by T L Ford
Kevin sat on his bed. "I'll want more explanation on some of that. Was none of the trip pleasant?"
"Robbie and Kent were magnificent and I picked up a new friend. She's not Guild, but I think she's going to end up marrying Kent." She yawned. "I'm afraid I'm still a bit on daytime hours. I tried to switch out as much as possible, but it just wasn't enough."
"We'll talk more after we sleep then. Your room is next door." He watched her go. He wondered if she realized in her description of the adventure, she left out any mention of studying the artifact or practicing her skills. Would she really be ready for the mastery test or had she become lax and tarnished? Had he pushed her too far away from the Guild? He worried as he tried to fall asleep.
* * * * *
Several nights passed much the same. Guildmaster de Merryweather circulated among his peers while Angela shadowed him and did his rare bidding. She never spoke unless spoken to, and redirected all inquiries to her Master to answer. She wore a different dress every night, each equally exotic and erotic in design and crafted from expensive materials of deep, magnificent hues. These would contrast starkly with the solid black outfits she planned to wear for the test. As planned, her show definitely stood out among her fellow thieves who normally preferred to be unnoticed and quickly forgotten.
Angela saw De Loren leaving early one evening and she asked her Master if she might go practice for the test. He dismissed her, appearing not to care a whit. His ring would tell him she had no intention whatsoever of practicing for the test, but it was a proper excuse for their listeners.
She flagged down Robbie and Kent and the three of them left. Back at the inn, she changed, reversed her cloak and climbed out through Robbie's window. Robbie and Kent followed, equally disguised. She made her way to Guildmaster de Loren's inn, which was a short distance away, and the three of them went over to the men standing sentry.
"I'd like an audience with Lord Loren," Kent said.
"And who are you?"
"Kent Grey, of the Merryweather Guild."
"I'll check if he'll see you." Not looking away from them, he knocked on the door behind him. It opened.
The Dauphin de Loren peered out. "Yes? What is it?"
"Kent Grey, of the Merryweather Guild, seeking audience with Lord Loren," his man repeated.
"And the other two?"
"My bodyguards. I'm a courier," Kent offered smoothly.
"Just a moment." The door closed.
De Loren himself appeared the next time the door opened. "What is it you have for me, Kent Grey of the Merryweather Guild?"
"That would be me, Lord Loren," Angela whispered, "And I have a message for you alone."
"Ah." His eyes brightened. "Come in."
Angela stepped in. Kent and Robbie assumed guard position outside standing with De Loren's guards. She'd had to argue with them to get them to do that. Technically their geas to stay with her on land at all times ended when they sailed into Siedes, but they remained geased to protect her until her Master released them. She'd implied that she had a private message from their Guildmaster to give to De Loren.
Lord Loren led her to his room which was in the center of his inn as was her Master's. She removed the mottled cloak revealing the flowing blood-red dress she'd worn the first day in Siedes.
"Thank you for the silks," she whispered.
"They look as beautiful on you as I'd hoped," he said. "What is your message?"
She leaned forward and kissed him tentatively.
"Truly?" he asked, unbelieving.
"Truly. And I promise not to fall asleep on you this time."
And she kept her promise several times.
* * * * *
The evening of the mastery test found Angela in a black-on-black loose pants suit, with a black cloak, and no adornment whatsoever. Her hair was pulled back into a braid, with the end tucked up underneath, producing a tiny tuft of hair out of the top back that looked decorative rather than sloppy. If it weren't for Robbie and Kent, the announcer would have asked her who she was. She ambled over to her Master, looking to all like a feline predator pondering the hunt. She avoided looking at De Loren. She bowed slightly, was acknowledged, and moved to stand next to her Master.
The cavern had been rearranged so that the benches and tables overlooked the now empty arena. A loud whistle blew and the hall fell silent. A deep rumble sounded and searching the room, Angela identified it as several discordant drums beating an unmatched rhythm.
Guildmaster de Siedes, sitting on his throne, was carried out into the arena and placed a little off to the side. "Applicants, enter the arena and be judged," he called out.
"Go pass the tests, My Dauphin," Kevin ordered for the sake of those within hearing distance.
"As you command, Master." Angela bowed, handed off her cloak to Kent who was standing nearby, and went over to the arena entrance.
"Angela Thomas, Dauphin de Merryweather," she yelled out, loudly enough for most everyone to hear.
"You are recognized, Dauphin de Merryweather," Guildmaster de Siedes answered.
She stepped into the arena. Four others were testing with her.
"We'll start with locks," De Siedes announced to a loud cheer. "Applicants please face the audience while tables are carried out." He explained, "You will be given five minutes to pick every lock on your table. A bell will sound every minute. Lockpicks will be provided. Each table has exactly the same set of locks and picks. When I say, you will turn around and move to the other side of the tables so everyone can see, and begin."
Angela watched the tables being brought out in the distorted reflections on each of the audience's mugs on the arena rail. Her nervous hyper-focus also made her aware of the sounds of the locks shifting on the tables. She thought she had every lock identified before De Siedes instructed them to turn and begin. She bowed to her Master, a step skipped by every other applicant, and turned to her table.
Each lock was as she predicted from the reflections, even down to the position. She walked around her table, looking but not touching. She heard the others working through the locks. The audience murmured. And then, suddenly, she started, taking the precise path through the locks that she'd planned out as she walked around the table. Each move was perfectly economical and precise. From a distance, the locks seemed to fall apart at her touch. Without even slowing down, she disarmed the three that had traps, and moved on to the next ones. She was done before the first bell, bowed again to her Master, and stood quietly beside her table waiting on the other applicants.
Guildmaster de Siedes, with his close-up view, recognized her lock-picking style as direct from the 'Master Thief's Observations' artifact, practiced to a speed and dexterity that had never been seen before. De Loren was right. It would have been a serious mistake not to let her test.
Kevin felt his tension relax. She'd obviously practiced. She'd been good before, but now she was superb. 'Choke on that, De Siedes,' he thought, 'Bed toy, indeed!'
Just after the fourth minute, one of the others set off one of the traps. He was fast enough to dodge it, which was really useful considering the poison on it would have slowed him down for the other tests. The fifth bell rang, with one of the other applicants still not three-quarters finished. He swore and left the ring.
Poison identification and treasure valuing went much the same, with Angela finishing well before the others, even with the bow to her Master at the beginning and ending. De Loren noted that she was a little slow on some of the poisons and decided to teach her if he ever got the chance.
"Knife throwing is next," De Siedes called out. By now they knew to face the audience as the items were brought out. Angela was becoming quite adept at interpreting the reflections, so it hardly mattered whether she was facing things or not. She could see clearly everything that was happening behind her. "You will each be given a box of ten daggers. You must place at least five of these in the black center on your targets. Again, you only have five minutes with a bell at each minute.
After each throw, your aide will remove the thrown dagger and announce its position before you can throw the next. Begin."
Angela bowed again to her Master, turned and walked to her box. The target was easily within her range, if too close to actually be challenging. She knew the knives would all have an odd balance to them. She was the first to throw. She picked up a dagger, measured its weight as she aimed, and launched it at the target. It landed in the absolute center with a loud thunk. Her aide ran from behind his shield, yelled out, "Dead center!", pulled out the dagger and ran back behind his shield. She threw a second one and her aide repeated, "Dead center!"
"In the black, off one tick!" one of the other aides shouted.
She threw a third, fourth, and fifth, interspersed with other applicant's throws. Each of hers was dead center. The other applicants seemed to be averaging about half in the black. The weights on the knives were extremely off. While she technically passed this test, she decided to keep throwing each knife slightly deeper into the exact center of the target. As predicted on her tenth throw, the slightly larger dagger she'd saved until last hit and sunk just enough so that a loud crack sounded as the target split down the center. Her aide picked up the pieces and announced in a stutter, "It looks like dead center!" She turned, bowed again to her Master, and waited. The others passed as well.
"Applicants will now be given two hours to prepare for the acrobatics test," De Siedes shouted, rising from his throne.
The other applicants gave Angela a wide berth. She looked back to where her aide was showing her target's pieces to the other aides and then followed the others out of the arena. She immediately went over to Kevin, bowed, and took up position beside him again. Kevin ignored her after a curt nod of greeting. She saw Jamil staring at her indecipherably and he turned away as soon as he saw her gaze. No one dared approach her, though the others had small gatherings of people around them talking and vying for attention.
Back in the arena, the final preparations on the acrobatics course were being made. Huge tapestries blanketing the ceiling were lowered and then taken away, revealing a series of ropes, ladders, slides, spinning barrels, oddly-angled boards, and fabricated walls, all suspended so high above the arena that anyone falling would be seriously hurt if not killed. The course went from one platform, zigzagged across suspended challenges around the entire arena, and ended at the only other platform which was too far from the first platform to jump to it.
Or was it? Angela glanced up at the platforms. It was really hard to judge the distance across from this far away, but it might be within her range with the right momentum. What a statement that would make. She'd have to listen carefully to the rules. Even so, there was nothing in the course that worried her. They were all standard challenges. True, several she'd not done since she was being taught them quite a few years ago, but they shouldn't be a problem. Her Master had certainly not skipped any part of her training.
She wondered how the other applicants felt. Who had taught them? Without the expensive and continuous variety of teachers, she doubted she would have ever been able to pass this. There were things someone just couldn't learn on his own. Certainly studying and practicing the skills in 'A Master Thief's Observations' gave her a distinct edge, but she couldn't have done any of it without the training that came beforehand.
Kevin moved a short distance away, but still within beckoning distance from her, talking animatedly with De Behr about docking fees for merchant ships. A man she didn't recognize came up to her, standing a respectful distance away. He was reasonably dressed and his weapons were well-tended. "I was wondering if you were taking apprentices, Milady?"
"My Master selects his apprentices from our local guildmembers," she answered.
"Mmm. That's not quite what I was asking," he said.
"Nevertheless, it is the answer." She smiled politely and nodded dismissal.
He retreated. He was immediately surrounded by a group of about twenty, all asking him questions. Angela tried not to chuckle. 'So he was the brave one who got nominated to ask,' she thought and then the logical conclusion crossed her mind, 'We're going to need a bigger guildhall.'
The two hours passed incredibly slowly. When the whistle blew and De Siedes ascended his throne, Angela was more than ready.
Kevin walked over to her and commanded, "Go pass this test, My Dauphin."
"As you command, Master," Angela replied and bowed. She pulled the strings that tightened her pants and sleeves and tied them off. She handed her weapons and coin pouch off to Kent and left her shoes behind. No extra weight at all. She'd need every edge.
* * * * *
"Each of you will be given ten minutes with a bell on each minute to go from that platform," Guildmaster de Siedes indicated the nearer of the two, "to that one. When you reach the end platform, sound the gong. Using any item, touching the ladders below the platforms, or touching the ground in any way, including falling to your painful death, will be an automatic failure."
Angela guessed she could jump it, though she'd been missing two out of ten tries for the equivalent distance on her father's ship. The nets on her father's ship moved with the rocking ship, though, and this was a stationary platform. The ladder underneath was on the far side of the ending platform from the beginning platform, so she wouldn't have to worry about her feet swinging into it accidentally when she grabbed the ledge to pull herself up.
De Siedes pointed at one of her fellow applicants. "You're first. Wave when you are at the top of the platform and are ready. You may begin as soon as you hear the whistle."
The man jogged off and climbed to the starting platform. He bent over for a minute, catching his breath, from the climb up. He waved. The whistle was immediate and he quickly, but carefully went across the tightrope over to a slanted wall. He navigated the rest of the course with surprising dexterity and finished the course between the eighth and ninth bell. He bent over gasping for a minute before climbing down.
One by one, De Siedes pointed at the other applicants, who each managed the course with varying levels of agility. One, being overly cautious nearly didn't make it in time. Angela estimated he had maybe fifteen seconds remaining. The fastest finished after the seventh bell, but had nearly fallen twice. Finally, De Siedes said somewhat caustically, "Go ahead, Dauphin de Merryweather, demonstrate to us and your fellow guildmembers how it should be done."
She nodded to him respectfully and jogged over to the rope ladder to the first platform. She climbed. She could understand where someone not used to climbing would be already winded before the start. When she reached the platform, it looked much higher than it had from the ground and the other platform much farther away. She closed her eyes a moment, imagined away the long fall, and replaced the ground below with a vision of her father's ship, nets, and deep blue water. She opened her eyes and looked at the other platform. It was easily within her range if she ran and jumped. Quickly, she recalled all the tips and instructions from 'A Master Thief's Observations' and reviewed them. She could do this.
She waved. The whistle sounded. She walked to the edge, pretended to look down at her Master (from this distance, no one would know she kept her eyes closed to avoid seeing the height), bowed to him, and went back to the far side of the platform. She cleared her mind and imagined the path to her success. With that super sharp hyper-focus, she ran, bending her knees low at the last moment, and launched herself off the ledge with her toes. In the perfect flight position that would minimize friction, she reached for the other platform. The air caressed her as she flew across. She did not inhale again, until her fingers caught the platform on the far side. She pulled herself up, walked to the edge, bowed to her Master again, and then rang the gong loudly. The crowd below roared.
Rather than climb back down, she dropped down, catching herself and slowing a bit every twenty rungs or so. She strode back to the line of applicants who were staring at her with their mouths still open.
Guildmaster de Siedes knew the 'Master Thief's Ob
servations' said extended jumps were possible, but he'd personally never believed it until now. When the cheering of their audience died down to a reasonable level, Guildmaster de Siedes said, "That was certainly entertaining, Dauphin de Merryweather, but I would like to see you run the entire course. Out of fairness, I will count you as already having passed this test, so you will not be timed." As if she'd need the time. He knew he'd never get the chance to witness such a thing ever again and he really wanted to see her do it. She was an artist. Making her run the entire course smacked of harassment, but he knew others wanted to see also.
Angela turned toward her Master, opened her hands in question, and he waved a 'go ahead' gesture back at her. She nodded to De Siedes, who was gritting his teeth at this overt display of who she took commands from in his lair; it was borderline disobedient, certainly disrespectful. Angela jogged back to the starting ladder. Up she went again. Again, she bowed to her Master, but this time she did not wave. She just started along the tightrope. As she worked her way around the course, she wished she had one of these to play on, though she'd install safety nets. It was a solid workout and she passed over each stage without slowing down, reveling in her body's control and strength, knowing she was at her absolute best. She didn't bother to ring the gong, but just stepped off the platform, spun to face the ladder, and dropped down the ladder again.
Carefully controlling her breathing to appear as if she weren't drained from the exertion, she strode back to the line, and nodded at the man on the throne.
Guildmaster de Siedes acknowledged this with a slight nod of his own, Master to Master, and waited for the cheering to fade. "You now have four hours before the start of the final test. I suggest you use them to eat and sleep." No one ever took the suggestion, being too filled with excitement and adrenaline, and then they spent the next twenty-four hours regretting that lack of sleep.
When Angela arrived back at Kevin, he merely spoke to her as if she were a common servant, "Get your shoes on, My Dauphin, and come along. I'm hungry." She took her shoes, quickly slipped them on, and took her cloak from Kent. She silently followed her Master out, and the rest of her lair's members followed her. The crowd parted to make way.