Fires in the Flats

[00:00:01] The Thieves Guild, By Jake Care, Episode 62, Fires in the Flats. It was a dark night, And all Rayland could see from his balcony were a few glittering lights from those up later across the city. It's calm and beautiful isn't it?

[00:00:33] Rayland said to Rayland, Who stood next to him. Yes, I love this view. It's like we're on the mountain looking down on the city. Can you imagine watching the founders' day festivities from here?

[00:00:45] Rayland nodded, He had enjoyed watching the festivities from his brothers office when he was younger, But this vantage was better. Do you think this is our future? Looking down on a joyous city that doesn't know we are watching her. Why would it not?

[00:01:01] The absence plans have been stopped, So the guilds can return to normal business. Our guild is still hidden and can provide for the old quarter. Nothing has changed has it? Perhaps not. We still have much work to do, But at least we have the time to do it.

[00:01:15] Rayland's arm, And pointed out towards the flats. Look, a bonfire. Someone's having a good time. In the distance, The Light of the Flame grew larger and larger. Flames and smoke. As if things couldn't get more complicated for Rogers in his new position as the captain of the flats,

[00:01:36] Another Clacks and rang out in the distance. Good gods, that's coming from the lower triangle. Rogers turned to moss, his deputy captain. How many fires in the flats now? Four major ones. Grailhouse is destroyed. Two blocks near the Great River are burning, But under control.

[00:01:54] And he nodded to the flames burning a short distance away. It doesn't look good for iron-side estate. How many minor ones? I don't know, a lot. Rogers wiped his face with his sleeve.

[00:02:08] He was covered in suit, sweat and burns, After doing whatever he could to help battle the fires. He could see the tendrils of the flames from the iron-side estate reaching far into the sky in the distance, Lighting the city in a devilish orange glow.

[00:02:26] Four fires in one night was unprecedented, But more fires than that. And now fires in the lower triangle. Rogers knew it wasn't random. moss, this is important. Tell me what you know about the blocks burning near the river. moss shrugged. he too was covered in suit.

[00:02:46] The thieves did what they could to fight the flames in their role as secret protectors of the downtrodden of Ness. Well, the one near the gate destroyed one of our safe houses. He shrugged. They both were green if that matters. They were both green.

[00:03:03] That meant that the blocks were dominated by harvest-gild members. This is not good. Rogers muttered. He turned to moss. The fire in the lower triangle. Have your fastest thief run there and find out where it burned. Then have him meet me at iron-side with his report.

[00:03:22] Starting toward the iron-side estate, Rogers yelled back. moss, have as many of our men meet me at iron-suit as you can. As he strode through the midst of a burning city, Rogers tried to understand what was going on. The fires were all in harvest-gild homes.

[00:03:41] The grill family lived in a mishmash of wooden townhomes that had expanded over the decades as the grill family grew. They eventually took over nearly an entire block. But more importantly, the grill family was one of the most influential harvest-gild families in Ness.

[00:04:01] And their crooked estate in the flats was a landmark. The fire had destroyed everything. The only family more important in the flats than the grels in the harvest-gild was the iron-side family. They were synonymous with the mines far in the mountains.

[00:04:19] They had a home inside the mines where they were known for their brilliance at finding iron ore veins. But their family seat was a large building that looked like it would have been more at home in the upper triangle than the flats.

[00:04:33] The iron-sides were wealthy, important, and dominated the flats. Even the merchant and night-gild members who lived in the flats understood the special role the iron-sides played, and now their estate was burning to the ground.

[00:04:50] He didn't know what he was looking for, but he knew something was a miss. The fires were set on purpose, and he was certain that the harvest-gild was a target. There was no other possibility that made sense. But why?

[00:05:05] He walked up to the iron-side mansion just as a section of wall-crashed, throwing sparks into the air. The smell of smoke was overwhelming. The iron-side family was large, and a number of them were crowded together, watching the flames consume their home.

[00:05:24] Neighbors and friends came up, hugged them, patded them on the back, and did whatever they could to express sympathy. The crowds were thick, but the road was empty as fire-protectors and wagons were coming and going, fighting a fire that Rogers saw was a lost cause.

[00:05:43] Several thief-gild members arrived, and stealthily stood by, waiting for the word from their captain. Rogers just watched. Something isn't right, he thought. But what? A few merchant wagons arrived, and Rogers watched as some merchant-gild guards wrapped iron-side family members in blankets,

[00:06:06] and escorted them to the wagons, presumably to take them to shelter for the night. As they started to pull away, Rogers turned to one of his men and barked. You follow that wagon? Let me know where they take them.

[00:06:21] A young man sprinted three steps, and then melted into the crowd. The tendrils of flames from the building's rose high into the air, giving the entire area an unholy glow.

[00:06:34] The fire-protectors did a good job containing the fire, but it was too strong for them to do more than watch its hunger consume the mansion. Did anyone see the fires in the early stages? Rogers asked. I did, sir. It was a young apprentice.

[00:06:52] He looked about Rayland's age, and Rogers had to force himself from frowning. He still could not believe that a child-delinquent was his new guild master, which fire-and-how did it spread so fast? weren't the fire-protectors affected?

[00:07:07] The fire-protectors were part of the night-gild, and their job was to fight and control fires. They seemed to be doing a good job of the latter, but not so much of the former. The fire-protectors arrived too late to stop the flames, sir. Which fire? Rogers snapped.

[00:07:23] The one near the four triangles. More oddness. Rogers whispered to himself. Any fire near the four triangles would have been near both the river, river road, and the night-gild. The fire-protectors should have been there quickly if not immediately.

[00:07:41] There was a scuffle in the distance, and Rogers watched as two iron-side family members were struggling with two merchant guardsmen. Stay here and keep an eye out. Let me know if you see anything strange. Rogers said as he moved toward the disturbance.

[00:07:57] A crowd was forming, and Rogers could hear a young woman, her voice a mixture of distraught pain and fearful anger. Unhand me. I will not leave my home. Luckily Rogers disguised this night was the blue of the merchant-gild, so he approached the two guards and said,

[00:08:16] What is going on? With a tone of camaraderie as if he could perhaps help the guards. One of them looked up from his hold on the woman's arm. Nothing, Gilmete. We are to take the poor family to a safe location while the fire is raging.

[00:08:33] The man's tone made it clear that no more questions were welcome. Where are their harvest-gild nights? Rogers looked up and down the street, and that's when he realised that the access to the area was blocked by night-protectors.

[00:08:48] In fact, as he looked around he realised that the entire area was swarming with nights, not fire-protectors nights. Yes, I am waiting for my gild nights. The woman screamed which led to the merchant guard, giving Rogers a withering stare.

[00:09:06] A second guard covered her mouth with his hand and roughly dragged her to the wagon. She is distraught. The guard who had been speaking said, No go! He said the command to Rogers, but it was clearly meant for everyone.

[00:09:24] The crowd dispersed as the last of the iron-side family was led away in a merchant-yield wagon. Making his way back to the other thieves, Rogers took stock of the night. Harvest-gild members were being targeted with fires. The fire-protectors were slow to help.

[00:09:42] In fact, they didn't help at all other than make sure nothing else burned. The merchant-yield was forcibly taking the top harvest-gild family somewhere, presumably. Presumably to safety, but possibly something more nefarious. OK, everyone.

[00:09:59] Rogers looked over his fellow thieves, all dressed in the white, green and yellow of the other gilds that they used for cover. You three go to the fire near the Fort Triangles, ask around about merchant wagons and citizens who were displaced.

[00:10:13] If they are still there, ask them what happened. If they are gone, find out where they went. Etern to another group. Same for you three only go to the other fire and you two go to Grillhouse. See if any of the family is there.

[00:10:27] Ask them about the fire-protector response. We would expect it to be aggressive for a landmark like Grillhouse. They all stared at Rogers. Something is happening, and we need to find out what.

[00:10:38] As the gild members ran to fulfil their missions, Rogers focused on the alarms coming from the lower triangle. He had been captain of the lower triangle for a long time, and that was his home. He wondered what was happening there.

[00:10:54] The flats was his new assignment, with Mailer off on her mission as the blade of the gild master. He hoped that none of his friends were hurt or lost homes. An hour later, a young man breathing heavily, nearly stumbled into Rogers as he approached.

[00:11:13] Gus, being for breath, the young man leaned over his palms on his knees. Captain? Rogers waited patiently. The Greenbelt Burns. Rogers closed his eyes. The Greenbelt was a three-block stretch in the lower triangle where harvest gild families lived.

[00:11:32] It didn't house all the harvest gild members, but the most important families lived on one of the blocks. Their homes, a centrepiece of the harvest gild, outside of the harvest district itself. Rogers looked around at the slowly fading orange glow, diffused across the night sky. Moth? Yes, sir.

[00:11:54] I don't care how you do it, but I want you to find out who set these fires. These were not an accident. I also want to report on where all the displaced families are. Yes, sir, we already have people in the field. Good. Rogers side.

[00:12:09] Someone was targeting the harvest gild, and with the appearance of blue wagons, he had a good idea who. The more important question was why.