Crow Street Gang

Flag used by the Crow Street Gang.

The **Crow Street Gang** is a Crestian criminal organisation operating out of Whitecrest's Common District. Named after the place of their origin and headquarters, Crow Street, they are generally regarded as one of the more passive groups that make up the Crestian Syndicate.

Despite their historically large numbers, they have maintained influence around Crow Street and a few surrounding areas, but any ties beyond have eroded away over the years. Within the Syndicate, they often play the role of a mediator due to their neutral stance towards their fellow members.

The Crow Street Gang is best described as a jack of all trades, as they never truly specialised in one particular service or area. They have done it all, from charging protection money to assassination to smuggling. Recently, they have excelled in a few areas more than others, mainly through their fences and effective bookkeeping services, as even criminals require administrators. This is thanks to the work of Nathan Blackmoore, the de facto leader of the Crow Street Gang, as its actual leader, Julian Stinge, is extremely passive and widely regarded as incompetent.

## History

The Crow Street Gang was founded in 1180 AW by William Blackmoore, a half-Wyrsian resident of Crow Street in the Common District. Crow Street, at the time, was not under the control of any gang and mostly fended for itself. Blackmoore was, therefore, quickly able to expand his operations throughout the street, founding a small organisation with around 100 members native to the area. His motivations were relatively base, as he simply sought to make a profit amongst the chaos in Whitecrest at the time.

Blackmoore was crafty and charismatic, allowing him to expand his operations beyond Crow Street into the rest of the Common District and beyond. He let membership be flexible, with many of the Crow Street Gang's members having a dual membership with another gang. This gave them some degree of immunity from violence, as Blackmoore had members in just about every criminal organisation that could be used as collateral. The Crow Street Gang was a symbol that cooperation was possible between the criminals of the Eastern Districts, and they became an obvious candidate for the Crestian Syndicate.

William Blackmoore died in 1202 AW in his late seventies and was succeeded by Maas Stinge. Stinge was one of Blackmoore's favourite lieutenants, though it soon became clear his talents were better spent as a follower than a leader. Stinge suffered from tunnel vision and had neither the charisma nor energy required to maintain Blackmoore's seemingly endless list of partners. The vast network of connections began slowly dying off as associates were called upon less and less. Maas Stinge attempted to shift the Crow Street Gang into a more traditional organisation in response to this loss of influence. Contacts in far-flung corners two districts over were abandoned, and Maas Stinge outlawed Blackmoore's dual membership policy by the 1210s. Those loyal to his cause returned to Crow Street, where the gang began expanding into neighbouring streets, taking territory off the Dirtcloaks while Edmond Heyer was still imprisoned. This expansion ceased once he was freed by the Red Serfs in 1215 AW, though Heyer allowed Stinge to keep onto his new territory. In the long term, many of Maas Stinge's decisions proved disastrous. Most of the Syndicate's other gangs viewed Stinge's reign as unfavourable, as they had previously enjoyed fruitful relations with the Crow Street Gang. When Stinge cut it off without warning, it left a sour taste in the mouth of many.

Without a real purpose or way to expand, and with many ties severed, the Crow Street Gang increasingly weakened. While many knew their name from Blackmoore's glory days, the reality was that, under Stinge, their influence on Crestian criminal politics had become minimal at best. Stinge was assassinated by the League of Whitecrest in 1225 AW and was controversially replaced by his son, Julian. While Maas had trained Julian to be the best heir he could wish for, the reality was far more disappointing. Julian made reckless mistakes, losing lives and territory when he foolishly attacked the Dirtcloaks in a move that saw the Crow Street Gang nearly kicked from the Syndicate.

The gang's officers, some of which had served under Blackmoore, successfully reined in Julian's more violent impulses, yet this had the opposite effect than intended. Instead of being reckless, Julian Stinge became overly cautious and passive, never setting foot outside Crow Street anymore. Heading into the present day, the Crow Street Gang is a shell of its former self, with a small and outdated strip of territory to its name. Its policy of dual membership was reinstated at the behest of Julian's officers, giving them an inflated member count. The actual number of men loyal to Julian Stinge is little more than Blackmoore's original 100.

Yet, to call them loyal is an overstatement, as Julian Stinge is little more than a figurehead at this point in time. The true power of the Crow Street Gang lies under Nathan Blackmoore, the nephew of William Blackmoore and a well-respected senior officer. At the end of the day, he is the one who really calls the shots. Nathan Blackmoore has been critical in rebuilding some of the lost trust in the Crow Street Gang, operating a small albeit efficient network of fences across Whitecrest. He is also an expert notary and bookkeeper and has been employed by various other Syndicate gangs to manage their internal administration.

## Leaders

* William Blackmoore (1180-1202 AW)
* Maas Stinge (1202-1225 AW)
* Julian Stinge (1225 AW-)

## Members

* Julian Stinge - Leader
* Nathan Blackmoore - Officer and de facto Leader