Theft, Murder, and Crystals

by Benjamin Duke

  “Understood,” Elias said as he rose to his feet. “I appreciate the conversation and the fine food,” he said. “I shall make my decision soon enough.” He turned and began to walk to the exit.

  “Oh, and Elias?” Kimpter asked. Elias stopped moving but did not turn back. “No matter what you try to think of, you only have two options. Cooperate or die. There is no third way.”

  Chapter 31:

  Markov and Elias walked through the empty streets of Glimmer. Neither spoke, but the words echoed repeatedly in Elias’ head. Cooperate or die. He had no idea what to do in this situation. Markov hadn’t said anything since they left, and Elias feared that this was a bad sign.

  The world seemed to spin around Elias. Never in his life had he imagined something like this would crop up. Sure, he was prepared for fighting and the occasional need to get his hands dirty, but facing off with some underground band of thieves and assassins? He wasn’t prepared for this. Leaving town was the only option he could think of. It was one thing to sell illegal goods and fight back in self-defense. But sending two of his own people to die? That was murder. He wouldn’t cross that line.

  As they made their way back to their headquarters, Markov finally spoke. His voice was shaky, and Elias could sense the fear the man had. “I worry that you only have one true option,” he said. “If you wish to get out of this alive.”

  “I’m just going to get the hell out of here, Markov. I’ve been preparing for a hasty exit anyway. Time to get out of Glimmer before – “

  “You don’t get it,” Markov said. “The reason I never made mention of these people is because they are far too powerful for me to worry about. They do their own thing and my men steer clear of their operations. When I first took up this job, 30 years ago, my superior, Captain Uric, thought that he could take them down. We raided them one night. Killed four in the process. The next day, we found eight heads in a burlap sack outside our headquarters. Uric’s being one of them.”

  Elias felt the blood drain from his face as the gruesome story unfolded. “What?”

  “The Thieves Guild doesn’t play games. I acted confident before because I knew they wanted to work something out with you. I didn’t want to worry you with the truth, but now, you need to know that this is serious. If they want you dead, they will find you.”

  “So, what are you suggesting?”

  “Pay the blood tax. It is cruel and gruesome, I know, but it is the only way to save your entire organization. You have what, eight people in your employ? What would you prefer, two dead or all? Because they will kill every last one of you.”

  “We have magic,” Elias replied. “We can fight back.”

  “And they were able to kill wizards with ease, even back in the days when we had battlemages in our employ,” Markov replied. “They won’t have problems killing any of you.”

  Elias shook his head. “I can’t do it. I can’t send people to die for no reason.”

  “Then do as you wish,” Markov said. He let out a deep sigh. “But you will die, as will the rest. The moment you try to leave the city, you will be caught.”

  “Perhaps Cimir will recover. He can use his spells to get us out of this,” Elias pleaded.

  “The boy is barely conscious most days. They said three weeks at the minimum for his recovery,” Markov replied. “You know there’s no way out of this.”

  “And you won’t fight for me?” Elias asked.

  “My men aren’t criminals,” Markov said. “They are good men who serve the law. Do they look the other way? Sure. But only because I tell them as much. They don’t deserve to die for you. You wanted the wealth and the power, and you’re paying the price for it. It’s part of the game. And unfortunately, you were just dealt a losing hand.”

  “I’m not ready to give this up just yet,” Elias replied. “No, I’ll talk to Cimir. He must have some idea of how to fight back.”

  “And I fear this is where we part,” Markov said, stopping in his tracks. “I wish you the best and should you somehow manage to survive this ordeal, business will continue as usual. But…you won’t survive this. Not unless you do as they ask.”

  “And what? You have no qualms with me ordering the death of two people? Two innocents?”

  “Innocents?” Markov laughed. “You all agreed to serve in an operation that has the death penalty attached to it. Whether the penalty came from the law or other criminals, it’s all the same, isn’t it? There are no innocents here. Only condemned men fighting one another.”

  “I could never forgive myself for such a despicable act,” Elias said. “Never.”

  Markov shrugged. “Then this is farewell for good. I should hope you make arrangements that would benefit this city with your demise. Perhaps leave your fortune to the hospital?”

  Elias shook his head. “I’m not going to die. And I sure as hell am not going to send two to die in my stead. I’ll find a way out here, you’ll see.”

  “Then good luck,” Markov replied as he turned and walked off. “It was good run while it lasted.”

  Elias growled a little at those words. He wasn’t about to let some two-bit criminal gang threaten him. Markov might be scared, but he didn’t hold the power of magic in his hands. There had to be some way to solve this.

  “Okay, do I have this written right?” Prestin asked as he showed the scroll to Cimir. Cimir analyzed it for a moment and shook his head.

  “No, you’ve gotten the elemental principles wrong, more air,” Cimir replied. He was making some level of progress in his recovery. Now he could move his left index finger ever so slightly. It felt good, to be able to move more than just his head. The poultices were working.

  In the spare time, Cimir had taken to lecturing and arguing with Prestin about magic. The man was quite brilliant in many regards but lacked understanding of the principles of using life essence for spells. Their long disagreements about sorcery versus wizardry kept him sane during an otherwise miserable experience.

  “No, if you add more air, the spell becomes wind oriented. This is steam,” Prestin argued.

  “If we could cast it, I’d be proven right,” Cimir replied. “But alas, your superior magic doesn’t function due to the Luminous Artifact.”

  “Yeah, yeah, rub it in,” Prestin grumbled. He threw the scroll onto Cimir’s chest and sat back down in his chair. “I’m getting bored with scribing anyway.”

  At that moment, the door downstairs slammed shut.

  Prestin stood to his feet and drew a knife. He put a finger to his lips, ushering Cimir to be quiet. Cimir said nothing and merely looked at the door to his bedroom.

  “It’s me!” Elias called from downstairs. “It’s okay.”

  Prestin let out a sigh of relief. “We’re up here,” he said, sitting back in his chair.

  The door opened, and Elias entered. Dark circles ran around the man’s eyes and Cimir could instantly tell that things were not okay. At least whatever crisis was going on would break up the immense boredom of his recovery.

  “Outside, please,” Elias said, pointing to Prestin.

  “I have a name,” Prestin grumbled as he got up and walked out. Elias made no reply and merely began pacing back and forth. He was quick to share the entire predicament to Cimir, outlining every terrible detail. Once he had finished, he merely continued walking back and forth, waiting for Cimir’s reply.

  “This isn’t good news,” Cimir said. “But there are ways to fight back.”

  “Really?” Elias asked.

  “Yes, but…not until I’ve recovered. Erice can’t create spells on her own and she’s no good at learning from books yet. Normally I learn the spell and transfer it to her. Prestin would be a fine addition to our power base, and perhaps we could convince Mira or one of her colleagues to take on this power as well. But I’m still nowhere close to recovering.”

  “So, what do we do?”

  Cimir sighed at that. “We get everyone together and wait it out. Once I can use my spells again, we’ll des
ign a ritual to kill every last member of the guild.”

  “You can do that?”

  Cimir wanted to shrug but couldn’t. “We can try. At the very least, we can kill their leaders.”

  “If they see us moving our people around, they’ll come after us,” Elias replied. “I don’t think we have the luxury of waiting.”

  “My only thought then would to be call for Prax’s men to raid them. That would distract the Guild long enough,” Cimir said. The false Prax would have no bones about ordering a raid. And the Thieves Guild wouldn’t dare to respond to fighting against the Kalimites.

  “No,” Elias said. “That’s too risky of a move. If they don’t kill enough of the guild, retribution will still be coming for us.”

  Cimir said nothing. He merely looked at the flustered man and pondered what to do.

  “We have less than 12 hours to make a decision here,” Elias said. “Please, you’ve got to have some kind of secret crystal that can solve all of this.”

  “Oh right, you mean that wish granting crystal I keep in my pocket?” Cimir asked. “I forgot about that.”

  “Stop mocking me.”

  “It’s hard not to, if I’m being honest. You act like you’re the smartest guy in the room, but the moment you realize you’re outclassed, you come running to me for help,” Cimir replied. “Frankly, I don’t even know why you’re asking me for advice.”

  “Because you’re a partner,” Elias replied.

  “I handle the magical side, not the business end.”

  “This is more than business, it’s a life or death situation!” Elias shouted.

  “Brought about by our business,” Cimir replied. “Look. You want an easy way out of this thing? Go turn yourself in, be one of the guys to pay the blood tax. Then you won’t have to feel bad about what you’re inevitably going to do.”

  Elias crossed his arms and sharply turned to face Cimir. “What do you mean?”

  “You’re a coward, Elias. I know it. I see it in your eyes and in the way you act. At the end of the day, you’re someone who would do whatever it takes to stay alive. I mean, the only reason you haven’t fled already is because you know they’ll find you.”

  Elias said nothing at that. He turned away from Cimir and placed his hands on the drawer, looking into the mirror that hung from the wall. “I’m not a killer.”

  “Sure, you are. You snapped your fingers and ordered the death of a bunch of men once, didn’t you? You explicitly told Markov no survivors. Right?” Cimir said. “You absolutely are a killer.”

  “This is different. Those guys came after us. Kidnapped one of Samuel’s friends. That was self-defense. This is murder.”

  “Then stand and fight. You’ve got self-defense weapons. Call for Groth and wait here until they arrive. Maybe you’ll be able to fend the assassin’s off. We have enough people to hold them off for a few weeks.”

  “We don’t stand a chance,” Elias mumbled. “Markov told me as much.”

  “Killing your own allies so you can survive is the lowest form of existence,” Cimir replied. “You won’t get my blessing for this.”

  “But…if I don’t make this decision, more of our people will die!” Elias said. “You understand that, right?”

  Cimir said nothing for a moment. He was unsure of what to say. Elias had made his mind already, he knew. The man just wanted Cimir to affirm him, to tell the bureaucrat that it was okay to send his own people to their deaths. He would give no such satisfaction to the man.

  “Call everyone here. We make our last stand and fight until we either win or all die. There is no honor in what you want to do.”

  Elias sighed and sat on the bed, staring at the ground. “I…I didn’t want any of this to happen.”

  “Neither did I. But that is the bed you’ve made for us.”

  “How can you blame me here?” Elias shouted. “You were the idiot who decided to fight back!”

  “And you were the one who suggested we grab Fredlin and get him to leave town,” Cimir said. “This whole thing is because of your greed. You should have just let well enough alone.”

  “I should have,” Elias agreed. He sank down onto the ground, leaning against the bed. “But now we’re in an impossible situation.”

  “What do you want me to say?” Cimir asked. “You want me to vote? Because I’ll vote to stand and fight. I won’t give you permission to send two of our own to their graves.”

  Elias was silent. He shifted a little, clearing his throat a little. After a few minutes, he spoke.

  “I…I have no choice,” Elias whispered. “I must give up two.”

  “Are you really so desperate to save your own skin?” Cimir asked.

  “I’m trying to save the rest of our people,” Elias replied. “That’s the only way.

  Cimir laughed at that. How he wanted to stand to his feet and slap the sense into the man. But alas, he was unable to walk or move for the most part. “You know, if I believed for a moment that you genuinely cared about the rest of our crew, then I would understand your decision. I wouldn’t agree with it, but I would at least respect it. But you don’t want to save everyone else, Elias. You only want to save your own skin.”

  Elias slowly rose to his feet. His head was down, and he shuffled to the door.

  “If there was any other way, believe me, I’d try,” Elias replied. “But there isn’t.”

  “There’s always another way,” Cimir said. “But the alternatives don’t end well. You always have a choice.”

  Elias said nothing and simply left the room, closing the door behind him gingerly. Cimir sighed. Of all the times to be struck with paralysis. There was nothing that could be done. In the end, two would die and the rest would be spared, at least for now. That would give Cimir ample time to plot and plan his revenge.

  “Prestin!” Cimir called. “Get me books on chain rituals! Anything you can find on the subject!”

  Elias sat alone in his office. He wasn’t sitting in his normal chair, but rather in the chair on the other side of the desk. It was lower, than the desk itself. Elias had raised his desk, as a subtle way to put himself in a position of power above those who entered. Now, it was he who felt small and weak. Cimir had been no help, but then again, the man rarely was of any use other than magic.

  Secretly, Elias had been hoping that Cimir would have taken the reigns, made some clear cut case to do the deed and thus pass the blame from his hands, but he didn’t. If anything, it was clear that Cimir saw such an act as cruel. But then again, the sorcerer also didn’t threaten Elias’ life for doing the deed. If Cimir had made threats, thrown a fit or otherwise brought a compelling reason before Elias, he would certainly have listened. But now, the decision was solely up to Elias. And he knew what he had to do.

  A knocking came at his door. The sacrifices. Elias swallowed hard and stood. “Come in,” he said, trying to keep his voice from shaking.

  The door swung open as Samuel and Groth entered.

  “There he is!” Samuel said, moving up to shake Elias’ hand. Elias reciprocated and forced a smile.

  There had been a small loophole that Elias had realized. They were simply required to send two of his own men. Samuel and Groth both fulfilled that criteria. Samuel was no longer crucial to the operation, but still took a major share of the profits due to his original deal with Cimir. He was savvy enough to escape from danger, Elias was confident, but if he was killed by the Thieves, it would be most beneficial to the business.

  Groth on the other hand, was a gigantic killing machine who would have no trouble surviving these killers. As far as Elias was concerned, he was fulfilling the bargain to the utmost of his ability. He could argue that he followed the deal to the letter. At the very least, this would buy Elias more time to prepare his crew for an attack. It was a partial compromise.

  “So, what’s the plan, boss?” Samuel asked as he sat on the corner of the desk. “I looked into a few of those contacts you suggested. It panned out fairly well. I’
ve got a meeting with Magister Iverman Shulo next week.”

  “You do?” Elias asked. “Why?”

  “The ambassador,” Groth said.

  Elias felt the blood drain from his face. In all of the chaos, he had forgotten about the Serpentine ambassador. He had dispatched Samuel and Groth to make some introductions and begin working to lean on key members of the Magistrate to allow for Krissaw to gain an audience with the government.”