a steady stream were friends and families of the mercenaries, the cooks, the servants, the wealthy and the poor, along with many members of the thief guilds, their daggers poisoned and their eyes wide at the proliferation of gold and silver.
An hour before nightfall, the Kensgold officially began.
25
While the Kensgold was gearing up, the leaders of the thief guilds met in a strange place for their kind: open air in broad daylight. They stood before the large fountain in the very center of Veldaren. Any gathering of so many leaders needed to be somewhere neutral, and with many exits, otherwise none would come. Given the absolute chaos of the Kensgold outside the city, traffic was almost non-existent within. As if inflicted with a massive plague, the whole city had emptied outward, flooding the surrounding hills with torches, campfires, tents, and song.
Thren was the first to arrive. Any delay on his part might worry the others. Kadish Vel of the Hawk Guild was next, looking ugly as ever with his red teeth and loose eyepatch. Then came Norris Vel, brother to Kadish and newly appointed master of the Serpent Guild after Thren had killed Galren, their old leader. The Shadow Guild had a new leader as well, a bulky man named Oligart.
“Just Oligart,” the man had said when introducing himself to Thren. His hands were meaty and his voice slow. “My last name’s a bitch.”
“What happened to Yorshank?” Thren had asked.
“I’m slow,” Oligart said, flexing his hands. “He was slower.”
James Beren of the Ash Guild was the last to arrive. All the leaders had been allowed to bring one trusted member, and Veliana was his. She glared at Kadish but wisely held her tongue.
“Where’s the wolf?” Kadish asked as they stood about the fountain, looking nothing more than a group of old friends gathering before joining the festivities.
“They are already scattered about the Kensgold,” Thren explained. He kept his back to the fountain and the guildmasters to his front. “I will go to them after with the real plan.”
“Real plan?” James said, unable to hide his anger. “You sicked your pets on me just so I would agree to a false plan? Even you knew how stupid your original was, yet we suffered for it?”
The other members grumbled, none happy with being taken as fools. Thren silenced them by putting his hand on the hilt of his sword.
“Enough,” he said. “What is done is done. No matter how hard I might try, I knew the plan would reach the Trifect. That was the point. We will not launch an assault on the Kensgold, especially not with them outside the city. Without our walls, our shadows, our poison, we are nothing but an outnumbered army of children.”
“Your spiders may be children, but my hawks spill blood like men,” Kadish said.
“So what’s the real plan?” asked Oligart. “I still get to break necks?”
“Their mansions are empty,” Thren said, a smile growing on his face. “They’ve taken the vast bulk of their mercenaries and helpers. Now is when we strike. We will split up, half assaulting Connington’s estate, the other half, Gemcroft’s. Kill everyone inside, and I mean everyone. Then we set our traps. When the Trifect return we assault them from the windows and roofs of their own homes. We’ll kill their family, their friends. When it is time to run, we burn their estates to the ground. They will suffer tonight, and suffer greatly. If we are lucky, we might kill Leon or Maynard during the assault.”
Thren looked to every single pair of eyes, judging their commitment. Despite their anger at being deceived, the simple but brutal plan seemed to excite their bloodlust. Five years was a long time. Suddenly an end seemed in sight.
“Who goes where?” Kadish finally asked.
“The Hawks and the Ash will take out Gemcroft. The Serpents and the Shadows will go for Connington.”
“And who will you go for?” James asked.
“My men will be split among each of you,” Thren said. “That way I show no preference and therefore no risk of betrayal. As for who I go with…that is my own damn business.”
“You can’t make us go with the Hawks,” Veliana insisted, her outburst earning her a glare from both James and Kadish.
“Come now, your lovely presence will make the proceedings all the more exciting,” Kadish said.
“No arguing,” Thren said. “No squabbles. No betrayals. We end this tonight. Understood?”
They all reluctantly agreed.
“I get to crush Connington blood,” Oligart said. He seemed tremendously happy.