Vesper was almost to the Great Bridge when he overheard two Merchant Guards chatting as they absent-mindedly kicked at slow Harvest Guild members making their way toward the Old Quarter.

“It was a Ranger. I hear tell he was seven feet tall. Scared the piss out of everyone as he walked by. The Harvesters thought he was there to strike them down for not following the directions of the Knights more closely, and the Knights thought that Quinto had joined up with Polo and the Ranger was going to kill them all.”

“Yeah,” the second guard said. “Quinto spends more time with Polo than Saxe.”

Casually walking toward the two guards, Vesper bowed his head as they noticed him. “I also heard of this Ranger, but did not see him. Do you think it is but a legend?”

They both shook their heads. “I do not,” said the first one. “There are too many reports. Last I heard he was seen walking along the Green Belt, and no good can come of that in these times.”

Without even saying thank you, Vesper turned away from his destination and began a brisk walk to the Green Belt.

A Blade had two weapons, and Vesper was a master of both—death and information. While the history of the Blades of the Guildmasters focused on dark and sometimes heroic violent acts, Vesper knew that the best Blades succeeded more with information than force.

In this case, knowing what a Ranger was doing in the Lower Quarter was a valuable piece of information, for both Ralan and Orion. But what Vesper really wanted to know was the Ranger’s mission. Like the unnamed guard, Vesper felt that Quinto may have sided with Polo. The Rangers lived and worked outside the Wall, and the only other guild that could say that was the Harvest Guild, which worked the Outer Fields.

But that was only one possibility. Quinto also hated Saxe and perhaps could use his men as leverage to force Larsen to make some crazy promise to have him replace the Guildmaster Knight. In these crazy times, who knew what anyone would do? And that meant that information was more important than anything.

So, Vesper went looking for the Ranger.

It was not a difficult task. Everyone talked of the large (some said giant) Ranger. He was apparently heading to the Craft Tower of all places. This struck Vesper as both amusing and odd. Is Quinto aiming to negotiate with Orion? That would make him more insightful than practically anyone in Ness.

He was closing in when he asked a young boy about the Ranger. “Oh, he went to the Pit!” Vesper knew of the Pit. Everyone had. It was a dirt-poor corner of the Flats that was run by a couple of Harvest Guild families that were known more for drinking and violence than contributing anything to the guild. Still, the families were old, and the neighborhood was out-of-the-way and blocked from the rest of the Flats by some kind of wall, so no one much bothered with it.

Why would he be going to the Pit? This was finally a movement by the Ranger that made no sense to Vesper. He followed where the boy pointed and rushed to see if he could find this giant Ranger. What he found was a chaotic mix of Knights, moving house to house and looking for Harvest Guild members. There was even cavalry in the street, looking around for something to do.

The Knights were heading right into the Pit, and Vesper finally realized what they were doing. They are going to clear out this last neighborhood in the Flats. It made sense to Vesper that the last neighborhood putting up a defense would be the Pit. But now he was curious why the Ranger was heading there. That part made no sense.

Vesper was skillful enough in his job that skirting the blunt force of the Knights was easy enough. He went from yard-to-yard and made his way quickly along the lane, easily outpacing the Knights. At the end he finally saw his quarry—the Ranger was standing straight, a huge broadsword in his hand, the tip resting on the ground. His Brown guild robe included a hood that covered his face and left his features in shadow. Behind him was a pile of dead bodies, and the entire tableau would have been frightening if it weren’t for one thing: Vesper knew exactly who it was.

Alard. It was the sword. It was seared into his brain. The mighty weapon that Alard said would remove his hands was not something Vesper could easily forget. He was going to approach Alard and compare notes, but just then the sound of galloping hooves filled the lane. Ah, the idiot Knights have found a use for their cavalry.

Vesper snuck into an entry way of a nearby house, which gave him a perfect view of the impending clash and put any conversation within his earshot. As the horses approached, Alard stood like a statue.

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The horses stopped. There were four of them, and the Knights remained mounted. “Ranger, we have no issue with you. Please return to your duty beyond the Wall.”

“You are clearing the Harvest Guild from the Flats.” It was a statement, not a question. “There are Rangers who also live in this neighborhood. I do not trust your methods to treat them differently than the Harvest guild members.” Alard motioned behind him. “The smell of death is thick. Some of my guild members lay behind me. Merchant Guild members killed them. The price for this misdeed was their lives. I know that your might is greater than the Merchants, but some of your men will still die. Is that a price you are willing to pay for hurting the Rangers while removing a bunch of drunken Harvest Guild members?”

Vesper nodded appreciatively. It was a compelling speech. The Knights would consider the death of Rangers a major breach by the Merchant guards, and it would be entirely reasonable for them to retreat and report this back to their Captain, leaving the Pit spared for the time being.

“If the Rangers died, it is because they didn’t follow directions. The Pit should be empty.” The reply rather shocked Vesper. He fully expected them to retreat. Saxe must be more closely aligned with Larsen than I thought. He filed away the information.

The Knight motioned over his shoulder. “The clearing force approaches. You have moments to help your guild members leave or you can wait and die with them.”

For the first time, the point of Alard’s mighty sword left the ground. Vesper had heard of Alard’s abilities as a fighter, but he had no hope against four mounted Knights. He fully expected Alard to sheathe the sword and retreat. It was shocking, then, to watch as Alard took two long strides forward, swinging his broadsword.

The Knights were well-trained, and quickly formed a tight line with their steeds blocking Alard’s ability to attack them. Alard didn’t hesitate. He followed through with a mighty swing, and the head of the horse on the far right fell to the ground, as the body fell to its side, sending the Knight sprawling next to it.

The other horses acted as battle horses act, and held their ground, but that worked to Alard’s advantage. He leapt forward and buried his sword into the chest of the Knight that had fallen. The Knight closest to Alard couldn’t reach him due to the body of the fallen horse, which lay between him and Alard. He couldn’t turn either, due to the horses to his right maintaining their formation.

While the two Knights away from Alard pushed their horses to re-engage from different directions, the one closest to Alard unsheathed his sword and prepared to attack the might Deputy Thief. He was skilled at fighting from horseback, but the advantage of height included the disadvantage of lacking mobility, and being surprised and attacked from the side made it worse.

Alard stepped on the torso of the dead horse and easily parried the swing of the Knight. His counter was delivered with such force that his blow knocked the Knight’s sword so far to the side that it struck the horse’s neck. Alard’s return swing sliced through the midsection of the knight, leaving him mortally wounded.

Unfortunately, the two remaining Knights had circled around by then and Alard had just enough time to raise his sword to block an incoming blow. It was a weak parry, and the force of the blow, coming as it did from a moving horse and above, knocked Alard to the ground.

Vesper knew that even the mighty Alard would have trouble fighting two prepared mounted Knights coming from different directions. Sliding his balanced knife from its sheath, Vesper took a step and hurled it. He had very little hope of finding a damaging spot on the moving Knights, but the large horses made excellent targets. The knife slammed to the hilt into the neck of the closest horse, which shrieked and bolted, a stream of blood flowing freely from its neck. The Knight remained in the saddle, but Vesper knew he would dismount soon, one way or another.

Continuing forward, Vesper grabbed a second knife from a sheath and turned his attention to Alard. The final mounted Knight was using his horse as a weapon, rearing it up and using its hooves as deadly clubs. Alard had no counter to this, so he skillfully retreated, keeping the body of the dead horse between him and the attacking horse as much as possible.

Vesper had only one weighted knife, which he had already used, so he would be of limited help. Still, attacking two is much harder than attacking one, so he ran forward, yelling out, “Reinforcements are coming guild mate!”

The mounted Knight didn’t even pause, he turned his horse and galloped back up the lane. Vesper was shocked it worked. He was wearing the blue cloak of the Merchants not the brown of the Rangers, yet the Knight hadn’t even considered that. All he heard was “reinforcements,” and he retreated.

Alard ignored Vesper. He jogged down the cul de sac past the pile of dead bodies. Vesper watched as the last Knight approached Alard, having somehow dismounted. Not much intimidated Vesper, but he had to admit that Alard approaching with his huge sword and wearing his flowing hooded robe would have made him consider fleeing. He had to give the Knight credit for engaging with the Deputy Thief.

What the Knight earned in courage he lost in stupidity. The battle was as short as three sword swings, two of which were by Alard, and the second of those ending with the Knight cut practically in two.

Alard wiped his sword on his brown cloak, sheathed it on his back, and strode toward Vesper. Smiling, Vesper sheathed his dagger and said, “I’m glad I’m on your side.”

“Vesper.”

Giving a slight bow, Vesper replied, “Deputy.”

“I’ve been looking for you.”

“You have found me. Or should I say I found you.”

Alard nodded. “We need to flee, and there is a distinct lack of safe houses remaining in the Flats.”

“The Circle lies beyond those houses. We can work our way toward the Warehouse District. The Knights patrol the Wall, but the Craft Guild guards patrol the roads there. Orion doesn’t trust anyone but guild members that close to the warehouses.”

“And if a Craft Guild member stops us?”

Vesper shrugged. “Then I tell them I’m escorting Quinto’s deputy to talk with Orion. It’s a story that is already spreading.”

“It is a good plan,” was Alard’s only response before turning and walking toward the houses that stood closest to the Great Wall and the road that lay behind them. Vesper caught up to him and asked, “So why were you looking for me?”

“Because you’re valuable.”