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The Thieves Guild

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by Jake Kerr

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(dramatic music plays) . Episode 98:

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The Guildmaster Ranger.

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Rogers had been a thief long enough to have a keen
sense of perception.

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The sounds and movements in the open air of the
plains were completely different

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than what he experienced in alleys, inns, and dark
corners, but that didn't

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mean that he couldn't sense things.

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As Vilo led him along, the first thing Rogers
noticed was that while there was no

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real path, Vilo followed a very specific pattern.

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He was moving in a general direction, and the
twists and turns they took

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kept them among the shorter grass. Even if the
path was more direct,

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Vilo would avoid it if it included brush that was
higher than Rogers' knees.

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Rogers' first thought was that there was
treacherous ground under the taller grass,

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but another thought changed his mind.

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They were in the middle of plains that led to the
outer fields.

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Rangers should have been everywhere, but Rogers
had seen none other than his escort.

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"They are hiding in the tall grass," he thought.

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They had walked briskly for about two hours, with
Vilo speaking very little.

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"How much further?"

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"Not far. You'll see the encampment in the
distance soon."

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"Why is the camp so far from the wall?"

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Vilo gave Rogers an "are you serious?" look, and
then

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replied...

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"We hold back the outlanders.

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Keeping a lot of distance between them and the
city is a good idea, no?"

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Rogers had not even considered the outlanders once
they began their

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march. Of course he knew they were out there, and
the Rangers were defending the

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city from them, but he never thought of them much
while he managed the lower

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quarter.

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And out here, while walking with Vilo, he was more
interested in their

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immediate environs. "Of course," was Rogers'
rather

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embarrassed reply.

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The camp turned out to be a settlement that looked
like a large village, made up

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of tents of all sizes. On the edge to the north
were what appeared to be

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a fenced field and mobile stable with dozens of
horses in tent

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stalls.

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Their path to the camp was no longer camouflaged,
and it appeared to be well

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worn. While the camp was designed to move, it
looked like it had been in

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its current location for a long time.

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Rogers found the Rangers unsettling.

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He had spent his entire life where color defined
the person, no one

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mixed green with blue or yellow with white.

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At

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formal events, accent patterns displaying
sub-guilds were acceptable,

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but a solid color with a solid cover just seemed
wrong.

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Yet here were men wearing brown and green
together.

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Others wore undyed leather with pale yellow
shirts.

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The clothing of the Rangers appeared to serve two
functions: practical

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lounging around the camp, where limiting your
clothing to the Ranger Guild color of

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brown seemed entirely optional;

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and those who were leaving the camp for the
plains, and their colors were used

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more to hide the Ranger in the brush or dirt than
illustrate guild

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membership. In either case, solid brown seemed
optional.

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Rogers was still wearing the green of his Harvest
Guild disguise, and it

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elicited several comments from passing Rangers,
all of them supportive and

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positive. Some of the comments referred to outer
field raids that had slipped

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through, and Rogers realized that the Rangers
assumed he was an

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emissary of the Harvest Guild captain of the outer
fields.

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They reached a large tent at the center of the
camp, and entry took a long time

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as Vilo answered question after question about his
need to talk to Quinto.

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Most of the guards ignored Rogers as harmless.

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They eventually found themselves in a tent
adjacent to the large tent,

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waiting for Quinto to call on them. The sun had
already set after a wait

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of longer than an hour when they were called in,
their path illuminated with

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torches. Rogers followed a Ranger through the
small tent and into the

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bigger one. There was no ceremony or preparation,
they were walked directly

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into a smaller section of the tent. It looked like
an office with a desk, a

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few chairs facing it, and large flat pieces of
wood held up

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by wooden bases that had maps and other papers
secured on them.

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"Vilo, is it?" Quinto stood up. He was tall, but
not as

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tall as Allard. He had jet black hair that reached
to his shoulders, and a

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thick black mustache. That was another thing that
Rogers noticed:

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mustaches without beards were very uncommon in
Ness, yet they appeared

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plentiful out in the plains. Unlike his guild
members, Quinto wore no

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other than his guild brown, with a brown cotton
shirt tucked into brown

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pants made of a thin cloth.

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The pants were another rarity among the Rangers;
most of them wore leather or

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thicker fabric.

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"Uh, thank you for seeing me, Guildmaster." Vilo
bowed his head.

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"This is Rogers. He is from the Harvest Guild, and
has troubling news

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from within the wall." Quinto peered at Rogers,
and for the slightest of

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moments, Rogers had the sensation that Quinto knew
he was a thief

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and not a true Harvest Guild member.

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But he smiled.

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... held out his hand, and said...

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Welcome to our camp, friend. (laughs) I hope
Guildmaster Polo is well.

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You know, I hear every other guildmaster in Ness
wants to assassinate him.

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As he shook Quinto's hand, Rogers was taken a
little

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aback by the nonchalance of Quinto's view of Ness'
politics,

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especially those involving an assassination.

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Still, it was the opening Rogers needed.

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It is dire, sir.

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Rogers then outlined the situation in Ness, going
into great detail in

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explaining the deadly assault on the Harvest Guild
neighborhoods in the flats.

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Am I to understand that you are saying the Knight
Protectors stood idly by as merchant

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guild guards attacked a Harvest Guild
neighborhood?

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It is worse than that, Guildmaster. As we fled
through the sewers like rats, we knew of Knight

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Protectors launching an even more deadly assault
that included cavalry.

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Has Sachs lost his mind? I'm guessing Lassen paid
for his

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loyalty.

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Rogers was shocked at how casually Quinto could
accept that Sachs had

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been bribed.

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I told the oaf to get a better deputy, someone who
would challenge him and manage his men

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better,

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but he enjoys having the simple-minded mountain as
his deputy because he had won

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every arms competition in the guild.

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Quinto spoke fast and seemed to do so more to
enjoy hearing him tell

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his own story than for Rogers' benefit.

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As he spoke, Quinto scribbled on a piece of paper.

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There was a moment of silence when he finished
speaking, but continued

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writing his note.

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Finally, he folded it, placed it in an envelope,
and melted wax on it,

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closing it with his guild seal. While Quinto
worked, Rogers

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thought of what he had said. It was all
information that Rogers filed

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away in his head.

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John, the knight deputy guildmaster, was
well-known to be stupid, but now

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Rogers knew why he got the job. He was untouchable
in battle.

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That was something to share with Allard.

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Quinto stood up barely five minutes after their
meeting had started and

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waved toward the door.

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Thank you again, Rogers. This was extremely
valuable to me.

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Rogers had much more to share about Lassen and
Orion and various

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other political machinations that he felt Quinto
should know, but didn't know

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how to do so without offending the guildmaster.

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Um, sir...

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Looking to buy time and perhaps have Quinto sit
down again, Rogers

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said...

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What can be done?

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With a smile, Quinto replied...

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We will depose my traitorous guildmaster.

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Rogers was so stunned, he had to stop as Vilo
started to usher him out.

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Sachs?

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Of course, I've had issues with him for a long
time,

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but this is too much.

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You will help me with this, Rogers.

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Things were moving fast, and Rogers did his best
to stay aware of the

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various opportunities and pitfalls.

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How so, sir?

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You will take a note to your guildmaster. I need
to talk to him.

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As I said, sir, he is unreachable in Harvest
House.

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He will meet with me.

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Quinto said it with such confidence that Rogers
knew it to be true.

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But I want him to think over a few things before I
arrive.

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Quinto held out the envelope and note he had just
written.

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You are to hand it to Polo or Esmer. No one else.
I understand.

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Time is of the essence.

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Turning to Vilo, Quinto said...

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Go to the stables and take our two fastest horses.

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Escort Rogers to Harvest House. You will return
with Polo's

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reply.

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Yes, sir.

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They were dismissed, and Vilo led Rogers toward
the stables.

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He was far from his duties in the lower quarter,
but he felt that this was an

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acceptable mission.

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If Quinto could join Polo in working against Orion
and Lassen, the

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thieves would potentially be the difference in
returning order to Ness.

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(dramatic music)