The idea of a thieves guild was slow to catch on, as many thieves rebelled against any form of leadership, and it wasn’t until after Batard Ost took power that the guild began living up to its name. During his first two months, the coldly calculating Ost made violent, bloody examples of any thief found violating the guild’s orders. Unlike his predecessors, Ost was in the prime of his career and more than a match for any up-and-coming rogues. Seeing that the guild was capable of enforcing its promises (and that Ost would target them if they didn’t pay tribute), the shopkeepers of Cillamar’s Common Quarter quietly began making regular payments into the guild’s coffers.
n
The last few years have brought even more dramatic changes. The influx of refugees has swollen the populationof Cillamar (and especially the Warrens) with the desperate and poor. No longer a young man eager for power, Ost has grown into the neighborhood’s de facto leader, solving disputes like a judge, trading favors for promises of loyalty, and negotiating (thought proxies) with Cillamar’s law enforcement and upper class. While the Guild has blossomed under Ost’s able leadership, there are many among them who remember the old days, when chaos ruled and every thief was his own king. Add to this the rising generation of Warland thieves who have never had a home, plus the push by Cillamar’s upper class to halt the rise in crime, and the result is a back-alley powder keg waiting to be ignited.
n
For all the enemies gathering against him, Ost has proven to be a cunning leader, with an eye on the long-term health of his guild, rather than on the night’s take. And whenever the need should arise, the cool, quiet guildmaster can still shame the best of Cillamar’s assassins.
n