The guild of Ritan

(A back alley in Ritan. Late at night.)

Noodok walked slowly forward, the tips of his cape dragging softly over the cobblestone.
The moon was full, and the path was illuminated softly through the grimy street.

He seemed relaxed to an observer, but in reality, was coiled like a spring. Every sound he noted, counted his steps, and judged trajectories.
The subtle rub of fabric, the shift of boot on stone. His eyes were closed, but he was more in tune with the street he walked down than most who had lived there all their lives.
Those following were not skilled, but he had seen previous robberies conducted by them, and they were brutal.
The guards had found numerous bodies with their eyes cut out. Seemed to have happened before death.
They had assumed it was some sort of demon, but that was idiotic. There was no reason for them to come here.
Men could be bad enough, and it obviously was men, as what purpose would a demon have with the missing coin pouches? Besides, Noodok had met the occasional demon. They were no better or worse than the common man.
As he walked, his hand at his side made seemingly odd gestures that were out of place with the rest of his demeanor. The number four, and then a circling motion with his index finger.
The sound of a weapon being unsheathed from behind him caused him to pause, and he turned slowly, right before a bellowing yell cracked the silence.
"GET HIM!"
Four burly men sprinted at him from the shadows, weapons raised high.
Instead of reacting however, Noodok stood in place. The angle they had approached at was perfect, and to move into the fight would alter it.

Attempting to stay as visible and as calm as possible he yawned, raising his arms high over his head.
Two arrows shot from the darkness, burying in the first two's necks. They stumbled just before reaching him, and he lay a hand on ones chest, pushing it gently. The man fell backwards onto the ground thrashing. The other he caught, and then ducked into a crouch just as the thirds axe came towards his neck. Instead, it crushed heavily into the man he held's plate armour. He shrugged him off like he was a cape, and rising, drove a knife upwards through his attackers jaw.
The fourth made a garbled sound as another arrow pierced a gap in his armour.

Relaxing slightly, but still very much on edge, Noodok pulled the point of the knife out of the man's neck, and cleaned it on the dead man's clothes.
"Too slow. If you were escorting someone who couldn't fight, they would have been dead."
Sparrow padded softly from the shadows where the men had come from. She had been tailing the men tailing him, waiting until she had a clear shot and a good angle, or they moved first.
She looked frustrated however. He raised an eyebrow as her hands flicked through a series of quick movements.
<< You said with you. You able fight. They simple mind.>>
He nodded. Fair enough. He hadn't specified that he was intending her to treat the fight as a diplomatic escort.
"Nice placement anyways. I'll leave a note here for the guards."

She signed something in return, and he shrugged unconvincingly. It wasn't a sign he remembered.
It was difficult learning the complex unspoken language when he had so little time, and he wasn't exactly a scholar.
She looked frustrated again for a second, and pulled out a little notepad, scribbling quickly. He squinted at it as she held it up in the moonlight.
"That means 'hungry'. Can we eat?"
Noodok shook his head.
"Not just yet. Look at the group. Four of them, right? The witness said six. We still have two to find."
She stowed the pad away and returned to signs.
<<Have to? Problem all ready solved. Doubt others thief again.>>
For his sake she had split the word already as he didn't know the sign.
"Well, we don't have to if you are that hungry, you are probably right. But think about how much money they have stolen. Rather than just treating this as practice, we can treat it as a job. Interested in finding it?"
Sparrow smiled at this, obviously keen.
<<half me half you?>>
"No. 10% split evenly between us. My standard recovery fee split between us, just not in advanced like usual. Perhaps a slight discount as we weren't specifically asked. The rest goes back to the families of the victims in a dead drop. I'll leave a note telling them that we have taken that much as payment. Otherwise, we are as bad as them."
He motioned to the bodies around them.
Surprise took Sparrow's eyes for a moment. They were short on cash, and the full amount would have been a blessing. But some was better than none.
She considered for a moment, looking inquisitive.
<<but why be Fair?>>
"We need to be fair. It's more useful than you would think. I don't want the reputation of these thugs. That's when people start talking, and guards start looking for us for killing people. This way we get forgotten when people remember their good fortune, and no one mentions shit. The guards know about me, but ignore it, because we reduce the work they need to do. They aren't as dumb as they look, or they wouldn't be able to breathe and walk at the same time. Shit at solving crime, but still a pain to deal with when annoyed."
She nodded.
He hoped his bad lie would be enough cover. The guards had no idea what they were doing, and were exactly as dumb as they looked. Probably why they had no idea about these idiots.
The real worry was the guild.
The guild would come for them if they did otherwise. Guards were one thing, the guild was an entirely different story. They... demanded respect. If not fear.
It was better he left some things unsaid. The less you knew, the less you had to handle.
Ignorance was truly bliss...

He yawned softly. It was late, but there was enough time before light if they moved quickly.
"Alright then. Let's do this."
As they walked off he raised a hand when Sparrow wasn't looking, an acknowledgement of the others surrounding them. Almost immediately, three men in dark hoods began dragging the bodies silently away.
He hoped Sparrow had impressed them.

(image source: Assassin’s Guild by Leslie Lee)