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Guild of Thieves

"Once a year the Duke calls us criminals, in public, on behalf of the guilds. He pays the right price afterward."
— A senior guildmaster, after one of Den Azhir's official speeches

The most paradoxical institution in Cadwallon: an officially sanctioned guild for unofficial work. The Thieves run organized lower-city theft, smuggling, pleasure houses, fencing, and the black market that the Usurers fund. Their members pay guild dues; their masters meet with the other guildmasters; the Duke condemns them annually. The arrangement has held since the founding.

What They Do

  • Organized theft — managed pickpocketing, burglary, and grift across the lower city. Members work assigned territories; freelancers are warned, then taught a lesson.
  • Smuggling — illegal Immobilis goods, Akkyshan poisons, banned alchemy from Dirz, slave cargo not declared at the docks. The harbor underbelly is theirs.
  • Lower-city pleasure houses — brothels, opium dens, gambling halls. The Guild of Favorites handles the upper-city market; the Thieves handle everything below.
  • Fencing — high-value stolen goods are quietly resold through Thief-controlled markets in Morgue Street
  • Black-market hosting — devourers of Vile-Tis, Akkyshan elves, and other Cadwallon-discriminated agents stay in Thief safehouses and bring relics from Acheron raids, venoms from Ashinân, and contraband from Dirz in exchange.

Headquarters

  • The Beggars Market in Morgue Street — official seat. A walled district with one open gate. The plague-walls of 957 became their fortress when the Soma family allowed it.
  • Branches in Petropolis, The Skinner (Gamehead), Crimson Dress (Drakaër), and the [[Docks]]

The Soma Connection — and the Wound

The Guild of Thieves was founded in part by the Soma family. Aghovar Soma — brother of Vanho Soma — was Grand Master of the Thieves until his death.

Aghovar's death

Sophet Drahas killed Aghovar Soma directly. He took:

  • The Devil card — one of Vanius's 22 arcana
  • The Talisman of Shadows — the Thieves' founding artifact and the Soma family's hereditary protection
    The guild has never fully recovered. The Soma-Usurer vendetta intensified after this. Isabeau Soma hunts Drahas for both items.

The current Grand Master is unknown to the public — Aghovar's office was filled by a council. Some senior Thieves want a single Master again. Others want to dissolve the office permanently.

Allies in the Rag'narok

The PHB lists: Living-dead of Acheron, Akkyshan elves, Alchemists of Dirz, devourers of Vile-Tis, goblins of No-Dan-Kar, Lions of Alahan, dwarves of Tir-Nâ-Bor. The widest alliance roster of any guild — because the Thieves' work demands access to every kind of contraband.

Relations

  • Soma family — historical founders. Tense after Aghovar's death.
  • Guild of Usurers — coordinated siblings. Usurer money flows through Thief operations.
  • Guild of Favorites — territorial peace. Each stays in their market.
  • Guild of Ferrymen — operational tension. The Ferrymen control the docks; the Thieves control what comes off them illegally. Quiet arrangements keep the peace; the 991 Ferrymen strike was partly a Thief negotiation play.
  • Guild of Birders — antagonistic. Thieves smuggle uninspected Immobilis goods; the Birders are the one official body the Thieves cannot bribe.
  • Militia — formal enemies. In practice, half the militia is on Thief payroll.

The succession

The senior council of the Thieves is about to vote on whether to restore a single Grand Master. Three candidates are in play. Each is offering favors to anyone — free leaguer or otherwise — who can deliver leverage on a rival. Whoever wins reshapes the lower city for a generation.

The masked woman returns

The Akkylannian Inquisition is hunting a masked woman hiding in the Templar lodge in Heaven Heights. The Thieves are sheltering her in Morgue Street — for reasons they will not state. The free leaguers can find her, sell her, hide her, or learn what the Thieves are getting for the trouble.