A few days had passed since Remy's reckoning. Piers had done plenty to make sure that I and the Bulls were settled. Sheriff Gorman hadn't come returned since that morning. I looked outside at the early morning rush. Numerous people walked up and down the street. I eyed my closet. To say that I was well repaid for Remy's disservice would be an understatement. Piers had cleared out a good portion of his Remy's coffers and reached out to his associates in the Constable Coalition to loosely mislocate some goods that were confiscated. He also highlighted a few dirty Bulls paid by Remy. To add salt on the funeral pyre, Piers had a wealthy merchant buy out Remy's warehouse and Grime Rod, in exchange for 40 percent of the profits. As one Lord of the Gray Trade moves out, another one moves in. I honestly can't stop smirking at this series of events.
Bang! Bang! Someone rapped on the door. "Ruskin! You got mail!" After Tinclair let out a cough, I saw a letter slid under the door. I stood up and walked over as I heard Tinclair walking to the next tenant and started banging on that door. I scooped up the letter and opened it. Pier's telltale writing style clued me in on the sender, but I was also intrigued by his message:
Oren, I have a job for you. Something less grim and easier than your last. We need to talk immediately. Get down here. Nightfall is too late.
-Piers
Well, since the Bulls weren't on the prowl, I guess I could head to Piers' place. I stepped to my closet and unlocked it. Greeted by stacks of coin bags of a hundred each, I snatched two for the inevitable shopping trip I had to do. I used the last of my flash bombs and the Bulls had put everyone in the Gray Trade into hiding due to Remy's Reckoning. Fortunately, I reached out to a gutsy merchant that had just what I need and agreed to meet whenever I was ready. I closed, locked my closet and headed out.
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"Lord Von Harding disappeared last night. His wife sent out flyers asking for his whereabouts. Worried he might've been kidnapped." Piers puffed on his smoke-pipe. "I had a friendly servant of Von Harding's give a juicy detail. He wasn't kidnapped. He left late in the night and met a carriage driven by his guards out of sight of his manor. They traveled North towards Alshaedia." I raised an eyebrow. "Defection?" Piers nodded. "It would seem so. However, that's not the intriguing part." Piers picked up a piece of parchment from atop his dresser and placed onto the table in front of me. I opened it, revealing high quality sketches of rare ornate Opal Shells. "How many?" I asked. "According to the inventory charts, they had a lockbox filled with 30 Opal Shells." Spat Silver was mere currency in the Gray Trade compared to Opal Shells. It's sought after by every thief guild and bandit troop on the entire continent. As well as religious militants and power-hungry warlords.
"The servant said that the lockbox was gone. Lady Von Harding was furious when she found out about it, but she can't say anything about her husband's defection lest she incurs the wrath of the Estheaven Royals and take away what's left of her estate." I looked up from the parchment. "You want me to leave today?" I asked. Piers nodded and stepped to one part of his trashy room. "Yes," he replied. "I need you to leave immediately. I know you're in need of supplies, so I stopped by Edwin's to save you the trip. Flash bombs, right?" "Yes. How much do I owe you?" "45," Piers said and I counted out my purse. I laid the stack on the table and caught 6 new flash bombs lobbed from Piers.
"Careful, Piers! I don't want to be blinded when I have travel by day!" He looked back a bit confused. "They're not armed," he argued. "They don't even have the fuses in yet. Here." He tossed a small pouch that rattled with the metallic fuses. "I'll keep watching Lady Von Harding. I know you don't know your way around Alshaedia, so don't get sloppy. Take your time in finding the Opal Shells and get as much as you can from Harding's coffers. I heard he took 35% of the estate's valuables." Piers paused to gag a bit. "To pay tribute Alshaedia's new queen." A lord trying to flee his marriage by courting a queen. Now I've heard everything. "Make sure those Bulls don't enter my apartment," I said as I made my way to the door. "Don't worry, Ruskin," Piers replied. "They're working on tracking down a murderer over in Markee. And I know you don't like to get your hands bloody."
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The Road between Estheaven and Alshaedia went straight over rivers, through the plains and Brinewood. It's a treacherous journey when neither kingdom cared to patrol it and only well-guarded merchants would travel it to trade. There are several side roads leading to towns and villages including one that circumnavigates Brinewood. However, these side roads are well travelled by villagers, migrants, merchants, especially patrols and I'm pretty sure if Harding was trying to defect to Alshaedia, getting spotted by passing guards would not help his secret mission.
I entered Brinewood after hiding from a largely guarded merchant cart. Some gruesome looking hired swords too. I had to make haste if I was to reach Alshaedia before nightfall. I looked on towards long road surrounded by shrubs and trees. My gaze then fixed on one particular tree to the right. There was a large gash on it and, getting closer to it, I saw lots of disturbed vegetation. My fears of a large creature lingering nearby was quickly dashed, but it was replaced by another concern. A large overturned coach laid in the vegetation with both horses laid atop each other, dead. Harding's Trolley, the markings were the same as the one that left his home last night. I slinked closer, noting the details of the wreck. Nobody was inside or outside nearby. The treasury trunk was broken open and empty. I crept inside the coach and...damn. The robbers even found the secret compartment under the seat, a traditional addition to these sorts of carts. But where was Harding and his guards?
I rounded the coach, toward the dead horses and looked for wounds. Neither had any grievous wounds on the bodies as a whole until I looked at their heads. Both were shot in the head, the one on top with an arquebus shot in the temple, the bottom with an arrow lodged in his neck with the arrowhead sticking out on this end. It's certainly the work of Alshaedians and if this was a kidnapping, no ragged group of bandits would have this sort of death wish. Harding wasn't a lowly Cutty noble, so him defecting to Alshaedia was pretty gutsy for him. But if the Alshaedians intended to kidnap him and place the blame on some bandits… wait a moment. Why would they kidnap him? Harding agreed to their terms so they don't have much reason to distrust him still. Unless they were trying ransom and provoke a war with Estheaven.
Suddenly, metallic boots sounded on the ground behind me. I spun around to see… the swordsman. "They headed North," he said. "They left the noble and his guards unconscious and made off with his belongings. I hid not too far away and watched them go deeper into the forest, in that direction." He pointed further off the road and I noticed more disturbed shrubbery. It must've been a sizeable group then. "What happened to the noble and his guard?" I asked. He took a couple steps forward. "I helped him and his companions into a merchant's cart that was passing by. A wealthy merchant and his company wanted to collect the reward for his safe return. I also traded a couple things with him."
The heavily guarded merchant cart that just passed me not too long ago. I didn't get to see the inside, but it was the only one heading to Estheaven on this road. And that also eliminates the possible kidnapping, but who were the perpetrators then? "How many attacked the coach?" He stroked his short beard. "At least a dozen. 5 attacked from the other side of the road and around 7 pounced the guards on this side. All men, cloaked in dark cloth. Long, flowing, black drapes and heavily armed. They also had weird symbols on their hands." The Trenchers; those little details helped nail down my culprits. I was relieved that it wasn't warmongering Alshaedians, but I'd rather it had been rogue bandits than these ones. To the Trencher Thieves, they were too big and dangerous to care about kidnapping or even knocking out an Estheaven noble. Although killing him would've brought more trouble than they wanted from both Alshaedia and Estheaven.
"I take it that you know who attacked your nobleman?" The swordsman was now a few steps in front of me and he was obviously curious about this ordeal. "They are bunch of brutish thieves. Not like me or the others you'll find in Estheaven. These ones will leave fresh blood, bodies, and smoking wreaks when they steal something of value. I don't think you should get involved." The Zaharan tilted his head slightly. "They were worse than the thugs that tried to kill you?" "Yes. I know where they are held up, so I don't have to travel far." "I still want to see how you work." He was persistent and I can't exactly stop him or lose him. "Fine, we got a long way to walk." I set off towards the trail with Zaharan in tow. "My name is Kaden by the way," he said after a few paces. "Nice to meet you," I uttered.
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The trail ended on the outskirts of Brinewood. But that wasn't the problem. Nearby was the town of Bicksparrow, a reputable settlement of Alshaedia. Bicksparrow was also known as a refuge for the Trencher Thieves Guild, but no one knows exactly where they're stationed. And the problem is once I get into town, they'll find out sooner or later what I'm after. Unless…
I turned to my left and sure enough, there was Kaden. He was just taking in the scenery. Probably never seen that much grass in the Southern continent. "Kaden, was it?" The swordsman turned to me his eyes gleaming with interest. "Kahdin to be specific. But I like your pronunciation." "Well, Kaden, do you think you can walk into town and identify the thieves you saw?" "You're not coming with me?", asked the swordsman. "The Trenchers know me. There's a bit of a feud between thieves from my home and the Trenchers, so they won't pleased to see me if I just walked into their territory." "Ah," said Kaden. I felt like he understood that I had a lot of enemies. Not too many enemies for him it seems because he just nodded and said, "I'll do it. I'll search for your missing band of thieves." "You want me to pay you?", I offered. "Not at all, just stay here." And he went out, strolling with his chest out, back straight, and head held tall as a prince on coronation. It honestly drew me out of my focus.
As I watched him, he began talking with the locals. He didn't stop with one or two. He went up to almost 30 townspeople. Many of them walked away from him as he beckoned them for a chat. Only a handful went on pointing in various directions or even had lengthy conversations with him. He then went further into town, where I couldn't observe anymore. I put my feet onto a sizeable, flat rock nearby. It's going to be a long wait. Probably better to head in at nightfall.
I looked up from the large patch of grass and I stumbled a bit. Kaden was coming back! I checked my pocket watch that read only 4 circiffs had passed! He was still walking the same way he sauntered out. Pretty soon he plopped down next to me. "I'm back, Mr. Oren." He must've seen the shocked expression on my face. He grabbed something from his pack and tossed to me a muffin. "The baker in this town is Zaharan. He makes good pastries."
I shook off my daze. "What did you find out about the Trenchers?" He wolfed down the rest of his bread. "Mwell. Ahem. Well, they are currently residing in a big building near the center of town. The townsfolk frequent there in the day, good drinks, lots of rooms. But at night it's closed. Some men manage to sneak in to play their hand at gambling, but it's a closed club." A gambling den only open at night with lots of rooms and good drinks. "Taffer," I blurted out. Kaden turned to me swiftly. "So, you know where there are?" "I do now," I said without turning to him. "But we need to wait until nightfall." Kaden brought his satchel further into the sunlight. "Good thing I bought more food and drink," he said with a smirk on his face.
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I opted to just watch people go in and out of town, but Kaden had something else in mind. He wanted to talk about himself, ask questions about me, the Northern continent and what people did for entertainment. I wasn't really in the mood for any of it. So, Kaden conceded to just tell stories of his daring adventures from his homeland. They were nothing different than the ones told by bounty hunters, mercenaries and youthful adventurers in the local pubs. However, he did offer at least one difference to his tales. They all took place in far off lands hardly seen by anyone around here.
He would usually start with, "I remember it vaguely, but the sights and sounds I witnessed that day won't make me forget." He then proceeded to tell a story about fighting a tyrannical warlord and his army, a nasty nomadic bandit group or fighting a fierce creature of the desert. I noted that the criminals to the south were a lot bolder and fuller of themselves than what I and everyone else around here that breaks the law. Although, being filled with overconfidence seems to be universal.
"So?" I snapped from gazing and turned to look at Kaden. He had finished chewing through his meal and was staring intently at me. Reading the confused look on my face, he clarified himself, "How about you tell me about yourself?" I sighed. I did not want to entertain the swordsman about my exploits. I looked up at the sun. It was evening time, but still a long while before sunset. Still not looking at him, I started with, "I'm a thief. I steal things." Kaden snorted and managed to blurt out, "I figured that the first time we met. I mean what have you stolen or who have you stolen from?" I looked at him and he appeared to be genuinely curious about me. He reinforced it with, "I cannot turn you in, you're too quick. Plus, I don't think your local law enforcement would be believe me if I did tell them." He was telling the truth. Estheaven and Alshaedia aren't very friendly with the neighbors on the Southern continent. Lots of pirating, threats to ambassadors, ceasing of ship manifests and cargos… just to name a few.
I conceded and also wanted to see how Kaden would react to this story. "Well," I opened with, "back when I started, I used to run with a guild called the Bronzemarks." Kaden tilted his head a bit. "More thieves?" "Yes. We all followed the guild leader, Jep, who was exceptional in robbing clean several of some rival thief guilds. I certainly got better than him, but without him it would've taken a lot more experience by myself." I shuddered a bit. This story was my crowning moment; however, this was also a bloody affair. Kaden noticed my pause, but he didn't press any questions possibly recognizing a traumatizing event.
I licked my lips. Kaden grasped a nearby water canteen and placed it at my feet. "It was a turbulent time," I managed to say before taking a drink. "Thank you," I managed to say before continuing on. "The thief guilds other than the Bronzemarks were more like brazen bandit bands, breaking into houses, forcefully kidnapping family members for ransoms, setting fire to several businesses, and openly attacking law enforcement. That's why Cutty is so neglected by the monarchy and the Bulls. Not entirely abandoned by law, but enough so I can live there." Kaden nodded as I took another drink. "Well, Jep and many of us Bronzemarks weren't happy dealing with rival thieves breaking into our hideout and causing havoc. We weren't able to do much though until one night. Jep had a friend from a local military barracks in the next province. He managed to convince him to forge some orders to allow the Estheaven army to march in and take out each thief band one by one. The army would be able to confiscate whatever was found at each hideout, but for the Bronzemarks we would pull off a great heist. Some of us would pose as soldiers and accidentally slip up some fragile crates containing precious products. The regular soldiers wouldn't have time bother with picking it up as they had orders to kill all the rowdy thieves. They stormed nearly every house and building, dragging out thieves that were either alive or dead."
I realized that I wasn't telling my story as flamboyantly as Kaden. However, Kaden appeared to be really drawn in. I ended with, "In total we had lifted 50 crates and boxes worth of jewels, gems, silver and all these other valuables. Jep's soldier friend didn't even bat an eye as he was well rewarded by the King for taking action when no one else would. Of course, most of that appraisal went to his incompetent marshal that assumably sent the forged orders." Kaden mouth widened a bit and clapped for a bit. Thankfully it wasn't too loud for someone to notice. "Amazing. Truly remarkable. A thief can be no different than one seeking adventure. However, I don't approve of you stealing from your fellows, so I must ask. Why? For what purpose?"
I was a bit puzzled by this question. "To earn money like any other thief," I replied. "I don't seek to hurt anyone physically like many bandits around here. I don't extort or blackmail like many Bulls you'll come across. I steal the items and sell them. I never see them again." Kaden nodded. "So, this is like a job? A profession?" "Basically," I responded. "Thieves that run by themselves or in small groups can't afford collateral damage like killing someone. That sort of violence is something that large guilds like the Trenchers can get away with." A bell rang in the distance. Both of us looked towards town and I spotted that the sun had touched to horizon. With the sky turning a bright shade of orange, I dropped my bow and quiver and securely strapped on my baton and flash bombs. "If you don't mind waiting here, can you watch my belongings?" I asked the swordsman. "Certainly, Oren," he nodded and then smiled while asking, "So, you're off to work?" I looked back and said, "I'll be back soon." I set off towards town with Kaden watching me go to work.