'He also risks a great deal by coming here, to our home ground,' Nate said. 'If the situation was reversed, I would be worried about an ambush.'
'True,' Magnus agreed. 'But we risk a similar amount by inviting him here. Look at it this way. If the situation were indeed reversed, would you not be swayed by the chance to see your enemy's stronghold?'
The Council considered that, and Lucius saw a few heads nodding round the table as Magnus' reasoning became apparent.
'More important is what happens after the initial greetings,' he said. 'I confess, I am not entirely sure what the Guild will be after, nor how aggressively they will negotiate. They must be willing to consider compromises, or we would not have been able to arrange this meeting. However, we must be ready to cede ground if it first gains us territory elsewhere and, second, ensures peace between us. I will not have war among thieves, not while I am guildmaster.'
Conversation then turned to the operations and territories the Council wanted to keep and which they might consider for trade. As they spoke, Lucius' head began to swim with information; he had no idea of the complexity or number of the operations the Hands had an interest in. There was far more than just theft at stake.
The growing prostitute rings were clearly an important element for some of the Council, for while new to the Hands and still small, it showed much promise. They fought against the advocates of smugglers and blackmailers. Lucius learned of a city-wide counterfeit ring that traded in false documents, coin and art. It was confirmed that the Hands did indeed have a burgeoning trade in assassinations, whose franchise owners were considered among the most skilled in all the guild. As well as the pickpockets, protection rackets and general burglaries, the Council spoke of narcotics from the Sarcre Islands, trade of arcane artefacts from ruins in the darkest parts of the Sardenne, and an underground network that could spirit Pontaine agents too and from Turnitia throughout the year.
Lucius began to wonder just how wealthy the Night Hands were, when all their operations were stacked up and accounted for. He thought of the vaults built into the foundations of the guildhouse, and thought of how they must be nearly overflowing with coin and valuables. Not for the first time, he could see the organisation he had chosen to join as a whole, that it was not simply a gathering of those who worked outside the law, but a business, run as tightly and efficiently as that of the richest merchants. Fundamentally, it was all about the money.
A short thief poked his head round the open door of the meeting room. 'They're here,' he said, before ducking back out of sight.
The mood in the room changed immediately. Council members sat straighter in their seats, while Magnus' bodyguards, Taene and Narsell, shifted their weight ever so slightly, moving their hands a fraction of an inch along their belts to where their blades lay. For his part, Lucius folded his arms and squared his shoulders as he waited for the Guild's delegation to arrive.
They heard quiet voices talking amiably from down the hall, accompanied by footsteps. Everyone in the meeting room seemed to draw in breath at the same time as Caradoc appeared at the door, standing to one side as he politely waved his guests through.
Though Lucius had never seen the leader of the Guild of Coin and Enterprise before, he recognised the man immediately by his bearing and demeanour. He looked exactly like a guildmaster should.
So did Magnus, of course, but Lucius had always seen him as a natural guildmaster because of his authority, leadership and wisdom, all of which became apparent after talking to him for just a few minutes. Loredo Foss was different in just about every way. Lithe and graceful, he was dressed in a black leather jerkin lined with dark red thread. His hair was black and slicked back, while his beard was small and pointed, barely covering his chin. This man was a natural guildmaster, Lucius thought, because he was a master thief, among the very best in his game. That would make him a very dangerous enemy, and Lucius began to appreciate some of the risks Magnus had accepted in opposing himself to the Guild.
Loredo was followed only by one other, which was a statement in itself, considering they had entered the lair of
She stalked into the meeting room behind her guildmaster as if she were the leader of all thieves, not he. Her boots, whose hard leather clattered on the floor of the meeting room, ran past her knees, and Lucius could not help but think of all the weapons that might be hidden within them, even though they had been told to divest themselves of any offensive items before entering the guildhouse.
Named Jewel, she had a reputation among the Hands for being utterly lethal, for it was rumoured she was more assassin than thief. Her narrow eyes regarded everyone suspiciously and though she was not at all unattractive, the hardness of her features, which promised quick and silent retribution to anyone who would cross her, seemed to sap any desire.
It was a brave move bringing only one bodyguard to a meeting between thieves of this level, but Lucius thought that, between them, Loredo and Jewel might account for many Hands before they were slain, should the summit take an ill turn.
Magnus stood up to greet his guests, and the action was quickly copied among the rest of the seated Council.
'Loredo, Miss Jewel,' he acknowledged as he extended a hand across the table. 'I bid you a warm welcome to our humble home, and hope your journey here will prove a fruitful one.'
Accepting Magnus' hand with a firm shake and brief nod, Loredo replied. 'You show great wisdom in calling this meeting, Magnus. I, too, hope for an outcome beneficial to the both of us.'
The Council returned to their seats as Loredo sat down, followed by Jewel. The woman said nothing but eyed each of the Hands methodically, as if judging the threat they might pose to her master. As her eyes swept over Lucius, he drew an involuntary breath, and fought to keep his own gaze even. He had the unlikely notion that Jewel had just given him a number that placed him in the order of people in the room she would like to kill.
As Caradoc joined Magnus' side, the guildmaster remained standing as he took a wine urn and poured four cups. He placed the cups in a row and looked across at Loredo, who smiled. He selected two and passed one to Jewel. Magnus scooped up one of the cups that had been left and drained it, before setting it back on the table with a loud clack. Caradoc followed suit, before reaching for the urn once more and refilling Magnus' cup, then his own.
'I thank you for that show of honesty, Magnus,' Loredo said. 'But I would think that if you wanted me dead, you would not stoop to poison, nor would you go to the trouble of arranging this meeting.'
'Merely demonstrating my willingness to be open here,' Magnus said, as he watched Loredo take a sip from his cup. Jewel's cup remained untouched on the table before her.
The two guildmasters regarded one another briefly before Magnus spoke again. 'Loredo, you and I have a problem. I run a guild of thieves, and have an interest in making money. You run a guild of thieves and have an interest in making money. Of late, these interests have clashed too many times. If we allow this to escalate, we risk a war that could destroy both of us.'
'I have no interest in a thieves war,' Loredo said. 'It would prove messy and bring the Vos guard crashing down on us. If you have an easy solution, I would gladly hear it.'
'We could perhaps divide the city in two,' Magnus said, a hint of sarcasm in his voice. 'We could take the west while you have the east, or perhaps we control the north while you take the south.'
'Giving you, in the first instance, the docks, and in the second, the Five Markets,' Loredo said.
'As we can all see, there is no easy solution,' Magnus concluded, and Loredo nodded once in agreement.
'I suggest we make the division based on territory and trade,' Magnus said. 'If we give something up, you make a concession in return. We will ensure there is parity between us, and that every one of our members understands there are some areas they simply do not work in.'
'That, I feel, would be the most equitable solution,' Loredo said. 'So, where would you begin?'
'Let us start with the disputed territories that have led us here. The Street of Dogs and the Five Markets.'
For the first hour, Lucius listened with rapt attention as the two guildmasters spoke, proposing and counter- proposing over and again, as they vied for each advantage. Never once was a voice raised in anger, but each retained a hard edge that served to reign the other in when a demand grew too insistent. After the second and third hours, Lucius' legs began to grow numb, and he noticed others shifting their weight or fidgeting.
Magnus made a point in asking various members of his Council or one of the senior thieves to clarify a point,
