While Rafe uncovers Pietro's seemingly magical longevity, Rebecca paints a picture of a beloved grandfather, a storyteller dismissed by many but deeply believed by her. Now, Raylan must escort Rebecca on a quest for a golden wand, a crucial step in Pietro's plan to restore magic and reconnect the cities, forcing Raylan to reconcile the man of legend with the man he never knew.
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00:00:00
(dramatic music plays) The Thieves Guild,
00:00:04
by Jake Care.
00:00:07
Season four.
00:00:11
The Order of the Dragon.
00:00:15
Episode two.
00:00:18
Rebecca's Story.
00:00:24
Raylan still couldn't comprehend that the Pietro of hundreds of years earlier
00:00:29
was the same Pietro that Raylan replaced as the guild master thief.
00:00:34
Rafe didn't have an enormous amount of evidence, but he was absolutely
00:00:39
convinced of it.
00:00:41
He showed Raylan direct evidence, like the signatures and the name
00:00:45
Pietro showing up in margin notes of random books.
00:00:50
And he showed him indirect evidence, which was primarily the history of the
00:00:54
Thieves Guild guild masters, which Rafe was positive was
00:00:59
written entirely by Pietro.
00:01:02
But how?
00:01:03
This is where Rafe became unsure, and his only theory was that it was
00:01:08
magic. Pietro used magic to extend his life.
00:01:12
But if that were the case, Raylan noted, why didn't he use magic to address
00:01:17
all the inequality and suffering within Ness or with the Outlanders?
00:01:23
It was as Rafe and Raylan were discussing this when Felos knocked on the door of the
00:01:27
library. Raylan hadn't even noticed his omnipresent guard had left.
00:01:32
Sir, the Outlander woman has requested your presence.
00:01:36
Rebecca?
00:01:37
Yes.
00:01:39
Raylan was disappointed that Felos couldn't see Rebecca as anything more than
00:01:44
an Outlander.
00:01:45
Thank you, Felos. I'll see her when I'm done here.
00:01:48
She was rather insistent, sir.
00:01:51
Raylan turned to Felos.
00:01:53
Insistent in the "Please see her so she'll stop bothering me" sense
00:01:58
or insistent in the "This is important and may change the future of the guild"
00:02:03
sense?
00:02:04
More of the former.
00:02:05
Raylan stood up, walked over to Felos, and slapped him on the back.
00:02:10
Well, let's not make you suffer that fate for any longer than you need to.
00:02:15
Raylan turned to Rafe.
00:02:16
Can you find more references to Pietro?
00:02:19
Probably not, but there are more books I can examine.
00:02:22
As it is though, there aren't many more left.
00:02:24
We should get you to Gauchtland so you can examine Pietro's study.
00:02:29
It's full of volumes.
00:02:30
Raylan walked out, leaving a stunned Rafe behind.
00:02:36
Rebecca's quarters were tucked into the end of a little-used hallway in the building at the
00:02:41
base of the Thieves Tower. It was a large rectangular building, with the
00:02:46
tower rising up from its center.
00:02:48
More than anything, it reminded Raylan of the merchant tower complex.
00:02:53
The door was simple wood, and Raylan knocked lightly.
00:02:57
Rebecca opened the door and looked at Raylan, and then Felos.
00:03:02
No need for a bodyguard, Raylan. I'm harmless.
00:03:05
She waved her arm in the direction behind her.
00:03:08
Come in.
00:03:09
You can wait outside.
00:03:12
Felos didn't look happy, but Raylan didn't want Rebecca thinking that her
00:03:17
outburst in the earlier meeting had changed his view of her.
00:03:21
It actually did, but he didn't want her to know that.
00:03:25
Raylan was unsure what to expect in terms of this secret living quarters of
00:03:29
Rebecca's, but he did know one thing.
00:03:32
He did not expect what he was now seeing.
00:03:36
It was a smaller room, a single living space with a bed and some nightstands
00:03:41
against the wall to the right, and a small table and chairs in the far-left corner.
00:03:46
Its sparseness was overwhelmed by the view, however.
00:03:50
Two large windows, two of the largest Raylan had ever seen,
00:03:54
covered the far wall to his left and the back wall. They met at the corner.
00:04:00
Beyond the windows was what looked like a truly majestic view of the mountains
00:04:05
that overlooked Ness. If you were sitting, or you were a child, the
00:04:10
view was stunning.
00:04:12
That didn't necessarily surprise Raylan. What did were two things.
00:04:17
One was that the mountain view was irrevocably scarred by the long swath of
00:04:22
ash and dirt that spread far into the distance on all sides.
00:04:26
The room overlooked the ash fields in all their sad and depressing
00:04:31
glory.
00:04:33
Just standing in the room made Raylan depressed.
00:04:36
The other thing was how the room was decorated. The bed was small.
00:04:41
The furniture was small. There was a rug with brightly colored horses
00:04:46
and animals. The wall above the bed had bright colors splashed on
00:04:51
it, as if a child decided to paint, but didn't know how.
00:04:55
This is a child's room.
00:04:58
When I said I had quarters in the tower, I didn't say I was an adult when I lived here.
00:05:02
Raylan hadn't even realized he said the words out loud, but
00:05:07
the effect of the room was shocking. For a child, it was full of color
00:05:12
and wonder. For an adult, it was an oppressive view into the death of
00:05:17
what Ness used to be.
00:05:18
Is this the first time you've been here since you were a child?
00:05:22
Yes.
00:05:24
Rebecca didn't elaborate, but wandered over and sat on the bed.
00:05:28
She patted the space next to her.
00:05:30
Unfortunately, the chairs are too small for me now.
00:05:34
She wore leather breeches and a plain tunic.
00:05:38
It was the kind of practical outfit that guild members sometimes wore around the
00:05:42
house, saving money for guild colors only when they went out in public.
00:05:47
The lack of red or black, indeed, the lack of travel
00:05:52
clothes or an elegant dress, completely changed her appearance.
00:05:57
Maybe it was the room, maybe it was the clothes, but Raylan once
00:06:02
again had the feeling that Rebecca was a lot younger than he initially thought.
00:06:08
"How old are you?" Raylan blurted out the question, and immediately wanted to
00:06:13
kick himself. Why did he keep saying things aloud that he wanted to keep to
00:06:17
himself? Rebecca looked at him and smiled.
00:06:21
"I'm 18. And you are what? 16? 17?
00:06:26
You seem much older than I think you probably are."
00:06:28
Raylan had lost track of his birthday, and he realized he had missed it.
00:06:33
"I'm 16, and you also look older than you are.
00:06:37
These times are aging us. We should be walking through the Golden Triangle, talking
00:06:42
about sunsets and boat rides."
00:06:45
My dear Raylan, you think of us walking along, holding hands and
00:06:50
talking of sunsets? How romantic.
00:06:53
"You know, you don't have to mock me all the time.
00:06:57
I was just trying to state that we are both too distracted to enjoy our youth."
00:07:02
Before Rebecca could reply, and before Raylan said anything stupid again, he
00:07:07
added, "So why do you want to see me?"
00:07:10
We have a mission.
00:07:12
You are to escort me to the tavern, and we are to retrieve the Golden Wand.
00:07:15
Rebecca crossed her arms.
00:07:18
I would like to depart forthwith.
00:07:21
Raylan fully intended on taking Rebecca to the Golden Wand, but he
00:07:26
had so many questions, and with them in a quiet place and no pressing
00:07:30
concerns, he decided to push her as much as he could.
00:07:34
"First, tell me about this room. You were a child.
00:07:39
Did your father and mother bring you here, or was it Pietro?
00:07:42
Were your toddler clothes black or red?"
00:07:46
Rebecca closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
00:07:49
It was Pietro. Always Pietro.
00:07:54
My father and mother died. No one would ever tell me how or
00:07:58
why,
00:08:00
just that Pietro was my only living relative.
00:08:02
"I'm sorry."
00:08:04
I didn't know them. It is more of an emptiness than a
00:08:09
loss.
00:08:09
"What was Pietro like as a parent? I fear you must have been left
00:08:14
alone often."
00:08:16
Rebecca opened her eyes and looked at Raylan.
00:08:19
I was, but there were plenty of people who loved him in Goutland, and
00:08:24
helped raise me.
00:08:25
Chief among them was my beloved nanny. She was my true parent.
00:08:30
She raised me.
00:08:32
Grandfather would just come and tell me stories of his life, and this city.
00:08:37
Rebecca waved her arm across the room, encompassing Ness.
00:08:41
"My mother and father were strangers to me.
00:08:45
I was also raised by a nanny, but she was cruel, and enjoyed making my life
00:08:50
miserable.
00:08:51
I was known as a miscreant, and I've thought about that a lot since I was named
00:08:55
Guildmaster.
00:08:57
I think what I was really doing was trying to get the attention my parents never gave me."
00:09:03
That's horrible, Raylan. I'm so sorry.
00:09:06
She patted his arm gently, and almost intimately.
00:09:09
"My older brother was treated the same, only his response was to be more
00:09:14
cruel and more cold than our nanny and our parents.
00:09:17
I sometimes felt like all he wanted was to control a life that never treated him well,
00:09:22
and in attempting that, created his own sort of cruelty to others."
00:09:27
Raylan looked over at Rebecca, his sad eyes saying more than words
00:09:32
could. "Tell me about Pietro's stories.
00:09:35
I am his predecessor, yet never met him."
00:09:38
They were grand, and all true. He told me he had once traveled to
00:09:43
Callisto, a journey that took him weeks. The people there are dark and full of joy.
00:09:48
They sail on seas on large boats.
00:09:50
"I would love to see Callisto."
00:09:54
And Drak.
00:09:55
"Yes, Drak. Pietro's plan was to open the trade
00:10:00
routes. Perhaps our shared dream comes directly from him.
00:10:04
Yours directly, mine secondhand from Allard and you."
00:10:09
I spent many years learning from Pietro.
00:10:12
His dream was constant and unchanging, bring the cities together, for only together could we
00:10:17
reach our potential. I would ask what he meant, but he shook his head, and would then tell me a
00:10:21
story of how Drak supplied this and Callisto supplied that, and how Ness fed everyone.
00:10:26
"I still don't understand why the mountain was brought down.
00:10:30
Did he ever say?"
00:10:32
No.
00:10:33
In fact, it was the one thing he refused to discuss.
00:10:38
The pain of that horrible event hurt him too deeply.
00:10:40
"And he prepared you for bringing everything together by rebuilding the Magic Guild."
00:10:45
Yes. It was all about magic to Grandfather.
00:10:49
He knew no magic, but he knew so much about it. The wand was key.
00:10:54
The books in his library were key. He said to me again and again,
00:10:58
'Rebecca,
00:11:00
I'm blind. Please help me see. I can only point in a direction.
00:11:04
You are the one who can make the journey.'"
00:11:06
"And that is recovering the wand, the oath, and unlocking all of the
00:11:11
magic knowledge in his library."
00:11:13
Yes.
00:11:14
"And then clearing the mountain and bringing the world together again."
00:11:18
Yes.
00:11:20
Rebecca seemed suddenly quiet, so Raylan decided to ask about better
00:11:25
times, times he was quite curious about.
00:11:28
"Tell me about Pietro in Goutland. I can't believe he was imprisoned.
00:11:33
He was always considered a harmless old man here in Ness."
00:11:37
Rebecca laughed.
00:11:38
He was a harmless old man in Goutland, too.
00:11:42
He was known for telling fantastical stories that no one believed.
00:11:45
It enraged me how he would talk of unlocking secrets between the two cities, and everyone would laugh
00:11:50
at him.
00:11:51
"You believed him?"
00:11:53
Rebecca's face was intense as she stared at Raylan, presumably for
00:11:58
asking such a question.
00:12:00
Of course I believed him. He saw hidden truth where everyone else believed
00:12:05
obvious lies. He saw a future when
00:12:08
everyone else saw a miserable present.
00:12:11
"Was that difficult for you, being the granddaughter of someone everyone thought was an old
00:12:16
man, telling fantastical stories?"
00:12:18
Rebekah paused.
00:12:20
"I was lonely. I felt powerless, more even than
00:12:25
Pietro. I lived vicariously through his stories, and that is a life of shadows,
00:12:30
Raylan,
00:12:31
living a life secondhand and a life that no one takes seriously at that."
00:12:35
"I'm sorry. You deserve more than that.
00:12:39
I see now why you are so passionate about your mission.
00:12:43
You can finally be more than a shadow."
00:12:45
"Yes."
00:12:47
Turning on the bed to face Raylan more directly, Rebekah put all her
00:12:52
attention on Raylan, and all her force into her words.
00:12:55
"You asked why he was imprisoned. He was imprisoned for taking to the streets and telling people the
00:13:00
truth.
00:13:02
They shouldn't raid Ness or attack the city. They should work with Ness.
00:13:08
Vilhelm didn't imprison him. He did what he did to you, locked him in his room so he
00:13:13
wouldn't be a distraction.
00:13:14
They were still friends when Vilhelm released him.
00:13:17
I don't need anyone to be my friend, because I don't intend to be nothing more than a distraction."
00:13:22
"Pietro and Vilhelm were friends?"
00:13:25
"Yes.
00:13:27
Vilhelm once said to me, 'I love Pietro for the same reason the whole city loves him.
00:13:32
He tells tales that no one believes, but they can clearly see that Pietro himself believes
00:13:37
them.'"
00:13:38
Raylan was having trouble tracking Rebekah's story.
00:13:41
Pietro seemed to be in Gautland exactly what he was in Ness, an
00:13:46
old man everyone liked but no one took seriously.
00:13:51
Raylan knew what Pietro did in Ness. He built the Thieves Guild into a
00:13:55
force while keeping them hidden. But what did he do for Gautland?
00:13:59
"Did anyone believe his message?"
00:14:02
Rebekah leaned over and put her palm on Raylan's cheek.
00:14:06
"I believed him, Raylan.
00:14:08
I believed him."
00:14:13
(dramatic music)
00:14:32
A Podcast Alchemy production.