The Skeletal Finger thieves guild were a notorious band of ambitious and powerful rogues active from the waning years of the 11th century to the mid–12th century DR.[2][3] In this time, they caused widespread chaos,[4] political upheaval,[citation needed] and the loss of at least one sacred relic.[2][5][4]
Organization[]
They were a secretive brotherhood.[2]
Base[]
They operated out of their "chapterhouse", a nigh-impregnable hideout deep in the Small Teeth mountains, on the border between Amn and Tethyr.[2][3]
History[]
The first act definitely attributed to the guild was the assassination of Imnel IV in the Year of the Crested Thrush, 1094 DR, which would spell the end of the Torlath royal family of Amn a year later.[citation needed]
They were blamed for numerous problems in both Amn and Tethyr, generally causing chaos in the lands surrounding their secret base in the Year of the Dawndance, 1095 DR.[4]
Some time in the Year of the Peryton, 1128 DR, in the wake of the defeat of the Magelords of Mintar by the Harpers, the Skeletal Finger came across many documents detailing an intricate plan of revenge against the dragon Sharpfangs, who had ravaged Mintar over a century earlier, including the location of her lair in the Marching Mountains and a few tantalizing details about her impressive hoard. It would be another 34 years before they finally acted upon this information.[3]
Until then, they preyed on other targets, including, it was suspected, repeated robberies of the temple of Helm run by Helm's Archpriest in Zazesspur. They pulled one more famous job in the Year of the Sword's Oath, 1142 DR: the theft of the monocle of Bagthalos, a sacred and powerful relic of Helm, crafted only a year before the theft to, ironically, catch the invisible thieves who were constantly breaking into the temple.[4][5][2] They took other treasures alongside it, but appeared to have done nothing (that was known of) with the monocle over ten years. Then, apparently because the guild did not understand the relic's power, the relic was put up for sale in the whisper markets of Athkatla and Ithmong for a paltry 45,000 gold pieces. It was offered discreetly for several years, but they couldn't find a buyer willing to pay so much for something so little-known.[2][5]
In the Year of the Prancing Centaur, 1162 DR, though, the guild finally invaded Sharpfang's lair, desiring to rob her of her hoard. They got past her traps but unfortunately for them, woke the mighty dragon in the process. The would-be thieves fled and the enraged Sharpfangs followed them back to their hideout. She slaughtered the guild to a man and took all of their accumulated loot, including the monocle.[1][2][3][5]
By 1362 DR, with all of her traps at home disabled, she moved her hoard into the Skeletal Finger chapterhouse, making it her new lair and improving upon the defenses already set in place for the next 200 years (in-between her customary long periods of sleep).[1][2][3][5]
Appendix[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Steven E. Schend (August 1997). “Book Two: Amn”. In Roger E. Moore ed. Lands of Intrigue (TSR, Inc.), p. 22. ISBN 0-7869-0697-9.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 David "Zeb" Cook (December 1993). Book of Artifacts. (TSR, Inc), p. 61. ISBN 978-1560766728.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Eric L. Boyd, Eytan Bernstein (August 2006). Dragons of Faerûn. Edited by Beth Griese, Cindi Rice, Kim Mohan. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 20, 23–24. ISBN 0-7869-3923-0.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Steven E. Schend (August 1997). “Book Two: Amn”. In Roger E. Moore ed. Lands of Intrigue (TSR, Inc.), p. 21. ISBN 0-7869-0697-9.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Eric L. Boyd, Eytan Bernstein (August 2006). Dragons of Faerûn. Edited by Beth Griese, Cindi Rice, Kim Mohan. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 137. ISBN 0-7869-3923-0.