Guild of Thieves
Guild of Thieves
The Guild of Thieves has existed for many years. Preying on the decadence of Stormwind City and the rich manor houses of the surrounding countryside the criminals that formed this enterprise gathered for protection from the hounding of the City Watch and the local militias. It exists to make money for those who control it and to share that with it's members, and any activity that interferes with this goal will undoubtedly draw the ire of the guild. It has many members; peasants who couldn't find work in the city, poor students, vagabonds, gamblers, wanderers, middle and upper class families impoverished by the many wars or business ruin, abandoned urchins, social outcasts and poor foreigners.Though the numbers of the Guild swell and subside with the passing seasons, the core of the of the guild, the real professionals, has almost always stayed the same. It is known within the guild that the Guildmaster has never changed even after decades of the guild's constant existence.The Guild is headquartered in Stormwind but has holdings in the village of Thornfield, just southwest of the city on the border of Westfall, once raided by Defias bandits that were repelled due to help from The Guild, it’s now a fortified hamlet with wary but resilient townsfolk. For this largesse the townsfolk generally suffer no depredations from the criminal enterprise, as long as their dues are paid of course.
About
Many years ago, in a town just south of Stormwind.....Lisette carefully checked in both directions down the darkened alley as she slipped her lockpicks out of the specially constructed pouch in her belt. It wouldn't do her any good to be caught at this point, as the town guard and the Guild of Thieves looked down on freelance thieves rather severely. Lisette viewed that as less of a hindrance and more of an individual challenge however, she wasn’t the type to pay coin to a band of strangers simply for permission to practice her trade. Anyway by this time tomorrow she anticipated being well out of the town and on a ship on her way home after being stuck in this stinking human town for five hellish years. Not that she had been idle for those five years, however. Apart from working as a barmaid for the local tavern The Rampant Unicorn, she had perfected her skills at picking pockets, opening locks, and disarming traps. Her day job had proven more than worth the stares, wolf whistles, and occasional groping that she had to endure as drunken patrons often let spill information that they would have been better off keeping to themselves. Information such as how much coin they currently had on their persons and what sort of gemstones they had stashed in their private collections.The lock proved easy to open, the tumblers sliding into place with a satisfying click, and Lisette slipped inside, being sure to lightly close the door behind her. She found herself in the front room of the blacksmith Dolgal's shop. Assorted implements lined the walls as well as some pieces of armor and a few knives and hammers. Lisette had been in the shop a few times previously, the most recent one being earlier in the day. Other than Dolgal, a surly bald-headed dwarf with a beard like black iron and small eyes set deep in his brow, there had been a young human male, who seemed to be his apprentice and general dogsbody looking at the huge muscles the strangely bald lad had possessed. Dolgal had predominantly busied himself with negotiating the work to be done and filling orders. Normally, Lisette wouldn't have bothered herself with a blacksmith, what with iron goods tending toward the bulky, heavy, and not as valuable as gold or silver, but she knew that Dolgal had been recently commissioned by Crassius McVaren, a local adventurer and something of a minor celebrity, to set a number of gems into the hilt of his sword. It was those gems that Lisette had her heart set on. The only reason that she knew about the gems and the commission was because she had overheard Crassius discussing it with his companions, and one of them had recommended Dolgal not only based on the quality of his craftsmanship, but also on his reputation of never having been stolen from successfully. Lisette sincerely doubted that the dwarf had never been stolen from, especially in the town which was probably best known for both the quantity and quality of its thieves. It was possible that Dolgal paid the Guild the extortionate rates they charged for their "protection," but Lisette had not seen any sign of watchers that she could discern, and even the ever-present beggars seemed oddly absent from this portion of the town.
The lissome thief crept carefully across the store front floor, slowly sliding one foot along before bringing the rear foot back up next to it in order to avoid giving away her presence with any creaking floorboards. She kept her breathing deep and slow as she approached the door at the back, and her eyes were fixed on the floor lest Dolgal had decided to accessorize his shop with any hidden trip wires. She knelt down by the door and gently probed around it, testing for any hidden traps that Dolgal might have incorporated into the defense of his shop. Dwarves, by reputation, were a secretive, paranoid lot and Lisette could only wonder why she hadn't run into any countermeasures more robust than the rather simplistic lock on the front door. She couldn't find any traps on the door, and the lock itself proved to be as easy as the lock on the front door. She was beginning to think that Dolgal's reputation was all talk, and that the dwarf had gotten lazy and complacent. Lisette smiled, her tongue darting between her lips as she carefully opened the door, again making sure that she would not spring any surprises by opening it. The door swung silently inward, a tribute to dwarven manufacture and maintenance. The room was too dark to make out details clearly, heavy drapes having been pulled shut over the windows to block out the ever-present light of the town. Here she was going to need a bit of light to work by, so she pulled a gem from her belt pouch and cupped it in her hands. It glowed with a dull red illumination, a bit of magic that had cost her a tidy sum, but in her opinion had been well worth the price.She saw her goal, a small door that had three consecutive locks on it. Each one was a combination lock, needing a deft touch to open successfully. Lisette had to admit that the safe was a thing of beauty. It was of solid steel construction, and each lock like nothing no one else possessed. Dolgal must have paid a small fortune to have it constructed, but from the little Lisette had been able to gather even one suit of plate armor with Dolgal's mark on it would be enough to pay for three safes just like it. She reached out for the first lock and paused. She could have sworn that she felt a slight tingle run through her hand as it approached the metal of the lock. That was impossible though, wasn't it? After all, only Dark Iron dwarves cared for magic. That was what everyone said and Dolgal was no Dark Iron. Lisette sighed softly and pocketed her light gem. She didn't need her eyes at this point, and she didn't want to add any further risk to being discovered. Reaching out again, she again felt the small tingle starting in her fingertips and running up her arm. She shook her head, then blew the stray lock of dark hair that had fallen across her blue eyes out of her way. The tips of her fingers touched the lock and froze. Lisette let out a small gasp and tried to move her fingers, but they refused to budge on the lock. She tried to pull them back, but it was if they were stuck to the metal. The tingling sensation that she had felt continued traveling up her arm and into the rest of her body. Hastily, she tried to gain her feet, but all she managed to do was slip and fall to the ground, her fingers still stuck to the metal safe. She bit down hard on her cheek, resisting the urge to cry and make her already bad predicament even worse. There she was, a supposedly expert thief, flat on her stomach in her mark's home with her fingers somehow stuck to a safe.Then she heard laughter, a dry, gravelly sound that didn't improve her mood any. She heard a match be struck, and a lamp was lit. She looked to see Dolgal standing by the door to the workshop with his feet firmly planted on the ground, the lamp held in his hand. It was at this point that Lisette had sorely wished she’d paid her dues to the Guild……
Recruitment
The Guild of Thieves is open to any character who views themselves as a larcenous criminal. Be they burglars, pickpockets, locksmiths, footpads all are welcome as long as they are willing to pay a percentage of the profits from their job to the guild. In return, the guild offers some protection from the law, a base of operations to be used as needed and a network of contacts and supplies to allow for larger and more well paid jobs.
code of conduct
The guild is pretty light touch when it comes to organisation of events and roleplay. Heists and bounties will be offered on occasion but the guild will mainly serve to facilitate criminal RP in the bounds of Stormwind and Azeroth as required. We hope that members have the common sense not to engage in any acts that may get them easily reported and banned.
races and classes
All standard playable races are allowed. When it comes to character class, again anything is allowed as a criminal does not need to be able to make use of stealth button to break the law!
contact
The guild structure is simple whilst we form. Any member can be contacted to join the guild in an OOC basis, and then a meeting between either the Daymaster/Nightmaster will be arranged for the prospective thief to sign up IC.
