The Blueskull Company is an international mercenary organization originally from the city of Montegio, in the nation of Celere. The organization was founded as a traditional fighter's guild, though the passage of the Guild Crimes Act in 5E 95 forced them underground. Now operating outside traditional legal frameworks, the guild has slowly expanded beyond its intended role, transforming into a hybrid thieves and assassin's guild.
History
Founding
In the year 3E 558, three men were enjoying drinks in The Blue Skull, a popular tavern in Montegio. The three men, Donn Vuallain, Maxwell Hudson, and Eury Keathes, were in search of mercenaries, but found themselves disheartened by those available for hire. In their eyes, most of them lacked honor, choosing to cling to the shadows to avoid direct confrontation. The tavern owner, known to the locals as Old Blue, agreed with the men, and offered to help them establish their own guild, one that placed honor above all else.
Despite the Blueskull company citing this as their founding date, the guild wasn't officially recognized until 3E 563. The original guild charter outlined the Blueskull Company as an "Honorable Guild of Fighters and Sell-Swords" and strictly forbade what it viewed as "Dis-Honorable Dealings" such as stealth and trickery. This exclusionary approach worried many in the surrounding community, as Celere was already well-known for its abundance of organizations that offered competing services without the pretense of "honor". Much to their surprise, however, the Blueskull Company was very quickly growing in popularity, as many merchants and mercenaries found themselves preferring the "honorable" approach that the Blueskull Company offered.
War and Expansion
Despite initial success, the guild would soon fall on hard times when the War of the Shattered Blades saw nearly all of their able-bodied mercenaries drafted to serve in the Celeri military. As tensions rose and the nation of Celere grew ever more isolationist, contracts began to dry up fast, leading many of the mercenary guilds to engage in a "race to the bottom" on every contract by offering to accept a lower reward than their rivals. The Blueskull Company had engaged in this practice as well in the early years, though its leadership was hesitant to do so.
