{"id":5009,"date":"2017-02-20T00:01:20","date_gmt":"2017-02-20T05:01:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tellest.com\/?p=5009"},"modified":"2017-03-06T07:10:23","modified_gmt":"2017-03-06T12:10:23","slug":"unusual-guardian-part-one","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/unusual-guardian-part-one\/","title":{"rendered":"A Most Unusual Guardian, Part One"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Most Unusual Guardian
\n<\/strong>By Aaron Canton
\n\u2014Part One\u2014<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It was the bronze cane with the cobra-shaped head and the silver tip that made Jadie Rivers realize she had just bumped into a legend. The man had already slipped past her, an older gentleman with graying hair, tanned skin, and a softly wrinkled face, and Jadie was half a dozen steps away down the crowded Viscosa street when she realized she recognized his cane from her thieves guild briefings. And then she saw the rest\u2014the tiny spot below the man\u2019s left ear, the subtle motion of his hand as it drifted past the pockets and purses of those around him, the minute bulge in the back of his cloak which Jadie knew concealed a knife coated in a paralytic agent so powerful that even an elephant would be felled with one scratch. There could be no doubt about it: she had just encountered one of the greatest thieves in the world, the man who had robbed palaces and temples, burgled warlords and pirates, plundered ancient ruins and pilfered priceless treasures from the strongest vaults ever built. She had just bumped into Gerard Falcoron, or as he was known in the criminal underworld, Gerard the Fang.<\/p>\n

And then she touched her pocket and realized, to be more precise, she had just been robbed by Gerard the Fang.<\/p>\n

But though such a realization would normally have upset the young thief, she could only smile to herself as she moved after him. There was no shame in losing to the best\u2014and besides, as much as she loved gold, that was nothing next to the knowledge she had been so near a legend. She had grown up hearing stories and legends about Gerard the Fang. That he would deem her worthy of robbery was almost an honor.<\/p>\n

Almost, she thought, but not quite. She needed to get her gold back. Her own reputation, not to mention her ability to afford that fancy dinner at The Stately Lady she was looking forward to, was at stake. She was due to leave town in just a few days as part of an ambassador delegation to Warus, where she would smoke out elements of an anti-Raleigh conspiracy as part of her service to the Westwick Thieves Guild. Once the delegation left, she\u2019d be spending a long time traveling on dusty roads and camping out in the largely unsettled nation of Warus. Until then, she fully intended to avail herself of all the luxuries Viscosa made available to a bright young thief in her prime\u2014but those luxuries required there to be money in her pocket. And so, even as she marveled that his stature, his form, and his muscled arms were just as perfect as they\u2019d been described to her, she forced herself to hurry after him.<\/p>\n

She wasn\u2019t sure what gave her away, but once she had narrowed to within a couple body-lengths of him in the crowded street, he drifted away from her. His motions didn\u2019t look deliberate or even hasty, but she noticed that suddenly he was always standing such that there were more and more people between the two of them. If this kept up, she\u2019d never catch him; he\u2019d screen himself until he reached a shop or an alley where he could completely disappear. Jadie would have to do something drastic to get him to acknowledge her.<\/p>\n

So she pulled back a sleeve just slightly, thought about how wonderfully fun it would be to reach out and grab the silver-haired gentleman a few steps ahead of her, and flicked her arm\u2014allowing the vines wrapped around it to uncoil, reach out, and yank back on Gerard\u2019s wrist before he could do anything.<\/p>\n

Gerard was too skillful to stumble, and he instead let the motion turn him around so he could see his adversary. Even though Jadie was already tucking her vines away, she saw his eyes flick to the few bits of green still visible as she pulled down her sleeves and knew he\u2019d seen them. But that was all right; in fact, she realized she preferred he knew of her talents. \u201cUm, hi!\u201d she called in a voice somewhat more rapid than usual as she approached the legend, remaining just out of his arm\u2019s reach in case he tried to take something else from her. \u201cMr. Purse, I think you have my Fang.\u201d<\/p>\n

The older thief blinked in confusion, and Jadie\u2019s cheeks reddened. \u201cI mean\u2014I\u2019m Purse, you have my Mister\u2014no, um, you Fang my purse, er\u2014\u201d She cut herself off, blushed furiously as she took a deep breath, and blurted out, \u201cMr. Fang, I\u2019m really excited to meet you, I\u2019ve heard all about you, and could I have my purse back please?\u201d<\/p>\n

She cringed, hoping against hope Fang didn\u2019t just roll his eyes and turn away from the stuttering mess she\u2019d become, but instead, Fang\u2019s mouth quirked upwards in a smile. It wasn\u2019t a sincere smile\u2014it didn\u2019t reach his eyes\u2014but it was, at least, a mark of respect. \u201cSure,\u201d he said in a sonorous voice. \u201cHere you go.\u201d He drew a bag from the folds of his cloak and tossed it to her\u2014<\/p>\n

But Jadie had been trained by the best instructors the thieves guild had to offer, and she knew better than to catch a random object being thrown at her. After all, it could be poisoned, or enchanted, or even something the authorities were hunting for. It was moving too fast for her to dodge, so she instead grasped for the vines around her arms and focused on her magic again, rapidly urging them to lunge forward and shield her. And lunge they did, springing out from beneath her sleeves and intercepting the bag just before it would have fallen into her hands. They caught it, held it in front of her\u2014and she saw it wasn\u2019t her moneybag at all, but instead a red sack with a sigil etched on one side.<\/p>\n

\u201cA charm spell,\u201d she murmured as her vines dropped the bag and retracted again. The spell markings were in faded gold thread that blended into the red fabric, but though it was faint, she still recognized the design from her training. Had she touched it, she would have been made to feel more trusting of the thief in front of her\u2014not much, by any means, but enough to convince a typical victim that Gerard had surely returned the right bag. The victim would then let Gerard go, would carry on with her day as before, and wouldn\u2019t notice the theft until much later, when she next went for her moneybag and found an empty red pouch instead.<\/p>\n

But Jadie was no ordinary victim of theft. Having blocked the spell, she looked up at Gerard with a faint smile on her face\u2014only to see his own smile had grown and now reached his eyes. Then he bowed down before her like he was introducing himself at a ball. \u201cYou\u2019re as good as they say, Miss Rivers,\u201d he murmured as he took Jadie\u2019s moneybag out of his pocket and tossed it to the ground before her. \u201cIt\u2019s a pleasure to meet you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jadie\u2019s mouth dropped, and when she picked up her bag, her hands were so unsteady she missed and bounced her fingers off the ground twice before grasping it. \u201cYou\u2014you know me?\u201d she managed.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe thieves guild prodigy? Of course I know you.\u201d Gerard straightened up, eyes twinkling, and swept an arm at a nearby caf\u00e9. \u201cI\u2019m on a job, but I have a minute or two. I would love to make your acquaintance.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jadie\u2019s heart, already beating fast, began to race like it was trying to burst out of her chest. She might get to see Gerard the Fang demonstrating his mastery of his profession\u2014and even better, she could make a dependable companion of him! She glanced down at herself, wishing she\u2019d worn something other than her usual green-and-brown traveling clothes or even styled her loose, brown hair nicely\u2014maybe added more flowers\u2014but now there was no time and she\u2019d just have to make do. \u201cOf course!\u201d she said quickly. \u201cI, uh, whatever you want, Mr. Fang, sir! I\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPlease. We\u2019re practically colleagues. You can call me Gerard.\u201d The thief moved towards the caf\u00e9, and Jadie hurried to keep up with him. \u201cAnd what should I call you? Do you have an alias?\u201d<\/p>\n

He wants to use my nickname<\/em>, Jadie thought before reminding herself she didn\u2019t actually have one yet. \u201cJust Jadie is fine,\u201d she said as they entered the caf\u00e9. Gerard led her to a booth in a dark corner, and she sat across from him, still gazing at his roguish face \u201cAnd, um… What do you know about me?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou?\u201d Gerard grinned. \u201cI know you\u2019re the youngest recruit ever to graduate the thieves guild. I know you have an unusual facility with plants, always wear a flower in your hair, and have vines wrapped around your arms that cause those almost-but-not-quite invisible bulges in your sleeves.\u201d Jadie blushed, and Gerard chuckled. \u201cSo yes, I did recognize you as soon as I saw you, not just after you\u2019d used your vines. I hope you don\u2019t mind me giving you a little test, but I just had to see if you were as good as I\u2019ve heard.\u201d<\/p>\n

Somehow, Jadie\u2019s smile grew a little more. He hadn\u2019t just heard of her, he knew everything about her. \u201cI don\u2019t mind at all, you can test me any time you want,\u201d she said, realizing she was babbling again. \u201cI mean, I\u2019m just, I mean\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

Gerard held up a hand, and Jadie fell into grateful silence. \u201cRelax,\u201d he said. \u201cYou don\u2019t need to worry about impressing me. You already have\u2014I know you were behind that whole thing with Nemeroth last week. Well done. He was a pox on the kingdom.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jadie\u2019s mouth dropped again. Nemeroth had been a high-ranking bureaucrat who had abused his office to steal diplomatic gifts and similar shipments, plundering the kingdom just to line his own pockets. Jadie might be a thief, but she was first and foremost a patriot and wasn\u2019t about to let that stand. And though her plan had been incredibly dangerous\u2014she\u2019d gotten herself caught by Nemeroth and his thugs so she could get close enough to plant incriminating evidence on him\u2014she was still happy she\u2019d taken him down. But she hadn\u2019t told anyone; even her superiors in Westwick hadn\u2019t gotten her report yet. \u201cHow did you know that?\u201d she managed.<\/p>\n

\u201cI talked to a few contacts in the guards. They told me Nemeroth had been with an innocent civilian when he was caught, and wouldn\u2019t you know it, that civilian\u2019s description exactly matched that of Westwick\u2019s most promising young thief.\u201d Gerard grinned. \u201cJust as a tip, using the guards to take down opponents for you is great when you can swing it, but try to disguise yourself first at least a little. That way people like me can\u2019t find you out. And hey, if you do have to go to the guards for something legitimate, you won\u2019t need to worry about them recognizing you and wondering why you keep getting into trouble.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cRight.\u201d Jadie wished she had some way to record Gerard\u2019s advice, but she had neither parchment nor anything to write with on her. \u201cSorry.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNothing to be sorry about. You beat an opponent who had a lot more resources than you did… and you did it with style. Like I said, you already impressed me. And today? You showed me you really are as good as your teachers think you are.\u201d He raised a hand as if tipping a hat. \u201cIn ten years, maybe five, they\u2019ll probably be telling legends about you instead of me.\u201d<\/p>\n

It took Jadie a few moments to recover from that and formulate her next question. \u201cThanks, really, I really appreciate it\u2014I mean\u2014\u201d She blushed again as Gerard chuckled. \u201cCan you tell me any stories?\u201d she asked at last. \u201cFamous places you\u2019ve been? People you\u2019ve met? Stuff you\u2019ve… done?\u201d<\/p>\n

Gerard\u2019s eyes gleamed, and he opened his mouth, but then a faint drumbeat sounded from outside, and he hesitated. The drums repeated, growing slightly louder, and he sighed. \u201cSorry. Like I said, I\u2019m on a job. But if you wait for me here, I\u2019ll be back in a flash, and then I\u2019d be happy to share any stories you want.\u201d<\/p>\n

He rose, but Jadie jumped up even before he finished. \u201cCan I watch?\u201d she blurted out, acutely aware she was embarrassing herself and yet unable to stop. \u201cOr\u2014I mean\u2014if you possibly needed someone to watch your back or help in any way at all\u2014what I mean is, I\u2019d love to\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

She fell silent as Gerard\u2019s smile flattened out and he examined her. \u201cI don\u2019t usually work with partners,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s not my style. And for this job\u2014I mean, really, all I\u2019d need is someone to stand on a rooftop and distract the local soldiers if a patrol shows up. It\u2019s not exactly glamorous\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll do it!\u201d said Jadie, a desperate smile on her face. If she got to work a job with Gerard the Fang… Well, she couldn\u2019t think of many opportunities that would come close. She would get to watch a true master of their craft, someone who was rumored to have never failed to loot whatever he was after. You couldn\u2019t get that kind of demonstration anywhere else. \u201cDon\u2019t worry,\u201d she insisted. \u201cI won\u2019t let the soldiers come anywhere near you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gerard was silent for a long moment before nodding. \u201cAll right. I\u2019ll cut you in for ten percent. Your best bet is\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBuilding on the other side of the street, two doors back, since it\u2019s tall and has crenellations to hide behind,\u201d said Jadie immediately. For a moment she felt like she was back in the guild training halls, desperately trying to ace every test and convince her teachers they hadn\u2019t made a mistake by accepting her at such a young age. \u201cThere\u2019s an alley, and the walls of the building are rough enough to scale. I can be up there in less than a minute.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gerard said nothing for a moment, but then his smile returned, and he inclined his head. \u201cExactly what I was going to say. See you soon, Jadie.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jadie\u2019s heart leapt at his words, and it kept thundering away as she slipped out of the caf\u00e9 as quickly as she could. Without seeming to rush, she worked her way through the crowds to the building she\u2019d mentioned and raced up the rough wall towards the top. Nobody looked at her, and even if someone had glanced into the alley and seen her halfway up, she would have already made it to the roof by the time they\u2019d done a double-take and looked again. Jadie then ducked behind a crenellation and quickly peeked around it to look around, noting both Gerard\u2019s probable target\u2014an entourage of what looked like dozens of bodyguards and servants surrounding an ornate carriage shining with gold filigree and pulled by white-coated horses, all approaching her position from farther down the road\u2014as well as a squad of palace soldiers marching towards the entourage from the opposite direction. She quickly thought through her possible options, settled on the simplest, and pried up a loose chunk of stone from a crenellation. Then she gripped it with both her hand and vines and threw it as hard as she could.<\/p>\n

The stone flew straight and true, helped by Jadie\u2019s vines as well as her strength, and slammed into an alleyway just behind the squad with a loud smash. The palace soldiers spun around and searched the alley, no longer looking towards the carriage and its guards. And Gerard\u2014whom Jadie saw had slipped out of the caf\u00e9 without her noticing before\u2014was glancing up at her with a gleam in his eyes. \u201cThanks,\u201d he mouthed. \u201cNow watch this.\u201d<\/p>\n

He stepped forward, heading towards the approaching group. Jadie\u2019s breath caught as he reached them. A guard motioned for him to move aside, he nodded and began to do so…<\/p>\n

And then Gerard the Fang made his move.<\/p>\n

Despite her close focus, Jadie couldn\u2019t see exactly what Gerard did, but suddenly a guard in front stumbled into a pedestrian. The guards rushed forward to help their comrade, some of the pedestrians didn\u2019t move out of the way fast enough, and as the two groups pushed against each other, Gerard was shoved forward. He bumped into another guard, and this time Jadie did see Gerard\u2019s technique, a little hook with his foot in a smooth, subtle maneuver, and that guard fell sideways, grabbed Gerard for balance, and almost thrust him towards the carriage to catch and stabilize himself. Now the pedestrians were mixing into the formation, the guards were trying to regain control\u2014and Gerard let himself be buffeted and pushed forward, shoved by the crowd or pulled by falling guards, until he was at the carriage. He made a flicking motion with his hand, and for a moment, nothing happened.<\/p>\n

Then one of the carriage wheels broke off.<\/p>\n

He\u2019d flung something, Jadie realized. Maybe a dart in just the right spot, maybe acid, maybe some spell to unmake the joint. Whatever it was, he\u2019d broken the carriage\u2014and nobody suspected a thing.<\/p>\n

Now the guards were rushing all over the place, some trying to calm the whinnying horses, others trying to push back the pedestrians who crowded around the accident. Gerard wound up pushed against the carriage in the crush, ignored by all as they fought for control. Then the carriage door opened, and a fat man, dressed in ornate robes with a ridiculous number of expensive gemstones glittering amidst their fabric, jumped out, followed moments later by a little girl who was probably his daughter. Both brushed past Gerard as they hurried into the midst of their guards. \u201cGet off the road!\u201d the man screamed. \u201cThere\u2019s an alley\u2014get off the road, calm the horses, and fix the carriage! Do it now!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJust buy another!\u201d called a wag from the crowd, \u201cAnd next time, make sure the wheel doesn\u2019t fall off!\u201d<\/p>\n

The rich man blushed red as everyone in the crowd laughed, and even Jadie was so caught up in the moment she didn\u2019t realize for a few seconds that Gerard had slipped away. When she looked back, she saw nobody by the carriage except for the rich man\u2019s entourage. The theft was already done.<\/p>\n

Jadie played it back in her head and focused on when the rich man had brushed up against Gerard. That must have been it, she thought. He\u2019d snuck his hand into the man\u2019s pocket or robes and taken some incredibly valuable object. A signet ring, perhaps, which could be used as proof of identity to let Gerard impersonate the noble at, say, his bank in order to clean out his accounts. Or some magic wand with incredible powers. Or maybe Gerard was doing the same thing Jadie had done with Nemeroth; maybe this man had done something bad, and Gerard had slipped the proof into his pocket and was even now going to call the guards\u2014<\/p>\n

But then the girl patted her dress, gasped, patted it again, and began to cry. \u201cDaddy!\u201d she wailed. \u201cMy heirloom amulet is gone!\u201d<\/p>\n

And Jadie\u2019s mouth dropped as she understood. Gerard the Fang hadn\u2019t robbed the rich man, the merchant or noble whose ostentatious wealth practically screamed that he\u2019d done something to deserve being taken down a peg.<\/p>\n

Gerard the Fang had robbed a child.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Most Unusual Guardian By Aaron Canton \u2014Part One\u2014     It was the bronze cane with the cobra-shaped head and the silver tip that made Jadie Rivers realize she had just bumped into a legend. The man had already slipped past her, an older gentleman with graying hair, tanned skin, and a softly wrinkled […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2929,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[145,146],"tags":[1302,1496,273,837,149],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/Jadie-Finished.jpg","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1UVey-1iN","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5009"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5009"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5009\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5016,"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5009\/revisions\/5016"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2929"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5009"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5009"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5009"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}