Book 11: Chapter 55: Light Hand

The inn where Qin Lun and others stayed in Silverymoon was the famous “Golden Oak”.

Golden Oak was located on the north bank of the River Rauvin, in the middle of an alley called Dancing Mask. It had comfortable guest rooms decorated like countryside homes, with fern bonsai plants that smelled like herbs on the windowsills. The oak furniture was elegant and beautiful with hard wood and clear grain. The tables and chairs coated with resin felt great to touch.

All rooms in the inn had windows facing the central courtyard, where a tall ancient oak tree stood. Its huge crown shaded the whole courtyard, and every high branch had bright lanterns hanging, each right above a tea table. Having morning tea or evening drinks here became a delightful experience.

Because of the Goddess of Spring, Shiallia, this place was loved by druids, rangers, elves, and those who preferred peace and quiet. Though tea in the courtyard was pricey, the best service brought a steady stream of guests every day.

Golden Oak made travelers feel like they slept in a safe, cozy corner of the forest. They also had some meeting rooms for guests staying upstairs. Besides, there was a nice leisure bar in the basement for those who wanted to chat and share thoughts.

However, Qin Lun and his group chose this inn not for its fame or the quiet life, but for other reasons.

Even in Silverymoon, few knew that Golden Oak was actually a secret base for a guild. This organization was called “Hand of Light”, a name that sounded grand and righteous, but in truth, it was a thieves’ guild.

Unlike thief groups like the Shadow Council or the Night Guild, the rogues of Hand of Light were very unusual.

Most thief organizations, such as the Shadow Council, leaned toward chaotic neutral or chaotic evil. Besides theft, scouting, and intelligence work, they sometimes took assassination jobs. But Hand of Light’s rogues were a rare chaotic good.

The rogue profession was not one for following rules, so being chaotic made sense, but why chaotic good?

Because Hand of Light’s rogues refused any assassination work. They stole, but only from nobles and rich merchants, never from the poor or needy. Sometimes, they even helped beggars and homeless people in the city.

If a theft failed and they couldn’t escape, Hand of Light’s rogues wouldn’t hurt anyone but surrendered willingly. Because of this, they usually only got fined by the authorities.

If any city government really gave them trouble, the captured rogue would vanish from the jail cell on some night. The guild’s skilled rogues saw rescuing companions as one of the most fun challenges.

A saying went around in Hand of Light: “Stand in the darkness, do deeds of light. Our hands are hands of light, taking only to move gold coins from vampires’ pockets to where they should be.”

Look, such an idealistic slogan!

The most glorious thing for a Hand of Light rogue was to become a legendary righteous thief in the city, known for taking from the rich to help the poor.

Since these thefts didn’t bring them income, how did Hand of Light survive? This led to their other important work—selling information!

The Zhentarim was called the Dark Intelligence Network. Though Hand of Light wasn’t on the same level as Zhentarim, they still called themselves the Light Intelligence Network, not afraid of Zhentarim’s hostility. You could say they had guts.

Of course, unlike Zhentarim, who would sell information to anyone who paid, Hand of Light was strict about who they sold information to. They didn’t want the info their members worked hard to get used for evil purposes.

Because of this, they lost a lot of money sources. This was the main reason Hand of Light grew slowly and could only set up bases in some big cities, not all over Faerûn.

Having many enemies, Hand of Light acted like the Harpers Alliance, keeping things very secret. Those who didn’t know them well found it hard to locate their information bases.

Qin Lun and his group knew about this strange and different thieves’ guild because of Lago. In the Death Lands, Qin Lun saved Lago once. Though the Thornblood Trio went their separate ways from Qin Lun and the others after leaving Troll Claw, Lago always felt he owed Qin Lun a favor.

So, the rogue gave Qin Lun a token of Hand of Light, so they could get some help in Silverymoon. The token Lago had once belonged to a Hand of Light member. Lago helped him, so that rogue gave the token to Lago.

The token had addresses of big cities carved on it, so the holder could get paid help from Hand of Light.

Though Qin Lun and his group had information from the Harpers Alliance, given their personalities, they wouldn’t put all their eggs in one basket.

The Harpers Alliance shared the same stance as Qin Lun in this matter, but the organization had clear political goals and plans. From any angle, relying entirely on them wasn’t a good choice.

Hand of Light operated late at night. Since they only had one token, Hill and Rand went out together. At this time, there was about a week left until the Silverymoon Celebration. If Zhentarim really had any evil plans, they probably had already started acting.

Hill and Rand used this gap to memorize Silverymoon’s road network for later convenience.

As the last bit of sunlight disappeared below the horizon, Qin Lun straightened his collar and quietly left his room, heading to the inn’s basement bar.

“Give me a mug of ale.” Qin Lun went around the crowd and pushed a silver coin to the bartender who was wiping glasses.

The silver coin Qin Lun gave was unique. On the front was a glowing fist, and on the back were two crossed daggers.

“Okay, please wait a moment!” The middle-aged bartender glanced at Qin Lun, calmly pressed the coin, and when he lifted his hand, the coin had vanished from the bar.

The bartender poured Qin Lun a mug of ale, then called over a bar assistant, casually pointed at the bar, and headed toward the back door of the bar, as if wanting to take a break.

Pushing open the bar’s back door, the bartender subtly gave Qin Lun a look, signaling him to follow. Qin Lun smiled slightly, drank up the ale, and followed the bartender out.

The bar’s back door led to the wine cellar, filled with wine barrels and rows of wooden racks. The bartender went to a dark corner of the cellar and pushed open a hidden door.

“How is Anke? Is he still in Baldur’s Gate?” After Qin Lun entered, the middle-aged bartender asked him softly.

The Anke the bartender mentioned was clearly the Hand of Light member who gave Lago the token. Qin Lun’s eyes flickered, he shrugged, and didn’t answer. He didn’t know how Anke was, and rather than raising suspicion, he chose not to respond.

Seeing Qin Lun’s reaction, the bartender just sighed and didn’t ask more about that rogue. He tossed the silver coin back to Qin Lun.

“What information do you want to know?”

“I want to know if there have been any unusual rumors about the grand celebration at the Palace of the High a week from now.” Qin Lun pondered as he asked.

“Silverymoon Celebration news?” The bartender’s eyes sharpened, and he looked at Qin Lun with full alertness. “Why are you asking this?”

If it were another information seller, Qin Lun would never answer the question. But knowing about Hand of Light, he understood he had to answer, or the bartender wouldn’t tell him anything.

Thinking of this, Qin Lun said directly, “I got information from the Harpers Alliance that Zhentarim wants to ruin this Silverymoon Celebration. The lords of the Silverymoon Council might be in danger…”

“Zhentarim?” The bartender’s pupils shrank, and he rested his chin on his hand, lost in thought.

Qin Lun wasn’t in a hurry and waited silently for the other to process the information. The hidden room fell into complete quiet.

After a long while, the bartender finally spoke, “If your information is accurate, then we’re ashamed, because Hand of Light hasn’t noticed anything unusual in the city during this time.”

Hearing the bartender’s words, Qin Lun frowned tightly. Whether it was the Harpers Alliance or Zhentarim, they were clearly much stronger than Hand of Light, but Silverymoon was Hand of Light’s home ground; they were the local experts. If those two organizations acted here, Hand of Light should have noticed something.

Rogues themselves were part of all walks of life, with connections in every corner of the city. Even if unfamiliar outsiders entered their turf, it would alert Hand of Light. For the bartender to now say Hand of Light hadn’t noticed anything unusual was quite unbelievable.

“If you’re not hiding anything, then there are only two possibilities!” Qin Lun stared at the bartender, his face dark.

Looking at Qin Lun’s cold eyes, the bartender’s face turned pale. “I know what the two possibilities are. If neither of us is lying, then either Zhentarim has given up the plan to ruin the celebration, or they’ve already set everything up and are just waiting for the Silverymoon Celebration to start!”

“Perhaps there were unusual events in Silverymoon earlier, but nothing happened in the end, and you overlooked them.” Qin Lun’s mind raced as he said solemnly, “Let me think—about one and a half to two months ago, did anything out of the ordinary happen in Silverymoon?”

The time Zhentarim searched for Deathbloom in the Death Lands was exactly when Iristin and others were captured by trolls, about one and a half months ago. The time Zhentarim looked for Deathbloom should be when they were plotting their scheme, roughly between one and a half to two months ago.