The Thieves Guild
by Jake Kerr
(dramatic music plays) . Episode 84:
Pietro's Books.
They hadn't even crossed the Great Bridge before they had to pay their first bribe.
It was also the moment Rafe learned of a new phrase, handing it.
When knights stopped at a merchant or other guild wagon, they would inspect the goods
and take a handful. Whatever it was, the amount that could be grabbed with one
hand was the property of the knight.
Of course, a handful of coppers was one thing, a handful of gilders was something
else entirely. And when the knight that stopped them saw the money in the chest, he
practically tripped trying to get his hand into it so fast.
After that first hand, Tilson gave Rafe an overview of bribery, it
happened all the time.
There were certain unspoken rules, one of the most important being that you
only took one handful.
Greedy knights were labeled two-handers and they somehow found
themselves reassigned or demoted. The unspoken rules presumably
had real consequences. The situation was so ingrained that
knights with large hands were teased about being perfect for guarding the
thoroughfares where expensive goods were transported.
At that, Rafe laughed.
"So the worst thing a merchant can face is a two-hander with large hands?"
Tilson nodded.
"Yet it is the guild master thief who trails the Founder's Day parade."
The reminder of the filth and abuse his friend, Raylan, was subjected to made
Rafe somber. They were thieves, yes, but they weren't
two-handers. Practically every knight on their route to the Merchant Tower
must divide them as a mark, as they were stopped and inspected by everyone
with each knight dipping his hand into the chest.
After yet another stop, Rafe muttered-
"This is ridiculous. We will have nothing left by the time we get to Merchant Tower."
Tilson replied in a whisper.
"It is how we had hoped it would go. They are leaving us alone and focusing on the
chest. The gilders are the price of our mission.
It is money well spent."
Rafe felt embarrassed. He was no good at anything other than doing
what Raylan told him to do and looking through dusty books.
Of course, Tilson was right. The money didn't matter as much as him getting
the books, and they were closing in on doing just that.
At the next stop, Rafe ignored the chest and focused on the knight.
He was large and ominous with a thin mouth and cruel eyes.
He was exactly the kind of knight that would ruin their mission by asking difficult
questions or demanding they justify their trip with the names of
superiors. Yet the knight reached out his hand like
all the others. "Is this what we've come to?" Rafe thought.
"Our defenders ignore threats in the name of taking their handful."
In some ways, Rafe had hoped that the knights would confront him and Tilson,
but as they rolled up to Merchant Tower, none had.
This was the part that Rafe feared the most.
With the assassination threats on Larson, he expected that getting into Merchant
Tower would be nigh impossible. He also wasn't sure if the Merchant Guild
guards were open to bribery.
Rafe whispered to Tilson-
"Will they take a handful?"
Shaking his head, Tilson replied.
"Best to assume not, but I don't know.
I don't get to the tower."
Tilson lifted the chest off the wagon and placed it on a small hand-pulled
cart that had been stored in the front of the horse-driven wagon.
The two of them walked right to the gate.
A guard immediately came out to meet them.
Who are you and what's this?
The man addressed Rafe and nodded toward the cart.
"This was collected from the Harvest Guild members in the Wretched Quarter and we are to return it to the
guild stores."
Rafe smiled as he nodded at the chest.
"They won't need it anymore."
The guard walked over to Tilson.
"Open it up."
'Here comes the handful,' Rafe thought as
Tilson opened the chest. Yet the guard surprised him and turned back to
Rafe.
"I have heard nothing of this. Who do you report to?"
Rafe had a story ready.
"I don't know. It was one of the guards on the bridge.
He noticed a Harvest Guild member passing money to a friend and he told me to go in and collect it from
them to return it to the guild.
I was just dragging people to the bridge to help.
I handle a shop in the flats and was told to shut down and prepare for this a few days ago."
The guard nodded, but added-
"And they just gave it to you?"
He sounded suspicious. Rafe shrugged.
"They appeared to be in shock. They had just left their homes, so I guess being asked to hand back their money
made sense."
"I'll take this in. You two can return to whatever it is you're
doing."
The guard reached for the cart handle.
Tilson glanced at Rafe, unclear what to do.
Rafe held up his hand.
"We will need the cart. Can we walk with you while you take the chest in and then perhaps get a bit to eat before
returning?"
The guard seemed hesitant, but as he glanced at the pile of
money in the chest, he finally nodded.
"You did a good job. Bring the money into our storeroom to the right of the entrance.
The kitchens are back there. You can leave the cart outside the storeroom and then pick it up on your way
out."
... practically dancing as they walked the cart into the tower.
Rafe could not believe how well things were going.
All he and Tilson had to do was grab the books in Pietro's room and
then get out. Rafe had expected that the guard was stealing the money,
but he actually did store it in a locked room away from the entrance.
They left the cart out front and said goodbye, heading to the kitchens.
The stairway to Pietro's room was on the way to the kitchens, so everything was
even better than he had hoped. With the guard gone, they quickly found the
door Relin had described and made their way down the steps.
It led to an abandoned hall that was dusty yet tidy.
There were bloodstains near the bottom of the staircase.
At the end of the hallway was an open door with an upended stool and
more bloodstains next to it. Rafe walked into the room with more
excitement than he had ever experienced in his life.
Finally, the history of the Thieves Guild.
The room had been ransacked with books tossed onto the floor and everything in
disarray,
but it appeared that none of the books were stolen.
They were just tossed aside as worthless, more of interest for what they may have
hidden behind on the bookshelf. Rafe opened one at random.
It was a ledger of supplies from years earlier.
Line after line of entries outlining clothes, supplies, and
food. Rafe wasn't sure what it meant, but he knew it was important.
A thick book covered in dust was titled Magic
Guild Iconography. "Magic Guild," Rafe thought.
These should be about the Thieves Guild.
Sir, we need to hurry. These are a lot of books, and it will require
many trips to the wagon to gather them all.
Nodding, Rafe grabbed a handful of books and marched them up
to the cart.
After six trips, the cart was full enough that they needed to empty it into the
wagon and then return for more books.
Trouble hit the moment they exited the guild.
A different guard came over and asked them what they were up to.
Rafe replied immediately.
These were gathering dust, and Deputy Guildmaster Karch told us to take them to the library in
the upper triangle. I believe he has other uses for the storage space.
At the mention of both Karch and the word "books," the guard lost all interest and
replied...
Well, hurry up. This entrance is secure, and we can't have you leaving and entering all
afternoon.
"Only two more trips," Rafe replied.
But the guard had already turned his back on them.
The process had gone surprisingly well until they passed through the gate for the last
time. The last pile of books was on the cart and Pietro's quarters were
empty.
All they had to do was get to the wagon and depart.
Rafe wasn't even worried about the one-handers on the return trip.
No one in Ness other than him cared about books.
They had just passed through the gate when a hand gripped Rafe roughly on the arm.
What do you think you're doing?
Rafe spun around. It was the guard that they had first met when they arrived at the
tower. Not missing a beat, Rafe smoothly replied...
"We were eating in the kitchen when Deputy Karch came down and asked who had the cart.
When I replied, he assigned me to clear out these books from the basement.
I guess he needs to use the storage for something else."
Who are you? You can't be thieves with the money you left. What is your interest in these books?
The guard reached down and picked one up.
"I told you, it is a job from Deputy Karch."
Deputy Karch left the tower earlier today.
The guard's voice was ominous.
I will ask you one last time, what are you doing with these, uh-
The guard's voice was muffled as Tilson covered his mouth with his
hand. Rafe was expecting the guard to violently fight back, until he
fell in a heap at his feet. Tilson wiped a dagger on his blue cloak and sheathed
it. "Hurry," was the only word he spoke.
They were lucky in that the guard was between the cart and the wagon and was mostly
hidden from view. Rafe quickly loaded the last of the books on the wagon
while Tilson took the tarp that had covered the chest and draped it over the body
of the guard.
He leapt into the wagon seat, and Rafe followed behind him.
Rafe looked into the back. The cart looked like nothing more than if someone
was in the midst of loading or unloading it and casually tossed the tarp
aside.
As Tilson cracked the whip and the horses moved forward, Rafe asked him...
"How much time do we have?"
"Not enough."
Rafe looked back at the tower. The activity around it was brisk, but
everyone seemed occupied. The clearing of the lower quarter had everyone on
edge, and it was possible no one would notice the abandoned cart and the body
next to it for a long time. The books rattled in the back of the wagon as they
went over the cobblestones, and Rafe looked back at his precious cargo.
They were secure, and he breathed easier.
It would take him a long time to examine them all, but when he finished, he was certain of
one thing. The history of Ness would have no more secrets.
(instrumental music plays)