Pietro's Books

[00:00:00] The Thieves Guild by Jake Kerr Episode 84

[00:00:13] Pietro's Books

[00:00:18] They hadn't even crossed the Great Bridge before they had to pay their first bribe.

[00:00:27] It was also the moment Rafe learned of a new phrase, handing it.

[00:00:32] When night stopped a merchant or other guild wagon, they would inspect the goods and take a handful.

[00:00:39] Whatever it was, the amount that could be grabbed with one hand was the property of the night.

[00:00:45] Of course a handful of coppers was one thing, a handful of guilders was something else entirely,

[00:00:52] and when the night that stopped them saw the money in the chest, he practically tripped trying to get his hand into it so fast.

[00:01:00] After that first hand, Tilson gave Rafe an overview of bribery. It happened all the time.

[00:01:07] There were certain unspoken rules, one of the most important being that you only took one handful.

[00:01:14] Greedy knights were labelled two-handers, and they somehow found themselves reassigned or demoted.

[00:01:22] The unspoken rules presumably had real consequences.

[00:01:26] The situation was so ingrained that knights with large hands were teased about being perfect

[00:01:32] for guarding the thoroughfares where expensive goods were transported. At that, Rafe laughed.

[00:01:39] So the worst thing a merchant can face is a two-hander with large hands?

[00:01:44] Tilson nodded. Yet it is the guild master thief who trails the Founders Day Parade!

[00:01:50] The reminder of the filth and abuse his friend Raylon was subjected to made Rafe sombre.

[00:01:57] They were thieves, yes, but they weren't two-handers.

[00:02:01] Practically every knight on their route to the merchant tower must have eyed them as a mark,

[00:02:07] as they were stopped and inspected by everyone with each knight dipping his hand into the chest.

[00:02:14] After yet another stop, Rafe muttered,

[00:02:17] This is ridiculous! We will have nothing left by the time we get to Merchant Tower.

[00:02:22] Tilson replied in a whisper,

[00:02:24] It is how we had hoped it would go. They are leaving us alone and focusing on the chest.

[00:02:29] The guilders are the price of our mission. It is money well spent.

[00:02:33] Rafe felt embarrassed. He was no good at anything other than doing what Raylon told him to do,

[00:02:40] and looking through dusty books. Of course, Tilson was right.

[00:02:45] The money didn't matter as much as him getting the books, and they were closing in on doing just that.

[00:02:52] At the next stop, Rafe ignored the chest and focused on the knight.

[00:02:57] He was large and ominous with a thin mouth and cruel eyes.

[00:03:02] He was exactly the kind of knight that would ruin their mission by asking difficult questions

[00:03:08] or demanding they justify their trip with the names of superiors.

[00:03:12] Yet the knight reached out his hand like all the others.

[00:03:17] Is this what we've come to? Rafe thought.

[00:03:20] Our defenders ignore threats in the name of taking their handful.

[00:03:24] In some ways, Rafe had hoped that the knights would confront him and Tilson,

[00:03:30] but as they rolled up to Merchant Tower, none had.

[00:03:34] This was the part that Rafe feared the most.

[00:03:37] With the assassination threats on Larson, he expected that getting into Merchant Tower would be nigh impossible.

[00:03:44] He also wasn't sure if the merchant guild guards were open to bribery.

[00:03:49] Rafe whispered to Tilson,

[00:03:53] Will they take a handful?

[00:03:55] Shaking his head, Tilson replied,

[00:03:59] Best to assume not. But I don't know. I don't get to the tower.

[00:04:03] Tilson lifted the chest off the wagon and placed it on a small hand-pulled cart

[00:04:09] that had been stored in the front of the horse-driven wagon.

[00:04:13] The two of them walked right to the gate.

[00:04:16] A guard immediately came out to meet them.

[00:04:19] Who are you? And what's this?

[00:04:22] The man addressed Rafe and nodded toward the cart.

[00:04:26] This was collected from the Harvest Guild members in the Wretched Quarter,

[00:04:29] and we are to return it to the guild stores.

[00:04:32] Rafe smiled as he nodded at the chest.

[00:04:35] They won't need it anymore.

[00:04:37] The guard walked over to Tilson.

[00:04:39] Open it up.

[00:04:41] Here comes the handful, Rafe thought as Tilson opened the chest.

[00:04:46] Yet the guard surprised him and turned back to Rafe.

[00:04:50] I have heard nothing of this. Who do you report to?

[00:04:53] Rafe had a story ready.

[00:04:56] I don't know. It was one of the guards on the bridge.

[00:04:59] He noticed a Harvest Guild member passing money to a friend,

[00:05:02] and he told me to go in and collect it from them to return it to the guild.

[00:05:06] I was just dragging people to the bridge to help.

[00:05:09] I handle a shop in the flats and was told to shut down and prepare for this a few days ago.

[00:05:14] The guard nodded but added,

[00:05:17] And they just gave it to you?

[00:05:19] He sounded suspicious. Rafe shrugged.

[00:05:22] They appeared to be in shock.

[00:05:23] They had just left their homes so I guess being asked to hand back their money made sense.

[00:05:28] I'll take this in. You two can return to whatever it is you're doing.

[00:05:32] The guard reached for the cart handle.

[00:05:35] Tilson glanced at Rafe, unclear what to do.

[00:05:38] Rafe held up his hand.

[00:05:40] We will need the cart. Can we walk with you while you take the chest in

[00:05:43] and then perhaps get a bit to eat before returning?

[00:05:46] The guard seemed hesitant,

[00:05:48] but as he glanced at the pile of money in the chest, he finally nodded.

[00:05:53] You did a good job.

[00:05:54] Bring the money into our store room to the right of the entrance.

[00:05:57] The kitchens are back there.

[00:05:58] You can leave the cart outside the store room and then pick it up on your way out.

[00:06:02] Practically dancing as they walked the cart into the tower,

[00:06:06] Rafe could not believe how well things were going.

[00:06:10] All he and Tilson had to do was grab the books in Pietro's room and then get out.

[00:06:16] Rafe had expected that the guard was stealing the money,

[00:06:20] but he actually did store it in a locked room away from the entrance.

[00:06:24] They left the cart out front and said goodbye, heading to the kitchens.

[00:06:29] The stairway to Pietro's room was on the way to the kitchens,

[00:06:33] so everything was even better than he had hoped.

[00:06:37] With the guard gone, they quickly found the door Raelyn had described

[00:06:42] and made their way down the steps.

[00:06:44] It led to an abandoned hall that was dusty yet tidy.

[00:06:49] There were blood stains near the bottom of the staircase.

[00:06:52] At the end of the hallway was an open door with an upended stool

[00:06:57] and more blood stains next to it.

[00:07:00] Rafe walked into the room with more excitement than he had ever experienced in his life.

[00:07:05] Finally, the history of the Thieves' Guild.

[00:07:09] The room had been ransacked with books tossed onto the floor and everything in disarray,

[00:07:15] but it appeared that none of the books were stolen.

[00:07:19] They were just tossed aside as worthless, more of interest

[00:07:22] for what they may have hidden behind on the bookshelf.

[00:07:26] Rafe opened one at random.

[00:07:28] It was a ledger of supplies from years earlier,

[00:07:32] line after line of entries outlining clothes, supplies and food.

[00:07:37] Rafe wasn't sure what it meant, but he knew it was important.

[00:07:41] A thick book covered in dust was titled Magic Guild Iconography.

[00:07:48] Magic Guild, Rafe thought. These should be about the Thieves' Guild.

[00:07:54] Sir, we need to hurry. These are a lot of books,

[00:07:57] and it will require many trips to the wagon to gather them all.

[00:08:01] Nodding, Rafe grabbed a handful of books and marched them up to the cart.

[00:08:06] After six trips, the cart was full enough that they needed to empty it into the wagon

[00:08:11] and then return for more books.

[00:08:14] Trouble hit the moment they exited the Guild.

[00:08:17] A different guard came over and asked them what they were up to.

[00:08:21] Rafe replied immediately.

[00:08:23] These were gathering dust, and Deputy Guildmaster Karch told us

[00:08:26] to take them to the library in the upper triangle.

[00:08:29] I believe he has other uses for the storage space.

[00:08:32] At the mention of both Karch and the word books,

[00:08:35] the guard lost all interest and replied,

[00:08:38] Well hurry up. This entrance is secure,

[00:08:41] and we can't have you leaving and entering all afternoon.

[00:08:44] Only two more trips?

[00:08:46] Rafe replied, but the guard had already turned his back on them.

[00:08:50] The process had gone surprisingly well until they passed through the gate for the last time.

[00:08:56] The last pile of books was on the cart, and Pietro's quarters were empty.

[00:09:01] All they had to do was get to the wagon and depart.

[00:09:05] Rafe wasn't even worried about the one-handers on the return trip.

[00:09:09] No one in Ness other than him cared about books.

[00:09:13] They had just passed through the gate when a hand gripped Rafe roughly on the arm.

[00:09:18] What do you think you're doing?

[00:09:21] Rafe spun around.

[00:09:23] It was the guard that they had first met when they arrived at the tower.

[00:09:27] Not missing a beat, Rafe smoothly replied,

[00:09:31] We were eating in the kitchen when Deputy Karch came down and asked who had the cart.

[00:09:35] When I replied, he assigned me to clear out these books from the basement.

[00:09:39] I guess he needs to use the storage for something else.

[00:09:43] Who are you? You can't be thieves with the money you left.

[00:09:46] What is your interest in these books?

[00:09:48] The guard reached down and picked one up.

[00:09:51] I told you it is a job from Deputy Karch.

[00:09:54] Deputy Karch left the tower earlier today.

[00:09:58] The guard's voice was ominous.

[00:10:01] I will ask you one last time, what are you doing with these...

[00:10:05] The guard's voice was muffled as Tilson covered his mouth with his hand.

[00:10:09] Rafe was expecting the guard to violently fight back until he fell in a heap at his feet.

[00:10:15] Tilson wiped a dagger on his blue cloak and sheathed it.

[00:10:19] Hurry! was the only word he spoke.

[00:10:23] They were lucky in that the guard was between the cart and the wagon,

[00:10:27] and was mostly hidden from view.

[00:10:29] Rafe quickly loaded the last of the books on the wagon,

[00:10:32] while Tilson took the tarp that had covered the chest and draped it over the body of the guard.

[00:10:39] He leapt into the wagon seat and Rafe followed behind him.

[00:10:43] Rafe looked into the back.

[00:10:45] The cart looked like nothing more than if someone was in the midst of loading or unloading it,

[00:10:51] and casually tossed the tarp aside.

[00:10:54] As Tilson cracked the whip and the horses moved forward, Rafe asked him,

[00:10:59] How much time do we have?

[00:11:02] Not enough.

[00:11:03] Rafe looked back at the tower.

[00:11:06] The activity around it was brisk, but everyone seemed occupied.

[00:11:10] The clearing of the lower quarter had everyone on edge,

[00:11:14] and it was possible no one would notice the abandoned cart and the body next to it for a long time.

[00:11:21] The books rattled in the back of the wagon as they went over the cobblestones,

[00:11:25] and Rafe looked back at his precious cargo.

[00:11:28] They were secure, and he breathed easier.

[00:11:31] It would take him a long time to examine them all,

[00:11:35] but when he finished he was certain of one thing.

[00:11:38] The history of Ness would have no more secrets.