The Thieves Guild

Aldo shut the gate behind us and lit a candle. The sudden light dimly illuminated the entryway we were in, but I could only clearly see Chiyo and Aldo.

“You’ve barely been here for a day and already caused such a ruckus! I was right to let you two in, I only expect more greatness from you from now on! I can hardly wait to see what stunt you’ll pull next.”

“Hey, we weren’t pulling any stunts y’know! Oliver and I were just having a relaxing time at a cat café when some crazy cake lady tried to kill us. And how do you even know about that when it only just happened?”

Chiyo was perplexed that Aldo was already filled in on what had happened.

“I’ve already heard all about it from my sources. It would appear that word travels faster than you can run.”

He lead us to the back of the building where an intricately woven carpet lied. It portrayed a crossed dagger and key with a coin at the point where they crossed, the coat of the Thieves Guild.

“Watch this!”

He pulled back the rug, revealing a gaping hole with a set of stairs located underneath. Aldo led the way, and we had no choice but to follow him. It was a cramped hallway leading down into Indestria’s underbelly. We went deeper and deeper as we were swallowed by darkness. The only source of light was the candle Aldo held. On the way down, Chiyo asked a question.

“Aldo, I thought you’d been arrested by the Inquisition?”

“I thought so too! While she was leading me through the city I got saved by a buddy, after which I made a run for it and got away. She may be a first class witch hunter with incredible strength and resilience, but she’s only human after all. When it comes to running she’s no good. Had you been running from a beast-man you wouldn’t have gotten off that square, I can tell you that much.”

Aldo really seemed to know everything that’d gone down already, down to the fact that we’d fought the same witch hunter as the one we saw posted at the gate the day before.

At the bottom of the stairs we came to a long tunnel with other tunnels leading away to the left and right, creating a maze of sorts. Aldo effortlessly guided us through the damp passageways until we heard the clattering of glass and loud talking in the distance, coming from behind a small wooden door.

Aldo opened it and we found ourselves in a spacious underground tavern of sorts. It came complete with a bar, drinks, and food. All kinds of assumedly stolen valuables were scattered along the wall, and to our right was a large shelf filled with books. 

The noise subsided as soon as we came in, and dozens of mistrustful eyes were now gaging us from the comfort of their little tables. This was pretty much the welcome I’d expected; The Thieves Guild was a very closed and secret society after all. That was until Aldo introduced us.

“Ladies and gentlemen! May I introduce to you the wicked witch and her companion, coming straight at us to lay waste to Indestria!”

Immediately the subterranean room burst into cheering and clapping. Nobody showed a hint of doubt anymore, they were going wild. Chiyo and I were very confused. What had Aldo told them about us to make us be welcomed with such vigor? I turned to the sly thief and demanded an explanation. He had to yell to make himself understood over the racket.

“Don’t worry friend, as long as you’re here you are both under our protection. Do you have any idea what kind of potential a wielder of magic holds for our guild? And one that can use teleportation magic at that! Imagine the kind of heists we’ll be able to pull off. We’re going to be the most powerful guild in the entire city, no, the country!”

I snapped a little bit at this mind-boggling statement.

“And what makes you think that we’ll just let you use Chiyo for your business? We’re not thieves and we’re not planning on being blackmailed by you. If you threaten to report us to the Inquisition or whatever we’ll simply leave town.”

Aldo waved away my outburst. “We’re not snitches, Ollie-boy. If we were, this tight community would’ve ceased to exist a long time ago. I’m talking about doing business with you. A give-and-take if you will. If my conditions are not acceptable to you, you’re free to leave at any point.”

Before I could inquire further, Chiyo and I were grabbed by the crowd that had begun to surround us and dragged towards the bar. A thief with a glass eye put his arm around my neck and shouted in my ear.

“All your drinks are on us, order whatever you want!”

Someone rang the bell that signaled a free round of drinks. The cheering and laughter went up by many decibels.

We both went with another coffee. I wasn’t in the mood to start drinking alcohol in front of an entire room of thieves, even if their code forbade them from robbing a guest of honor. Chiyo looked very uncomfortable, being at the center of this rowdy crowd. I put my hand on her shoulder and gave her a reassuring nod, to which she replied with an uncertain smile.

After the initial excitement had died down, most of the people returned to their tables and went back to talking in hushed tones, drinking, or playing card games. But this time we were the main topic on everyone’s mind.

Aldo came to sit with us at the bar. Everyone else tried to act like they were invested in whatever they were doing, but it was rather obvious that they were all listening in on us.

“So, about the details of our little arrangement. How about I start off by saying what’s in it for the both of you? Sounds good right? This is just my assumption, but if the most-wanted person in the country appears in the capital, that can mean only one thing to me.”

The whisky he had ordered arrived and he took a sip, savoring the taste. He sighed contently and continued.

“You want to know more about witches, and you’ve come here looking for answers. Oh, I’ve got it! Don’t tell me you two want to break into the Inquisition library?”

I nodded, feeling ashamed. Hearing it said out loud by someone else made it feel all the more embarrassing. The whole tavern burst into laughter, having dropped the pretense of being uninterested.

“I knew it, you two are seriously daring! I’ve never met anyone like this. But let me tell you, what you’ve planned is a suicide mission. There is a barrier installed at the Inquisition Headquarters perimeter that nullifies all magic. It was made by a sage living in the Lands Beyond, so you know it’s the real deal. You can teleport in, sure, but leaving is a different matter entirely. The only way to get your hands on those books and make it out alive is by bribing an official in the interior. And let me tell you, those guys are headstrong like no other.”

I repeated what I had said to Chiyo by the lake: “Well, do you have any better ideas?”

“I do, I most certainly do! And it all ties back to you helping us out with a little something… So, to get back on track: you need answers. Our guild just so happens to be masters of information. Isn’t it a perfect match? Our eyes and ears reach every corner of Scaldis. That includes the Inquisition of course.”

He took another sip of his whisky. The tavern had gone deathly quiet with anticipation.

“Over the years we’ve had a few contacts on the inside, but they get always get sniffed out quickly and deposed of. Despite that, we’ve managed to build a bit of a library of borrowed books.”

He gestured to the bookshelf against the wall.

“If you help us with just one little job, we’ll give you access to any book you please. You know what? I’ll actually read you an excerpt from one right now, as a teaser.”

He went over to the shelf, thought for a moment, and picked out a thick black book with silver letters on it. He came back to the bar and slammed it on the counter. “What We Know of the Devil”, it was called. But before he read to us there was a pressing question on my mind that took precedence.

“What kind of job are we talking about?”

Once again a cunning smile came over Aldo’s face. He could barely contain himself.

“You’re going to help us break into the royal palace.”