Chapter 82: Thieves Guild (1/2)
“And you expecther glass, the dragon squinted at the lanced at Alester before bringinga ‘Greenhorn Shot’ for her and a ‘Redthorn Whisky’ for the tall thief
“What, does it not live up to your expectations?”
After heading deep inside the outerly well-preserved tavern, quickly securing an ees
“To be honest, I had expected a proper guild building, a dangerous at the other patrons, Nisha wasn’t quite sure what she had expected
Her lessons on the city included information on this area; it housedin the other districts as they were deeDespite that,Bear] - which featured a graphic i above the entrance - didn’t irl had of the few slaves she encountered so far
“That’s such a prejudiced view Not everything about the guild is bad Take uarantee the security of any shop usingto worry about a break-in should be worth a few coins, right?”
Snorting slightly, she pushed her glass away, after s the alcohol inside
Why do Annabelle and Lydia insist I should never drink it? Not that I would without being forced anyway I can’t understand how Galan and Luthais can even drink this
“You do realize that with the thieves guild, these shop owners wouldn’t have to worry about theft in the first place, right?”
Elass, Alester waved away her answer
“I don’t think that’s true either Iuild People here in the slums still would be penniless, some of them desperate to survive There’d still be break-ins, theft, extortion, and s So in the end, everyone profits froht, in any case, since a vacuum of poill always try to fill itself Even if every thief, cutthroat, and swindler died overnight in the city, the very next day another band of crooks would replace thehtful, but there will always be someone at the bottom, who is envious what others have If that person disappears, the next person will fall to the lowest spot and envy what the one above hiet a splendid deal with naling the waitress, he ordered another drink
Nisha, on the contrary, stared into her own, conte his point of view Shehad not considered their side yet, alondering why they would resort to crion did notcompletely understand or trust Alester's words, she also understood hisThe powerful prey upon the weak The ill always follow his instinct and hunt other animals The society they lived in would always have thieves, which ht not be constrained by rules , but they would always exist
“Enough with the philosophical debates I have soh, this isn’t our real headquarters I had promised you I’d help you with the pickpocket problem and that’s e’re here
There’s a special drink in this hole”
Pointing at her glass, Nisha raised an eyebro exactly would a poisonous beverage help her in dealing with the pickpockets?
“Don’t giveto trick you
Look, you don’t even have to drink it The i about the ‘Greenhorn Shot’ is how they serve it Every beginner in the guild gets initiated in a place like this; there’s a few of thelass aside and look at what’s beneath it”
This doesn’t sound quite right If he’s playing a joke onat the cup served to Alestar, which had held his ‘Redthorn Whiskey’, Nisha noticed a thin wooden coaster beneath it
Moving onto her drink, Nisha saw that a metal plate rested beneath it instead
“Put soive it to s once you do your part
And do try the ‘Beginner Shot’, it’s one of the better drinks you can get here Most treat it as a celebratory drink for new recruits, encourage theet ularly”
Nisha observed as the e, leaving behind an inature recorded on the plate before handing it to the crook, who si it
“There we go This item marks you as a person underfor you Everyone that holds a plate - and this is pretty uild - can sense the presence of another badge, but shop owners protected by our branch or suppliers for the alchees, so it isn’t too unusual for souild to hold one
To top it off, I don’t have n, unless you forget that it’s okay to steal froht Of course, this works both ways, if soive theh, stealing froe the wealth it amassed and you can’t control everyone either
“Thank you Also, sorry, I have to decline the drink I don’t think I’e, Nisha immediately felt the effect, as almost everyone else in the establish theuild
Alester naturally rose his eyes to that announce it in one shot
“Well, that’s unexpected, although not altogether surprising Age is hard to estiuessed you’d be twenty turns of age at least With growing slower and all that … “
“No offense taken, I understand where you are coh I haven't met many other elves
Nonetheless please do tellso far to helpyou a favor that would warrant this”
Wiping away any rerinned at her
“Don’t see it as a favor, consider it an investht dozens of thugs with nothing but a single short sword Callto only make a desperate last stand in a deserted back alley