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(suspenseful music plays) The Thieves Guild,

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by Jake Kerr.

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Episode 88:

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The Deputy and the Blade.

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Vesper was almost to the Greatbridge when he
overheard two merchant

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guards chatting as they absentmindedly kicked at
slow Harvest Guild members,

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making their way toward the Old Quarter.

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"It was a ranger.

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I hear tell he was seven feet tall, scared the
piss out of everyone as he walked

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by.

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The Harvesters thought he was there to strike them
down for not following the directions of the
knights

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more closely, and the knights thought that Quinto
had joined up with Polo, and the

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ranger was going to kill them all."

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"Yeah, Quinto spends more time with Polo than
Sax."

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Casually walking toward the two guards, Vesper
bowed his head as they

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noticed him.

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"I also heard of this ranger but did not see him.

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Do you think it is but a legend?"

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They both shook their heads.

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"I do not.

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There are too many reports.

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Last I heard, he was seen walking along the
Greenbelt,

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and no good can come of that in these times."

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Without even saying thank you, Vesper turned away
from his destination

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and began a brisk walk to the Greenbelt.

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A blade had two weapons, and Vesper was a master
of both, death

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and information. While the history of the blades
of the guild masters

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focused on dark and sometimes heroic violent acts,
Vesper knew

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that the best blades succeeded more with
information than force.

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In this case, knowing what a ranger was doing in
the Lower Quarter was a

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valuable piece of information for both Raylan and
Orion.

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But what Vesper really wanted to know was the
ranger's mission.

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Like the unnamed guard, Vesper felt that Quinto
may have sided with Polo.

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The rangers lived and worked outside the wall, and
the only other guild that could

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say that was the Harvest Guild, which worked the
outer fields.

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But that was only one possibility. Quinto also
hated Sax,

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and perhaps could use his men as leverage to force
Larson to make some crazy

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promise to have him replace the guild master
knight.

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In these crazy times, who knew what anyone would
do?

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And that meant that information was more important
than anything.

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So, Vesper went looking for the ranger.

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It was not a difficult task. Everyone talked of
the large, some said

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giant, ranger. He was heading to the craft tower
of all places.

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This struck Vesper as both amusing and odd.

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Is Quinto aiming to negotiate with Orion?

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That would make him more insightful than
practically anyone in Ness.

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He was closing in when he asked a man about the
ranger.

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"Oh, he went to the Pit."

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Vesper knew of the Pit.

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Everyone had. It was a dirt-poor corner of the
flats that was run by a couple

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of Harvest Guild families, who were known more for
drinking and violence than

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contributing anything to the guild.

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Still, the families were old, and the neighborhood
was out of the way and

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blocked from the rest of the flats by some kind of
wall.

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So, no one much bothered with it.

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Why would he be going to the Pit? This was finally
a movement by the ranger

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that made no sense to Vesper. He followed where
the boy pointed and

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rushed to see if he could find this giant ranger.

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What he found was a chaotic mix of knights moving
from house to house

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and looking for Harvest Guild members.

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There was even cavalry in the street looking
around for something to do.

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The knights were heading right into the Pit, and
Vesper finally realized

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what they were doing. They are going to clear out
this last neighborhood in the

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flats. It made sense to Vesper that the last
neighborhood putting up a

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defense would be the Pit.

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But now, he was curious why the ranger was heading
there.

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That part made no sense.

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Vesper was skillful enough in his job that
skirting the blunt force of the knights was

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easy enough. He went from yard to yard and made
his way quickly along the

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lane, easily outpacing the knights.

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At the end, he finally saw his quarry.

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The ranger was standing straight, a huge
broadsword in his hand, the

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tip resting on the ground. His brown guild robe
included a hood

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that covered his face and left his features in
shadow.

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Behind him was a pile of dead bodies, and the
entire tableau would have been

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frightening if it weren't for one thing: Vesper
knew exactly who it

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was,

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Alard. It was the sword. It was seared into his
brain.

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The mighty weapon that Alard said would remove his
hands was not something

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Vesper could easily forget. He was going to
approach Alard and compare

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notes, but just then, the sound of galloping
hooves filled the

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lane.

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Ah, the idiot knights have found a use for their
cavalry.

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Vesper snuck into an entryway of a nearby house,
which gave him a perfect view of

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the impending clash and put any conversation
within his earshot.

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As the horses approached, Alard stood like a
statue.

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The horses stopped. There were four of them, and
the knights remained mounted.

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"Ranger, we have no issue with you. Please return
to your duty beyond the wall."

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"You are clearing the Harvest Guild from the
flats." It was a statement, not a question.

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"There are Rangers who also live in this
neighborhood.

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I do not trust your methods to treat them
differently than the Harvest Guild members."
Allard

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motioned behind him. "The smell of death is thick.

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Some of my guild members lay behind me, Merchant
Guild members killed them.

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The price for this misdeed was their lives.

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I know that your might is greater than the
merchants, but some of your men will still die.

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Is that a price you are willing to pay for hurting
the Rangers while removing a bunch of drunken

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Harvest Guild members?"

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Vesper nodded appreciatively. It was a compelling
speech.

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The knights would consider the death of Rangers a
major breach by the merchant guards,

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and it would be entirely reasonable for them to
retreat and report this

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back to their captain, leaving the pit spared for
the time being.

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"If the Rangers died, it is because they didn't
follow directions.

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The pit should be empty."

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The reply rather shocked Vesper. He fully expected
them to retreat.

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"Sax must be more closely aligned with Larson than
I thought."

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He filed away the information. The knight motioned
over his shoulder.

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"The clearing force approaches. You have moments
to help your guild members

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leave, or you can wait and die with them."

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For the first time, the point of Allard's mighty
sword left the

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ground. Vesper had heard of Allard's abilities as
a fighter, but he had no

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hope against four mounted knights. He fully
expected Allard to sheathe the

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sword and retreat. It was shocking then to watch
as Allard took

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two long strides forward, swinging his broadsword.

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The knights were well-trained and quickly formed a
tight line with their steeds,

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blocking Allard's ability to attack them.

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Allard didn't hesitate. He followed through with a
mighty swing,

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and the head of the horse on the far right fell to
the ground as the body

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fell to its side, sending the knight sprawling
next to it.

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The other horses acted as battle horses act and
held their ground, but

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that worked to Allard's advantage. He leaped
forward and buried his

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sword into the chest of the knight that had
fallen.

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The knight closest to Allard couldn't reach him
due to the body of the fallen horse,

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which lay between him and Allard. He couldn't turn
either due to the horses to

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his right maintaining their formation.

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While the two knights away from Allard pushed
their horses to reengage from different

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directions, the one closest to Allard unsheathed
his sword and

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prepared to attack the mighty deputy thief.

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He was skilled at fighting from horseback, but the
advantage of height

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included the disadvantage of lacking mobility, and
being surprised

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and attacked from the side made it worse.

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Allard stepped on the torso of the dead horse and
easily parried the

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swing of the knight. His counter was delivered
with such force that his blow

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knocked the knight's sword so far to the side that
it struck the horse's neck.

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Allard's return swing sliced through the
midsection of the knight, leaving him

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mortally wounded. Unfortunately, the two remaining
knights had

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circled around by then, and Allard had just enough
time to raise his sword

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to block an incoming blow. It was a weak parry,
and the force

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of the blow, coming as it did from a moving horse
and above, knocked

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Allard to the ground.

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Vesper knew that even the mighty Allard would have
trouble fighting two prepared

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mounted knights coming from different directions.

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Sliding his balanced knife from its sheath, Vesper
took a step and hurled it.

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He had very little hope of finding a damaging spot
on the moving knights, but the

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large horses made excellent targets.

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The knife slammed to the hilt into the neck of the
closest horse, which shrieked and

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bolted, a stream of blood flowing freely from its
neck.

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The knight remained in the saddle, but Vesper knew
he would dismount soon

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one way or another. Continuing forward, Vesper
grabbed a second

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knife from a sheath and turned his attention to
Allard.

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The final mounted knight was using his horse as a
weapon, rearing it up and

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using its hooves as deadly clubs.

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Allard had no counter to this, so he skillfully
retreated, keeping the

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body of the dead horse between him and the
attacking horse as much as possible.

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Vesper had only one weighted knife, which he had
already used, so he

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would be of limited help. Still, attacking two is
much harder than

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attacking one, so he ran forward, yelling out-

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"Reinforcements are coming, guild mate."

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The mounted knight didn't even pause.

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He turned his horse and galloped back up the lane.

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Vesper was shocked it worked. He was wearing the
blue cloak of the merchants,

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not the brown of the Rangers, yet the knight
hadn't even considered that.

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All he heard was "Reinforcements," and he
retreated.

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Allard ignored Vesper. He jogged down the
cul-de-sac, past the pile of

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dead bodies. Vesper watched as the last knight
approached Allard, having

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somehow dismounted. Not much intimidated Vesper,
but he had to

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admit that Allard approaching with his huge sword
and wearing his flowing hooded

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robe would have made him consider fleeing.

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He had to give the knight credit for engaging with
the deputy thief.

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What the knight earned in courage, he lost in
stupidity.

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The battle was as short as three sword swings, two
of which were by Allard,

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and the second of those ending with the knight cut
practically in two.

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Allard wiped his sword on his brown cloak,
sheathed it on his back, and

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strode toward Vesper. Smiling, Vesper sheathed his
dagger and

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said-

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"I'm glad I'm on your side."

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"Vesper." Giving a slight bow, Vesper replied-

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"Deputy."

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"I've been looking for you."

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"You have found me, or should I say, I found you."

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Allard nodded. "We need to flee, and there is a
distinct lack of safe houses remaining in the

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flats."

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"The circle lies beyond those houses.

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We can work our way toward the warehouse district.

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The knights patrol the wall, but the Craft Guild
guards patrol the roads there.

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Orion doesn't trust anyone but guild members that
close to the warehouses."

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"And if a Craft Guild member stops us?" Vesper
shrugged.

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"Then I tell them I'm escorting Quinto's deputy to
talk with Orion.

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It's a story that is already spreading."

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"It is a good plan," was Allard's only response
before turning

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and walking toward the houses that stood closest
to the great wall and the road

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that lay behind them. Vesper caught up to him and
asked-

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"So, why were you looking for me?"

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"Because you're valuable."

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(dramatic music)