[Mkguild] The Harvest Festival (13/20)

[Hallan Mirayas]

-------

 =


   Because of the
Festival, the streets of Metamor were quieter than usual. Most were either
soldiers on duty or revelers returning home to sleep. Kendrick kept to the
alleys he'd grown to know so well in the last few years. The waning crescent
moon wouldn't rise until nearly dawn, so the only light came from street la=
mps
and windows. The Watch always had on an extra pair of eyes those nights,
because conditions were ideal for thieves.

 =


   Kendrick didn't
normally think of himself as a thief. While Rodrick had still been alive, it
had always been their father's intention to leave control of the family
business in his paws. Kendrick would have found a place to work too and he
would've been quite content that way. He didn't really want the responsibil=
ity
of succeeding his father.

 =


   It wouldn't be long
before Kendrick's father found a bride for him with the expectation that he=
'd
produce heirs. He'd hoped that one day he'd find somebody that wouldn't min=
d a
husband as odd looking as him, but he also didn't want a wife that was even
stranger in appearance.

 =


   But now that
Rodrick was dead the business would be his. His father had wasted no time
training him. He'd learned years before to judge the value of cloth as well=
 as
many other goods. It had helped him when he had first made friends with the
rats and they'd made suggestions on ways he could help Metamor even looking=
 so
odd as he did.

 =


   For the longest
time, their father had told them of his plans for each of them. Brigitt wou=
ld
be sent south to manage their interests in lands where the Curse hadn't spr=
ead.
Barrick, as a bear, couldn't join his twin, a fact that he was sure bothered
them. Father spoke of having Barrick travel with his caravans through the
valley, which meant to Kendrick that he was going to become the caravan mas=
ter
when he was fully of age.

 =


   For Emma and Sofie,
only the vaguest of plans had been laid. Until they changed, nothing could =
be
known for certain. Kendrick envied them that uncertainty. His future loomed
before him terrible and awesome, something he yearned to do well but feared
having to do.

 =


   When he came to the
backside of a familiar shop, he returned his mind to the present. The place
stank of onions and vegetables which helped keep the Watch out. Kendrick
glanced all around to make sure he was alone before bending over the small =
door
that led into the basement and knocking twice, pausing, and then knocking t=
hree
more times, pausing again, and knocking one final time. The door opened into
darkness, and he quickly slipped inside. The door closed behind him.

 =


   Standing at the
door was Goldmark. He'd adopted an odd shape which gave him six limbs, four=
 of
them legs and two arms. Kendrick had seen a few others with similar shapes,=
 but
Goldmark was the only one of them he knew well.

 =


   "Good evening,
Kendrick," Goldmark said in a low voice. He sounded pleased. "Did you
have any trouble?"

 =


   "No, I just
had to wait for my family to go to sleep."

 =


   Goldmark nodded and
pointed at the steps leading down. "Go on. I have to keep watch on the door
tonight. I hope you weren't planning on going anywhere."

 =


   That was odd.
Usually he just dropped off what he'd taken and then left by another entran=
ce.
Another rule of the guild was that everyone entered the same way, but none =
of
them took the same way out. Kendrick didn't know how many different exits t=
here
were, and had only ever used two of them.

 =


   But now they
expected him to stay? Kendrick nodded to his friend and started down the st=
airs
wondering why.

 =


   The stairs turned
to the left at the landing and opened into a wide cellar with three doors in
the other walls, and a staircase leading up to a fourth. That was Master
Derygan's door, and it remained barred. The rule that Julian had drilled in=
to
him was the only time that door would ever open would be if the Watch were
coming and Derygan had to warn them. The badger merchant enjoyed hosting the
Guild, but he never stole anything himself. In fact, apart from the rats,
Derygan had no idea who was in the Guild, and they kept it that way.

 =


   On one side of the
cellar nestled the basin into which the cisterns deposited rainwater. It fl=
owed
from the outside so that all who entered could wash and remove the scent of
onions that lingered. The water was always cold, but Kendrick was used to i=
t.

 =


   Nearby lay the
thieving mat. Anything Kendrick or any other Guild member had stolen was to=
 be
placed there. Sitting next to it was the white-furred and red-eyed Julian.
Elliot sat on a hay bale a few feet away. With them was a young boy he didn=
't
recognize and a stoat he did.

 =


   Kendrick stared at
him in surprise for a moment before laughing. "Well, Timmins, I guess I
shouldn't be surprised to see you here. Last time I saw you your father made
you empty your pouch before he'd let you leave. I don't know how you manage=
d to
swipe that ivory sail boat from my father's mantle without anyone noticing."

 =


   Timmins, the third
and youngest son of the paper merchant, shrugged his shoulders. "You just
have to move really fast. What are you doing here, Kendrick? I always thoug=
ht
you were Daddy's good little boy."

 =


   Julian held up his
paws. "He is here because he is a member of the Guild. Speaking of which,
what have you brought for us?"

 =


   Kendrick opened his
tool pouch and dropped the ten suns onto the thieving mat. He saw a few sma=
ll
sapphires and another five suns already there. He wondered how much they wo=
uld
take in tonight, and who else might show. He'd never met anyone in the Guild
except for the rats, and strangely felt quite vulnerable. As long as nobody
else knew, it had been a patriotic diversion. Now it became serious. Would
Julian and Elliot ask things of him he didn't want to give?

 =


   The pangolin
swallowed and closed his pouch. Elliot patted the hay bale next to him. "Co=
me
here and sit. We're still waiting for one more."

 =


   "Why are you
doing this?" Kendrick asked. "I thought we weren't supposed to know
who each other were."

 =


   Julian eyed him and
Kendrick quickly sat down. Although there were worse things to have than red
eyes, he still hated having to look at Julian's. "You weren't. And there
are several members of our Guild for whom that will be true. For you three =
and
one other who is coming tonight, those rules have changed."

 =


   "So you want
us to know each other?" the young boy asked. From the tone in his voice,
Kendrick knew him to be an age regressed like his parents. He wondered how =
old
he really was. Timmins at least was only a year older than he.

 =


  Julian turned his
red-eyed gaze on the boy and wiped his whiskers back with his paws. "Gadfre=
y,
if you are going to make me repeat myself, this evening will take far longer
than it should." The boy winced and lowered his head. Julian smiled and
looked at the other two. "The guild now has enough saved that we can make
plans beyond petty thievery. That's why you are being revealed to each othe=
r.
In time you'll need to work together outside the Guild in order to make our
plans come to fruition."

 =


   "What are our
plans?" Kendrick asked.

 =


   "Let us wait
until our last guest arrives. They shouldn't be long." Julian stood and
examined the thieving mat. He knocked the gems over with his claws and tapp=
ed
the coins against his incisors.

 =


   Kendrick heard
Timmins chuckle, "So what's the heir to Urseil Cloth doing in the Thieves
Guild?"

 =


   "The same
thing you are, Timmins. Being a thief," Kendrick replied. "I'm not
surprised to find you here, despite your father's lucrative business. I'm
surprised you've been able to keep your paws from taking more than you shou=
ld."

 =


   The stout shrugged
again and set his paws beside him on the hay bale. "Everything else is
just practice. I always give that stuff back."

 =


   "If you're not
careful the Watch is going to figure you out," Gadfrey said rather
sternly.

 =


   Timmins shrugged
and leaned back against the air, a feat only a musteline was capable of. "My
father has connections."

 =


   "I wouldn't
trust your father alone to save you," Elliot pointed out. The rat had his
chewstick against his teeth, but he paused gnawing long enough to give him a
warning. "His reach extends only so far. If you are caught stealing, at
the very least you will be placed in the stocks for a few days. At worst you
could be imprisoned or branded on the face. Be grateful that you don't live=
 in
certain kingdoms of the Southlands. Thieves have their hands cut off there."

 =


   Timmins didn't look
nearly so arrogant after that.

 =


   Kendrick glanced at
the boy and asked, "Gadfrey is it? I don't believe I know you."

 =


   "I work for
Master Lidaman," the boy replied in a quiet voice.

 =


   Elliot grinned. "And
you'll be marrying his daughter next year, too. The arrangements were made =
last
week if I'm not mistaken."

 =


   "Master
Lidaman?" Kendrick said, surprised at this news. Lidaman was one of the
few creditors who'd remained at Metamor after the Battle of Three Gates.
Through shrewd planning, the Duke had managed not to incur significant debts
since that time, Lidaman, by the sheer fact that he'd been the only one wil=
ling
to lend others money in those first few years, had amassed a significant
fortune. Despite this, like most others at Metamor he lived a simple life a=
nd
kept his wealth out of the public eye. His generosity to friends was also
notable, since Kendrick remembered the gift that he'd given the Urseil fami=
ly
after their home had been burned down by the Lutins last winter.

 =


   Gadfrey nodded. "I've
been helping keep his books for five years now."

 =


   "Isn't his
daughter a big cow?" Timmins asked.

 =


   Gadfrey scowled. "Don't
you dare say anything about Elsie! She is lovely and I'm going to marry her=
."

 =


   "And look more
like her kid than her husband," Timmins said under his breath.

 =


   Gadfrey balled his
hands into fists, but Julian chittered meaningfully. "You are very lucky
that you will have a woman of such character as Elsie. Timmins, I invited y=
ou
here because you are both skilled and your family is connected. Do not make=
 me
regret my decision."

 =


   The outside door
opened and they heard Goldmark and a female speaking. A moment later the fe=
male
came down the stairs and Kendrick nearly dropped his jaw and let his tongue
roll out his mouth. It was Davine! When she used to be a boy, they'd played
together, often hiding under her father's displays in the market. Together =
they'd
snatched choice fruits and melons, though they'd always put them back when =
they
were caught. After Davine had become female, they'd not seen much of each
other. Apparently she still enjoyed taking things that weren't hers.

 =


   Kendrick jumped
from where he sat, long tail curling at its tip. "Davine! I didn't know
you were in the Guild."

 =


   She stared at him
and her face broke into a smile. Her curly red hair was held up in a bun to
keep it out of the way. "Kendrick! What a pleasant surprise. I always knew
you were more miscreant than merchant."

 =


   Timmins snorted but
said nothing. Julian tapped the thieving mat and said, "Good to have you
with us, Davine. Did you have any trouble tonight?"

 =


   She shook her head.
"My target decided to stay open late, that's all." From her belt
pouch she produced an additional five suns. Kendrick wondered who she'd sto=
len
it from.

 =


   Julian rubbed his
whiskers back and smiled at them. He waited for Davine to find a seat next =
to
the pangolin before he began. "Tonight the Thieves Guild of Metamor
celebrates a special occasion. We now have enough to begin the next step in=
 our
plan. For the last two years we have been stealing from foreign merchants. =
We
have kept ourselves focused on those who have overcharged Keepers for their
products. This has been very beneficial for all of your families. Those
merchants who charge too much do not return, which drives the prices down, =
and
discourages the greediest of them from making the journey here."

 =


   "You can't get
rid of all foreign merchants," Gadfrey pointed out. "There's lots of
things we need that you can't make here. And I know Davine's family imports
most of their wares."

 =


   "You're right,"
Julian admitted, though it was clear he'd thought of it already. "We do
need to continue importing wares. But why should foreign merchants be the o=
nes
to bring them here? Would they not be willing to accept a smaller price if
somebody else were to bring them here instead?"

 =


   Kendrick pondered
that. As he was thinking on it, he felt something brush down his back He sp=
un
to one side and saw Davine smiling at him. Her freckles made her face shine=
 in
the dark cellar. She patted his back. "Just wondered what you felt like."

 =


   "Bony and
pointy if you rub the wrong way." Kendrick turned back to the rats. "That
sounds good except how will we know what to buy?"

 =


  "Local
merchants already know what people will buy," Julian pointed out. "If
you buy your imports from us instead of foreigners, we can keep more money =
at
Metamor, and employ more people here."

 =


  "So we're not
going to be stealing anymore?" Timmins asked.

 =


   "Oh you will,"
Julian grinned and showed off his big incisors. "We are the Thieves Guild
after all. But now we need to focus on this more important venture. We need=
 to
establish the businesses and connections to create a group of caravans that
will conduct trade outside of Metamor and bring their goods to us."

 =


  "The Innkeepers
won't like it," Davine noted. "They live for the foreign trade."

 =


   "Which will
still exist," Julian replied. "We intend to start small. Each of you
has a position in a merchant family or with the creditors that we can lever=
age
for this. If this works, your families and all of Metamor will be enriched =
by
it. If not, we are no worse off than before. Will you help?"

 =


   Gadfrey was the
first to nod. Timmins shrugged and said, "Sure, I'll help."

 =


   Kendrick rattled
his claws together and nodded. If this worked, maybe Julian and Elliot would
let him become a non-thieving member of the Guild like Master Derygan. As t=
he
heir to Urseil Cloth, he did have a reputation to uphold. "What do you
need us to do?"

 =


   Julian ignored him
for a moment keeping his eyes on the girl. "Davine?"

 =


   She pursed her lips
before nodding and grinning like a tomboy. "Like Kendirck said, what do
need us to do?"

 =


   "For now,"
Julian said, "nothing. Continue as you have been. When we ask you to
present opportunities to your families, you will do so. That is all. We rats
have a great deal to do yet before the first caravan sets out."

 =


   He stood up and
rubbed his paws together. "As for now, I am going to go back to my cellars
beneath the Keep and celebrate this wonderful time with friends. Each of you
should leave one at a time every few minutes. Goldmark will see to tonight's
pickings." So saying, he opened one of the other doors and disappeared out
of sight.

 =


   Kendrick, with
nothing else to do, turned to Davine and asked, "So, how long have you
been in the Guild?"

 =


   She smiled and
laughed.






_________________________________________________________________
Stay up to date on your PC, the Web, and your mobile phone with Windows Liv=
e.
http://clk.atdmt.com/MRT/go/msnnkwxp1020093185mrt/direct/01/
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://lists.integral.org/archives/mkguild/attachments/20080914/7d153c=
e8/attachment-0001.htm