone

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design in the center of the circular road at the
end of the cul-de-sac.

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"We need to let the archers empty their quarrels
at them, and then it will be time for you to
attack.

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We are placing men all around so that the guards
cannot focus their forces or escape.

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You and your men will go over there and await the
signal to attack, which will be an arrow with a
blue cloth

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shot into that tree."

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The tree stood at the entrance to the cul-de-sac
beside the road.

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"Yes, sir," the

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man replied, and he gathered his men and moved to
the house where they would lay in wait.

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More groups made their way to Rogers, and he sent
them to various spots in

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houses around the road. There were women along
with men, their

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faces even more grim than their male counterparts.

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They were willingly leaving their homes, trusting
him with their future.

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They wielded cleavers, knives, as well as
traditional weapons like swords,

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families united in defending their neighborhood.

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Things were chaotic and all Rogers could do was
provide the most basic

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of guidance while telling people where to go. "Aim
for their joints.

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Swing for the neck. Yes, a dagger can be more
dangerous than a

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sword. You get close and slip it through the gaps
in their

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armor."

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As a positive, the forces were significant, with
dozens more fighters

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than the merchant guards, even knowing the guards
had knights coming as

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reinforcements from behind. Rogers despaired that
it would be enough,

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however. The weapons were barely serviceable.

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There were swords, for sure, but many of the men
had pitchforks and hatchets, or

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worse, while the weapon of choice for the women
were sharp kitchen utensils

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for the most part.

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Graf approached after Rogers had sent another
group off to a house along the lane,

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their mission to block the road if the knights
decided to retreat.

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"We are strong, no?" "We have strength in numbers.

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We have an advantage in knowing the battlefield.

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But guards in full armor are formidable."

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Rogers turned to the old man. "You do know that
many will die."

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The old man stared at Rogers for a moment, and
then nodded his head.

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"We will lose many.

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They will lose all."

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He patted Rogers on the shoulder. "Thank you,
guild mate."

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In the distance, a running boy approached. It is
time.

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Their plan was sound. The archers were skilled
hunters, and their

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bows and arrows were built to be deadly over long
distances.

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The guards' armor would protect them from many of
the arrows, but some would find their

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mark, and the crossfire would sow confusion. "The
messenger approaches, Graf.

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Best to take your position."

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Graf was to stay behind in his house behind the
rooting pig, but Rogers

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was certain that he would be one of the first to
join the fight.

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As Graf left, Rogers awaited the messenger.

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Moments later, the boy stopped in front of Rogers,
taking in large gulps of

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air. "Roe has lost some men, but they killed a
money counter guard."

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The boy bent over and took a few more deep
breaths.

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"The guards called their entire force to chase
down Roe."

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The boy motioned over his shoulder. "They are on
their way now." "You

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did well. Go to your home and wait.

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Your job is done."

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Rogers made his way to one of the houses at the
edge of the cul-de-sac, the

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one with the most skilled archers, including the
one who would signal the

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attack after the archers had loosed all their
arrows.

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Roe's force appeared before Rogers had even made
it up to the archers.

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He peered out the window to see Roe already at a
lawn, and heading to the

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open door of one of the houses at the end of the
lane.

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He had left with a force of about ten, and from
what Rogers could tell,

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there were only seven or so remaining.

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"Deaths already." Rogers closed his eyes.

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"This will be a bloody day." Opening his eyes and
peering

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down the lane, he watched as the guards
approached.

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They were slowed down by their armor, yet they
still were fast, and they

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moved as a unit in the rough outline of a
formation, heading toward a

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goal.To his relief, the arrogance of the guards
was on full

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display. There looked to be about two dozen of
them, and five or six were

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without helms, presumably assuming that clearing
the pit would be simple,

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and thus their worry was more about comfort than
danger.

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The formation was also perfect for Rogers' goals.

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They would soon be caught in a crossfire of deadly
arrow fire from

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practically all sides, and the orderly nature of
their lines would make it

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easy to focus fire.

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The guards slowed down when they realized that
they were approaching a dead

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end with a row of houses.

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They must have seen where Roe escaped, but they
were disciplined enough not to march

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right into an unknown and defensible position like
a house.

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They did exactly as Rogers had expected,

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they stopped right in the middle of the cul-de-sac
to chart an attack plan.

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"Now!" Rogers exclaimed.

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An arrow with the green of the Harvest Guild shot
through the air from an archer in

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front of Rogers. The arrow plunged into the ground
at the feet of the guard at

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the front of the formation. He looked down at the
odd arrow with the green streamer

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attached, and then over to the house where the
arrow had been loosed.

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But by then, it was too late. The signal had been
given, and

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arrows flew from every direction.

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The first volley was the deadliest, and four
guards fell to the ground,

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arrows sticking out from eye sockets or their
skulls.

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The decision to leave their helms behind led to
their doom.

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Another wave of arrows flew, but the guards had
reacted and were moving

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around looking for the source of the attack.

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The chaos unfortunately worked to the guards'
benefit as they moved in jerky

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motions looking around, leading to arrows missing
the mark and

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bouncing impotently off thick armor.

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Arrows continued to fly as a few guards backed up
the lane.

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Another guard fell, his unprotected head his
undoing, like that of his

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brethren. For a moment, Rogers was afraid that the
guards would flee.

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There were too many to be stopped by the force
guarding the lane, and he had no doubt

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that they would return with the overwhelming and
deadly force waiting behind,

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which would not be merciful. But the remaining
guards were moving as a

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unit, and that's when Rogers saw that one of their
number was directing

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them with his sword. A leader, he is assessing
where to attack.

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It was useless, however, as the arrows continued
to fly from all

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directions. A guard screamed out and fell to the
ground clutching his

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leg, where an arrow had struck him in an
unprotected area.

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Rogers took count as more arrows flew.

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Eighteen guards remained, a formidable number
despite the deaths.

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The captain of the guards pointed toward one of
the houses, and that's when Rogers

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realized what he was going to do. To escape the
deadly fusillade of

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arrows, they were going to simply attack a random
house.

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Even in the tight corners and unknown terrain, the
guards would be

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safer than sitting in a crossfire. "Unleash the
blue arrow!" Rogers

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shouted. The archer had arrows left, but he did as
he was told.

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He picked up the arrow with the blue streamer and
shot it at the tree.

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With a thunk, it struck the bark, leaving a
fluttering blue piece of cloth

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behind.

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The signal did its job, and before the captain
could move the guards to more

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defensible positions, waves of Harvest Guild
members flooded out of every

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house. They bore swords, knives, axes, pitchforks,

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cleavers, clubs, broomsticks, and even branches
from trees.

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The knights spun around, preparing for the
onslaught.

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There was no organization to be had when facing
raging citizens wearing

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leather tunics, cloth shirts, and bearing weapons
that were laughable,

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and yet coming from all directions. Young boys,
faster than their older

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guild mates, were at the front of the charge.

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A half dozen of them focused their rush and
clashed with two guards.

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They were nimble and well-armed with short swords,
but it was still not

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enough.

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Two of the boys immediately fell, vicious swings
of broadswords

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leaving behind grievous wounds. But even as the
two fell,

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the others swung their weapons. The clang of
swords hitting

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armor could be heard across the cul-de-sac.

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A thrust from one sword and a well-placed slash
from another led to two

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guards falling with mortal wounds. Before Rogers
could celebrate, however,

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everything was chaos. The Harvest Guild members
swarmed over the guards,

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making it nearly impossible to assess the flow of
the battle.

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Rogers turned and made his way down to support the
attack.

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It was clear that their overwhelming numbers would
defeat the guards, but at what

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cost?

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As Rogers emerged from the front door of the
house, the cost was immediately

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clear. Blood flowed across the cobblestones and
bodies lay in

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piles around the remaining guards.

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In the time it took him to get to the street, most
of the guards had been killed,

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but they had slashed and stabbed two or three
Harvest Guild members for every one of

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their own that had fallen.

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Rogers rushed to help, noticing a body clutching a
broomstick on the ground as

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he ran by. The captain of the merchant guards was
dead, and there were three

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guards left, crouched in a defensive stance with
their backs to each

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other.They swung their swords at whoever rushed
forward, the three of them

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covering every approach. Their chaotic attack
suddenly facing a tight

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group of desperate guards, the Harvest Guild
members didn't know what to

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do. The fear of dying during an attack had finally
surpassed their

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rage. Knowing what had to be done, Rogers shouted-

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I will attack.

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As I draw their attention, overwhelm them.

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He rushed forward, his sword in a diagonal,
preparing to parry and

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then counter against a desperate defensive attack.

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The guards were disciplined and didn't break their
formation, which meant Rogers

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only had to deal with one guard. The trouble was
that it was clear

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why the guard was still alive: he was a skilled
swordsman.

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Rogers' parry and counter were easily blocked by
the guard, whose own counter

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glanced off Rogers' light armor hidden under his
tunic.

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No longer focusing on anything more than staying
alive,

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Rogers didn't realize that his attack had inspired
the others until he watched the

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guard he was facing suddenly drop his arms, his
sword clattering to the

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cobblestones. Behind him, a Harvest Guild member
backed up holding

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a bloody knife. The other two guards lay dead on
the ground.

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They had done it, but the cost had been steep.

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The two dozen guards were dead, but nearly 50
Harvest Guild members were

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also dead or critically wounded.

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Boys, men, and women groaned, and Rogers changed
his attention from

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battle to medical care and triage.

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You over there, gather clean cloth. We need to
bind these wounds.

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Rogers looked to a man who stood in shock
overlooking the carnage.

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You can mourn later.

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Help me move the wounded indoors.

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Gruff had died in the attack, and everyone assumed

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Rogers was their new leader, even though he wasn't
part of any of the families

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from the pit. Their trust in him was both humbling
and intimidating.

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He had never had so many lives in his hands, and
with the dead arrayed around him,

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he wasn't sure he deserved it.

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As he tried to direct people, the cries of parents
and family members mourning

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over the dead filled the cul-de-sac.

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There was an odd smell that permeated everything
that Rogers couldn't identify,

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and it was only as he had moved away from the
bodies that it was blood.

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He had never known that blood had a smell before.

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The realization made him sick to his stomach.

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The wounded ranged from stab wounds that were most
likely mortal to broken

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bones to gashes that needed to be threaded and
bound with clean dressing.

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As he looked over, Rogers noticed a young man who
had lost part of his hand

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to a slash.

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He was more boy than man, and he reminded Rogers
of Raylan, his

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guild master. "I hope Raylan and Allard have a
plan.

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Things will only get worse from here on out." A
shout caught Rogers'

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attention. Things were too dangerous for him to
ignore anything, so he walked

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out to see what was happening. His immediate fear
was that the knights had arrived with

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archers and would just pick them all off from the
top of the wall, but

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that wasn't it. Instead, a young girl was rushing
down the road

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toward Rogers.

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They are coming, a huge force!

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00:15:39,387 --> 00:15:43,667
The girl stopped in front of Rogers and a few of
the

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00:15:43,667 --> 00:15:44,467
defenders.

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00:15:45,327 --> 00:15:47,707
A huge force of knight protectors approach.

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00:15:48,647 --> 00:15:49,227
How many?

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00:15:49,907 --> 00:15:52,127
The girl turned to him and exclaimed-

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00:15:52,567 --> 00:15:54,387
Dozens! Some on horses.

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00:15:55,427 --> 00:15:59,927
That was larger than the force Rogers had seen
arraying behind the guards,

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00:16:00,367 --> 00:16:05,007
the ones who intended to clean up. Had they found
out about the battle in the

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00:16:05,087 --> 00:16:09,927
pit? Impossible. No one escaped. Rogers doubted

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00:16:09,947 --> 00:16:14,567
that there were dozens of knights approaching, but
he didn't doubt that there was a

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00:16:14,647 --> 00:16:18,227
large force along with the cavalry he had glanced
at.

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00:16:18,687 --> 00:16:21,987
Maybe a white guard witnessed the battle from the
wall.

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00:16:22,587 --> 00:16:23,767
He couldn't risk it.

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00:16:24,407 --> 00:16:29,367
The potential defense of the pit against the
knights he had seen following the guards would

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00:16:29,387 --> 00:16:31,847
have been even worse than what had just occurred,

235
00:16:32,467 --> 00:16:37,147
yet he considered it possible. But with the
potential of a more formidable

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00:16:37,227 --> 00:16:42,087
force approaching, Rogers decided that such risks
of life were no longer worth

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00:16:42,127 --> 00:16:42,967
any price.

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00:16:43,627 --> 00:16:45,767
Turning to the others, Rogers said-

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00:16:46,247 --> 00:16:49,987
The defense of the pit is at an end. Our goal now
is to get to safety.

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00:16:51,087 --> 00:16:56,027
Rogers looked up the lane. It was empty, but he
knew that knights were

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00:16:56,047 --> 00:17:00,327
approaching. He didn't know the answer to the only
question that mattered:

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"We need to escape, but how?"

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00:17:08,987 --> 00:17:45,507
(dramatic music)