The Eastern Thieves' Guild

The Thieves’ Guild: A History By Jonathan Martin & Chris Boggs

The Eastern Thieves’ Guild is a member of the hierarchy which makes up the Iron Realm’s less than savory population. The One True Guild spoke for all of the criminal enterprises within the Realm. If there was a vice, the One True Guild had its many tendrils wrapped around it. From graft to smuggling; prostitution to drugs; grand theft to political assassination… The Guild had a hand in all. But we’re putting the horse before the cart. Let’s back up a bit.

As the Iron Realm grew, so did the One True Guild. So much so, that the One True Guild began spreading out across the continent, resulting in an uncontrollable mass. This caused The First Schism. ''The Assassin’s Guild'' split amicably, paying tribute to the Thieves’ Guild as they made their way out into the Realm.

Two hundred and fifty years later, a larger and less amicable schism (The Black Schism, as it is now known) saw the splitting of the very large One True Guild into three separate factions. '''The Thieves’ Guild (now called the Eastern Thieves’ Guild), the Society of Shadows, and the Imperium Fellowship'''.

Through internal strife and bloodshed, it was finally agreed that as the One True Guild split, the Thieves’ Guild (ETG), would remain in the Kingdom of Ethukoth. All activities to the North and East of the Dragon Mountains, would belong to the ETG. It’s base of operations resides within “One Third”, an undermountian portion of the city of HyWin Keep.

The Society of Shadows was forcibly removed from their base of operations in Ethukoth, when it was discovered that they were trying to force the hands with political plots to their favor. The Society of Shadows moved to the Kingdom of Afaumeth (also known as the Kingdom of the Five Baronies). Afaumeth makes up the portion of the continent West of the Dragon Mountains. The Society of Shadows sends very little in tribute to the Guild Master each year. They find it offensive to give what they have taken, to another organization.

The Imperium Fellowship, after years of fighting with the One True Guild’s ruling class over procedure, chose to leave. They traveled over the Dragon Mountains and set up their operations in the Kingdom of Asterag. The Imperium Fellowship sends tribute to the Guild Master at the beginning of each year, but otherwise, they remain cloistered and reclusive, having resorted to more peaceful means of subterfuge within the peaceful subjects of Asterag. The Kingdom itself is resides in the extreme South of the continent surrounded by the Dragon Mountains to the North and the sea to the south.

Overtime, other factions like the Brotherhood of Mercenaries, have left the all-encompassing One True Guild to form their own. Each faction pays tribute at the beginning of the year in order to keep themselves in good standing.

As it stands, the traditions of the One True Guild, remains entrenched within the three continental Guilds.

Structure of the Guilds:
(All three guilds had the same inner structure with little variations to meet the needs of their respective regions)

Mistress/Master

Lieutenant          Lieutenant          Lieutenant          Lieutenant          Lieutenant (Mage)                 (Knight)                (Pirate)                 (Whisperer)       (Priest)

Enforcers (multiples)

Copas  (Regional Bosses)

Locals (Bosses)

'''Second String Boys/Girls'''

Muscle

Initiates

 

Mistress/Master: The head of the Guild. Each Guild has one.

The ETG’s current Mistress is Scarlet. Formerly a Boss in HyWin, she can be described as tall, with curly brunette hair. She’s a half-elf with a slight scar on her left hand. She started as a smuggler and as a prostitute, who worked her way up through the Guild ranks under the previous mistress, Starlight. She was a secret enforcer, aptly named “Ruby” for the firelight that shown in her eyes. Due to an odd break in history, she skipped the rank of Lieutenant straight to Mistress. She orchestrated the fight against the Left Thumb; an upstart guild that would not follow the established rule. Many thieves were killed. No quarter was entertained or given. After the “Little Cou”, as it became known, the Lieutenants and Enforcers supported the full authority of Mistress Scarlett, and the ETG entered a time of extreme prosperity under her rule. At least that was until The Silk Poaching incident.

 

Lieutenant: A group of individuals, who act as the face of the guild and who ensure activities do not directly effect the guild to the point of another schism or dismantling of the entire Guild will take place. Lieutenants are often the “The Hand” of the Mistress, and travel out of HyWin Keep, except for the Mage and Knight, who focus on protecting the Mistress and the inner Guild. Each Lieutenant wears a mask which hides their height, gender and race. The Mage (typically a male) keeps his appearance, i.e. height, age, skin and hair color constantly changing. His purple eyes are the only constant feature.

The five Lieutenants are:               Mage    Knight   Pirate    Whisperer    Priest

* The Mage’s duties keep him/her to the Guild’s facilities as overseer. The Mage is known to be a Wizard. The other four Lieutenants are sent off to work within the territory controlled by the Guild.

* Rumor: Each titled Lieutenant originally had a meaning regarding the overall skill of that individual, (i.e. Mage could perform Magic, Knight was trained in Combat, etc.) Each of the five Lieutenants has actually been trained in all of other Lieutenants areas of expertise. “When one falls… another rises to take place.” (Enchantment Wizard, Cleric of Trickery, Battlemaster Fighter, Assassin Rouge, Swashbuckling Ranger)

Enforcers: A secret group of individuals that are spread throughout the Guild. They could be a new recruit or a hardened Boss. Their main occupation is to act as spies for the Master or Mistress. Though an Enforcer may be born with a name, they are given another upon completing their training. They are named after gemstones. Only the Mistress/Master and the Lieutenants know their secret identities and refer to them by their gemstone name. They carry a gem that allows connection with the Mistress that is embedded on the side of their left arm, hidden by magic. A simple tap activates a scoring spell that sends an image and sound to the Mage and Mistress. It is a high honor to become an Enforcer.

Gemstones:

Quartz                  Ruby                      Sapphire              Onyx *          Emerald               Diamond              Citrine                   Moonstone            Opal

* Current order’s gemstone leader is Onyx, the Dark Enforcer.

Regional Bosses (Copas) and Locals (Bosses) carry the power over localized pursuits. They are forbidden from dealing with local authorities and law enforcement. That duty is left to the Guild’s Lieutenants.

Copas: Regional Bosses, who oversee the townships and hamlets in their designated area.

Locals: The head of a branch of the guild in a city, township, hamlet, etc. Placed there by the Regional Copas or a Lieutenant, they are the decision makers and can enforce discipline on a local level. It is the highest rank the most guild members will have contact on a daily/weekly basis. The Boss is the face of the Guild.

Second String Boys/Girls: Burglars and thieves who work higher end jobs. They have no set quota to reach, having successfully made their bones and moved up the ranks.

Muscle: Bouncers, Protectors, Collectors of debt. These marked individuals have not made their bones and therefore are not trusted. If the authorities raid the local Boss, the Muscle are the ones who take the fall and will hang or lose a limb for the Guild.

Initiates: Pick pockets, shysters, low life’s and those desperate enough to try and make ends meet but end up joining the Guild in hopes of changing their course in life. Many are street urchins, the children of prostitutes, orphans and slaves.

 

The Silk Poaching: A Story of Betrayal

An upstart, low level, muscle who had not completed his introductory recruitment into the ETG, escaped HyWin Keep with twelve girls, his pockets and bags filled with five thousand gold pieces. Rumor spread far and wide that he’d made off on horseback with enough supplies for himself and the girls, but not without shedding the blood of three faithful members of the guild. One of those faithful, it appears, was the cousin of the local Boss. This bandit disappeared without a trace. The grapevine spread the Mistress’ command that this brash upstart would face retribution, if for no other reason than the Guild must save face.