The Court of Gallows
Blueskin Blayke, Archrogue.
Few know who started the Court of Gallows. A mysterious figure shrouded in legend and folklore. People speak of a nameless convict who was hung and yet survived. When the authorities of Alliria hung him again, he kept resisting the hempen cord, waking up after each hanging, sometimes even clawing his way out from his own grave. Finally, he was hung, drawn and quartered -- and days later, he was found walking the streets miraculously.
They say that after this event, Alliria rarely assigned the death penalty to its convicts.
Hierarchy
Thieves get involved in the Court of Gallows once they begin to make a name for themselves. In Alliria, it claims ownership over every street urchin and pickpocket, even before they are acknowledged by this organisation. Each stage a thief goes through has a different hierarchy. Some thieves skip a few or any of these ranks, as the organisation of this criminal underworld can be quite fluid.
Beggars / prostitutes / paupers (known as eyes-and-ears, abram man/woman, buttock-and-file)
While some do not consider them part of the Court of Gallows, they still make up a vast network of eyes and ears that funnel information to the ringleaders of the Court. Every beggar, streetwalker or even the old widowed crone no one pays attention to could be an anonymous spy for this criminal network, making a copper or silver on the side.
Urchin / pickpocket (known as knuckles, pages or foins)
Many thieves begin their illustrious career as good-for-nothing guttersnipes, orphans and smalltime pickpockets. As one of the most dangerous paths of a thief, risking the direct wrath of their victim or indeed the mob or city guard, the work of pickpocketing is often assigned to the most inexperienced and young of the thieving hierarchy. Many older thieves rely on gangs of urchins and streetrats to do their dirty work for them, and it is usually only the foolish or ignorant that continue in this path for long. Most, if not all, end up facing capture and punishment.
Most pickpockets operate in the Areck Slums and the Outer City. A few may come from the Shallows, but few dare to steal directly from others there. THe busy market places of the Outer City provide the most ripe opportunity for filching wagging pouches from unwitting gulls.
Most thieves gain their first contact with the Court of Gallows in this line of work. Once they have made a name for themselves as guttersnipes, they may move on to more lucrative arenas of thievery. They tend to move up in these echelons as they age, by the allowance of their 'hen' or gang leader.
Experienced pickpocket (known as anglers, nips or handmen)
Some thieves never transcend from the art of pickpocketing, making it a fine art and skill. These are also the ones that may become 'hens' or gang leaders of larger groups of pickpockets, having found their preferred operation. As they age and become slower, they increasingly rely on cleverly concocted schemes, instruments or other hands. Anglers use fishing rods and angles to fish out valuables from pockets from tall windows, 'coachmen' specialise in cutting holes in carriages or carts, filching either from its passengers or cargo. Nips specialise in cutting precise holes in purses and pouches, and handmen have taken the art of palming coin during games of chance, bumping into pedestrians or brushing by others to a new level. And that's not counting the plethora of other specialised pickpockets one might find in the bowels of the city: dog- and pet snatchers, food stall stealers, dinghy thieves and more besides. There are as many different sorts of pickpockets as crafts in Alliria.
Thugs / muggers (known as knights of the blade, academy knights or bully-blades)
For those who rely more on brute force than speed and finesse, an illustrious path in the blade and sap is always available. This is regarded marginally higher than the lowly pickpocket, able to leverage their brute strength, ferocity or just sheer insanity. Often used by their superiors to shake down debtors or shopowners outside the protection of the City Watch, these charming individuals can be found in almost every brothel, gambling den, unsavoury tavern and in red light districts.
Almost as dangerous and high-risk as the life of a pickpocket, this path is usually chosen by those who have got few other options. Either they lack the contacts or the subtlety and wit to excel in other areas. However, due to their sheer capacity for violence, they command more respect than those below them, and indeed, can often be seen striking fear into pickpockets or beggars that answer to their ringleaders.
Burglars / housebreakers (known as crack-clerics, draw-latches, ken-millers and footpads)
Fences / smugglers (
Gentlemen/lady thieves (known as spruce pigs, barrel baron/baroness or leaky lords/ladies)
Highwaymen (known as rank riders, knight/dame of the road, visiting viscounts)
Assassins (known as skull coiners, black marks, casket nails)
Ringleaders (known as pimper pampers, archrogues, prince/princess prigs, counts)
Court councillors (known as dangling dukes or hempen courtiers)
The King of the Court (known by numerous names)
Beggars / prostitutes / paupers (known as eyes-and-ears, abram man/woman, buttock-and-file)
While some do not consider them part of the Court of Gallows, they still make up a vast network of eyes and ears that funnel information to the ringleaders of the Court. Every beggar, streetwalker or even the old widowed crone no one pays attention to could be an anonymous spy for this criminal network, making a copper or silver on the side.
Urchin / pickpocket (known as knuckles, pages or foins)
Many thieves begin their illustrious career as good-for-nothing guttersnipes, orphans and smalltime pickpockets. As one of the most dangerous paths of a thief, risking the direct wrath of their victim or indeed the mob or city guard, the work of pickpocketing is often assigned to the most inexperienced and young of the thieving hierarchy. Many older thieves rely on gangs of urchins and streetrats to do their dirty work for them, and it is usually only the foolish or ignorant that continue in this path for long. Most, if not all, end up facing capture and punishment.
Most pickpockets operate in the Areck Slums and the Outer City. A few may come from the Shallows, but few dare to steal directly from others there. THe busy market places of the Outer City provide the most ripe opportunity for filching wagging pouches from unwitting gulls.
Most thieves gain their first contact with the Court of Gallows in this line of work. Once they have made a name for themselves as guttersnipes, they may move on to more lucrative arenas of thievery. They tend to move up in these echelons as they age, by the allowance of their 'hen' or gang leader.
Experienced pickpocket (known as anglers, nips or handmen)
Some thieves never transcend from the art of pickpocketing, making it a fine art and skill. These are also the ones that may become 'hens' or gang leaders of larger groups of pickpockets, having found their preferred operation. As they age and become slower, they increasingly rely on cleverly concocted schemes, instruments or other hands. Anglers use fishing rods and angles to fish out valuables from pockets from tall windows, 'coachmen' specialise in cutting holes in carriages or carts, filching either from its passengers or cargo. Nips specialise in cutting precise holes in purses and pouches, and handmen have taken the art of palming coin during games of chance, bumping into pedestrians or brushing by others to a new level. And that's not counting the plethora of other specialised pickpockets one might find in the bowels of the city: dog- and pet snatchers, food stall stealers, dinghy thieves and more besides. There are as many different sorts of pickpockets as crafts in Alliria.
Thugs / muggers (known as knights of the blade, academy knights or bully-blades)
For those who rely more on brute force than speed and finesse, an illustrious path in the blade and sap is always available. This is regarded marginally higher than the lowly pickpocket, able to leverage their brute strength, ferocity or just sheer insanity. Often used by their superiors to shake down debtors or shopowners outside the protection of the City Watch, these charming individuals can be found in almost every brothel, gambling den, unsavoury tavern and in red light districts.
Almost as dangerous and high-risk as the life of a pickpocket, this path is usually chosen by those who have got few other options. Either they lack the contacts or the subtlety and wit to excel in other areas. However, due to their sheer capacity for violence, they command more respect than those below them, and indeed, can often be seen striking fear into pickpockets or beggars that answer to their ringleaders.
Burglars / housebreakers (known as crack-clerics, draw-latches, ken-millers and footpads)
Fences / smugglers (
Gentlemen/lady thieves (known as spruce pigs, barrel baron/baroness or leaky lords/ladies)
Highwaymen (known as rank riders, knight/dame of the road, visiting viscounts)
Assassins (known as skull coiners, black marks, casket nails)
Ringleaders (known as pimper pampers, archrogues, prince/princess prigs, counts)
Court councillors (known as dangling dukes or hempen courtiers)
The King of the Court (known by numerous names)
Rules
The Court of Gallows operate by a few, simple rules, known by the lowly pickpocket all the way up to its court councillors. Breaking most of these rules will send most malpracticioners into a watery grave in the Allirian strait.
1) You do not steal from a fellow thief of the court. Especially not from those above you.
2) You do as you are told by your ringleader and by those of higher rank.
3) Any secrets you learn about the Court, you don't spill to outsiders.
4) Anyone carrying a black coin is as good as dead. Those that have betrayed the Court are marked by a black coin with its symbolic skull, usually smuggled into their coinpurse or pouch by a pickpocket; a curse and a reminder that their time has come.
1) You do not steal from a fellow thief of the court. Especially not from those above you.
2) You do as you are told by your ringleader and by those of higher rank.
3) Any secrets you learn about the Court, you don't spill to outsiders.
4) Anyone carrying a black coin is as good as dead. Those that have betrayed the Court are marked by a black coin with its symbolic skull, usually smuggled into their coinpurse or pouch by a pickpocket; a curse and a reminder that their time has come.
Intent
The Court of Gallows grants a sanctuary to all those criminally inclined and who would otherwise be on the margins of society. It is a refuge for the downtrodden and forgotten, the poor, the destitute and the craftless. A place where the pecking order of society is inverted, where the most hated scoundrels and wanted criminals can bloom into a twisted aristocracy of their own. Where merit and cunning rather than heritage is rewarded.
Or at least, that's what it wants you to believe.
In truth, it is a massive underworld kingdom of villainy, a stain on the picture-perfect city of Alliria and a direct window into the corruption that festers below the surface of this splendid merchant city, out of sight and out of mind. In the bowels of their secret sewer court, a realm of unmitigated debauchery and unfettered self-interest reigns. It is a world where you eat or you are eaten, stab in the back or become stabbed and hang others to dry — or be hung yourself.
Or at least, that's what it wants you to believe.
In truth, it is a massive underworld kingdom of villainy, a stain on the picture-perfect city of Alliria and a direct window into the corruption that festers below the surface of this splendid merchant city, out of sight and out of mind. In the bowels of their secret sewer court, a realm of unmitigated debauchery and unfettered self-interest reigns. It is a world where you eat or you are eaten, stab in the back or become stabbed and hang others to dry — or be hung yourself.
