The Thieves Guild of Skaug

The irony of having a specific guild for thieves on an island that is populated and ruled by pirates is not lost on its members. However, as throughout the rest of the Isles (and across most of the world) the Guild functions as a part of a larger network through which goods can be transferred and fenced and which provides some limited protection for those in its ranks. While it seems to be mostly just a loose networks of street-level thieves, at its highest levels the Guild is quite organized and active in the politics of the world.
On Skaug, the guild is primarily tolerated because it assists in the off-island sale of goods that are embargoed in many places because of the island’s open stance on Human Supremacy and the slave trade (most nations will not deal with those that have not abolished open slavery in this time period). Though this is a necessary reason for existing, in fact the Thieves’ Guild is actually a fairly democratic and egalitarian organization. Local and regional leaders are elected by popular vote. While the depth of the group’s control and its true motives gets a little murkier the further up the structure one travels, the guilds are typically pretty altruistic (for thieves, anyway). The members of the Guild on Skaug are mostly less legalistic about Human Supremacy but there is a fair amount of passive racism in its ranks.

ALTAS

The current elected leader of the Skaug chapter of the Thieves’ Guild is the human, Altas. A young man for such a position of leadership, Altas rose through the ranks quickly based partly on his skill in pulling off higher-level heists but mostly on his charm and charisma. Altas interacts openly with many members of the Merchant’s Guild (although some of them are aware that he has been robbing them blind for years and are only biding their time to do away with him once and for all). He also receives a fair amount of distrust from true Human Supremacists on the island because of the unusual violet color of his eyes and the fact that he keeps himself masked at all times when in public. In fact, his eye color is simply a genetic oddity and he wears the mask because he likes maintaining a sense of mystery.
Altas is also involved in a relationship with the leader of the Dockworkers’ Guild, Zora Marsk. If this were to be uncovered it would be far more dangerous for Zora than for Altas. As such, he has done his best to keep this information out of the light, however it has been discovered by certain individuals within his own faction.
There’s something that Altas wants that he hasn’t been able to get his hands on, and this could be the route to getting him to trust the characters. There is a series of Celestial Texts held within a labyrinth beneath the local temple of Shar (See Section on the Temple of Shar). Because of his unusual appearance he isn’t allowed to go anywhere in the vicinity of the place. In truth, Altas could easily infiltrate the temple and delve into its labyrinth in search of its secrets. But he will use this task as a measuring stick to see how devoted the characters are to gaining his allegiance.

ALLYING WITH THE THIEVES’ GUILD

Altas doesn’t like the treatment of non-humans on Skaug, so he’s pretty open to deposing the current power structure. All he will really require from the adventurers is a show of good faith. The easiest (or at least most obvious) way to gain his favor is by agreeing to retrieve the celestial texts from the dungeon under the Temple of Shar. If the texts are brought back to him safely he will gladly put the resources of the Thieves’ Guild to work for their cause. While the Guild will not oppose the government of the island directly in battle (this is contrary to the Guild charter), they can provide something that might be even more useful—access to the sewer network beneath the city (see the Sewers  of Skaug) which will allow them to travel throughout the city safely (save for the occasional encounter with the nasty things that live beneath the city). This will come in handy for uniting the factions as well as for the potential infiltration of the Capitol compound.