Week 5

It was over the course of the next few weeks that Rio doubled his efforts to promote the guild and spread the good word of the deeds they had done. As he sat waiting for his next appointment he recalled the busy weeks.

Firstly he had been to the Lucky Duck and the Old Forge. The taverns proved more valuable than he could have imagined and soon Rio found himself sat telling tales of his exploits to the gathered crowds. They responded positively, eagerly drinking in the stories of successes, treasures, wealth and dangers. The buzz was tangible and one by one the assembled urged Rio to allow them to take part in his guild.

All would be welcomed that night. Welcome to train, and those fit enough, those able enough to take on the training would be kept. This excited the crowd further, the young men’s banter infecting others and setting a precedent that Rio would have unlikely achieved alone.

Then there was the Scouts guild which recently disbanded. Some of the more senior members had moved away to towns up north, and those that remained remembered Rio and the time he had spent with them. Captain Pemberton recruited most to the guard of Sanctuary to aid Rio in the more recently assembled division. Rio had proven highly successful in helping to track down criminals and re acquire lost or stolen goods, helping the guard to close a lot of old cases they had thought themselves defeated on. Now Rio would have a small team to work closely with, and this team as well as being grateful for the job they had received still craved adventure beyond the town walls. The job occupied only a part of their lives as the division was still small and in a town the size of sanctuary there was always a lot of down time.

Rio welcomed these old acquaintances in to the guild knowing their skills and experience would be most valuable and great for the solidity and credibility of his ranks.

He took a lot of work still from the caravans and merchants, and in taking post from towns to villages nearby. The road had been more than a little dangerous as of late and even what appeared to be the simplest of tasks in taking a letter from Sanctuary to Chorlen proved adequately exciting for some these days.

Reflecting on this as he waited Rio knew the past few weeks had been successful and he didn’t feel like stopping anytime soon. A group of his men waited outside, each in position, each ready and able to react at a moment’s notice.

It was a strange smell Rio thought as he sat waiting, one that conjured a sense of nostalgia. The stone stairs spiralled high above him and he had been waiting now for 30 minutes or more. He was nervous because he knew what they wanted him for, but he waited none the less. It seemed busy here today with all the unopened crates stacked on what appeared to be every level as he arched back looking up as far he could to the floors above him.

It was then that he paused suddenly, a dark thought entered his mind, and moving from his seat he walked towards the crates. He ran his hand over the wood collecting any clue that might make itself known. Those men had been unfamiliar to him. In fact the more he thought about it, not one of them seemed familiar, and it was then that his suspicions grew. Taking a knife out, he prised open the nearest crate, the smell of its contents overwhelmingly familiar, and strong. Rio knew it, he knew that smell well, it was gun powder. His brother had always smelt of the stuff, that and rum.

He opened a further two crates, each filled with more gun powder. Rio looked up to where the assembled nobility gathered in the rooms above and dashed towards the stairs. He began to shout warnings as he started to climb the tower.

From outside the tower where Rio’s men waited they witnessed first-hand the power of the explosion. The earth shook fiercely and the skies lit up with flames that reached out over Sanctuary. Stone and flame began to rain down hard.

Rio never finished his shouts of warning.