Sharoban does not have the most developed criminal underworld. There are gangs and thieves, extortionists and even murderers but little of the homegrown crime is a serious threat to the city. The city guard, whilst it does not have an official remit to do more than keep the peace, is not so overwhelmed that the streets feel overrun by criminals. Most people feel confident walking the streets and believe that the city serves them well.
That may all be about to change.
A change has started to make its way through the gangs in the western part of the city, as one of the gangs, the Blue Hands, have started to pick fights. Normally there would be nothing sinister in this, small skirmishes between gangs are common, but the Hands are doing something different. They specifically target the leaders of the rival gangs and, if they defeat them, lay down a simple choice; join the Hands or be destroyed. So far their opponents have chosen the former and now what was a gang with three streets under its control has territory extending over a quarter of the quarter. Most of their members are apprentices and journeymen in the Dyers Guild, a few come from other professions rooted in the area. Only a core of them are professional criminals and those are the high up members of the Hands, tough men who are too old, truth be told, to be still running with a gang.
This factor has also precipitated a change of attitude in the Hands modus operandi. Where they were once a purely territorial gang, keeping other boys and girls off 'their' patch and stealing wine to drink on street corners, now their plans are more daring. Blue Hand cut purses patrol the markets, taking opportunities where they see them, supplies are cautiously smuggled out of the dye shops and sold to outsiders; in fact a black market has started to spread across the city. Each member of the Hands has a target to meet to stay in the gang; every month they have to give the leadership their cut and failure to do so means a beating from one of the leader's henchmen.
The leadership comprises of Feydor, a small, crafty man, and his big, dumb friend Gustav. They are locals, who used to work the dye works until their master got tired of them and kicked them out. Unable to find any more work, and having burned their bridges with the Temple of Merida when they got drunk on sacramental wine, they were forced onto the streets. Taking over the Blue Hands was Feydor's idea, he convinced Gustav easily enough and they put their plan into action. It was easy to take over the gang and easier to get a few older members to extend their tendency to boss the younger children about into a system of extorting them for 'taxes'. Extending into other gangs' turf was a natural evolution once the pair realised how little they would glean from the tiny scrap of territory the Hands initially controlled.
Now, Feydor's plans are growing, he has his eyes on controlling the entire Western Quarter in a few years time and being able to style himself as a Godfather figure. He already has an inn, the Painted Pecker under enough control to comfortably use it as a base of operations. He takes the fireside seat in the snug and receives his gang members in what he imagines to be opulence under the mounted heads of a grey wolf, a steppe bear and a hobgoblin.
The other threat to Sharoban's security is not homegrown. In fact it comes from far to the east and hides behind the front of a small fortune telling stand in the central market. Run by Bao Pen, a simple oracle, the stand is in fact a front for the Seven Eyes of Heaven Brotherhood, an organised crime front that specialises in smuggling, drugs, extortion and murder. It is a large gang, with a presence in every city in the eastern empires and kingdoms. They control cities, governors, some say they control kings.
Sharoban is a new project, they wish to get a foothold in the trade that flows through the city and use it to create a gateway to the west. As such Bao Pen's presence in the city is a simple test of whether the Brotherhood could make money and gain power in Sharoban, and extend that into the Jorvin Empire. It is a long shot, which Lo Pen is more than aware of, and if it were not for the shadow demon he trapped in the Cave of Eternal Darkness he would have lost heart on the journey to the city. The demon is his agent in the city, flitting through the night to spy out secrets Bao Pen can use to gain 'favours' from people. So far he has gained enough information about a handful of merchants to start discreet overtures regarding their vices and they have been frightened enough to do as he instructs. A message went back east at last full moon, with a friendly merchant to say that more Brothers could be sent without too much concern. Bao Pen is sure that soon his Brothers will be here to make the city sit up and beg, the way they have with all the others.
Next time we turn our attention to the sad shanty town outside the walls.
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