The Dockers

The Dockers formally the Union of Longshoremen are responsible for loading and unloading the cargo that come in on the merchant ships. In addition to this most obvious of things though the Dockers do maintain sizeable gambling dens in their territory almost exclusively on floating barges that move throughout the area. In this way they say at least that technically no gambling is taking place in Arbor just upon its waters. As one of two main avenues into the city they are also responsible for a good deal of smuggling in the city providing illicit goods to those who have the coin to pay for them and sneaking people and other contraband out.

"Almost everything that leaves or comes into the city passes through Docker hands so if you're wanting something or want to get rid of something you're best off being friendly with them."
-Filtwick 'Whiskers' Black

Public Agenda

Publicly the Dockers maintain that their only goal is to keep the flow of goods in and out of Arbor moving and that nothing should disrupt the trade that provides livelihood for so many. In addition to this they run several Casinos upon the water of the Silver River catering to a unique night life that isn't availble anywhere else in the city.

History:

Pre Steam Era:

The Dockers started as a collection of day workers and families that operated in and around the then much less important dockyards, this was before steam and before any of the factories began operating in full. The docks themselves were owned by a single family the Deckers which they gained by being good upstanding members of the The Order of the Fallen Leaves. The Decker family squeezed the docks, it's workers and any merchants that used them for every bit of coin they could growing disgustingly wealthy in the process.

Post Steam Era:

When steam power came into fruition and goods began to be produced at an alarming rate the need to ship them out of the city became more important than ever and their coffers became bloated with a glut of coin. However perhaps with all that greed the family didn't realise the precariousness of their situation or their members own mortality as one by one all of the heirs met untimely early ends and before anything could be done about it the last surviving Decker was killed in an honor duel. Ordinarily this would might not have been a problem as branch families would have simply taken over but the writ that allowed the Deckers to profit and effectively own the docks was tied to their family name alone.

A Transfer of Power

Luckily or not a lost Decker heir was found, Noah Decker. Born as the result of a dalliance by one of the Decker girls who had been banished from the family after having an illicit affair with a young dock worker. Noah was the sole remaining heir to the Decker estate, unluckily for the branch families who stood to gain from this Noah was no fool and he had no love for the Decker family having been the subject of their brutal regimens. He put plans into motion that transferred ownership of the docks over to the families that worked them. Of course this enraged the branch families and Factory Bosses who had deals in place to take over the docks once the Deckers were no more.

War on the Water

In near every sense a war was waged for control of the docks and ordinarily the disparate families and workers would have stood no chance. However Patriot a sentient construct organized the workers and families into an effective militia and union pushing out the Factory Bosses that had thought the new company easy pickings for a hostile takeover. Attempts to murder Patriot failed and even when the Factory Bosses thought they had succeeded he simply reappeared a few days later. After months of fighting the bosses organized and the Arbiter of Production proposed a deal working with the new company would be better for profits than continuing the blood shed. Several grumbling bosses later and the Union of Longshoreman was formed and have since taken over completely from the old families that used to control the area. As the Decker family already had a seat on The Silver Council Noah was quickly elected as spokesman for the group to represent them at the council and the seat was bought with what remained of the Decker family fortune.

Attire / Common Garb / Quirks:

The Dockers have no set uniform though there are a number of items common to many of them. An interesting quirk of many of the dockers though is that due to the footwear they utilize for their day to day activities they can often be seen walking up walls rather than using alleys to get to other sides of buildings. In addition due to the docks nature it's one of the few places where light spills down more frequently and as such the people that work there have developed quite the tan and sun bleached hair.

1. A red and white striped bandana or article of clothing
2. A pair of The Golden Man brand slip proof shoes
3. Some kind of bludgeoning weapon

Written Description:

As the huge box hits the ground with a thud you catch the sight of the person swinging around this heavy load. If one is sun kissed with a tan this person has been sun punched, their skin so saturated with the light from above. In addition their hair whatever colour it may have been has gone a pale shade of blonde and their clothes have seen similar bleaching. But wrapped around the right there is the unmistakable sign of the Dockers the red and white stripped bandana.

Structure and Hierarchy:

The Union of Longshoreman operates in a pure Democracy which is an odd thing in the middle of a Plutocracy. Each member of the Dockers has a single vote which they can cast should any decisions need to be made about wages, contract negotiations and any other such matters. The way this is accomplished is via a special spell unique to the dockers that allows them to cast these votes telepathically. In addition to this people that are handling these things are also voted into offices that manage those finances and negotiations instead of act as Dockers though they will have at least had a few years on the docks to build up the necessary reputation and good will to be voted into these positions. These are the current official positions but in times when others are needed they can be voted on to create more.

Notable People

• Noah Decker Representative of the Union of Longshoreman to the The Silver Council
• Patriot Sentient Construct and the flame of resistance

Territory:

Fairly obviously they control most of the main dockyards, the exception being a small piece that is carved out for use by the The Ferrymen. They also control most of the waterways in and out of the city along with large sections of the areas around the docks themselves as these are used for storage of goods in transit and any offices they might need. Several floating barges with Casinos on them float with the inland harbor which the Dockers also control and maintain.

Notable Structures:

The Harbour Masters Villa:

The original purpose of this building was to provide a place where the harbour master could conduct his business and keep a close eye on the docks should anyone try to skip out on paying the old Decker family. These days it's the base of operations for the Dockers and their activities within and without of their territory. The building is more like a fort than a villa reinforced walls automatic doors and powerful steam cannons make the place a truly formidable structure and given it withstood 5 days of constant barrage during the war on the water it isn't surprising it looks the way it does today.

The Last Safe Place

A massive barge in the middle of the water, The Last Safe Place is a truly massive casino boat, though to call it a boat is a the largest stretch one could make as it just barely floats and at this point cannot leave the harbour due to it's bulk. All manner of gambling takes place upon the boat and it is easily the largest of such vessels on the water. It caters to any and all who wish to spend their Leaves gambling and turns no one away save for those who might cause trouble.

Loathing

Factory Bosses

-75

The Dockers

-75

There is a great amount of hatred between these two groups due in part to their wildly different philosophies.