by T L Ford
Contents
Prologue
CHAPTER 1: Innocent
CHAPTER 2: Student
CHAPTER 3: Alone
CHAPTER 4: Loren
CHAPTER 5: Behr
CHAPTER 6: Merryweather
CHAPTER 7: Dauphin
CHAPTER 8: Lady
CHAPTER 9: Guildmember
CHAPTER 10: Siedes
Bonus Content
LAWFUL GOOD THIEF
Book 1: Kingdom of Thieves
by T. L. Ford
* * * * *
Copyright © by Theresa L. Ford
All rights reserved.
Cover and book design by Theresa L. Ford
Artwork by Theresa L. Ford
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
* * * * *
Theresa L. Ford
Visit my website at www.Cattail.Nu
Printed in the United States of America
First Published: January 2012
Update: July 2019
Cattail.Nu
Print version:
ISBN-13: 978-1468165470
ISBN-10: 146816547X
Bonus Digital Content may be viewed at the book's website:
www.cattail.nu/books/lawful_good_thief
using the login information provided at the end of this book.
Prologue
Guildmaster de Siedes stood up from his ornate throne atop the dais and waited. He was an old man, nearly bald, but no one dared challenge him... at least, not yet. The large cavern full of thieves grew silent as people became aware of De Siedes' raised hand. De Siedes shouted, "Hear this now, Guild de Siedes." His words echoed through the chamber. "I willingly name my Apprentice, Paul Bennett, as Dauphin de Siedes, to become Guildmaster upon my death."
A cheer went up from the crowd, echoing in the vast cavern despite the tapestries covering the ceiling and walls. The guildhall of the city of Siedes was the largest of the Thieves' Guild with the most members. Its Guildmaster ranked first among all the Guildmasters.
Kevin Bennett, brother of the new heir to the richest guildhall, cheered also, but only because it might have meant his death not to. For nine years, he'd served the vicious Guildmaster, done everything, even the foulest of deeds, taking comfort in the knowledge that the guildhall would one day be his. Paul had dodged duties, avoided tasks, and had spent all his non-practice time seducing women. Yes, he was more gifted in thievery skills than Kevin, but he was otherwise worthless; the position should have been Kevin's. De Siedes was vile to appoint another after promising it to Kevin. Kevin's bitterness consumed him.
As the celebration commenced and guildmembers congratulated the new heir, Kevin vowed that one day he would rule the Thieves' Guild. Maybe not from Siedes, but from somewhere. He only had one more year on his geas to De Siedes, and then he'd go find another guildhall to pledge apprentice. Ten years of his life wasted. He would make sure that he was the only choice available in the next guildhall. One day, his brother would serve him. His brother might have better thief skills, but Kevin was smarter.
CHAPTER 1: Innocent
The ships in the harbor strained against their moorings as gusts of wind caused them to creak and bob, their lanyards slapping noisily against their polished woodworks. The ships carried with them the scent of fish, salt, and unwashed sailors to waft across the protected bay to the docks.
Angela Thomas inhaled the potent scents as she waited dutifully outside a linen shop. Being five years old, she was proud to be permitted to stand outside alone and watch the ships tossing about in the harbor below. She pushed her unruly blond hair out of her eyes again. The wind kept blowing it into her face.
"Here now, what's this?" Two ladies in fine dresses approached Angela, their escort respectfully following at a proper distance.
"She looks like a beggar girl, Milady," the escort offered. "Perhaps we should give her a coin? Food is scarce for one such as that."
By the time Angela realized they were talking about her and thought of something polite to say that wouldn't upset these potential dress-customers, it was too late. The ladies pressed two copper coins into her hand and then moved off. She blinked at the coins, confused. She wasn't a beggar. She had a proper mother, a father who was off sailing, and a home. While not wealthy by any means, somehow her mother always managed to find food for the table, even if only a potato to share.
Angela looked down at her dress and studied it. Truly, some of the beggar boys she'd seen had better clothes, but hers were cleaner and fit right. She was scrubbed, with clean hair, and if they had waited long enough for her to think of something to say, they would have realized she was a polite and well-brought-up little girl.
The voices inside the fabric store grew louder.
"But that doesn't cover the cost of the material!" her mother said angrily.
Angela heard the Rashesh noblewoman inside the shop with her mother answer, "Well, I've been told I have to pay a percentage to Kevin Bennett. It's your town. You should have to pay it, not me, so it comes out of the total cost."
"You knew about the Guild tithe before you ordered the dress."
"Well, you can either sell it to me for that or you can keep it and hope someone of my exact size happens along one day. I'm not paying even more just to buy something in this town. It's of questionable quality anyway."
A short time later, the Rashesh noblewoman exited the store, carrying a carefully-wrapped bundle that Angela recognized as the gown her mother had spent the last two weeks making. A man, equally well-dressed, dutifully followed the woman, obviously her escort. Fine ladies hardly ever went about this town alone.
Her mother appeared a few moments later, upset, but stoically trying not to show it. "Come on, my little bunny, let's go find dinner."
Trying to offer consolation in her child-innocent way, Angela held out the coins to her mother. "I can help buy dinner, too."
Her mother began to cry.
* * * * *
Later that night, Angela's mother blew out the candle, careful not to lose any of the precious wax.
"Tell me the story of how you and Father met, Mother?" Angela asked, trying to delay sleep. Angela knew her mother always seemed happier when she talked about her father and her mother needed help that night.
Her mother sat on the edge of Angela's bed. "The marketplace was filled with shoppers..."
"Long version! Long version!" Angela demanded and added the requisite beg, "Please?"
Her mother sighed and curled up next to Angela. "All right. A very long time ago, before you were born, I lived with my mother and my father on their farm, which was a long distance from our home here in Merryweather. They thought the farm was safe from the Vrolt."
"The monsters that live out in the mountains."
"Yes. They look a little like us, but are much bigger."
"How much bigger?"
"Twice the size of your father, easily, and he is very tall, taller than even me."
"Vrolt are not as handsome as Father either," Angela whispered, yawning.
"True. Vrolt have large heads and hands and feet. And yes, your father is very handsome, as well as good and kind. But I thought you wanted to hear the long version?"
"I do! The Vrolt invaded your farm and then your mother and father, who were my grandmother and
my grandfather, went to live on the other side of the rainbows."
"Yes. Am I telling this story or are you?" her mother asked, tickling her gently, but not so much as to rouse her.
"You are!" Angela said, wiggling and then snuggling into her pillow.
"So rather than be all alone in the house, I packed all my things and moved to Merryweather. I wouldn't have been able to take care of the farm all by myself and I was afraid the Vrolt would come back. It was a long and scary journey and I was very happy to arrive in a town and be around people again."
Angela pulled her blanket closer and her mother wrapped her arm over her protectively. "When I got to Merryweather the ships were in, including one very special one."
"Father's!"
"Yes. His ship was being repaired because one of the masts had been damaged in a squall. You remember what a squall is?"
"A sudden storm with lots of wind and rain."
"Yes. I'd arrived in the afternoon, but I didn't have anywhere to go or anywhere to live. I didn't have any family to take care of me."
"Were you very scared?"
"I was, but I was also brave so I was looking for an inn to sleep in. The marketplace was filled with shoppers."
"And sailors."
"Yes, and sailors. Now some sailors, like your father, are good, and some drink too much ale and can be mean, and some are just bad. It's very hard for a young person to know the difference so it's best to avoid them."
"Which is why I can't go into the market alone when the ships are in."
"That's right. You are very smart, my little bunny. I didn't have my mother to tell me this so I wasn't as careful as I should have been. While I was walking in the market, I was surrounded by a bunch of the mean sort of sailors and they were going to take all my things."
"Including the quilt grandmother made."
"Yes. That and everything else."
Angela proceeded to list 'everything else' in the order her mother had first introduced them. Angela's memory was phenomenal.
"Just when I was going to have to give them everything, guess who came over to rescue me?"
"Father!"
"Yes, your father and several of his men. They chased the mean sailors away. Then your father made sure I got a nice inn room and some warm food and promised to help me find a home the next day. I even got to visit his ship and meet the crew. Your father was the First Mate, though I expect he's Captain by now. To this day, I have never seen or met a finer gentleman than your father. He is honorable and caring. I loved him and he loved me so his Captain married us. When he finally had to sail off to make his fortune, I cried because I would miss him. And then you came along to keep me company and I see him every day - you have his eyes and his nose and his intelligence. One day, he'll come home and he'll be very happy to meet you and proud of the fine lady you've become."
"Tell me the story of how Father was nice to the beggar children."
"Maybe tomorrow night, Dear. I hope you thanked that nice lady who mistakenly gave you coins. Go to sleep now."
Angela, unwilling to confess her bad manners, nodded and held her mother's hand and assured her that Papa was sure to return within the year. They both knew it wasn't true. They slept.
* * * * *
The next morning, her mother announced that it was time Angela started school. "Your father was very smart and you are, too. I overheard yesterday that the school season starts today, and while I can't take you there myself because I've got to get this new dress sewn, you can certainly walk to the schoolhouse yourself. You need to go directly there and come directly home again afterward. There are still ships in port. Do you understand?" The schoolhouse was a short distance away and was the limit of her wanderings when she was allowed to play outside on her own.
Her mother smoothed Angela's hair and said, "Now be a good girl. Make me proud."
"I will, Mama. Always."
The schoolhouse, which once was just another shack on the street, now looked bright and inviting. Shutters were propped open so fresh air could circulate. Children were running in, excitedly, having been called by the teacher. Angela was not the least bit shy or hesitant. She skipped up to the door and went in. The teacher smiled cheerfully, directing the energetic ones to seats at the simple benches. The benches in the front that had tables were reserved for the older students who needed the table to write on, while the younger ones stayed in the back. Angela joined the younger ones, several who were a year younger than her.
The day flashed by, in a whirlwind of exciting information, all of which Angela greedily absorbed. The symbols for letters and numbers suddenly made sense and after one hearing, Angela delighted herself in identifying them before the teacher said what they were. She did not think this was odd. She assumed all children could readily remember what was said. The letters all had names and made sounds and you could tie the sounds together and read words. By the end of the day, she was eager for her next trip to the market so she could sound out all the signs that didn't have pictures. The adventure was beginning and she thought that after a season of school, she'd be able to do anything.
She might have even succeeded, but at the end of the day, her hopes were dashed. The teacher instructed the students to each bring four coppers for books and supplies on the next day. Four coppers were simply impossible to spend on something other than a necessity. That would buy eight potatoes or one bit of meat or six candles. The teacher might as well have asked for a thousand platinum.
Angela dreaded going home. Head down, swirling in a dark cloud of sadness, she stopped near a tree and picked at its bark. Even at her young age, Angela knew the value of coins. She knew how much her mother made sewing, after subtracting the material and thread costs: Almost enough for a month's rent and food, sometimes enough for candles or a bit of muslin for clothes, but not enough for school supplies. If her mother had cried over receiving two coppers, how much more would she cry if she had to give away four?
Angela could just imagine the look on her mother's face if told of the added expense. The more Angela thought about it, the more upset she became. She could not bring another burden home. Attending school was just not possible.
She glanced back at the schoolhouse and saw the teacher was pulling the shutters closed. An idea formed in her young mind. An idea so daring, so brave, so unexpected that it might actually work. She could pretend to go to school each day and sit outside the window and learn. Her mother need never know she didn't actually go into the classroom. Her mother always used the daylight to sew and would never find out.
Angela never mentioned the four copper coins to her mother. She merely spoke about what she learned that day and how much she liked the school and the teacher. This plan worked flawlessly for the first week, but halfway through the second week, it rained and the shutters stayed closed.
Angela stood under the tree, getting soaked, and wondering what to do for the day. She didn't know if the ships had left port yet and was hesitant to go into town alone. By mid-afternoon, she was cold, hungry, and completely soggy. She knew there were overhangs in the market where she might pretend to shop and at least be out of the rain. Ships or no ships, the thought of shelter won.
Only one ship was still in port and Angela carefully avoided people she'd never seen before and stayed in areas she had been in with her mother. She received a few curious glances, but no undue interest.
Below, where the smaller boats were unloading, Angela watched several boys chasing each other through the throng of men unloading their fish. Though she could not hear them, she knew by the shaking fists and dodged cuffs that the boys were causing trouble and getting in the way. Their game migrated toward the wide, slanted path leading up to the market and, for a while, she lost sight of them as the wood shacks that passed for buildings obscured the path.
The boys reappeared, laughing and shouting, chasing each other around the locals who merely shook their heads and tried to avoid being knocked over. They sometimes bumped the trav
elers who did not move out of the way fast enough. The game moved off to another street and Angela went back to dreaming about the ships below and her father's return.
* * * * *
Several months later, Angela still maintained the illusion of going to school. As often as she could, she sat under the windowsill and wished she could see what the teacher was showing everyone. She would always memorize something to repeat later to her mother.
On days when she got bored or might get caught, she sought out the dyer's nephew, a local boy named Luez, who was a bit older than her, but tolerated her endless questions. She often followed him to the abandoned lighthouse and watched him draw or paint. Sometimes he even drew her. She liked his paintings and the way he was always trying to make new colors out of odd substances.
Many years later, Angela would tell Luez it was his fault she joined the Thieves' Guild because he wasn't at his normal drawing spot that day. Angela waited a while, kicking the rocks and making odd tracks in the mud. She tried not to feel disappointed, but she liked talking with Luez. Eventually, as the sun rose higher, she made her way back to the marketplace.
She saw the boys playing tag again and altered her walking path to intersect theirs.
"Can I play?" she asked.
The older one looked at the two younger ones and shrugged. "You're it, then!" They scattered. She chased them through the marketplace, tagged them, got tagged back, and generally wore herself out running. After an hour or so, when they were all leaning against a building, laughing, her stomach growled noisily.
"Hey, let's go get something to eat," the oldest boy, Scott, suggested.
The boys all agreed instantly and set out. Angela dragged her feet.
Another of the boys, Matty, tugged at Scott's arm until he stopped, and then pointed back at her. "Wa's a madder wid you?" Matty asked her. He had lost a couple of his front teeth and was unable to pronounce a 't' sound correctly. He pronounced his own name as 'maa-dee' or sometimes even 'maa-ee'.
"No coins."