The Thief's Gamble

'He's an agent assigned to watch over the merchant we're interested in.'

'Can he speak for himself, Darni?'

'He reports to me.'

The poor lad was looking like a mouse between two cats but I was not about to back down.

'Darni, when it comes to chopping people into bloody chunks, you are the best I've seen, no question. But believe me, I'm the best you're likely to see relieving people of their property. I need to know certain things which I don't think you'll appreciate, so I can ask you and you can ask him if that makes you happy but I really think it would be simpler if I did the asking myself.'

Shiv opened his mouth and then shut it as we all waited for Darni to make up his mind. The silence was made even more tense by the lack of outside noises.

'Go ahead.' He nodded, unsmiling, at Fremin, who decided he could breathe again.

'So, how well do you know Inglis, how long have you been here?'

'I followed Yeniya, that's the merchant, from Relshaz. We've been here since just before the end of Aft-Summer.'

'Ever been to Inglis before?'

He shook his head and I stifled a sigh. This job was going to be hard enough and I had hoped for better local sources.

'So what can you tell me about the city? Who thinks they run it and who really runs it?'

'The merchants' guilds run everything,' he said confidently. 'They really are in charge; different guilds do different things but their leaders organise it all between themselves.'

'Any sort of council or electors to give the people a voice?'

'No. Anyone who lives here permanently has to be a member of one of the guilds so I suppose they can get their concerns aired through their mastercraftsman.' He looked a little dubious.

'How does that work?'

'I'm not really sure; each guild has its own systems.'

I frowned. 'How tight is their control? There must be some people who want to strike out for themselves.'

Fremin shook his head again; I had a sinking feeling that he was going to do that a lot. 'Anyone who doesn't join is driven out. Anyway, there are benefits to belonging, free freight for goods to the south being the most important one. The guilds take care of running the city too.'

'There must be some who don't want to pay up,' I objected. 'Guild dues cost money and that means less profit.'

'No, it's all part of the set-up; the guilds don't take coin from their members. They pay their dues in services — street-cleaning, fire-watching and the like.'

Someone had thought this all through very thoroughly. An idea struck me.

'How efficient is the fire-watching? What's the attitude to fire-raising, come to that?'

'Livak!' Geris was outraged as he saw where I was heading.

'Look, it's not like Vanam here,' I reassured him. 'Nearly everything's built of stone for a start.'

Fremin looked unhappy. 'They'll hang you for it, just the same. Money and goods are at risk.'

'I could always raise a fire from a safe distance,' Shiv observed. 'Are you looking for a diversion?'

I nodded. 'The trick here is not just getting the job done, but getting away with it afterwards.'

'Can you do it?' The worry on Darni's face was a surprise.

'I'm not sure,' I said frankly. 'I'll need to find out much more before I can tell you. So, Fremin, or do you prefer Frem?'

'Frem's fine.' He relaxed a little more and I smiled at him; it wasn't his fault he was as much use as a eunuch in a brothel.

'How does this merchant fit in? What's her business and status?'

'She deals in furs and cloth; she buys furs from upriver and wool from Dalasor. She has a deal going with a family who do the weaving and fulling, and then she sends the cloth south to Tormalin as well as selling to trappers and the like when they come down from the hills. She also imports linen and silks from Tormalin and Aldabreshi.'

'Rich?'

'Very. Still quite young, not yet thirty certainly, and she's very pretty.'

'What do you know about her personal life?'

'She's a widow; her husband was one of the clothier family but he died of septic lungs last winter. She's being courted by a handful of men at the moment, all in the same sort of businesses and high up in the guilds.'

'How did you find all this out?'

'I found out where her servants drink and got friendly, asked around, the usual thing. I told them I'm making enquiries for a group of goatherders who are looking for new markets.'

Shiv must have seen through my gambling face. 'Is this looking too difficult?'

'Well, we have the kind of prominent citizen who will be able to call in all sorts of favours when she has a problem, such as the theft of a valuable necklace, for example. More than that, five powerful men are going to be eager to help out as a way of getting between her sheets. People will be asking questions as soon as she misses the piece and I'll bet they'll all be looking for the short southern lad with blue eyes and brown hair who's been asking so many questions and dresses in last year's Relshaz fashions.'

Frem looked a little sick and I felt sorry for him, especially when I saw Darni's expression.

'Next time, take the time to find out as much as you can just by watching. Be a beggar, filth and all, or, better yet, a madman. People might remember there was some imbecile drivelling on about the blue cats following him about, but they won't remember your face.'

'Is that what you do?' Shiv asked curiously.

I grinned at him as I sat back. 'Oh, I have a very nice line in looking for my lost children. I insist they must be around somewhere and people come out with all sorts of useful things when they're explaining why they can't be in this house or that. Once I've got all I can, I start getting odder and odder, explaining that one of the children is a goat and the other's a piglet. They can't get away from me fast enough.'

'Are you going to try that here?' Darni looked dubious.

'No. I'm staying well clear until the actual job. Frem, you can do one last thing for me then you're on your way home. Meet your drinking pals again tonight and find out all you can about these suitors. I especially want to know who's losing the race, and if she's fallen out with any of them over anything recently. Spend as much as you need to, tell them all you've made top coin on a deal for the goats and you're going home tomorrow. Book yourself passage down to Tormalin first thing in the morning and make sure you're seen getting on the boat. Pick a fight with someone on the docks or something.'

'I'll do that with you.' Darni clearly meant to reassure Frem but he looked as if he'd rather take his chances with a docker.

'Shiv, there must be wizards here. Can you find out what they do and how the guilds regard their activities? If you're going to be using magic, I'd like to know what the Watch are likely to make of it.'

He nodded. 'I can do that.'

'Right, I'm off out to see what I can find out for myself. I need to get a feel for the place before I can come up with any sort of plan.'

'I'll come with you.' Geris rose to his feet.

'I'll be less conspicuous on my own, trust me.' I'd be less conspicuous with a mule painted green but I didn't want to hurt his feelings.

'This is a rough town. It could be dangerous,' he objected.

'I can look after myself,' I said as gently as I could. 'I've been doing this kind of thing for a long time now, Geris.'

'If Frem's heading back to Hadrumal, I want to send a report. I'll need your help with that,' Darni stated firmly. 'You and I can stay here, then if Livak needs us to create some kind of diversion later, our faces won't have been seen too much.'

Geris brightened at that. I made my escape and left unobtrusively through the stable yard. I decided to walk; Darni had taken the stitches out of my leg a couple of days earlier and, although it was tender, I'd have more freedom on foot.