The Minters

The criminal element known as the Minters poses a threat to the entire region of the Arsanias River. Like any invasive element, they must be pulled out at their very root and thrown into the flames.

— Eusebius Aristenos, hypokomis of Flintrock 

Originally formed by lower-class members of Metilene's Goldsmiths’ Guild to protect the interests of the workers throughout the city's Low Docks district, the Minters have grown through union with similar groups outcast from the Woolmen’s Guild and Vintners’ Guild into a quasi-legal union of workers throughout varied professions that felt the collective Trade Guilds had overlooked them. For much of the past two centuries, the Minters have functioned as an unofficial Twelfth Guild, once represented by Lord Mayor and, in rare emergency, granted a seat in the Guild Council. Since the fall of Lapara, however, the Minters more closely resemble an organized crime outfit centered on smuggling goods, or people, into and out of western Achenae with no questions asked. Additionally, the Minters are currently involved in the seizure and occupation of the Arsanias river valley, for reasons unknown to those outside of the organization’s leadership.

Structure

Essentially three enterprises joined together in confederation, the Minters are governed by a three-man representative council known collectively as the Sons of the Mint, which is presided over by one of the three, who takes on the title of First Son. Each of the three Sons of the Mint, called so regardless of the gender of the one holding the position, controls the organization’s operations in one of the city’s dockyard periochi, and is  permitted a wide range of autonomy in their territory.
The First Son is appointed only with unanimous consent of the other two Sons of the Mint, often gained through underhanded dealings, threats, or assassination of a rival claimant, and will continue to rule over the organization until another receives the unanimous consent of the three.

Public Agenda

In regards to the day-to-day operation of the city's poorest periochi, the presence of the Minters has provided a sort of pseudo-government with its mutual aid societies, poorhouses and armed guards. The organization's quasi-legal status has been permitted by many of the city's hierarchs and Guilds on account that its presence often limits the time and effort they need to spend on the governance of the area, as merely the rumor that an area is protected by the Minters is enough to cause many criminals to think twice before acting, lest they run afoul of the organization. Even the city's powerful guilds hesitate before pursuing a debtor that has taken refuge in one the poorhouses run by the Minters, as the organization has declared its zones a debtor's haven.
Traditionally, the Minters have contented themselves with adding the relatively benign criminal enterprise of smuggling to its more wholesome activities, although the ascension of Fabrizio Restelli to the chair of First Son has led the organization to flex its muscles. Since his rise in 651AFE, the Minters have impounded four incoming vessels, confiscating their cargoes, and seized control of much of the Arsanias river valley in western Achenae.

Type

Illicit, Cartel

Leader

Fabrizio Restelli

Notable Members

• Elias Radenos

The Grand City

The Minters are headquartered in the Grand City of Metilene. Situated in the many islands dotting the delta of the Arsanias River, the city rises in crowded plaster dwellings. Politically, it dominates the Akanthan Strait and serves as capital of the district of Achenae.

The First Son

Born the illegitimate son of a wealthy Pesarese merchant and diplomat, the current First Son of the Mint, Fabrizio Restelli seized control of the Minters in 651AFE and has led the organization on an increasingly violent series of actions throughout the countryside.