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The Thieves Guild

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by Jake Kerr.

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Season 4.

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The Order of the Dragon.

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Episode 3:

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Captain Rogers.

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Rodgers realized he had a short window to operate
in the Lower Quarter before

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he was discovered. Unbelievably, he was the
captain of the Lower Quarter for

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three guilds, the Harvest, Merchant, and Thieves
Guilds.

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It wouldn't be long before a Harvest Guild member
would wonder why their captain was wearing

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blue, or a Merchant Guild member wondered why he
was wearing green.

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His immediate goal was to report to Allard.

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"No, I need to report to Raylan," Rodgers thought.

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He didn't have a good handle on the youngster that
was the new guild master, and he

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had to remind himself to at least maintain a
semblance of respect for the boy,

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even if he knew that Allard was truly in charge.

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Either way, he had to make his way back to the Old
Quarter.

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But before doing that, he intended on using his
new role as the merchant captain

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to take stock of the Lower Quarter. He already
knew from his retreat from the

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confrontation with the Outlanders that the Lower
Quarter was in dire

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shape.

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The fires had been devastating, but he wanted to
get a sense of the

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thief safe house situation and how the thieves
could pick up the pieces.

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Rodgers walked down the throughway.

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His goal was to turn into the Flats via one of the
side roads and take a long

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detour and see what was happening there.

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He had little hope that it was even livable.

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Like the homes in the Pit, so many houses and
cottages in the Flats

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were built right up next to each other, and were
built from the wood carted in from the

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small forest land managed by the remote Harvest
Guild lumber farmers

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far to the north.

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He had already walked for five minutes, and could
see more burned down houses and

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taverns and shops than those that survived.

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And the ones that survived were the rare stone
houses that predated the growth in the

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Flats. Even many of them had damaged roofs or
other charred

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remains.

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Traitor!

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Rodgers turned toward the voice just as a stone
glanced off his shoulder.

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A group of Harvest Guild members that were
rebuilding a house had turned to him and were

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holding stones that were part of some collapsed
wall.

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You aren't welcome here.

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No more stones were thrown, but the group of three
men held stones and bricks

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in their hands, their intent clear.

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Turn around and leave if you know what's good for
you.

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He's a captain.

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A young man raised his hand to toss a stone, but
an older Harvest Guild member

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held his arm. "Indeed." The older man walked to
Rodgers.

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"Hurting you will bring nothing but trouble.

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But you should know, Captain Traitor, we do want
to hurt you." The man

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pointed back up the street. "You should leave, if
you know what's good for you."

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Rodgers was not surprised. He had seen the
devastation.

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He had seen in the Pit the evil that Larsen had
unleashed on the Harvest Guild.

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Still, he had a mission to get to the Thieves
Guild, and he also didn't want to pass

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up surveying more of the Flats.

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Even this interaction was informative and helpful.

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The Harvest Guild was not in a forgiving mood.

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"You have every right to be full of anger, indeed.

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I don't want to deny you of that.

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But I am here as the new captain under Guildmaster
Karch, whose only goal is to make things right."

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"Karch is the guild master?"

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The old man glanced back at the others, who
shrugged.

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Rodgers wasn't sure what happened while he was
gone, but they didn't either, so he

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decided to make up a story. "Karch was behind
Larsen's death, and he saw the

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continued damage that Orion's irresponsible nephew
was doing, so he deposed him.

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Karch's only goal is to make things right. As
you're aware, he was not in charge.

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Larsen was."

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There was some muttering. "All I ask is that I am
allowed to survey the damage so that

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Guildmaster Karch can see how much he needs to do
to make things right."

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He can never make right the destruction of our
homes.

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"Of course. I did not mean to imply he could, only
that his intent is to undo

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as much of the harm that Larsen did as he can."

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There were more mutters, and Rodgers once again
filled the uncertainty with his

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voice. "Tell me of your suffering. I promise to
listen to every word and relay it back to

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Guildmaster Karch.

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Then I will walk down this street to hear more
stories.

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Again, my friends, my goal is to listen and
observe and return to Karch with a better

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understanding of this disaster."

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Rodgers waved his arm back toward the Flats.

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To his amazement, the men dropped their rocks and
walked forward, and for the next

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20 minutes outlined every horrible thing they had
seen, nearly all of which was

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from the Merchant Guild. Rodgers listened
intently, and when they finished,

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they let him walk onward.

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Rodgers noted that all they wanted was for someone
to listen and take their pain

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seriously. It was one of many things he would
relay to Allard when he

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returned.

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In the meantime, he walked past his first
destination.

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It was a safe house that had a long history of
protecting thieves.

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It was a pile of ash.

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Rodgers' second confrontation came at the Great
Bridge.

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This one went much better. The mood was still
grim.

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Small groups of Harvest Guild members were still
removing bodies from the Great Road,

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and the smell of death hung over everything.

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Blood clotted and stained the road while bodies
were piled onto

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wagons.... as far as Rogers could tell, the Nest
citizens had all been

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removed and the cleanup was now the bodies of
Outlanders.

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He watched as a cart with three Outland bodies was
lifted up and

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carted away. Rogers was surprised as it made its
way toward the great

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river, but then he realized what was happening.

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The Outlander bodies were being dumped in the
river, where they would float under the

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wall and end up on the banks out in the plains to
be picked apart by

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carrion.

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No one paid him much mind as he continued on his
journey, despite his blue cloak

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and captain's band. He approached the bridge,
which was a swirl of green

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activity. It was then that Rogers realized that
there wasn't a white or blue

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robe or tunic to be seen.

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The Harvest Guild had effectively taken over the
entire lower quarter.

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Rogers had to smile. He was the Harvest Guild
captain of the lower

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quarter. Soon, he would be leading all these
efforts.

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Hey,

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you!

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A heavily-armed guard in green approached.

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Identify yourself.

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Rogers smiled as the man approached. He recognized
the guard.

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It was a Thieves Guild member who patrolled the
great bridge.

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"Chester, have your eyes gotten that bad?" The man
squinted, and then

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his eyes went wide.

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Rogers? Is that you?

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Rogers pointed to the Merchant Guild captain's
band around his bicep.

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"It's Captain Rogers."

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You look terrible. Have you eaten or slept at all
in the past week?"

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Rogers looked down at his body. He hadn't even
realized it, but he had

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indeed lost a ton of weight and his face probably
looked drawn and skeletal.

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"I've been busy." Chester shook his head.

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Clearly. Look at you, captain in the Merchant
Guild.

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Who elevated you to that position? Karch?"

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"Actually, he did."

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Chester meant it as a joke, so the shock on his
face delighted Rogers.

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"I'm also the captain of the lower quarter of the
Harvest Guild, so you should definitely call me

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sir."

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Don't tell me it was old Azmer that elevated you.
I won't believe it.

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"Actually, it was Polo himself." Chester slapped
Rogers on the back.

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We missed your humor, Rogers. It's good to have
you back.

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Are you returning to the tower?

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"Indeed, I must report to Allard."

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As far as I know, Allard is still out on a
mission.

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The guild master has returned, however.

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Rogers wasn't keen on reporting to the young
pretender, Raylan, but he

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guessed he had no choice. "Then I shall report to
Raylan.

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Do you have a horse for my journey?"

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There are steeds on the other side of the bridge.

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Captain Cude is there, so you should connect with
him.

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"I shall." Rogers grasped Chester's forearm.

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"We have lots of work to do, but we're at least
building a knot burning."

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I don't know either way.

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Provide your report. There's precious little
information coming from anywhere.

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"I will. Thank you, Chester."

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No, thank you, Captain. And Captain...

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Chester pointed at Rogers and laughed, shaking his
head, still not

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believing Rogers.

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And

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Captain. (laughs)

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Raylan had been able to convince Rebecca to hold
off on her mission to the Golden

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Wand, at least until Raylan had things a bit more
organized within the

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guild. He had yet to discuss things in detail with
Maylor, who was still his

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blade and could provide some valuable assistance
in making sense of the

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chaos happening on the other side of the river.

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The power had presumably shifted so dramatically,
Raylan badly needed

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updated information.

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And Prosper, and the city on the other side of the
mountain.

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Raylan sensed that everyone wanted to address that
as soon as possible, but what

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was there that they could do? The road was still
blocked and Maylor's entrance

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was through the mines.

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Prosper claimed he'd clear the road, but that just
seemed like boasting.

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He also had to call a meeting of his captains.

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They were the only ones who could give him a
reasonable update, and they also were critical

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for executing any plans.

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And finally, he had to address the loss of Allard.

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The thought of Allard dying still hadn't sunk in,
yet he was the guild master

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and had to arrange what? Some kind of memorial.

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Something.

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And what was he to do with Vesper? The tough blade
was completely

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broken up over the death of Allard. All he
muttered was about killing Polo

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or slaughtering Harvest Guild members.

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Raylan had to order him to his quarters to calm
down.

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To Raylan's surprise, Vesper followed his orders.

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He was nearly to his own quarters when a young
guild member rushed up, so quickly

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that Felos stepped in front of her.

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Not so fast, Brin.

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Mind your manners."

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Felos turned to Raylan.

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"Brin is the new stable master."

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"Hail Brin!"

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Guild master.

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She was nearly out of breath.

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I knew you would want to be informed.

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Raylan didn't say anything as the young woman took
another breath.

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The guild historian has taken a horse and left for
the Outlands.

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It took a moment for the words to sink in.

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Raif left for Gautland to see Pietro's library.
Raylan was sure of it.

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"How long ago?"

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The moment he exited the gate, I came up here to
tell you.

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Raylan turned to Felos. "Send someone to bring him
back.

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If he refuses, bind him, drag him, do whatever you
need to do.

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Does the fool not realize there is an Outlander
army between him and Gautland that

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wants to kill anyone connected to this city?"

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"Yes, Guild Master."

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Felos rushed off and Raylan turned to Brin. "Thank
you, Brin.

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You did well."

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Brin bowed and hurried back down the stairwell.

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Raylan took a deep breath.

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The one member in the whole guild that Raylan felt
he didn't have to worry about

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was the one that was now in the most dire danger.

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(dramatic music)

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A Podcast Alchemy

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production.