"They don't look much," he muttered, and felt Magnus' hand on his shoulder again.
"That is their strength," Magnus said. "Now, remember why we are here, and that we need their help. Beggars are outcasts, spurned by everyone, and so they expect no favours. But we must treat them with the utmost respect. Understand?"
Lucius nodded as he followed Magnus and the bodyguards as they approached the beggars. It was hard to identify some of them as men or women, but Lucius had the feeling they were a mix of both, young and old. Some slouched against piles of sacks made into makeshift beds, while others perched on top of crates. All seemed weary, and yet they regarded the entourage of thieves with guarded suspicion.
"Greetings," Magnus began, holding up a hand.
"You've got no business here, sir, best you move along," said one, a girl Lucius thought, though there was nothing feminine about her appearance.
"On the contrary, I believe there is business that would interest everyone here."
"We're not looking for work, so if you have a ship or wagon train that needs unloading, go find your cheap labour elsewhere."
"You misunderstand me — "
"It's okay Grennar," said one of the men sitting cross-legged on the crates. He was wreathed in rags, and Lucius had taken him for a leper, or worse. He drew back his hood to reveal a middle-aged face, dirty, unshaven, but otherwise remarkably healthy. "I think we can dispense with the deceptions this time. Magnus here is finding time rather against him at the moment. Is that not right, Magnus?"
"You know me?"
"We know everyone," the man said with a sly smile. "That is why you are here, is it not?"
Magnus tipped his head in acknowledgement. "You have me at a disadvantage."
"I know you are Magnus Wry, leader of the Night Hands and former lieutenant of the Thieves Guild of Turnitia. You already know my position among the beggars. But you may call me Sebastian."
"I have a proposal for an alliance."
"Of course you have," Sebastian said, his voice warm but his eyes betraying a coldness. "Your little den of thieves stands on the brink of annihilation, and you find many powerful enemies allied against you. You, Magnus, are desperate."
"And you are on the outside, Sebastian," Magnus said. "The lowest of all in the city, ignored by everyone. Only I realise your true value."
"So, we have your respect. Well, that is… nice." The comment drew a small swell of laughter from the beggars, and Lucius saw Magnus turn to him, rolling his eyes at the contrived play between the two guildmasters.
"I can give you a great deal more than respect. Employment. Regular income. Work for all the members of your guild."
"We already have work," said Sebastian. "And many of my beggars are richer than many of your thieves. Show him, Grennar."
The girl smiled up at them, revealing a set of perfect teeth, then reached to her face to pick at a boil. Lucius stomach turned in disgust, then his eyes opened wide as he saw her peel the boil off. She repeated the action several more times, then spat on a cloth and wiped the dirt away, revealing a not unattractive face. Sebastian noted Lucius' look of surprise.
"It is all about deception," he said. "And yes, we know you too Lucius Kane, once exile of this city, returned a gambler, now rising star among the Night Hands — whatever that future is worth. We know your secrets too. We have seen how you fight the men you cheat, and the… methods you employ."
Lucius looked up at the beggar master in alarm, but kept his face neutral.
"You see, Lucius, we are not thieves or blackmailers. We have no interest in power, territory, or fame. So long as the city continues to exist, so will we. Our guild offers protection and a livelihood to the lowest, the most humble. That is why we are here, and that is the only thing we work towards."
"We can help you," Magnus said.
"It seems you are the one in need of help, Magnus," said Sebastian. "Alliances, you see, are built on mutual goals. You are currently engaged in a war, one that you are losing. The bodies of your members are found every night in dark alleys, and your numbers shrink daily. And now the Vos army itself has targeted you for destruction. Why would we want any part of that? I have no wish to see my own people decimated in retaliation."
"The risks to you would be minimal. No active operations. Just information, a regular flow. That is all."
"The role of a spy can be the riskiest of all."
"I suspect you already have much of the information we require," Magnus said. "You need do little more than you do now. As you said, your guild comprises the lowest and most humble. You are all but invisible to our enemies — else they would have approached you already."
"What makes you think they haven't?" Sebastian asked.
"I know Loredo. I know how he thinks."
Sebastian shrugged. "Not completely useless then."
"In return, I offer you ten per cent of our guild's takings over the next five years. After that, we review the arrangement, see whether it is still beneficial to the two of us."
Lucius stifled a sharp intake of breath. That ten percent would cut deep into the franchise agreements within the Hands, and he could imagine plenty of thieves loathe to share their ill-gotten gains with beggars.
"Plus, we can train any member of yours that wishes to become a thief," Magnus finished.
Sebastian hooted at that, and that encouraged laughter from the rest of his entourage. "I already told you, Magnus, many of the beggars in this city are wealthier than your thieves. And I won't have you sap my guild's strength to bolster your own."
"Then stop playing, Sebastian," Magnus said, allowing impatience to creep into his voice. "What are you after? You already knew I was coming to see you, and if I did not have something you were interested in, we would not have got this far. So, what is it?"
Pursing his lips, Sebastian looked down at Magnus as if considering his options.
"The ten per cent I'll take," he said. "Though only for one year. You will have trouble enough keeping your thieves in line for that arrangement, and you won't get them to agree to it for long when the danger has passed. Maybe we will continue the alliance thereafter, maybe not. It all depends on which guild earns more during that time."
"Agreed."
"Furthermore, you will give us the Five Markets."
Magnus frowned. "I thought you said you weren't interested in territory."
"Oh, we're not," Sebastian said smoothly. "But visitors to the Five Markets all come with a finite amount of coin in their purses. Most they will spend, but some they give to the poor, starving beggars that walk among them. However, a man who has just been robbed has neither the ability nor the inclination for charity, and your pickpockets have become too good at what they do."
"That is too much to ask."
"It makes perfect sense. It is a small price to pay for our support. And what you are doing in the Five Markets is not good for business. People become tighter with their money, the guard move us on that much quicker. It's bad business, Magnus, you only have the greed of your thieves to blame."
Exhaling noisily, Magnus eventually nodded. "For the duration of one year only, Sebastian. I'll withdraw our teams from the Five Markets tomorrow, but they come up for negotiation again when we discuss the continuance of our alliance."
Sebastian, still crouched on his crate, looked down at Magnus imperiously for a moment, then smiled.
"Then we have an understanding. I'll arrange for one of us to report to your guildhouse daily. We'll update you with anything learned, and you can suggest where we concentrate our efforts."
"Good enough," said Magnus. "I presume you already know where our guildhouse is."