The Black Hands
The Black Hands or the Rail Workers are responsible for the maintenance and continuing operation of the cities many rail networks that service the people within Arbor's walls. As long as you can afford the high prices and meet the dress code for the 1st class cabins your ride is lovely, safe and all together a pleasant experience. For most though riding in the unshielded cabins can be a nightmare especially when navigating through the tunnels that haven't been cleaned of Dust in some time.
"Keeping the great iron beasts running all the time is hard work, harder still when any trip down the tunnels might cause part of the carriages to turn into pudding..." - Unknown driver for the Black Hands
Public Agenda
Publicly the Black Hands only goal is the continued operation of the railway and underground tunnels where the a large proportion of the trains ferry travellers too and fro about the city on their daily commutes. In addition they are also responsible for The Inevitable the behemoth of a train that takes finished goods and people out of the city.History:
With the invention of the Steam Engine it became possible to take what had been handcarts before and begin development of automated transportation. At first this resulted in small vehicles mainly being used to bring ores out from the mines underneath The Garden Wall. However four enterprising individuals who were originally the foremen who were responsible for bringing coal out of the mines to heat the city. Coal was beginning to become scarce but with the new power source Star Light an opportunity was on the horizon. These foreman pooled their resources together and one of them understood enough how the smaller engine worked to begin attempting to both reverse engineer it and make it far bigger. He had a vision for great Iron contraptions that would pull people and goods across the city calling it his life's dream to see his creations carry people not just across the city but the entire world and he would do it all just to cover the costs of travel so that everyone could have free public transportation. Of course with a lot of things like this greed is the enemy of vision and altruism once the work on the initial prototypes for the larger steam engine and locomotive were finished he disappeared their name and who they were wiped from any record and the minds of those who knew them and while the remaining foremen deny any wrongdoings on their part many suspect that he was removed to make way for what was to come.A Bad Deal
With the construction of the first locomotive the thing the remaining members needed was the permission of the The Silver Council to begin constructing the tunnels beneath the city to accommodate the new methods of transportation. Many spies exist within the city of Arbor and if The Ferrymen or The Checkers found out that there was a new player in town attempting to oust them from their vaunted place as the transport kings of Arbor they would easily block the request. However the foremen were clever and merely stated they believed there to be great deposits of gold and iron beneath the city and they had the technology to safely extract it without harming any of the cities existing buildings or infrastructure. The lie was successful and construction of the tunnels and stations began.Too late
Constructing the tunnels came at a breakneck pace, one of the foremen used the same magics that allowed them to pass through walls to dig monstrous tunnels at a truly staggering pace, they were deep beneath the city far lower than should have been possible but due to the root structure of The Great Tree acting as support in many places they were able to dig huge stone tunnels out of the rock. When they completed the first set of tunnels stretching from the Third Ring to Inner Ring with stops all along the way they opened to the public. By this time it was too late for either of the two companies that controlled the transportation networks in the city to do anything about it and construction began on the next set of tunnels. Once others knew how the tunnels could be dug the one who originally pioneered the magics vanished in much the same way as the first.And then there was 1
As the expansion of the railways continued across the city huge throngs began to utilize the new method of transportation it was quick and compared to either the checkers or ferryman relatively cheap if you didn't mind riding in with the animals on occasion. However this initial boom didn't last as one day a train went into a tunnel and never came back out, at first no one knew exactly what had occurred and as several wealthy family members had gone missing with the train answers were demanded. This was when the Dust and it's properties were first discovered. From here the dust collectors were formed and shielding was added to first and second class cabins to protect the more important clientele. This is also the point when one of the last original foreman went missing leaving everything in the hands of the Littlefield family and their heirs. The only thing anyone could point to was an argument the two had the night before his disappearance but the only context and word overheard was Dust.Attire / Common Garb / Quirks:
Black hands are traditionally clothed in a few different outfits depending on their specific role within the organization. Detailed below are the uniforms of different roles along with individual responsibilities.Operators
The roles below manage the locomotive itself and ensure its continued operation and are generally staffed by the lower class workers within the Black HandsDriver
Responsibilities
Ultimately the person responsible for the speed of the train and whether or not it stops though there have been occasional attempts by enterprising wizards to create a completely sentient train the black hands have but kibosh on those particular attempts either through peaceful negotiations or by using more forceful methods.Uniform
- Blue fire resistant slack, green strip running down the leg
- White Shirt
- Blue Vest
- Blue coat with brass buttons
- Trademark black gloves
- Blue flat cap
Firemen
Responsibilities
Responsible for loading the trains with the Great Tree Sap that keeps them moving, it's a complex job and the sap itself is incredibly toxic and corrupting so firemen often bear scars and maladies of their professions. These can range from minor things that appear like burns or traditional scars to move extreme examples like additional limbs or even extra heads.Uniform
- Red Thick Canvas Trousers held up with suspenders
- Black thick leather boots
- White under shirt
- Red oversized canvas Jacket
- Brass Rimmed welding goggles
- Trademark black gloves
- Red Flat Cap
Guard
Responsibilities
Keeps the ruffians off the train and handles any fights that might break out while traveling the trains underground tunnels. In addition to this also checks tickets and ejects any one trying to ride for free. Finally the guard is responsible for handling any "incidents" that take place while navigating the tunneled sections of the track.Uniform
- Blue fire resistant slacks or skirt, green strip running down the leg
- White Shirt
- Black Vest
- Blue coat with brass buttons
- Trademark black gloves
- Black flat cap
Conductor
Responsibilities
The role of the conductor is to make sure the train leaves on it's set schedule, making sure the train is in a fit condition to travel and make sure no one is trying to hop on last minute and get into cars they shouldn't be.Uniform
- Blue slacks or skirt, silver strip running down the leg
- White Shirt
- Silver Vest
- Blue coat with brass buttons
- Trademark black gloves
- Black peaked cap
- Brass Pocket Watch
Managers
The roles below manage the operations side of the locomotive taking tickets, directing people to their trains and ensuring that trains leave on time these roles are usually staffed by middle class people or those who can be made to look more presentable.Clerk
Responsibilities
The Clerks are responsible for taking tickets and answering passenger questions regarding destinations and operations of the trains. They are quite popular with children and will often give tours of the trains to school children.Uniform
- White slacks or skirt, blue patterned stripe down one side
- White shirt
- Black vest with blue pocket square
- White coat with silver buttons
- Black shiny shoes
- Trademark black gloves
Ticket Operator
Responsibilities
Responsible for taking payment from paying customers and issuing tickets these used to be people and in some of the richer areas this is still true however in the poorest areas a construct has been created to take payment and tickets as they are seen as more durable and less likely to be intimidated by those of the lower class.Uniform
- White slacks or skirt, blue patterned stripe down one side
- White shirt
- Black vest with blue pocket square
- White coat with silver buttons
- Black shiny shoes
- Trademark black gloves
Maintenance
Those responsible for keeping the tracks clear of debris, making sure lights in the tunnels are still working, and the general repair on the trains and tracks of which they run.General Maintenance
Responsibilities
Those people who are more generic in their application this includes the people responsible for changing parts in the locomotive and investigating broken lights in tunnelsUniform
- Dark blue canvas slacks with magically lit bands on the ends of the legs
- White Undershirt
- Suspenders
- Dark blue Turnout Coat with silver buttons magically lit bands on the ends of the arms, around the neck, and at the waist along with a shoulder guard with the black hands symbol emblazoned on it.
- Trademark black gloves
- Black rubber soled boots
Dust Collector
Responsibilities
One of the most dangerous jobs in all of Arbor the people who venture into the tunnels that the trains run through periodically to remove the build up of Dust that collects over time. Before any maintenance can commence they must venture into the tunnels and scrape and gather any of the left over residue from the trains passing. Of course this carries with it all of the dangers that come along with being in a high concentration area of dust and thus only the bravest, desperate or most foolhardy folks volunteer for such service.Uniform
- Dark blue canvas slacks with magically lit bands on the ends of the legs
- White Undershirt
- Suspenders
- Dark blue Turnout Coat with silver buttons magically lit bands on the ends of the arms, around the neck, and at the waist along with a shoulder guard with the black hands symbol emblazoned on it.
- Trademark black gloves
- Black rubber soled boots
- Davey Light style helmet with full rubber face gas mask
Notable People:
- Gideon Zeke Littlefield -Current head of the Black Hands though his age is a factor he still oversees much of the Black Hands operations
- Mylanth - Driver for the Inevitable a half crazy Scaled Beastkin who volunteered for the role after the last driver was torn out of the cabin by a purple worm
Territory:
The Black Hands control everything that has rails on it or around it this includes all of the stations in Arbor with a few exceptions those being the ones located within The Garden Wall.Notable Structures:
Arbormundi Station: the Central station where all trains originate and terminate from, it's location in the heart of the city allows easy access to nearly every corner of Arbor in a reasonable amount of time.
Type
Civil Services
Notable Members
Distrust
While they rely on the Black Hands for the transportation of goods throughout the city they take umbrage that they are not under their control.
Outright hatred near open hostilities
The Ferrymen hate the Black Hands for the crime of taking their jobs and usurping them as the number one method of transport in the city, nevermind this happened a 100 years ago.
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