The traffic on the Great Bridge was much greater than Vesper had expected, with groups of Harvest Guild members stumbling toward the Wretched Quarter with the glazed eyes of the desperate. Knight Guild guards didn’t appear until he was over half way across. The Thieves had done such a great job creating the illusion that the other side of the river was a lawless, dangerous wasteland that the Knights themselves didn’t even bother with it.
The downside to that illusion was that anyone approaching Ness from the Wretched Quarter was treated as potential trouble. Such was what was happening to Vesper, as he was stopped by no less than three guards and harassed about his reason for crossing the bridge. With the masses of people moving in the other direction, Vesper guessed that it was easy to pick him out as a target.
It didn’t help that he had nothing more than a dirty yellow tunic and breaches with holes. Vesper never did see Alard or Ralan again after his meeting, and his parting gift from the guild consisted of nothing more than the ratty clothing he was now wearing.
“You there. What’s your business?”
Again, Vesper sighed. “I repair the sewer pipes,” he replied to the large man in white and wearing chainmail that approached him. It was a story he adapted from his prison interrogation with Alard and Ralan. “I am currently working on the cess pool under the West Bath House in the Flats.” Vesper picked the location at random, but it seemed like a good choice.
“Ah. I wondered if the fires would cause more problems than just destroying people’s homes. Carry on.”
The guard turned away, but Vesper raised his voice. “Fires?”
Turning back, the guard nodded his head. “Aye. You’ll find out soon enough. There are fires in the Flats. I don’t know the details, but a lot of people are losing their homes.” He waved his arms. “All these Harvest guild members are seeking shelter in the Wretched Quarter. It’s sad.”
“Thank you, sir.” Fires in the Flats? The knight moved on, and Vesper continued across the bridge, only keeping a closer eye on the people moving in the opposite direction. It suddenly struck him that the glazed eyes weren’t from being poor—they were from being displaced and dumped in the Wretched Quarter.
How will the Thieves deal with this? he wondered. They would take care of the people, certainly, but it would almost certainly reveal their presence to Ness-at-large. As he approached the end of the bridge, the scale of the Harvest Guild members flowing onto and across the bridge suddenly hit him. The fires must have been catastrophic. These are hundreds of people.
It wasn’t until he reached the end of the bridge and the long narrow park that ran along the Great River that Vesper discovered that something else was happening. The flickering of fires was visible far to the northwest and in the Flats, and the smell of smoke was ever-present. People were everywhere, all marked by the green of the Harvest Guild. It was shocking but unsurprising based on what the guard had told him.
Yet as Vesper walked to the up along the Great River and retreated to the edge of the park near the river, he saw something else: Knight Protector wagons pulling up and letting out people who appeared to be prisoners, but were actually Harvest Guild members. They were grabbed and shoved toward the bridge, where all they could do was follow the stream of people across.
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A few people fought back, but they were quickly subdued and either dragged to the bridge or dragged back to the wagons and presumably taken off to prison. Groups of people would emerge from streets, with armed Merchant Guild and Knight Guild guards pushing them onward with drawn weapons.
Despite the smell of smoke and fires visible in the distance, Vesper knew immediately that this was much bigger than just the flow of refugees. This isn’t bringing people to safety, this is clearing people from their homes. He didn’t understand what was happening, but it was clear that it was well-organized.
Vesper had no doubt that Orion would know what was going on, and he had a lot to reveal to him, but getting to him would not be easy. The streets were absolute chaos. Not only that, he had no money to procure a wagon.
Glancing back to the river, Vesper could see nothing but Knight Protectors on sleek boats aimed at shutting down river traffic. There would be no river passage either. Sighing, he set forth on foot, heading east and up the North Fork, which was the road that ran along the river tributary of the same name. He would avoid the Flats and the bulk of the Lower Triangle, but it would be a long walk.
Expecting to be stopped based on his dirty appearance, Vesper was shocked to see the entire road empty of Knight Protectors or guards of any guild. In the distance, he could hear the clanging of alarm klaxons, the clash of steel, and the occasional scream, and as day turned to night, he could see the glow of a burning city hover over what in ancient times they called the Lower Quarter—that part of Ness that gently sloped down to the plains and the Great Wall. It was matched by the Old Quarter and Ash Quarter across the river and the Upper Quarter on the other side of the North Fork.
The Lower Quarter was comprised mostly of the Flats and the Lower Triangle, and it burned a dull orange in the twilight.
Vesper continued past the tall Merchant Guild Tower, but after experiencing the Thieves Tower it seemed impotent and second rate. The thought of the Thieves Tower made Vesper stop and turn to look in the distance. He should have been able to see it from anywhere in the city, but it was lost into the background of the mountain, hidden from everyone in plain sight. Not being able to see the tower felt like a blow, and Vesper tried to understand why it was so.
Why did the Tower have such a pull on him? Before he could think much deeper, however, a gauntleted hand grabbed his arm and whirled him around. “What are you doing here? There’s a curfew.” It was a Merchant Guild guard, wearing a sneer on his face.
“I- I’m to clean Guildmaster Orion’s private toilet,” Vesper stammered, trying to sounds as inoffensive as he could.
The guard looked him up and down. “You are clearly late for your duties. There is a curfew, and I should take you to a cell.” The guard paused but then smirked. “But cleaning up after Orion’s shit is probably worse than anything I can do to you.” He kicked Vesper in the back of his legs. “Now get going before you get into real trouble.”
“Thank you, sir!” Vesper replied as he picked up his pace and walked down Merchant Avenue.
As he closed the distance to his own guild tower and Orion, Vesper thought over the past few days. The Thieves were well-organized and defended. They had a force of their own knights and guards, and they clearly had spies and members in every guild. Their mission was to do good for those overlooked by the guild politics and economics of Ness. On the other side was Larsen and Orion, who were presumably starting a civil war with the largest guild in the city, the one that controlled the food supply. They were burning down their own city to make that happen. It seemed absurd.
“Vesper, sir!” The guard at the gate to the Craft Tower bowed his head. “You look like you could use some… help. May I get you anything?”
Vesper saluted the man with a wave of his hand, projecting a strength he no longer had. His mission to the Wretched Quarter and the march back had been difficult. “No. I’ve come a long way, however. Please notify the kitchen to have some food and wine sent to my quarters. I will need to see Guildmaster Orion immediately, but must eat first.”
“Of course.”
As Vesper made his way to his quarters, he considered his loyalties. Ralan thought he was working for the Thieves Guild. Orion thought he was working for the Craft Guild. I’m working only for myself, Vesper thought. But with the state of the city, he didn’t know exactly what that meant.