On the Assassins Guild

The Assassin’s Guild is only loosely organized. It is largely bound by nothing more than a sense of professional courtesy. Though, it is important to remember that Assassins do not like to be treated discourteously. In the language of assassins, a job is called a sanction. The assassins themselves are called jacks (female assassins are called jennies). All sanctions are paid for up front and this payment is made directly to the guild. The guild takes a 10% cut of the fee for administrative costs. It will loan up to 40% of the remaining fee to a jack at 1% per week. A jack who defaults on a loan will be sanctioned.

• A jack who works outside of the guild will be sanctioned. 
• No jack will identify another jack, even on pain of death.
• No jack will interfere with another jack’s sanction.
• A jack will be informed if a sanction is issued against him.
• In a city, every jack defers to the Grandmaster  or “Hand.”

Every city (cities always have walls) has a guild house where jobs might be procured, and information sought. That guild house will generally appear to be a legitimate business with the words that is somehow identifiable to men of the guild. Who also always seem to know upon entering a city whether a job awaits them.

The Assassins Guild

Rumors abound of an organization of dark clad men who skulk about at night, creeping in windows and cutting the throats of the unsuspecting. The so-called Assassins Guild is nothing more than a widely-rumored fantasy nursed by men with too much time on their hands and too great an imagination. But as these rumors will not die, I will faithfully report what I have heard from the unsophisticated who traffic in them.

Each Assassins Guild (and supposedly every city has one) is headed by its own Grandmaster Assassin, who is called "The Hand." Working for him are never more than five "Fingers" -- highly skilled Assassins who are still in training under his tutelage. The reasons given for this are somewhat varied, but most boil down to limiting the power of such a dangerous occupation. Another suggests that the Hand is too fearful of having more apprentices than he can keep track of.

Interestingly enough, the "Hand" was the title given to the chief enforcer of the princes of the Aldae -- ancient cities in the Free Provinces. Each Ald boasted two princes (the white and the black) and each was charged with a specific sphere of influence in the governance of those city/states. Of course, since Agronar's conquering the Alds are nothing more than vassals of the High King of Westrun, but the ruins of their culture is not without some effect the world over. There can be little doubt that the title of the Hand made it to other shores after leaving the Provinces and has helped to feed this particular urban legend. 

According to legend, the Hand is a master of disguise who is so adept at moving in and out of respectable society that he maintains a cover as a nobleman by day, and by night is able to practice his true occupation. In fact, the only one who is supposed to know the Hand on sight, other than his apprentices, is the great bogeyman himself -- the so-called Master of the Thieves Guild, in whose employ the Grandmaster Assassin is supposed to be.

In addition to the "Fingers" of the Hand, there are reputed to be men of lesser skill known as "Slayers." Such men have little more than murderous hearts to commend them, however, having none of the Fingers specialized training. The rumors of such a band are no doubt fed by the fact that many cities actually have fighters' guilds -- mercenary companies for hire. While most large cities do have a criminal element in them, there is no doubt that the modern aristocracy could not accept such organizations in their midst, and would do everything to extinguish them.