This group of criminals acts as the eyes and ears of every other criminal organization in town. They have a group of central leadership who designates which messengers watch what parts of the city and deals with disputes between clients and messengers. These messengers mostly rely on thieves cant to speak and will give information to all sides unless someone pays them enough.
Symbols
The Watching eyes messengers each have a small identifying trinket worn in a visible location. Instead of names, this trinket represents that this messenger is working and what their name is should there be any disputes. Every messenger dresses differently, but the color scheme they wear is the same. Starting from the shoes and going up
Shoes: Black shoes with either wings or a symbol for the god of messengers in white on them.
Pants: Basic Brown pants, everyday common pants.
Undershirt: a light tan undershirt with no distinctive features on it
Over covering: Either a jacket, cloak, shawl, coat, or bandanna in deep burgundy red.
Top piece: depending on the over covering, a hat or head wrap or bandanna/ face mask in deep black.
Any Watching eye wearing both their trinket and this combination is “working” and can be approached for information.
Crimes/ Business
The Watching eyes act as informants for any group in the city, evil or lawful as long as they can lay the price for their information. The criminal portion comes from the ruthless manner they deal with threats to their messengers, and the messengers themselves if they fail in their job. For the right price, messengers can also be convinced to not give information to anyone else. If a group of criminals have been discovered to be traitors and are planning to kill the king, a messenger can be paid and that information will go no further. The messengers do sell to the police or law enforcement, but also withhold from them.
Hierarchy
Starting from lowest to highest
Apprentice runner
These are individuals who are learning the basics of how to deliver messages and will eventually become full messengers. They do not yet have a trinket of their own and are instead referred to by the title of the messenger they serve under.
Clients
Those that information is sold to and bought from, the Watching eyes respect its customers, but puts its own members above them.
Messengers
Basic messengers who have made it past the apprentice phase and have their own trinket now. Working almost constantly and lives in one of a few messengers “hives” with other low ranking messengers.
Senior Messenger
After reaching a certain level of trust and usefulness, messengers are given the opportunity to sell the information they find on their own time, out of uniform. They are not protected for this information, but it keeps them happier. They also get to move out of the “hives” and into their own homes. These types of messengers are denoted by a smaller secondary trinket that has a pair of red wings visible on it.
Black Bags
The inter organization faction responsible for removing messengers, or watchers who are ineffective or dangerous. They are given an order by the head of the organization. It is uncertain how many they are or what they do when they aren’t enforcing the rules of the Watching eyes amongst its members. They wear no signifying dress, only attacking and killing when there is no one else around to observe them.
Dead Hands
The faction responsible for dealing out justice to those who harm a messenger, watcher or any other under the protection of the Watching eyes.
Dispatch
A few leaders handpicked to organize which watchers go where and who they should observe. Senior watchers pick their own locations to observe.
Watchers
Wearing no identification, these individuals lurk around the city collecting information and going back to hives to deliver this to messengers. The one common piece is a homing spell woven into their clothing and a piece of gold with the same spell. This helps dead hands find who has harmed the watchers if they go missing.
Secret keepers
These are those who have been given information that was paid for to keep quiet, they act as insurance for the entire organization, unclear how many there are or where they live. No identifying symbols.
The Hundred Eyed One
His real name is a closely guarded secret, he makes a final judgment on the fates of watchers, messengers, and every other facet of the organization. He personally revels in the secrets he learns and is told every bit of information the secret keepers know. Only he has the books which detail every member of the organization. He speaks with a heavy lisp and uses a generic tough-guy soldier to act as his figurehead. He is whippet-thin and prides himself on his sneaky nature. He started this organization as he was already spying on everyone he knew. While he has a taste for the finer things in life, he understands the need to keep a low profile. His hobbies include creating and solving riddles and puzzles. He thinks himself a master of wordplay and Will spout horrible poems when he gets the chance. He stays secluded in a building when he’s working taking information and creating assignments for dispatch to hand out. When RP Ing him, have him constantly trying to find out as much about the players as possible while giving them next to nothing. He is fidgety and speaks in riddles to avoid giving things about himself away.
Rules of Conduct
Watching eyes believe in being honest about the type of info they have to offer. Is it new, or important or merely some old trivial tidbit. The rules are as follows
While in uniform, a messenger must be honest truthful and fair when deciding prices for info Anyone is a client for information no matter who they serve. Any information that has been sufficiently paid to keep quiet must be immediately reported to a secret keeper. A failure to abide by these rules will see a messenger blinded by the black bags. Speaking in thieves can’t is important for appearances, but to avoid mix-ups of vital information, regular common will suffice.
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