The Foxnon Family

The Foxnon Family is one of the most powerful criminal organisations in the Arkadian Republic. From its humble start as a gang of smugglers and thieves, the group has risen to become one of the most influential forces in Zoltravni. They have a stranglehold on the smuggling trade and own the majority of the gambling halls in the Republic, while most of the fences and thieves in the Republic either work directly for them or pay tribute in exchange for independence. The group controls a vast network of extortion, blackmail, and graft that extends throughout the city, and their influence reaches far beyond the criminal underworld. The early Minotaur patriarchs invested wisely over the centuries, and today the group is one of the Thirteen, the elite tier of the Republic’s criminal aristocracy. The Foxnon Family own warehouses, taverns, and inns throughout the Republic, and it has a considerable interest in the shipping trade, hence why they also have a strong station within Solarius. A member of the organisation sits on the city council of Vraehorat, and the current head of the syndicate is a member of the Solarius Council.

As much as some other members of the Solarius Council and many others would like to see the group disbanded, the syndicate is unlikely to collapse any time soon.

The core membership of the crime syndicate—comprising about one in six of its members—is an extended family of minotaurs descended from travellers who came from Udec to Zoltravni. Another third of the members are unrelated to minotaurs, being lycans, shifters and the like, and the rest belong to other species. The syndicate employs a wide variety of bookkeepers and administrators as well as burglars, con artists, smugglers, and other criminals. When a situation calls for physical violence, the family usually hires freelancers—members of the Vraehorat Guard or other agents among the city. The syndicate family proper has a team of personal bodyguards called the Bullfighters, who are mostly fierce goliath warriors recently relocated from the Coal Spines. They primarily defend the syndicate holdings and headquarters in the upper district of Vraehorat.

The Foxnon family has an intimidating reputation for omnipotence that makes even the forces of law and order in the Republic hesitant to cross it. It's far safer to be an ally of the syndicate, or at least to stay out of its way, than it is to be its enemy—and it's more lucrative to boot. The following groups count themselves among the syndicate's closest allies:

The head of the Foxnon Family, Zamjak Foxnon, is engaged to be married to the daughter of the Vraehorat guildmaster of fashion, Mirabelle Cazenave. This planned marriage has created important ties between the syndicate and the aristocracy within Vraehorat. Members of the Foxnon family can secure a lot of resources for free, and other members of the syndicate receive a 10 percent discount at the Vraehorat houses of fashion and beauty.

Of the seventeen lesser members of Solarius’s city council, three have close ties to the Foxnon family—including one financial legislator, Skelbass Wikam, who reports directly to the head of the syndicate. These three vote as a block to ensure that the council doesn't take direct action against the syndicate, while enough of the other council members fear the syndicate that they tend to carry the vote. A member of the family can call in a favour to secure an audience with one of these councillors, though such does not guarantee aid.

The Foxnon’s have been bribing captains of the Montrike Watch for generations. What's more, if the crime syndicate and their organisation collapsed, the underworld would erupt in anarchy as dozens of petty crime lords fought for territory and position. As a result, a member of the syndicate can call in a favour to get minor criminal charges dismissed.

Despite the crime syndicate's position of strength in Montrike and the surrounding cities, it has many foes, and their unrelenting assaults have put the syndicate in what might be its most precarious position ever. Currently, the following groups pose the greatest threats to the Foxnon’s interests:

* **The Moonwalkers.** The monstrous criminal guild called the Moonwalkers, a group of lycanthropes wronged by society, has started launching violent raids against the Montrike Minotaurs holdings over the last two years. A fearless organisation using guerrilla tactics and berserker fighting, the Moonwalkers have managed to circumvent the Minotaurs security and avoid serious reprisals for a range of violent thefts and sabotages as a result of their actions. Agents of the Moonwalkers go out of their way to harm up-and-coming Minotaur agents.

* **Solarius Council and Guard.** Despite three friends on the city council, the Montrike Minotaurs have several enemies on the council as well. At least three councilors oppose the syndicate and their actions because of genuine concern for their constituents; two more oppose the syndicate because they're part of rival organisations . Because of their influence, the council has so far refused to devote any resources to combating the rise of the Moonwalkers or the Stonesword Watch, hoping the monstrous guild or the ruthless warriors will bring down the syndicate. Individual members of the Minotaurs can be sure that these councillors will oppose any petition they might bring to the council.