The city again explodes into chaos, told from five different points of view. From Polo's paranoid plotting to Karch's triumphant siege and Quinto's rise to power, see the battle for Ness unfold through the eyes of the Guildmasters themselves as the old order is violently overthrown.
Some secrets are worth dying for. Some are worth killing for.
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Intimidated that you're dozens of episodes behind and afraid to start listening? Don't be. Here's a handy Listener's Guide that let's you know spots where you can start listening further in the story.
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Interested in the development of the complex story and want to know how writer Jake Kerr puts it together every week? Want an ad-free experience? Subscribe to his Patreon. Love world building? Want ongoing updates? Free members get ongoing story updates with interesting reference material about the guild hierarchy, geography, and history.
Free Patreon members also receive copies of the first Thieves Guild ebook. The next book will be released in 2025 and Patreon members will also receive that book (and all subsequent books!) for free, too. Want to go directly to get your free books? Click here.
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If you would like to view a map of Ness, you can find it here.
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Check out our other drama podcasts!
Artifacts of the Arcane
A historical urban fantasy set at the beginning of World War Two.
The world has abandoned magic, but magic hasn’t abandoned the world.
https://podcastalchemy.studio/arcane
Thursday
A cyberpunk VR thriller.
No one can be trusted when nothing is real.
https://podcastalchemy.studio/thursday
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Find out more about writer Jake Kerr: https://www.jakekerr.com
Follow Jake on Bluesky @jakekerr.com
00:00:04 --> 00:00:09 [Speaker 0] written by Jake Kerr.
00:00:09 --> 00:00:12 [Speaker 0] Season 4,
00:00:12 --> 00:00:15 [Speaker 0] Episode 8:
00:00:15 --> 00:00:24 [Speaker 0] Five Colors.
00:00:24 --> 00:03:02 [Speaker 0] Green. Polo stood on his private garden on the roof of Harvest House. The house, and especially its roof garden, had for decades brought Polo peace and comfort. But after the Blade achieved the impossible and used his throne to access his quarters, he couldn't help but constantly look in dark corners and glance around nervously. It wasn't a general fear. It was a fear of her, the Blade. She had escaped her prison under the mines, something also considered impossible. Someone who could so easily achieve impossible things made Polo wonder if she was some kind of magic creature or ghost. His only solace was that she didn't appear to want to kill him. Polo doubled his guards in Harvest House, but he realized it didn't matter. Someone like this Blade simply couldn't be stopped. But what did she want? She gave him the most obvious of warnings of an assassination risk. That clearly wasn't her goal. Did his guards stop her from her true goal that day? What was her true goal? That lingering unknown was like the small ache in his back during his travels on horseback to the outer fields. He could ignore it for periods of time, but never for long. It would always surface and remind him of his weakness and age. Pushing the thought of the Blade aside, Polo walked over and sat in the elevated chair the house itself had gifted him on his first day as guild master. He entered the garden and watched as a dais of thick branches grew, followed by a chair made of soft limbs and lush green stems and branches from flowering plants. As he sat down, he still remembered his first time reclining in the house's gift. The plants that made up the chair moved to fit him perfectly. "This is the comfort of power," Polo thought. "No one else in the entire world has a chair that forms itself to its master's body. I must guard this. I must defend this." The thought gave him some comfort. Despite his concern for the Blade, everything was going well. The knight guild was stopped from attacking by the destruction of Trader's Bridge. The attack from the river at the warehouse district was bloody and his guild took many losses, but it was repulsed.
00:03:02 --> 00:03:36 [Speaker 0] All of those events gave Quinto time to defeat Sax, so the knights were now led by a close ally. Orion had proven to be untrustworthy. Polo was originally uncertain if Orion was an easily duped, simpleminded fool or a canny and devious man who hid his aspirations behind a facade. But that uncertainty was solidified by his installing his nephew as the guild master merchant. And now with him attacking from across the river, there was no doubt, Orion had to be stopped.
00:03:36 --> 00:04:27 [Speaker 0] The frustrating part was that there was little Polo could do. He was defending the upper quarter along the entire length of the rivers. Any thought of attack was removed with the destruction of Trader's Bridge. "I have to trust Quinto," Polo thought. "Until then, I'll keep the upper quarter safe." Standing up, Polo once again glanced around the room and peered into shadows. The ache of the Blade once again flared up. The darkness reminded him of the Thieves Guild. His letter to Raylan was clear, and he was reasonably certain that Raylan was not brave enough to get involved in the politics of the city. He was a mischievous child, and now chastened, he would sit back and stay out of the way.
00:04:27 --> 00:04:53 [Speaker 0] The real power of the Thieves Guild was Alard. The old former knight fascinated Polo. With his skills and might, he could have perhaps become guild master of the knight guild, but he threw it all away to side with the outlanders. The curiosity over Alard made Polo walk down the winding staircase to the guards in his quarters. "Bring Alard to me."
00:04:53 --> 00:05:50 [Speaker 0] Yellow. Orion wondered how much Polo actually knew. For that matter, Orion wondered how much he actually knew. Everything was in such chaos. The vote on Founder's Day was obvious enough of his intentions, but Orion had played the, "I'm just going along with Larsen" card on that day well enough that he felt Polo believed it. But after Larsen's idiotic attack on the lower quarter, everything changed. Orion had hoped that staying out of it would be enough, but clearly Polo felt that doing nothing was the same as being an active participant. Karch's bruises were evidence of that. There was a pounding on his office door, the kind that didn't foretell good news. "Come in." A young messenger, sweaty and covered in dirt, ran in. He was accompanied close behind by his tower captain, Bertram.
00:05:50 --> 00:05:55 [Speaker 1] Sir, the merchants have launched an attack on our forces near the river at the warehouse district.
00:05:55 --> 00:06:04 [Speaker 0] Orion stood so quickly, his chair flew out behind him and clattered to the floor.What is this madness? Where is, uh, Karres?
00:06:04 --> 00:06:08 [Speaker 1] I know not, sir. I was sent to simply warn you of this treachery.
00:06:08 --> 00:06:17 [Speaker 0] The messenger dropped his hands to his knees and took in gulps of air. "Did you run here?" The guard looked up and nodded.
00:06:17 --> 00:06:18 [Speaker 1] Yes, sir.
00:06:18 --> 00:06:45 [Speaker 0] Orion walked around his desk. This was horrible news. Something had happened to Karres. Was this a remote revolt empowered by Karres' irresponsible management? He cursed himself. He had sent Karch too late to get things better organized. "Wait." Everyone looked at Orion, who stood still. "How are we responding to this treachery?" Bertram strode forward.
00:06:45 --> 00:06:58 [Speaker 2] I sent the bulk of our forces to assist in repelling this assault. It appears to be an isolated rebellion. The merchants are working at rebuilding the lower quarter and have very little in the way of forces nearby.
00:06:58 --> 00:06:59 [Speaker 0] "What about the Knights?"
00:06:59 --> 00:07:01 [Speaker 2] "They are nowhere to be seen."
00:07:01 --> 00:08:19 [Speaker 0] "Let me get this straight. There is bloodshed and the Knights are nowhere to be found. Sax would never let that happen. He would welcome it." Bertram was silent. "This doesn't feel right. Larsen may have had many faults, but he ran a tight ship. If there was a rebellion, it would be against Karres, not us, especially not the warehouse district. And if he even sniffed violence in the lower quarter, Sax would be leading the charge with his broadsword." That's when it hit Orion, "Karch." The snake had made his move. Why didn't Orion see it? It was staring him right in the face. Karch was not only not to be trusted, he was to be contained. Having him help Karres was the worst possible move. But what about Sax? Could he have been overthrown? It seemed impossible with his forces, but clearly something was happening. Was he perhaps assassinated? "Bertram, recall the troops. Send your fastest horse to have them return. The fact that we are surrounded by Merchant Guild members rebuilding the city only tells me that we're surrounded by Merchant Guild members who are available to attack us."
00:08:19 --> 00:08:21 [Speaker 2] "Attack us? Why would they attack us?"
00:08:21 --> 00:08:51 [Speaker 0] "Because Karch is now leading them, you fool. Karres is either dead or imprisoned. Karch intends to blame Larsen's villainy on us, and with us attacking the upper quarter, he doesn't have to work hard to do so. And Sax is missing. We have to assume he has been assassinated. That's also probably Karch's work. Call off the attack of the upper quarter and ground the boats. We need to defend the tower." Bertram nodded and rushed out of the room.
00:08:51 --> 00:09:00 [Speaker 0] Orion returned to his desk, and as he picked up his chair, a resounding deep boom echoed through the whole tower.
00:09:00 --> 00:09:02 [Speaker 0] Blue.
00:09:02 --> 00:10:49 [Speaker 0] Karch opened up Larsen's haunted office for the simple reason that he wanted to watch the assault on the craft tower, and he had an exceptional view of just that from Larsen's still broken window. He had to hand it to Jasper, the young man knew what he was doing. The small force that attacked through the warehouse district had successfully pulled Orion's forces away, leaving his tower practically undefended. The forces rallied right now and surrounding the tower would have been formidable even facing opposition, but with the entire district empty of craft guards, his forces were going to be unstoppable. A wooden tree trunk boomed as it struck the thick door of the guild. Karch had to smile. Orion had put so much effort into presenting himself as simple and dimwitted that he couldn't make practical decisions about things like basic guild defense, or it would appear he was smarter than he wanted people to believe. So there were no iron doors or reinforced gates being struck by a heavy tree trunk. There were thick but simple wooden doors, and Karch fancied himself being able to hear creak and crack as they were struck. He leaned forward and listened as another boom from the distance echoed toward him, and another, and then finally a shout, another boom, another shout. Karch couldn't tell when the doors finally fell, but he could see the movement of guards in blue rushing past the now destroyed doors. "I wonder if Jasper will bring me Orion alive or dead," Karch thought, a smile forming on his lips.
00:10:49 --> 00:10:51 [Speaker 0] White.
00:10:51 --> 00:11:34 [Speaker 0] Quinto didn't quite grasp that Sax was actually widely hated within his own guild until he walked through the night tower complex accompanied by Jaxon and surrounded by his own guards. The first guild master followed by a raised sword led to a near slaughter by Jaxon until everyone realized it was a salute. "Guild master, guild master." The words rung out as Quinto walked through the lower hallways, "Guild master." Through the dining area, calls from the stables, "Guild master." As he climbed the tower to his new quarters, Quinto turned to Jaxon. "I was not expecting that."
00:11:34 --> 00:11:44 [Speaker 1] Sax was a drunken fool. A mighty fighter, yes, but his men are more than fighters, they are warriors and they value the discipline and seriousness that Sax lacked.
00:11:44 --> 00:11:50 [Speaker 0] Quinto nodded. "Still, he was a strong personality and ruled with decisiveness."
00:11:50 --> 00:11:54 [Speaker 1] Decisive foolishness may be decisive, but it is still foolish.
00:11:54 --> 00:12:11 [Speaker 0] "Yes. We need to instill discipline and order." Quinto approached his quarters. He had it stripped to the walls, cleaned, and restored. It took three days.The smell of wine and even vomit had filled every room.
00:12:11 --> 00:12:18 [Speaker 1] It will be a challenge with what's happening with the other guild masters. There will be distractions, or more.
00:12:18 --> 00:12:43 [Speaker 0] Quinto and he had already discussed the situation at length. Jaxon felt ignoring things was a mistake. The knights' entire job was to keep order. Quinto wanted to organize his guild first. "Polo is safe and the Craft and Merchant Guilds are practically allies. No one will do anything until someone rebuilds Trader's Bridge, and that will be a long time from now. We have time."
00:12:43 --> 00:12:46 [Speaker 1] "Yes, Guildmaster."
00:12:46 --> 00:13:09 [Speaker 0] Quinto walked to his desk. It faced away from the door and toward a large window that looked out on the flats and onto the lower quarter. He felt it was important to see the charred remains of the lower quarter as he worked. It reminded him how much work needed to be done. Jaxon seated himself at a chair next to Quinto's desk.
00:13:09 --> 00:13:11 [Speaker 1] "And the Thieves Guild?"
00:13:11 --> 00:13:45 [Speaker 0] "They're the only guild I don't worry about," as he and Jaxon laughed. A short knock on Quinto's open door and a quick shuffle of steps made both he and Jaxon turn. "Sir, I have news from Captain Graham!" Quinto didn't even know who Captain Graham was. He silently cursed his rare forays inside the walls as he oversaw the rangers. "Well, don't just stand there. Out with it." "Craft Tower is under siege by the merchants." Quinto looked at Jaxon. "It appears I was wrong. We don't have time."
00:13:45 --> 00:13:50 [Speaker 1] "Indeed. My only question is, which side do we take?"
00:13:50 --> 00:14:07 [Speaker 0] Quinto peered into the distance. He could see Craft Tower, but the activity at its base was hidden from his view. Turning back to Jaxon, Quinto twisted the guild seal on his finger. "We take Ness's side, of course." Black.
00:14:07 --> 00:16:06 [Speaker 0] Rogers stood on the imposing balcony of the Thieves Tower. He was officially not permitted there without the guild master's permission, but Raylan was off on some adventure with his girlfriend, and his presumed deputy, Rafe, was on a similar mission looking for more books to read. "I'm sorry, Guildmaster Polo. You told me to report to the guild master thief, but there is no one to report to." Rogers spoke the words to no one in particular, just filling the silence with at least something. Mailer was off with the Craft guild blade to kill Polo. He hoped they succeeded, but had little hope they would. Allard was the only hope for the Thieves Guild's future, and he was dead. Who is there to lead the guild? Thelos and Mailer seemed loyal and respectful to Raylan, which surprised Rogers, and he took their respect seriously. But in the end, Raylan was too young and too chaotic for such an important role. Pietro was old, yes, but he was steady and calm. Allard was intimidating, but he was similarly calm and steady. Those were the leaders the guild needed. "Well, Guildmaster Thief Rogers, Polo has sent me as a sign of good faith to open communications between our guilds." Rogers said the words in jest, but in truth, there was no one left to meet with. "Uh, very good, Rogers. Please tell Guildmaster Polo we will respect his wishes and stay in the old quarter awaiting his word. Our hope is to rejoin Ness's full guild mates, leaving the Thieves Guild behind." "Pardon my hesitation, Guildmaster, but those are easy words to speak, but not so easy to follow." Rogers smiled as he had the conversation with himself. "Perhaps when we were hidden behind Guildmaster Pietro, but we are in the open now. What options do we have?" "Fair enough, Guildmaster Rogers. I will share those words with Guildmaster Polo. Hopefully they will be enough."
00:16:06 --> 00:16:53 [Speaker 0] And with that thought, Rogers turned and strode through Raylan's quarters to descend to the stables. He would meet with Polo and share the message. His only question was whether Polo would be alive to receive it. He hoped not, but doubted Mailer and this Vesper Blade would be successful. In fact, he fully expected them to die in the attempt.
00:16:53 --> 00:16:55 [Speaker 1] A Podcast Alchemy production.
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