CHAPTER THREE-HUNDRED EIGHTY-NINE

Noynur

The large orc bares his teeth in a smile much crueler than he intends as he hears a knock on his door, finally. The newcomers to the guild have caused quite a stir, and he and his party have their opinions on them. Jana says there’s no way they snatched the trophy without Karn letting them. Noynur may not be an expert in thievery, but Jana is. If she says it’s impossible, he’ll believe her.

Them apparently having the help of one of Thedeim’s scions makes it believable enough for the rest of the guild, and they even buy the excuse of Gerlfi being able to bind fey to his whim, at least for a time. But the rest of the guild thinks Thedeim is a normal dungeon, hardly intelligent enough at only a year old to plan out anything, to have wants, desires… friends.

He knows Karn and his guild get along well with the dungeon. They’ve collaborated since the Neverrest incident, even. If the Slim Chance wanted the trophy back, Thedeim would get it back for them. But he hasn’t made any move to do so. Which means it’s here because Thedeim wants it here. Gerlfi’s entire party is here because Thedeim wants them here.

Why?

It’s not too difficult to figure out, really. Noynur has been carefully watching the maneuvering of the Earl and the thieves, and Thedeim’s responses to them. While he doubts the dungeon could have sent for the army, he certainly was deliberate in helping them train around the hold’s entrance. With them around, constantly improving, the thieves and Earl wouldn’t dare be too obvious in their machinations. And after seeing how the army trains with Thedeim’s denizens, Noynur is confident Thedeim doesn’t need any help in dealing directly with the Earl and thieves, if he wished.

But the dungeon is clever enough to recognize the consequences of something like that. Fourdock itself would probably not care if he got labelled murderous, but Fourdock’s boom would stop in its tracks, and the dungeon clearly likes the town being successful.

So if he can’t move unilaterally, he needs to work within the law, at least to some extent. So if he’s correct, Gerlfi and his group aren’t looking for a weakness in the guild, but rather looking for some sort of proof of the Earl’s misdeeds.

And, of course, the dungeon knows he and his party are not friendly toward the Earl. If Thedeim sent Gerlfi’s party, it’d only be natural for them to be told to seek out Noynur and his. And now, there’s an unfamiliar knock at his door.

He does his best to school his position to neutrality as he stands, knowing full well that even his smiles look threatening. Bored disinterest is the look that works best on other people, as Jana and Driough have pointed out to him countless times before. Expression carefully neutral, he opens the door to the goblin waiting on the other side.

He waits a moment, letting his gaze fall upon the shorter adventurer, before he speaks. “Ah, one of the new guys.”

If Gerlfi is intimidated, he’s doing an excellent job in hiding it. “I am. May I come in?”

Noynur makes a show of considering it before he shrugs and steps back, giving the goblin plenty of room to enter. “Sure.” His curiosity really is piqued at this. Most people desperately try to avoid being in the same room as Noynur, even among a crowd. But to ask to be alone, out of the sight of others? Very interesting.

Once the door closes, Gerlfi takes a moment to glance around, noticing the privacy runes scattered about, thanks to Driough, and nods to himself before speaking. “I was told you might be able to help me.”

“With what? That troll’s group that’s watching the guild exit for you?” he asks, deciding to play dumb. He wants to get the goblin’s measure before he reveals anything.

Gerlfi smirks. “No. They can stare all they want. I need your help with something here, in the guild.”

“I hope you’re not asking me to just attack someone for you,” Noynur growls, playing his part even as he suspects Gerlfi is trying to get his measure as well.

“No, of course not,” answers the goblin with a shake of his head. “I just hear we might have something in common. Someone neither of us is particularly fond of. Someone who isn’t the sort anyone just walks up to and attacks.”

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Noynur frowns. “That doesn’t sound like someone who’s worth the headache of messing with.”

“Not even for the proper payment?”

Noynur’s frown deepens as he considers that. Possibilities flit through his mind before he nods to himself, and decides to drop the act. “What is Thedeim offering?”

Instead of a stammering denial, Gerlfi grins wide. “They weren’t kidding about you being sharper than your axe.” Noynur grunts at the compliment, but doesn’t speak up, allowing Gerlfi to continue. “A protection from lifedrinking belt apiece, and time to chat with a scion of your choice.”

Noynur’s eyes widen at the offer. The only confirmed example of that belt is now sitting on Olander Wideblade’s hips. With belts like that, he and his party could safely advance their classes! Even more, he knows about the teamster, as well as the new paladin and mage classes Thedeim had a hand in creating. If he can talk with a scion of his choosing, what sort of class could he advance to?!

“...and what does he want?”

“Proof that the Earl is working with the thieves.”

Noynur folds his arms as he thinks. The rewards are well worth the effort, but does such hard evidence even exist? Ordinarily, he would doubt it, but with the Earl and the thieves… it may just be possible. And speaking of proof, he gets a notification of a shared quest, with the details matching what Gerlfi was saying.

“Come back after dinner, and we’ll discuss this with our parties present. I want my friends to know more before I accept the quest.”

Gerlfi nods. “Fair. I’ll see you after dinner.”

Once the goblin leaves, Noynur scours his book, checking his notes for anything relevant, and making sure his hunch about proof has solid reasoning. And it does. Groups with mutual trust can get by with a verbal agreement, but when neither party trusts the other, the best way to ensure they work together is to make an official document stating their intentions to. Otherwise, either party could be betrayed and have no recourse. But with a document, they will have proof of the agreement, and at the very least, will be able to take the other down with them.

More than one thieves guild has found legitimacy by allying with nobles in the past, helping them topple some rival and being declared poor victims of the deposed, driven to crime out of desperation because of the now-defeated noble. Of course, anyone with any wits can see two parties simply banded together to share the spoils of a third, but propaganda is a powerful force.

On the other hand, many thieves guilds have been wiped out when they didn’t secure some sort of guarantee, and they would hardly be the only ones. The Earl’s history is littered with lucky breaks, partners or rivals seeming to simply vanish out of public perception, their resources quietly gathered up by the Earl. Even by Noynur’s standards, the evidence is sparse, but the pattern repeats enough times that the orc is certain the Earl had a hand in their misfortunes.

He frowns, considering the possibility that the Calm Seas is potentially fated to join that long list. Personally, the orc would sacrifice the thieves before an adventurer’s guild… but for someone like the Earl, neither would be so important that he’d lose any sleep over sacrificing either. Just another reason to get the proof before the Earl can act on his plans here.

So… if the Earl has proof, it is very likely to be in the guild somewhere. He wouldn’t leave something that important out of his sight for long. He may even keep it on his person at all times. A document is the traditional way to seal an alliance, but with thieves, it could be anything. Anything. A dagger, a scrap of leather, a rock. Enchanted or mundane, they’ll have something they can use to prove a connection. He just needs to learn what.

He needs to investigate the thieves guild. And by him, he means Jana. She’s the one with the alleyway connections. He doesn’t doubt that she’ll be on board with something like this. She enjoys dismantling thieves guilds far too much to refuse. It’s how they met, after all, and she sticks around at least partially because he’s good at sniffing out ones that cause too much trouble.

He’s confident in Driough accepting the quest as well. The elf is hardly one to be able to slip through the shadows to find clues, but that’s because he’s so skilled at getting people to admit things they really shouldn’t, without needing to use a lick of magic. And he’s a fervent scholar, there’s precisely zero chance he’d give up the opportunity to get a better understanding of magic in general, let alone the ways classes function. The hard part will be prying him away from whatever scion he chooses to learn from.

He chuckles to himself as the door opens, Jana and Driough chatting as they enter. They let the conversation die once the door closes, both noticing the look on their leader’s face.

“Gerlfi finally approached you,” states Driough with an interested smile.

“He did. And he has a very interesting offer for us.” The orc lays out the details as he knows them, and his own suspicions for how to actually accomplish the quest. He doesn’t accept it just yet, but from the looks on his friends’ faces, that’s just a formality. They’re both in. Now they just need to prepare for the meeting. While Noynur is confident Gerlfi isn’t trying to betray them to the Earl, he’s still going to be careful about any agreements they make together. He knows the goblin makes pacts with fey. He would do well to make sure to be prepared for a strong negotiation.

He can’t wait.