The Thieves Guild
by Jake Kerr
(dramatic music plays) . Episode 97:
A New Mission.
Vespa had filled Allard in on everything he knew, excluding a few
select facts,
such as his being assigned the job of assassinating Allard.
Thankfully, Allard appeared to trust Vespa and revealed what was going
on with the Thieves Guild.
"We are secure. The Harvest Guild members are well taken care of, and Captain Dirk
is exceptional, so I am confident that the guild is safe from any kind of immediate attack,
especially from Sax."
Allard's strides were so long that Vespa had to almost jog to keep up.
"Yet there are so many unknowns."
"Indeed. I sense that Orion will kill Larsen, but I don't know who would do that
with me unavailable to do the deed. A botched assassination of Larsen by Orion
would be a bigger disaster for him than anything."
"Too many unknowns,"
Allard repeated, his deep voice soft and thoughtful, yet
still somehow sounding loud.
"Well, we can't make decisions just waiting for things to become clearer."
"You aren't making any decisions,"
Allard growled.
"But your sentiment is correct. Our immediate plan of escape is sound, but escape
is not helpful at this point."
They walked in silence. Vespa was going to recommend any number of
things, but all of them failed, because Allard was an enemy of practically
every guild in Ness. That led Vespa to a thought of at least
lightening the moment.
"So, are there any guilds that don't hate you?"
Allard glanced at Vespa, a frown visible under his brown hood.
"No."
"How did you achieve that? It must take a special talent to make everyone hate
you."
Vesper held up a finger.
"And don't tell me it's because you were a thief.
Everyone loved Pietro, and he was your guildmaster for many years."
Allard nodded.
"It is true. I did not deserve Guildmaster Pietro's kindness."
There was another moment of silence, and then to Vespa's shock, Allard
answered him.
"The knights and Rangers hate me because I saved an outlander family from being massacred.
Orion hates me because I am a thief, and he does not consider me harmless like
Pietro.
Of course, he didn't realize that Pietro ended up being much more formidable than I ever
could be. Polo hates me for similar reasons as Orion, although Polo knows of the
outlander story and hates me for that as well.
Larsen hates me because I protect and serve his younger brother."
"Well, that about sums it up."
Allard nodded.
"How many people know the outlander story?
I had only heard that you betrayed the knights."
"They twist the story to defend their integrity, but I know the truth.
There was a family of outlanders. They lived in the plains and were starving, so they moved their camp
close to Ness. I'm sure they planned on raiding the outer fields at some point, but at the time they
were just camping not far from Executioner's Hollow."
Allard rubbed his head through his hood, and then continued.
"I was a captain and sent to investigate a sighting from one of the White Guard.
I was with five other knights, and we found a weakened man and his wife,
along with three children. I told my men to spare them, but the law of the
knights is to kill all outlanders. I fought my men and hurt two of them, although not seriously.
Sax banished me from the guild and sentenced me to die for betrayal, but Pietro stepped in and saved
me. To this day, I do not know what he said to Sax, but I was free and wearing the
Black Minutes after Pietro's visit."
"How many know this story?"
Vesper asked, amazed to hear it directly from Allard's own mouth.
Allard shrugged. "Very few know the real story.
Many know the story of my betraying the Knight Guild for the benefit of outlander brigands."
"So, why did you tell me the story?"
Vesper felt like Allard had trusted him with something extremely special.
Allard peered at Vesper and then replied.
"Because you wield information like you wield a dagger, only when needed and with great
precision. When you need to wield this information, you will, but I know that when you
do, it will be for a reason that I would approve."
Without thinking, Vespa replied incredulously.
"Why would you think that?"
"Because I know how you think. You will align yourself with the winning side."
Smiling, Allard added.
"Would you like to hear an additional secret?"
Vesper leaned toward Allard, whose voice dropped to a whisper with the previous
question.
"Yes, what is it?"
"We will be the winning side."
The two reached the warehouse district without any problems, although they were
accosted a few times by guild guards.
Vespa's first big decision came when they turned down the massive road that ran
among the collection of huge warehouses that hugged the eastern part of the Great
Wall.
Craft Tower was close enough that Vespa could see Orion's office window on the
top floor.
The presence of armed craft guild guards was heavy, and Vespa could easily have
Allard captured. He was a mighty warrior and would kill several guards,
but they would eventually overwhelm him.
With Orion close, Vespa could do even better than assassinate Allard,
he could have him captured. Yet he was still uncertain.
The organization and secretive nature of the thieves made him think that they may
prevail.
Allard interrupted Vespers thoughts by saying-
"There is a large sewage entrance near here.
It is used by our guild to move stolen goods under the lower quarter to safe houses,
where they are distributed and eventually moved to the old quarter."
"So, we will use that passage to return to the tower."
At the thought of the tower, Vesper lost all interest in turning Alard in.
He didn't understand its power and draw over him, but he recognized
it.
Perhaps it was that he finally had found a guild that was the closest to his life,
one of intrigue and secrecy.
And the tower, in plain view yet hidden, represented that
to him.
"No."
Alard's voice was low and deep, and he was continually scanning the
people they passed,
people in large wagons pulled by draft horses, and men and women that
smelled like leather soap, burnt wood, and iron.
"We will pause there. We have guild members there guarding the entrance.
We will stop, gather information, and then decide on our future steps."
They turned past one of the largest warehouses.
It contained rough-spun clothes used by the majority of the
citizens of Ness. The clothes were produced in a work building on the other side of the
large street, and then dyed guild colors in a building next to the
warehouse.
The smell of the dye filled the street, just like the smell of cured leather
filled the street further up, and the smell of fire and iron filled the part of
the street they had just passed.
They walked along a small road that had little use beyond acting as a way to
get from the front of the warehouse to the back, or to access the wall from the
major road in the front.
"No guards."
"They fear to patrol here."
Alard didn't elaborate, so Vesper pushed the point.
"Why?"
"There is a rumor that the fumes from the dye are poisonous.
No one walks near the dye house. If you were to enter the warehouse, you would see that
most of the goods are stacked on the wall farthest from the dye.
No one wants to smell it.
It is considered one of the lowliest jobs in the craft guild to work the dye,
a death sentence, in fact."
The smell of the dye was overwhelming as they walked between the dye house and the
warehouse. Vesper covered his mouth with his hand, which elicited a smile
from Alard.
"Is it poisonous?"
"No. The Thieves Guild runs the dye house.
We move people in and out regularly, with messages left that the former workers had died.
Then we move them into our service in the old quarter.
This is our single most important location for handling the things we steal."
"I had not heard of deaths in the warehouses."
"Of course not. The Harvest Captains know, but are afraid Orion will move the dye house
outside the wall if he finds out, causing many problems.
So, they keep it from him, and the guild members who work there fear reprisal if they
speak up."
"But what of the guards? They
know."
Alard shrugged.
"Everyone looks out for themselves."
"Except the thieves."
"We take so we can give."
They reached the back of the dye house, and there was a wooden shed that was surrounded by
what looked like old and rancid dye. It was in open containers
and stunk so badly of sharp-smelling dye that Vesper's eyes
started to water.
"With what you just told me, this may be the most well-defended entrance to a
secret passage in Ness."
Vesper chuckled. They walked through a wooden door that looked like it was going to
fall off its hinges, yet moved as smoothly as a door in one of the pubs
in the upper quarter.
Inside were barrels, although the smell of dye was considerably less.
Alard walked deliberately around them, as if he had walked the path many
times, and as Vesper followed, they came upon a staircase leading down.
It was wide and solid, enough for four men to walk
side-by-side while descending. It was much longer than Vesper had
anticipated, and at the bottom there were double iron doors.
They opened as Alard approached. A man wearing black and the common sign of
a captain, a single accent strip around his right sleeve, strode
forward. He was massive. Not massive like Alard, who was tall
and strong, but massive in that he was broad and thick at every part of his
body. He wasn't necessarily tall, but he looked like the kind of man that you
knew would end up bloodied but still standing in a bar fight.
"Kalos, my friend," Alard said, uncharacteristic warmth in
his voice. "I had no idea you'd be managing the thoroughfare.
Is there an important shipment happening?"
Alard peered toward the room behind the door.
"Deputy Alard."
The man named Kalos strode forward, and rather than shake Alard's hands,
threw his mighty arms around him in a hug.
Parting, Kalos shook his head.
"More like multiple shipments. That idiot, Orion, has all his guards keeping an eye on the
chaos in the lower quarter, so with the cats away..."
Kalos spread his arms and smiled as if he was doing something naughty, but no one
could blame him. Vesper finally caught Kalos' eye.
"Who's this?"
"Orion's blade."
Kalos tensed, and his smile turned to a face that was intimidating
in its intensity of restrained violence, but that quickly returned to a
smile.
"I had low expectations of that rascal, Raylan,
but if he turned a blade to our guild,
I have to hand it to him."
"Guild master Raylan,"
Alard said, his voice serious.
"I apologize, deputy. Of course."
Turning to Vesper, Kalos said, "So, Blade, what's your name?"
"Vesper."
He rather liked this character Kalos, but there was no need to let him know
that, so he kept his answer short and his voice sharp.
"Anything I can help you with?"
The question surprised Vesper. He had expected to be ignored in the presence
of the deputy guild master. The Thieves Guild continued to appear very different
than what he was used to.
Nodding to Allard, Vesper replied, "I await orders."
Allard spoke up.
"We have both been indisposed and need updated news.
My mission was to find out from Vesper what he knew, and I have done that.
I was planning on both of us returning to the tower, but I will not make that decision until we are
current on what is happening."
"So it shall be.
There is a meeting room down the hall.
Follow me."
Kalos led the two of them through the door, which opened onto a massive room,
larger than the dye house above it. Stacked nearly floor to ceiling in the room were
clothes, weapons, household items, and a variety of
things that were necessary for living in Ness, and yet unavailable to
its poor and those in the old quarter.
They entered a small spare room with a desk pushed against a wall and a few
chairs facing it. Allard walked in and leaned back against the desk,
while Kalos pulled up a chair and motioned Vesper to sit.
He proceeded to outline what Vesper considered the worst possible
outcome. Larson was dead, Karch was missing, and
Orion's nephew, Carris, was now running the merchant guild.
If that weren't bad enough, Carris had spread the news that he was
apologizing for Larson's misdeeds and welcoming back the
Harvest Guild. He had offered to rebuild the houses that had burned and
provide for those who were displaced.
"Orion looks to isolate the thieves," Vesper said, which
elicited a solemn nod from Allard.
"Wait, Orion knows of the existence of our guild?"
Kalos looked dumbfounded.
"It is the information Vesper has provided us.
It would have been impossible with so many streaming into the old quarter, but Orion found out
sooner than we had hoped."
"Of course, of course," Kalos replied, rubbing his
chin. "Will the Harvest Guild members return to their homes and embrace Carris?"
Vesper looked at Allard, but he remained silent.
"I don't know,"
Vesper finally replied.
"We need to know, and Guild Master Polo needs to know.
You have your new mission, Vesper," Allard suddenly said, his deep voice
filling the room like the pounding of a drum. Kalos and Vesper looked at him.
"I cannot approach Polo, he knows me. His guild knows me.
They will imprison me on sight. You,"
Allard pointed at Vesper, "however, they do not know."
"It is a lost cause. I attempted to reach Polo to assassinate him."
Vesper said it casually, which he knew would shock Kalos, and was a
response that he liked to elicit, keeping others, friend and enemy,
off guard. "It is impossible. Harvest House is small but insurmountable.
The walls move under your feet. The vines work to toss you off while you climb them.
There is only one path to Polo, and it is guarded by too many, with no secret
passages or shadows to reach him."
"I did not say you were to assassinate him.
You are to reach him and inform him of what is happening.
We have tried with our own blade, and she is currently missing.
We don't know how well-informed Polo is.
We can assume he knows much, but this information is coming from the ground in the lower quarter.
Polo may be missing the larger political machinations of Orion."
"I can get you to the Harvest district.
We rarely go there, as there is no reason to, but there is a path, not a pleasant
path, but a path under the north fork."
Vesper didn't like the mission, because he considered it well outside his
expertise. He could kill, he could spy, he could even torture and
destroy, but having a diplomatic conversation with a guild master was
not something he had ever done before.
He once again considered the lay of the land.
Orion had made a bold move, one that in one stroke had
significantly threatened the thieves.
They were potentially isolated with all of the guilds not only against
them, but knowing of their existence and their base of operations.
The wild card was Polo. If Polo joined with Orion
and his nephew and Saxe, there was no hope for the thieves.
But would Polo do that? Did he see the endgame?
If he helped his guild members in the lower quarter in the short run, would that destroy
the guild in the long run?
He knew precious little about the old Harvest guild master, who mostly kept
to himself and was only the target of Orion's attention after Raylan
ruined his and Larson's plans.
In the end, Vesper realized he didn't have to make an immediate decision.
He could abandon the thieves at any time.
If he did reach Polo, he could even make the decision then, delivering
Polo to Orion or Raylan at his will.
That final thought was very appealing, and Vesper finally replied.
"I will contact Polo, but I need guidance on this mission."
"What kind of guidance do you need?"
"The mission is unclear. Inform Polo of the wider danger to his guild from
Orion and Carris is not specific enough.
What is the goal of the mission?"
Allard stared at Vesper for a long time, until he shook his head and
replied.
"You're a formidable man, Vesper. The goal is to have Polo reject any offering from
Orion or Carris. We need Polo to remain isolated so that our guild can find a plan
forward without facing eradication.
I do not expect Polo to embrace the thieves.
I do not expect you to convince him of the good of our mission."
Allard crossed his arms. "I expect you to fan the flames of hatred that
Polo has toward Orion. I don't care how you do it." Vesper stood up.
"That,
I can do."
(dramatic music)