With her hands free, Lilliana was able to remove the blindfold and gag while Kiana stood ready, dirk pointed at the man. Able to see again, Lilliana blinked, and then with the practiced hands of a master thief she untied the knots around her feet. Now freed from all restraints she stood and calmly began untying her husband. As she untied Spencer she spoke to the cloaked knife-yielding man holding Kiana’s first-year locksmithing book, “Well, as much fun as this has been, I do believe it is time for you to leave.”
With the odds now against him the stranger threw the book down in disgust and silently walked to the door. When the man slammed the door behind him Kiana felt a weight lift off her shoulders. She let out a deep breath and turned to her parents. They were now both standing up and looking at her. She dropped her dirk and jumped towards them both. She wrapped them up in a big hug.
She stood there, holding her parents for what seemed forever before she heard her mother’s voice. “It’s okay, Kiana. That was only a Guild member, we were never in real danger. Unless you count starvation, I am getting really hungry.”
Kiana looked up at her parents. What, she thought, another damned test! “Whatever,” said Kiana “I am just glad this day is over, and you are safe.”
“How did it go out in the desert? Were you able to get the journal?” asked Lilliana.
Kiana took a moment to compose herself before answering. “Yes, it’s in my room. I snuck in through my window. I saw that you hadn’t adjusted the curtains in a couple hours.”
Lilliana smiled, she was proud of Kiana. Her child had acted carefully and followed their protocols. She had “saved” them while keeping the loot. While the quest was of secondary importance to how she reacted to having her parents threatened, a good thief would manage to do both. Kiana had done just that.
Kiana looked up at her mother, “I am never neglecting my magic studies again! Right after supper I am getting my books out. I don’t care what courses I get through the Guild, you are going to help me with it. I had a scorpion try to go up my nose, a lion tried to grab my butt, soldiers chasing me through the desert and then I come home to you two being tied up. I don’t know what I was thinking, not doing magic. What kind of thief avoids magic? A dumb one! Let me tell you, I would have given a year’s allowance to have one tiny little levitation spell today.” Kiana rattled on. She was not normally a talkative child, but the toll of the day’s events had her in a tizzy.
Spencer, normally reserved about these things started laughing. “My daughter embracing magic? I never thought I would see the day.”
Kiana turned to her dad, “I could see the scorpion’s beady little head, I blew him away, but he almost went down my shirt, and the lion? That thing had paws the size of my head, and that stupid meat with the sleeping potion didn’t work. I was lucky to get out of that tent unscathed.”
Lilliana looked at the back of her daughter’s shirts. Claw marks had sliced through the bottom of the shirt. She put her hand over the marks. Her hand stretched out didn’t come close to the size of the marks on the shirt. The lion truly did have paws the size of Kiana’s head “I think you came closer to being scathed than you thought.”
“Huh?” grunted Kiana, as her mother pointed out her damaged shirt. “Aww man! That was my best shirt. Do you see the size of those claw marks? I told you! That sucker was huge!”
Lilliana chuckled, being the mother of a young thief was hard, but life in Pailtar was difficult. Being a member of the Thieves’ Guild was the best option for Kiana. Despite the dangers….
Kiana was just grateful to be home safe and sound. Surely the hardest part of the Guild tests was done wasn’t it?
6
Morthon
THE UNNATURAL WAY THE curtains moved woke Everet. It was not the wind, whisking through the window, that had moved the curtains. It had been a body, a silent-moving intruder. Everet held his breath as he moved subtly, bringing his hand under his pillow. There his hand found the handle of his dagger. Everet gripped the weapon and waited.
When a crossbow bolt flew into the bed where Everet was supposed to be sleeping he jumped up and surprised his attacker. The assassin, caught off-guard by Everet rising not from the bed but from the floor, had no time to drop his crossbow and grab another weapon.
Everet’s blade entered the assassin’s side, just below his ribcage and made its way up into the man’s chest, slicing into his heart.
A second assassin entered through the window, this one carrying two small swords that caught the soft moonlight as they passed into the room.
Everet pushed the body of the dying attacker back towards the window.
In the dark bedroom the second assassin mistakenly thought the body was Everet. He quickly buried his blades into what he thought was Everet. The sharp blade sliced into the back of the dying assassin.
Everet kept pushing on the first assassin’s body, the body slid further up the blades of the second killer, burying his blades all the way into his companion’s body. Before the second assassin could step back to remove his weapons from his unintentional target Everet struck out with his own blade. The blade smoothly sunk into the soft flesh of the attacker’s throat.
With no remorse, Everet watched the man die. His final futile gasps to breathe finished, the would be assassin flopped to the floor.
Everet stood still at the window sill and silently listened. Was there a third assassin? Nothing outside the window moved, no sign of another attacker. Satisfied that the night’s drama was done, Everet moved back to the spot on the floor where he had been sleeping. There he found Serena, wide awake yet calm.
“Is it over?” Serena whispered.
“Yes, my love,” said Everet. “But I’m afraid we were right, Plavan’s disappearance was the king’s doing. Meron is no longer a safe place for us.”
Serena laughed, “Is there ever a safe place for people like us?”
“No,” said Everet as he leaned down and placed a kiss on her forehead. “There are no safe places, but there are important places.”
“What do you have in mind?”
“I’m afraid the solution to our problem is in Balta.”
Serena looked at Everet like he had two heads. Even in the dark, she could see that he was serious. “Didn’t you tell me that the warrior-mage who killed your best man lives in Balta and wants you dead.”
“Actually, the boy is the nephew of the king, thus it’s likely that the entire kingdom would be glad to separate my head from my body.”
“So we are running away from one king who would kill us to find another who would do the same? I’m loving your plan so far, dearest,” said Severa. The sarcasm dripped off her reply like water off a roof after a heavy rain.
“We could go elsewhere, but Ganus wants to rule the entire continent. There will be no safe places here until we know who the spy is. With Plavan missing, we need to talk to the boy, Nathan, to find out who the spy is.”
“You aren’t running at all, are you? You still intend to fight Ganus,” accused Severa.
“I’m not going to quit just because of a couple of mid-rate assassins come looking for us. I’m actually rather insulted he didn’t send someone better. He doesn’t think we’re very dangerous.”
“And that is bad?”
“Bad for him, underestimating your enemy is a major mistake. One an arrogant leader cannot afford to make.”
“You sound like you know what you are talking about.”
“I’ve made every mistake a man can make. I’ve lost everything before because of my arrogance, and I almost died at the hands of a boy because I underestimated him. I know exactly what I’m talking about.”
“Is that a good thing?” asked Serena, she was curious as to Everet’s meaning. He was much like her, a survivor, and this talk of regrets and mistakes was not a side of Everet she had seen before. It was interesting. She put on her clothes in silence. They already had everything they would need for a journey packed. Everet had anticipated problems when Plavan d
isappeared and had planned accordingly. They would be out of Meron within the hour. First, Everet had one last thing to do. “I need to speak to Bryant Bingham. Wait here, and be ready to leave.”
Leaving Serena, Evert quickly made his way to Bryant’s home. When he arrived Everet carefully scouted the home. No signs of entry, this gave Everet hope that Bryant had not also been given a late night visit by assassins. Using his dagger to bypass Bryant’s locks, Everet silently entered the man’s house. Everet worked his way through the dark house using his memory to guide him until he arrived at Bryant’s bedroom. Opening the bedroom door, Everet could hear the faint sounds of Bryant’s breathing.
“Bryant, wake up!” said Everet.
Bryant awoke with a start. He peered across the dark room, “Everet is that you?” he asked.
“Yes. Sorry, I would light a lantern, but I don’t want anyone seeing that I was here.”
“What is going on?”
“I was attacked tonight by assassins. King Ganus must have tortured Plavan. I assume everyone else that was part of Plavan’s group has also had visitors tonight.”
“You thought my involvement with you would warrant the king killing me?” asked Bryant.
“I’m not sure. If they didn’t attack you tonight, it’s likely that Plavan did not give your name up. However, once I leave town the king’s men may start looking for anyone who associated with me.”
“I do believe I have some urgent trade business in Venecia that requires my attention.”
“Venecia might not be far enough. Go to Salma. Count Mavane is an annoying man, but he is honorable. You will be safe there, and when you give him this, he will be very grateful.” Evert tossed a bag on the bed beside Bryant.
“What is this?” asked Bryant.
“It’s the majority of the gold that I stole from Count Mavane when I left Salma.”
“And how should I explain how I got it?”
“Just tell him that the man who stole it from him had a change of heart and would rather not have him as an enemy. He won’t understand, but he will be happy to see you and will give you safe haven. If you play your cards right, you can even establish some trade routes. My sources tell me that Count Mavane has started trading with Northern Solotine.”
“My thanks, Everet, and what of you?”
“I’ll be gone within the hour. Meron is lost to me at this point until King Ganus is defeated. He has too many spies, I need to start thinning their numbers out.”
“May the gods watch over you,” said Bryant.
Everet slipped back out of Bryant’s house and headed back to retrieve Serena. It was time to leave Meron.
7
Pailtar
KEYON SAT AT THE end of her bed. For the second day in a row, Kiana woke to the sight of the thief sitting there. Today, he was just reading the captain’s journal. Kiana looked to the now empty rafters. Damned thief, she thought.
“That was an impressive display you put on yesterday,” said Keyon.
“You were watching?” replied Kiana.
“Almost every minute, you really need to work on your magic skills. Blowing on a scorpion is not exactly a skill set.”
Kiana groaned, “You saw that? How the heck did you see that?”
“I am a master member of the Thieves’ Guild. I can sneak as well as anyone, even your mother. By the way, I apologize for the meat mishap; it seems the captain trained his lion to recognize tainted meat. Rather ingenious if you ask me.”
Kiana gave Keyon a dirty look, “Who the heck keeps a lion in his tent anyways? I thought you were exaggerating until I got in there and had to get by that monster. Did you see that too?”
“Oh yes, I was quite impressed with your acrobatic skills. Personally, I thought using a freeze spell or levitation would have been much safer, but your mother has told me of your aversion to magic, so I suppose that was a logical method of getting the book.”
“Ex-aversion to magic” corrected Kiana. Never again would she dismiss the value of magical skills.
Keyon nodded, “I stand corrected, and your ex-aversion to magic was a hindrance. Now, get dressed. You have another long day ahead of you.”
Kiana groaned “More lions?”
“Worse,” replied Keyon as he closed the journal and got up off the edge of her bed. “Today you have the written tests.”
…
Keyon had not been joking, the tests were terrible. This was the third one in a row, each lasting longer than an hour, with the most boring inane questions imaginable. Half of them were based on Guild Laws, the written code that Guild members had to agree to upon joining, the other half were based on weird scenarios where a moral question would arise. Should you kill the newborn baby for a copper? Who the hell answered yes to a question like that anyways? Hopefully the Guild avoids psychos like that.
Kiana shook her head, she was getting distracted. She focused on the next question. “What percentage of earnings must a thief give to the Guild?” Another boring and easy question, but an important one she supposed as she wrote down her answer “twenty, but the thief can apply for reimbursement of half that at the end of the calendar year if earning are below the living wage as designated by the Guild.” Learning Guild tax laws had been annoying at the time, but Kiana was now grateful her mother had insisted she should at least learn the fundamentals.
After another hour of writing the exams Kiana was done. She looked around the room. Eight other applicants were still writing. One boy on the far end was done and surveying the crowd the same way she was.
The blond-haired boy saw her looking around and smiled at her, giving her a wink.
Ewww, thought Kiana. What a cocky boy. Ignoring his attentions, Kiana returned to studying the other group of potential Guild members. She saw two boys that were obviously younger than her, a couple boys that would be about her age, an older girl and one middle age man. The Guild had no real age restrictions beside the minimum age of eleven.
Technically Kiana could have applied two years ago, but the program for those under the age was only a junior training program where students were allowed to take basic magic courses, panhandle and pickpocket under supervision. Kiana had not wanted to study magic and was no panhandler. She had been practicing pickpocketing since she was old enough to walk. The program would have been a waste for her. On her mother’s insistence she had continued in the normal city school for two years longer.
At the two-hour mark, Kiana was bored enough to scream. When the instructor finally called time she let out a breath of air. About damned time she thought. It was obvious that not all the students felt the same way as they scribbled out one last answer before being forced to stop writing.
“The written tests you did earlier have all been marked, I will be marking these ones while you all go through the hand to hand testing part of the examination. At the end of the day you will be assigned a group task,” said the instructor.
Hand to hand, Kiana looked forward to this. She wasn’t a big girl, average in stature, no taller than the average thirteen-year-old girl, but Kiana was extremely proficient in hand to hand. Wrestling and martial arts were regular parts of her training with her mother. Or as her mother said ad nauseam “Train the mind and the body, without one the other will fail.” Kiana thought it was a little hokey, well a lot actually, what did training the mind have to do with the body? But then again, her mother was right more often than not and considering how correct she had been about using magic, Kiana was trying to open her mind to new ideas.
As the students filed out of the classroom, she could hear a couple of the boys talking, “I hope they make us wrestle the girls.” The boy had a smirk on his face as he spoke. Stupid punk thought Kiana. Her eyes burned holes into the boy’s back as they walked towards the gym. She too hoped the boys would get the opportunity to wrestle with the girls. She would show that jerk a thing or two.
The hand to hand combat instructor was an older sinewy man. Some of the students seemed sur
prised by his small stature. Not Kiana, she knew from experience that size had little to do with combat success. She knew size and reach were assets to a fighter, but proper training and technique were more valuable. She also knew a small but well-trained fighter would more often than not defeat a bigger but untrained fighter. A small combat instructor was likely very well trained.
When the students all sat down in a horseshoe around the instructor he began talking. “Today is not a lesson day. Today is strictly for measuring skill levels. No blows to the face or bone breaking. Do we have any volunteers to start?”
The rude boy who had commented about wrestling the girls put his hand up. When Kiana saw this, her hand shot up as well. The instructor raised his eyebrow but said nothing. He simply gestured for them both to stand and begin.
Inside the horseshoe of students was a small circle eight feet in diameter. The objective was to pin your opponent or force them out of the circle. Get pinned or tossed out of the circle three times and you lose.
The rude boy smiled at Kiana as he walked into the circle. Kiana ignored him, instead giving the instructor a small formal bow of her head. She then did a couple stretches to warm up the muscles. Sitting in a chair writing tests all day was not conductive to peak performance. The boy just stood there and laughed “are we dancing or fighting?” he said in a mocking tone.
Kiana smiled, and stepped into the circle. She raised her fist to her eyes, the instructor said no blows to the face, but that didn’t mean no punching.
The boy took a grapples position, hands forward, leaned forward with his hands open.
Kiana noted his position, it was likely the boy had wrestling experience and expected to pin her. Too bad for him she had no intention of wrestling.
The instructor gave a nod, signaling for them to begin. The boy quickly moved forward, wanting to put Kiana on the defensive.
Kiana took one step forward, giving herself a little room from the edge of the circle. Then she waited for her opponent to come to her. The boy stepped up closer, preparing to lunge at her. Kiana struck quickly and hard. She first feinted bringing her left knee up towards his head. The boy instinctively rose up, bringing his hands up to protect his head. Kiana’s left foot went back to the ground; she then kicked the boy in his exposed ribs. The swift kick caught him in the ribs, driving the air of his lungs. Kiana followed up the kick with a quick flurry of punches to the ribs and chest. If the instructor had allowed head punches she would have used an uppercut, but instead she took satisfaction in delivering another blow to his kidneys, before using a leg sweep to bring the boy down to the ground. The instructor lifted his hand, signifying a point for Kiana. She returned to her corner and waited for the boy to gather himself. He limped back to his corner.
Siege of Pailtar Page 5