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The Thieves Guild

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by Jake Kerr

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(dramatic music plays) . Episode 91:

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A History Revealed.

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Rafe was petrified when the first knight stopped
them.

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What if he one-handed a few books, and those books
contained the secret of the Thieves

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Guild? And if they were stopped a few times, and
each knight took a few

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books? By the time they returned to the Thieves
Tower, he would have nothing left

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to research. "Hold!" A knight held up his hand as
Tilson

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attempted to navigate down the throughway, past
the greenbelt, and to the Great

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Bridge. Rafe's heart fell.

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"State your business."

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The knight eyed the wagon up and down.

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"Guildmaster Larsen has cleared out one of the
rooms in the basement of the tower, and we are

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to take this junk to the old quarter and dump it."

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Rafe was shocked at Tilson's words. Why would he
state something so

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easily proven false? The books were out in the
open and easy

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to see in the back of the wagon. The guard looked
in the back of the wagon, grabbed some

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books, and then tossed them further into the back
of the wagon.

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He moved some more books. Raylan's heart fell.

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Was the guard looking for the most valuable books
to one-hand?

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"All you have is books?"

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The guard sounded disappointed, almost angry.
Tilson nodded.

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"Bah. Come back when you have something valuable."

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The guard waved them on, leaving all the books
where they lay.

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When they were out of earshot, Rafe exclaimed-

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"He didn't take any books." "Of course not.

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I doubt there's a knight in Ness that even knows
how to read." "But certainly he knows that they
have

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value."

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Tilson laughed.

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"Books have no value to anyone but you, Rafe.

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They are more likely to be effective kindling than
a way to learn."

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Rafe shook his head, not quite believing Tilson's
appraisal of the

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value of the books. Certainly, Rafe knew from his
experience in the

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flats that no one read books, and that books
pretty much didn't exist

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outside the library, where they were nothing but a
curiosity.

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But he still considered that the historical value
would generate some attention,

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if nothing else.

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Yet, as they were stopped again and again, the
knights who stopped them muttered in

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disappointment and let them pass without
one-handing a single book.

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By the time they reached the Great Bridge, Rafe
was downright angry.

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"Don't they realize how important these books are?

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These may contain the secret to everything." "They
don't,

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and let's be thankful for that." "You are right.

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I will be more thankful, however, once I'm in my
library and looking through these pages."

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The crowds had thinned to barely a trickle, and it
was an easy ride across

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the bridge and through the old quarter.

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Rafe watched as many people in green tunics and
robes wandered around.

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Some were doing domestic duties, falling into the
normalcy of gathering

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water, going off for food, and running various
errands.

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Others were out discovering their new home,
looking at every building with looks

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of awe or curiosity. Couples walked hand-in-hand,

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making the best of their sad situation.

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It wasn't until the road curved toward the Thieves
Tower that those dressed in

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black started to become more numerous.

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Although, there were Harvest Guild members even as
they approached the wall,

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far from the Great Bridge. Rafe squinted into the
distance.

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It was astonishing how well hidden the Thief Tower
was.

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Its black rock blended so well with the mountain
behind it that even this close,

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he had to look twice to see its outline.

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They pulled up to the tower, and one of the stable
boys came out.

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As he untethered the horse, Rafe walked back to
look at his books.

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He picked one up and couldn't believe the title:
The Barrows Treaty.

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He'd read bits and pieces about the treaty in
other books.

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It was a treaty between Gautland and Ness, but he
didn't know much more than

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that. Paging through the book, Rafe found chapters
on its effect on

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trade, its lasting impact on the State Guild, and
even at the

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back, a complete copy of the treaty itself.

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Putting the book down, he grabbed another:

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The Guildmaster Thief, a book that had a chapter
on every guildmaster

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thief, going back to the guild's origin.

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He turned to the front, and there was the first
guildmaster thief, a woman

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named Cora, who wore a long, ethereal red dress,
one that looked like it

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was made of liquid cloth.

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Red?

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Rafe was about to start reading when Tilson
cleared his throat.

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"Sir, I have help here to take the books up to the
library.

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Do you want to rest or get some dinner while we
carry them?" "Yes, that's a good idea."

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Rafe placed the book back with the others.

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"Please take great care. These are extremely
valuable.

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There is a shelf to the rear on the left side of
the library.

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I've left it empty for these books."

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Rafe looked over the pile in the wagon.

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"But there are more than I anticipated, so if
there are more than fit on the shelves, place them
on my work

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table." "As you wish, sir."

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Rafe went off to the tower kitchen. He was
suddenly very hungry, and he

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wanted to build up as much energy as he could.

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He anticipated not sleeping for a long time.

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As he walked into the library, it was clear that
those storing the books had no

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understanding of organization.Large and small
books were next to each

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other, and the topics were ignored, with no order
at all.

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A group of books that looked more like accounting
records were next to thick books

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on masonry. Rafe decided that the first thing he
had to do was

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organize the books so that his studies could be
more efficient.

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In addition, he could get a better idea as to what
treasures he had as

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he went through them and placed them on the
shelves.

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The first thing that struck him was the enormous
variety of the books.

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He couldn't figure out Pietro's method for
deciding which books to keep with him

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and which to leave back at the thieves tower.

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There were books on science, weather patterns, the
stars in the sky, minerals,

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books on crafts and design, clothes, boats, and
weapon crafting,

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and even books on the flora and fauna of the hills
and mountains.

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Most of the books, however, were nothing more than
accounting ledgers with

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detailed accounts of everything the thieves had
stolen and where they were

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distributed, dozens of books going back centuries
with

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thousands of lines with a date, what was stolen,
and what it was

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used for.

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Rafe took a glance at the final book, which had
entries up until

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Pietro's death.

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It was empty from that date onward, and Rafe put
the book aside to give to

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Raylan. He knew Raylan would continue the
practice, if for no other

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reason than to honor his dozens of predecessors.

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Thinking of Raylan's predecessors brought Rafe's
attention back to a stack of

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books that he had put aside on his work table as
important and worthy of

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immediate attention.

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There were about a dozen books, and they included
books of maps, missing

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histories, detailed descriptions of foreign
cities, and a book titled

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Guilds of Ness, which included an overview of
important guilds that

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Rafe had only seen mentions of, including the
State Guild.

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But there were three books that he was most
interested in reading.

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One was the previously examined Guildmaster Thief,
the biographical

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history of every guildmaster thief.

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To Rafe's shock, he saw that it was written by
Pietro himself.

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The second book was a book entitled A History of
Norania and Surrounding

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Lands.

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The first two pages were a spread of a map of the
land surrounding Ness.

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It extended further to the north and south than
the other map he had seen.

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The final book was the one he planned to tackle
first.

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It was the one book he had wanted more than any
other, and here it was in his

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hand, the Origins and Mission of the Thieves
Guild.

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Rafe wanted to relish opening the book.

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He called down for wine and a fresh candle while
he finished filing the other

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books, many of which drew his attention.

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It was a wealth of information he doubted he could
get through in a full year.

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Finally, he sat down in his favorite reading
chair, took a long drink of

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wine, and opened the book.

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The first page was a short introduction written by
some guildmaster

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thief that Rafe had never heard of. The first line
confirmed every

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unconscious suspicion Rafe had about his guild,
and it was still so shocking

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he almost dropped the book.

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The Thieves Guild was born the day the Magic Guild

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died.