(Interest check here: http://www.everypony.com/forums/showthread.php?13571-Honor-Among-Thieves-Interest-Check Sign-ups here: http://www.everypony.com/forums/showthread.php?13579-Honor-Among-Thieves-Sheets ) -In a seemingly abandoned warehouse in Canterlot- Winter Night paced back and forth in the empty Guild Hall. Things had been going from bad to worse in the last few months, and she was starting to get concerned. Blackheart's treachery had cost the Guild more than money. It had cost them their reputation. All over Equestria, Guild members were being rounded up by the Royal Guards. Six months ago, Celestia's lapdogs would not have dared move against them, been when word of infighting and betrayal reached their ears, they had moved with astonishing speed, placing dozens of Guild-aligned thieves under arrest on the very first night. With the vault emptied, there was no way to buy their freedom, and Night feared that many of them would be forced to stay in jail for the long haul. As she paced, a plan began to form in her mind. A plan to put the Guild back on top, where it belonged. She suddenly grinned. "I've got it! I know what we need to do!"
Robin walked into the guild room along with his men. They were highly distinctive from the guild members due to their dark green hoods. "So explain exactly whats going on. How come you lot have been reducing support for the poor recently. We've been hijacking gold karts and the like but what about you. We havent had word in days."
Shadow drops in lightly from the roof, she probably slipped in from a more conceled place, maybe a gab in the roof, either way, she stood next to Winter Night, "It's worse. A few more ponies 'ere just taken in..." She frowns, shaking her head, "It's gettin' 'arder and 'arder to even think 'bout thieving..."
Night sighed. "The poor? We can barely take care of ourselves! When I went through the ledgers, I found out that Blackheart had stopped paying bribes to the Guards. When the money ran out, they moved in. It's only a matter of time before they attack the Hall. We have the best security bits can buy, but this place won't last long against a Guard raid." She pointed to a map of Equestria on the wall. Several cities had been circled. "We need to get the Guard Captains their money, and to do that, we need to get the money ourselves. It's time to whip this Guild back into shape."
"Me and my men will start increasing the split from our jobs. Increasing your share of our works to 55% rather than the usual 30%. Though it seems the trade companies have been alerted about the whole thing. As there caravans have been coming less and less frequent. They also seemed to have changed routes. Luckily they still need to go through a point here." He begins pointing to a crossroad 3 miles west of Canterlot. "If we manage to retrieve a caravan in that area we could have gold to bribe at least two city captains. Even then they would only be the small village ones."
"That seems like as good an idea as any. We need at least one city's Guards on our side before we can pull off any big jobs. Besides, I haven't pulled of a good robbery since I took over. This should be a cakewalk." Night grinned. "What do you think, Miss Bloom? Are you ready to get your hooves dirty?"
Shadow frowns and shrugs, "It seems risky, if'a single captain refuses the bribe, we'll be in ah whole world'a trouble~" She pauses a bit nodding, "Ah'll do'a few though... Canterlot ain't gonna be fun~" She starts mentally mapping every city she could in her head, memorising, "I'll not be too good with the bribery..." She was a thief, not exactly a extortionist or master briber... she would hardly do well. "Ah can send anypony that has not been taken in, make 'em do some of the bribery"
"I'll take care of the bribes personally. No Guard would dare lay a hoof on me in public, out of fear of my husband. There are certain advantages to marrying the Captain of the Night Guard..." Night laughed, before growing serious. "However, those advantages do not extend to the rest of you, and I'd prefer we all stay as far as away from Guards as possible. They may look the other way on the occasions that we are forced to kill mercenaries or hired thugs, but there would be Tartarus to pay if we were harm a Royal Guard." She studied the map more carefully. "Robin, I think perhaps we should go after this caravan you mentioned. All three of us."
Shadow nods, looking at the map, frowning with intense thought, "Ah also 'ave a plan. I can pro'bly slip into the caravan, set'a few thin's up before you two strike?" She smiles, from inside she could bag some of the loot, possibly slit a few throats, even maybe rig the wheels to break when she wanted, with all that chaos, maybe she could make this an easy mission!
Night frowned. "I like that idea, but I know you. We need to keep the body count to a minimum until the Guild regains some influence. Slip in, cause some chaos to keep them distracted... but do not kill them. Remember, killing our marks is bad for business. If we start slaughtering every trader that enters Equestria, they'll get scared and take their business elsewhere."
Shadow nods, "Sure thin'." She thinks for a second, it would be much easier to finish them all off, no risk, no threat. But then again, Night did have a point. "Ah'll take out the wheels. Unless you need the Wagon or whatever for transportin' tha goods?" Not much point in taking out the wheels if it was going to make things harder, she hoped Robin's men had their own carts or something of the sort. "Anything else ya wanna get me ta do? Or should'ah head off now?"
Night thought for a moment. "Actually, there is one thing in particular I'd like you to look for. These traders all carry special maps, marked with every route that they take... Including a few that we don't know about. They always destroy the maps at the first hint of trouble, and we've never been able to get our hooves on an intact copy. I need you to get that map BEFORE the caravan leader can destroy it. Good luck, and may the Goddess protect you." After sending Shadows off on her assignment, Night turned to Robin. If she can get that map, we'll be able to ambush any caravan that we choose. No more hiding in their secret routes. The truth of the matter is, that map is worth ten times more than the caravan itself. We need to time this perfectly. If we strike too early, they'll destroy the map before Shadows can take it. If we're too late..." She looked grim. "Shadows is good, but she's no match for an entire caravan."
"Lets just hope she's approaching it from the back. I know I would. Otherwise the good old fashioned damsel in distress trick would work fine." He then approached a rooftop opening to the hall with his horn charged. "So are we heading off then?"
"Indeed. We need to get to the crossroads as soon as possible." Night led Robin out of the Guild Hall, activating dozens of traps and defenses as she went. With the Hall secure, she took off into the air, heading for the ambush spot.
Shadow would be of course, doing smarter than both ideas, she was no new mare to the sneaking tactic, and although the Damsel and the back sneaking were good, she would still pose the difficulty of getting in there! So she did the most ingenious thing. A few hundred meters down from the crossroads, on the road the caravan she was to aid in robbing, she quickly dug down a little with her hooves, laying in the hold and covering herself! To all eyes she would seem to be just your typical bump on the road, when the caravan crossed over though, then she would be able to jump up, slip in and go for that map! She would try incapacitate as many as possible in the process of doing so, she would not stand a chance against a caravan of trained stallions... but against one with several incapacitated members, with the odd cut hamstring or so, then she might just get up and out of threat! She just hoped the plan of herw would go well!
Night arrived at the crossroads and hid in some bushes. She didn't see Robin anywhere, but she knew that he would arrive in time to help out. He was nothing if not reliable. The caravan leader spotted the bump in the road, and shouted at the stallions pulling the cart. "Oy! Look out fer that rock, ya dumb mules! We ain't got time fer fixin' a busted wheel!" Grumbling, the stallions carefully moved the cart so that the bump would pass between the wheels. The looked back at the bump after the cart had passed over it, and noticed that it had disappeared. He shook his head. He had been awake for almost two days. His eyes were playing tricks on him.
The Iron Maiden turned the street corner, bellowing a song as it did. It noticed Feather and the cart and stopped for a few moments to think. Realizing it was some sort of mission, it decided to wait around another corner, so he could extort the cart drivers later.
Shadow snickered to herself, holding on tight to the bottom of the Wagon! She was not going to fall off! That'd really make her feel stupid! Of course, doing her job, she would clamber over, trying to get to a point where she could see where the Leader of the Caravan! She would proceed to mentally swear, wishing this was a basic snatch and grab, or a night-time mission! But of course, she still was here, now! She would ready to jump and flap! She needed to grab that map! But she didn't see the Crossroads yet...
-meanwhile in ponyville- "great, not only am i lost but i have no clue where the hay the guild is. *sigh*. i wish they would have AT LEAST sent me some form of map. all i know is that i'm some guy that they recruited, and they expect ME to find the guild just like THAT!?" Blade Runner told himself. As he walked through groups of other ponies, he couldn't do anything but walk around. 'buckit, i need to find some place high so i can view everything'. he thought to himself. As BR looked around, he saw some sort of castle like structure built into a mountain. As he saw it, he evilly grinned. "perfect he told himself.
Vali noticed the caravan walking along the path. Bells tied to her ankles shimmered cheerfully, and sang as she trotted. She cursed under her breath. She recalled a pony from the guild telling her about maps from a caravan regarding the next mission. Why had she not made it on time? Her keen eyesight swept the scene, and she noticed, barely, and only from the position which she stood, a slight flash of mane under the wagon bottom. With a smile, she thought through the members of the guild. Night.. No... Robin? No, probably not. Than who...? With a breath laugh, the name Shadow came into her mind. Her guess? To apprehend the intruders without causing suspicion. A distraction, at the very least. Easy enough. There were plenty of gypsies on the road, who asked wandering ponies for coin in exchange for dance, and song. "Please... Gentlemen! Lend me your ears!" she sang. Her voice was crisp, and clear, but wonderfully sad, and heartbreaking. She seemed to be able to sing two melodies at once that wove together in perfect harmony. The caravan kept going, as was the norm, but even as the first note left her mouth, ponies ears perked up, and their eyelids lowered, either in appreciation, or sleepiness.
