As he made his way to Pattis’ nondescript office on the third floor of Merchant Tower, Karch tried to make sense of what he had just heard. There were a lot of reasons that Larsen’s plan was awful, but the one that worried him the most wasn’t necessarily the most catastrophic—Orion’s participation. He didn’t trust Orion at all. Orion had a reputation as a bumbling good-natured guildmaster, one who was good at managing details but not very smart if confronted with problems. Yet Karch had an inkling that there was more there than met the eye.

One reason was that Karch knew Orion had a Blade, and Karch was never able to find out who it was and what he did. Someone bumbling like Orion wouldn’t have such an effectively hidden Blade. It made Karch think that Orion was hiding his resources and maneuverings better than anyone expected. Perhaps it wasn’t true, but the possibility was extremely worrisome.

The other concerns were obvious and Karch couldn’t even comprehend how stupid Larsen was for thinking they would succeed. Imprisoning the leading families of the Harvest Guild in the Flats and Lower Triangle? That was a recipe for violence. As Karch returned, he had smelled the fires and been told that the Ironside and Grell families were in the dungeon. Did Larsen not realize that those families had influence that stretched into other guilds and deep into the Upper Quarter?

He reached Pattis’ office, and he knew what his first question was going to be. Throwing the door open, Karch marched in, not even bothering to knock or announce himself. Pattis was asleep on his couch. Walking over, Karch prepared to kick the man’s leg to wake him when a dagger zipped past his ear and lodged in a wooden column near his head.

“By the gods, Pattis, it’s me, Karch!”

The Blade had thrown his dagger from his side, and as Karch regained his composure Pattis sat up. “If I didn’t know it was you, you’d be dead.”

“Then why did you throw it at all?” Karch thought he had a good relationship with Pattis, who was similarly ruthless as Karch and also in alignment on utilizing Larsen to get ahead.

Pattis shrugged. “Teach you some manners.” Pattis nodded toward the chair next to his couch. “Welcome back. How’d it go?”

Shaking his head, Karch walked over and sat down. “The Outlanders attacked us. Philip and his team are dead.”

“Surprised you aren’t dead, frankly. That was a fool’s errand.”

Karch generally liked Pattis’ bluntness, but in this instance his “I know better than you” attitude was tiresome. Folding his hands in his lap with exaggerated formality, Karch replied, “Speaking of fool’s errands, the guildmaster told me to get an update from you on his delightful new plan.” Karch used a sarcastic tone but was careful not to out-and-out say anything negative. He needed to see if Pattis was as deluded as Larsen.

“Much better than I expected, frankly. I scouted the Flats and Lower Triangle, and then we removed the families that would organize a resistance, setting fires to distract them. It worked better than I thought. The sight of their family homes burning to the ground thoroughly demoralized them.”

Karch stared at Pattis. He couldn’t quite believe that the Blade seemed to be going along with the plan. “And we are currently relocating people to the Wretched Quarter?”

“Yes.”

“How is that going?”

Pattis shrugged. “Lots of confusion. People think it’s related to the fires. The Knight Protectors are staying out of the way, so the Guildmaster Knight is obviously on board. The Guildmaster Craft hasn’t said anything either.” Pattis stood up and walked across the room. “Larsen has things under control. As I said, it’s going better than I expected.”

Karch watched as Pattis retrieved his dagger from the column and returned it to a sheathe at his waist. “Do you have anyone watching the Upper Triangle?”

Pattis paused midway to his seat and squinted at Karch. “No, why?”

Karch closed his eyes and took a breath. He could not believe what he was hearing. “What about the Harvest District? We are forcibly moving out Harvest Guild members. Please tell me that you have someone keeping an eye on the Harvest District.”

Still staring at Karch, Pattis continued to his couch. “No. What are you getting at, Karch? Larsen told me to take care of the Flats and the Lower Triangle. He said nothing of the Upper Triangle or the Harvest District.”

Slamming his fist into the arm of his chair, Karch could not hold his anger and concern back any longer. “Pattis, you realize that the Harvest Guild has guards that live in the Harvest District? They have guild members in the mines and in the fields, that could easily march down and wipe out our forces? This is not about eliminating a problem in the Lower Quarter or the Flats.” Pattis had sat down, but he seemed unconcerned, even casual, which made Karch angrier. “Civil war, Pattis. I’m talking civil war!”

Pattis shrugged. “We have the Knight and Craft Guilds on our side. With over half their members in the Wretched Quarter, we can put them down easily.”

“Easily? Even if we do put down a rebellion from the Outer Fields and the Mines, you realize that people will die and that cleaning up this mess will take years? The absolute best case scenario is that Larsen takes over the Harvest Guild by force, and his leadership of Ness will be under constant threat from those that grow our food and mine our coal.”

“Honestly, Karch, I think the Outlanders must have scared you. Sure, this may get a bit bloody, but the end game looks pretty clear to me, and we have all the pieces in place.”

All the pieces in place? Karch didn’t bother pointing out that every piece south of the North Fork appeared to be out-of-place. This is why you don’t put Blades in charge of anything, Karch thought. With very few options, Karch decided to do his best to minimize the damage from Larsen’s disastrous plan. “Okay, Pattis. You have the pieces in place. Larsen asked me to take over the planning. What is happening now, and what do you have planned next?”

Pattis outlined that the Guild guards and assorted other guild members were already moving Harvest Guild members to the Wretched Quarter. So far it had gone well. Members of the Craft Guild and the Knight Protectors had even stepped in to assist, although the bulk of the work was being handled by the Merchants.

Thinking over the things that were missed, Karch closed his eyes and thought over what needed to be done. When he opened them, Pattis was looking at him expectantly. Good, Karch thought. He knows he needs me. “Okay. Station the Tower Guards at Trader’s Bridge. They are to defend it at all costs. If they are in fear of being overrun, they are to destroy the bridge. Have a contingent of guards guarding the docks. If they see any boat larger than a skiff approaching, they should burn it out of the water with flaming arrows. I’ll take care of everything else.”

Pattis frowned. “This is foolish, Karch. Who will defend the Tower if we send the guards to Trader’s Bridge?”

“If the Harvest Guild sends a force across the bridge, defending the Tower will be the least of our concerns.” Pattis began to speak, but Karch raised a finger and shouted with the force that intimidated nearly everyone in Ness: “Just do it, Pattis. Larsen didn’t send me down here to debate you.”

Staring at Karch for a moment, Pattis nodded his head slightly. “Fair enough. I understand the threat from the Harvest District, but why am I doing these things? What will you be doing?”

Karch stood up. “I need to talk to the Guildmaster Knight. He will have to increase his forces at the Knight Watch, and he should have the Rangers keep an eye for any forces that move from the Outer Fields to the Great Gate on the other side of the Wall.”

“Would they do that?” Pattis’ voice had changed from disdain to respectful curiosity.

“Doubtful, as it’s very risky, but we should still prepare for the possibility.” Karch marched toward the door. “Thank you, Pattis. You did a good job with the Flats and Lower Quarter.”

“Is there anything else I can help with?”

Karch stopped and turned around. “Assassinating Polo?”

“Impossible.”

“Finding Ralan and killing him?”

“Also impossible.”

“Do you have anyone keeping tabs on Orion?”

“Why would I do that? Larsen has him under his thumb.”

Karch spun around and continued to the door. “Of course, Pattis. There is no need to watch Orion.” But as he exited, Karch was filled with a deep sense of dread. He could manage the docks and the bridges. He could make sure Saxe kept things manageable outside the Wall. He could make sure that the idiot Larsen and the only slightly less idiotic Pattis didn’t screw things up in the Flats and Lower Quarter, but what he couldn’t do was make sure that Orion didn’t do something stupid or worse—something planned.