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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Quickleaf" data-source="post: 6356425" data-attributes="member: 20323">8: Gilded Palm Thieves' GuildGilded Palm Thieves' Guild[sblock=art inspiration]<img src="http://www.madcarver.com/images/madcarver-01-ROGUE-thmb.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" />[/sblock]A stately rock-cut building with a gilded entrance, high arrow slits, and a sign painted with a weathered palm holding a gold piece mark the Gilded Palm Thieves' Guild for those traversing the Esplanade of Divine Alewives. Only Vergadain's high-ups, those who the Guild has an interest in, or who know the password - a combination of a dwarven word and a hand gesture using a coin that changed every couple weeks - are permitted to enter. Unlike most of Strongale Hall, the petitioners here are scoundrels rather than merchants (though sometimes they can pass themselves off as merchants), and they watch newcomers with wary eyes, ready to pull out a dagger or crossbow if they think they're being had. When it comes to travelers, the Guild might steal from them merely to secure a meeting in which more coercive means - ranging from debt settlement to outright blackmail - are used to secure the newcomer's services on an upcoming heist or con.Guildmaster Tallybod (Pl /male leprechaun/ 2 HD/ CN) is not what one would expect when receiving an audience with the Guild. Ugly, wrinkled, and with beady greedy little eyes, he sits on an oversized wooden throne inlaid with rare coins - The Throne of Coins - that only emphasizes his short stature. A shrewd negotiator with terrific business savvy, Tallybod has manipulated several Hurndor and powerful merchants into his pocket with dirty little secrets and the promise of giving them first pick of his fabled treasure. See, Tallybod's treasure is not supposed to be the normal leprechaun pot of gold, but something fabulous that even words cannot describe. One day, many decades ago, Tallybod showed up at Vergadain's doorstep offering his treasure to any dwarf who could guess his true name; the conditions were that each dwarf could only guess once and that if they failed they would perform an unnamed service for Tallybod. The promise of having first pick of his fabled treasure proved too great for some of the dwarven high-ups, including the former Guildmaster whose position Tallybod took after Guildmaster Glariin was left destitute and exiled in Curst. Several assassination attempts have been attempted on the devious little punter, possibly orchestrated by Glariin's followers, but no matter how grisly a death Tallybod seems to suffer, he reappears on the Throne of Coins the next day with a wicked gleam in his eye. The leprechaun, it would seem, cannot be killed.In spite of this, the Guild performs an essential task for Vergadain: the recovery of stolen or wrongfully claimed dwarven treasures (that means ALL dwarven treasure owned by non-dwarves). To this end, the Guild has an extensive training ground within its headquarters which holds several shifting portals to various prime worlds where dwarven thieves loyal to Vergadain operate. When especially difficult missions to recover a lost treasure fall outside of the rogues' expertise, they contract specialists and planewalkers. When working for the Guild, a body should make certain to get gold on the barrel head up front, otherwise they are notorious for stringing out their payments to get further favors from the hapless planewalker. When a treasure is recovered, usually it is brought back to Vergadain's Treasury or given to a worthy clan of prime dwarves, though inevitably the Guild takes more than their fair share of the leftovers. Recently, the Guild has had several run-ins with a gang of thieves called the Plunderers based out of Sigil; the Plunderers specialize in quick smash-and-grab jobs conducted on the prime via portal. If the Plunderers interfere in dwarven affairs one more time, it could be all out thieves' war between them and the Gilded Palm.</blockquote>

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