Black Sky Cartel

“Everything Has a Price”

“We provide what others won’t. Judge us if you like. Then come back when you need us.”

Quick Reference

Black Sky Cartel - Everything Has a Price

Overview

The Black Sky Cartel is the Aetherium’s premier criminal organization—controlling black markets, smuggling routes, illegal substances, and services no legitimate business provides. Headquartered in Murky Chasm, with operations everywhere, the Cartel fills gaps legal systems leave: forbidden goods, untraceable services, and desperate solutions.

Under mysterious leader “The Captain,” the Cartel operates with surprising professionalism: contracts honored, prices fair (by criminal standards), violence minimized (bad for business), and long-term strategy prioritized over short-term gains. This makes them dangerous but reliable—qualities that keep them in business despite constant opposition.

The Cartel faces existential threat from Commandant Vask’s planned military campaign. If Ironhold attacks Murky Chasm, the Cartel’s headquarters and leadership could be destroyed. Preparations accelerate: intelligence gathering, defensive measures, contingency plans. The question: Can criminals defeat organized military? Or will Aetherium’s underworld be eliminated?

Structure

The Captain

Identity: Unknown (completely)

Authority: Absolute (within Cartel)

Method: Orders through intermediaries

Speculation: Single person? Committee? Myth? (See character entry)

Regional Leaders

Vex Shadowhand (Murky Chasm operations): - Actually three siblings - Manages black market - Arbitrates disputes - Reports to Captain

[Other Regional Leaders]: - Major settlements (DM populate) - Independent operations - Coordinate through Captain

Structure

Core Operatives: ~300 (professional criminals)

Affiliates: Thousands (independent criminals cooperating)

Support: Corrupt officials, informants, muscle-for-hire

Enforcement: Grim and similar enforcers

Operations

Black Market Goods

Rot-Shards: - Primary commodity (dangerous, lucrative) - Acquired from Murk/Deeps - Sold to desperate/foolish - Highly illegal (death penalty most places)

Weapons: - Illegal types - Stolen military hardware - Custom assassin tools

Contraband: - Forbidden texts - Stolen artifacts - Restricted substances

Forged Documents: - Identity papers - Travel permits - Trade licenses

Services

Smuggling: - Move anything anywhere - High prices (reflect risk) - Reliable (reputation matters)

Information: - Intelligence (buy/sell) - Blackmail material - Secrets (priced appropriately)

Assassination: - Subcontracted (not direct Cartel) - Vetted professionals only - Quality guaranteed

Protection Rackets: - Some locations (not everywhere) - “Insurance” against problems - Problems often Cartel-created

Business Philosophy

The Code (Inferred)

Keep Contracts: Reputation is asset (honor deals)

Fair Pricing: Expensive but not exploitative (return customers)

Minimize Violence: Bad for business (use when necessary)

Long-Term Thinking: Sustainability over quick profit

No Slavery: Exception to amorality (Captain’s rule)

Professional Standards: Cartel isn’t chaos (organized crime)

Why Successful

Reliability: Clients know what to expect

Competence: Professionals, not thugs

Monopoly: Eliminated competition (ruthlessly)

Need: Provides actually needed services

Fear: Cross Cartel, consequences certain

Territory

Headquarters

Murky Chasm: - Main base (lawless settlement) - Vex’s domain - Heavily defended - Vask’s target

Major Presence

The Underbelly (Ironhold’s underside): - Secret operations - Under Vask’s nose - Risky but lucrative

Skyport Eos: - Merchant Vex (Vex Three operating legitimate front) - Significant market presence - Tolerated by authorities (can’t eliminate, appears legitimate)

Floating Market: - Opportunity (mobile customers) - Competition (independent traders)

Minor Operations

Present in most settlements (low profile)

Relationships

Enemies

Commandant Vask: - Existential threat (planning attack) - Cartel preparing defense - Open warfare coming?

Ironhold Military: - Constant opposition - Many skirmishes - Neither side winning (yet)

Constellation Clergy: - Moral opposition - Rot-Shard trade especially condemned - Clergy can’t stop them (no military power)

Rivals

Sky-Guild: - Economic competition - Guild legal, Cartel not - Coexist tensely

Independent Criminals: - Tolerated if non-threatening - Eliminated if challenging

Neutral

Skyport Eos: - Elder Mira tolerates (can’t eliminate) - Cartel keeps low profile - Functional détente

Floating Market: - No conflict (different niches) - Some cooperation (mutual benefit)

Clients

Everyone (secretly): - Wealthy (forbidden luxuries) - Poor (cheap contraband) - Officials (bribes, services) - Rebels (weapons, support)

Strengths

Decentralization: Hard to destroy (no single point of failure)

Intelligence Network: Knows everything (informants everywhere)

Adaptability: Flexible operations (responds to threats)

Resources: Wealthy (illegal profits high)

Ruthlessness: Will do what necessary (no moral limits)

Vulnerabilities

Murky Chasm Concentration: - Headquarters exposed - Vask’s target - Could cripple Cartel if destroyed

Captain Mystery: - If exposed, vulnerable - If killed, succession crisis? - Unknown replacement process

Illegal Status: - Constant law enforcement pressure - Can’t operate openly - Limited growth potential

Internal Cohesion: - Held together by profit/fear - Could fragment if weakened

Current Crisis

Vask’s Campaign

Intelligence: - Cartel knows (informants in Ironhold) - Preparations underway - Options limited

Defense Plans: - Fortify Murky Chasm - Evacuate key personnel/resources - Asymmetric warfare (guerrilla tactics) - Diplomatic? (unlikely)

Outcome Scenarios: - Cartel Victory: Unlikely (military inferior) - Costly Defense: Possible (make Vask pay dearly) - Survival: Most likely (fragments survive, rebuild) - Elimination: Possible but doubtful (too distributed)

Notable Members

• The Captain: Supreme leader (identity unknown)
• Vex Shadowhand: Murky Chasm operations (actually three siblings)
  • Vex One: Public face in Murky Chasm
  • Vex Two: Enforcement and intelligence
  • Vex Three: Operates as Merchant Vex in Skyport Eos
• Grim: Enforcer (silent, terrifying, efficient)
• Regional Leaders: DM populate as needed

Secrets

The Captain’s Identity

See character entry—ultimate mystery

The Informant Network

Extent: - Hundreds of informants - All settlements - Some highly placed (officials, military, Guild)

Method: - Money (primary) - Blackmail (occasional) - Ideology (rare—some believe in Cartel)

Value: Priceless (advance warning of threats)

The Rot-Shard Sources

Suppliers: - Scavengers (Periphery, Murk) - Desperate Rot-Touched (sell own corruption) - Thieves (steal from institutions) - Production? (disturbing possibility)

Processing: Secret locations (refining raw shards)

Distribution: Complex network (hard to trace)

The Escape Plan

Contingency: - If Murky Chasm falls - Key personnel evacuated - Resources hidden (caches everywhere) - Rebuild elsewhere

Captain’s Survival: - Highest priority - Multiple escape routes - Unknown location backup

Joining the Cartel

Recruitment Process

No Applications: Cartel recruits you (you don’t apply)

How They Find You: - Demonstrate useful skills (theft, violence, piloting, etc.) - Operate in their territory (Murky Chasm, Underbelly) - Come to their attention (positively or negatively) - Approached by recruiter (if deemed useful)

The Offer: - Work for Cartel (specific job) - Prove yourself (complete job successfully) - If successful: More jobs (increasing responsibility) - If failed: Disappear (Cartel doesn’t tolerate failure)

No Formal Initiation: Gradual integration - Start as contractor (one-off jobs) - Become associate (regular work) - Become member (trusted, inner circle) - Become lieutenant (leadership position) - Process takes years (trust is earned slowly)

The Unspoken Oath: - Loyalty (betray Cartel = death) - Competence (failure is unacceptable) - Silence (never talk to authorities) - Profit-sharing (Cartel takes cut) - Understand: This is criminal organization (no illusions)

Daily Life of Cartel Member

Varies by Role:

Smuggler (Common): - Transport illegal goods (Rot-Shards, weapons, stolen items) - Avoid authorities (patrols, inspections) - Deliver to clients (dangerous locations) - Collect payment (sometimes by force)

Enforcer (Muscle): - Collect debts (intimidation, violence if necessary) - Protect Cartel operations (guard shipments, territory) - Punish betrayers (examples must be made) - Maintain fear (reputation is power)

Fence (Middleman): - Buy stolen goods (no questions asked) - Sell to clients (markup significant) - Maintain contacts (buyers, sellers, informants) - Launder money (make illegal profits look legitimate)

Informant (Spy): - Infiltrate institutions (Guild, military, Clergy) - Report to Cartel (advance warning of threats) - Sabotage when ordered (rare but happens) - Live double life (exhausting, dangerous)

The Reality: Dangerous - Authorities hunt you (arrest or execution) - Rivals kill you (competition is violent) - Cartel kills you (if you betray or fail) - Stress is constant (paranoia, violence, fear) - But: Money (if successful) - But: Power (respect through fear) - But: Freedom (no conventional rules)

Cartel Jargon and Slang

“Black-Marked”: Targeted for death (Cartel contract)

“Captain’s Eye”: Being watched by leadership (good or bad)

“Grim’s Visit”: Assassination (after Grim, the enforcer)

“Murk-Money”: Illegal profits (untraceable)

“Shard-Runner”: Rot-Shard smuggler (dangerous, profitable)

“Vex’s Discount”: Stolen goods at below-market price

“Clean Job”: No witnesses, no evidence (professional hit)

“Messy Job”: Witnesses, evidence, problems (amateur work)

“The Underbelly”: Skyport Eos Cartel operations (hidden)

“Chasm-Bound”: Murky Chasm resident (Cartel heartland)

“Informant-Touched”: Suspected of being spy (dangerous accusation)

“The Captain’s Word”: Final authority (absolute)

Internal Structure

The Captain’s Authority

Absolute Power: The Captain’s word is law - No appeals (decisions are final) - No challenges (challengers disappear) - No questions (obey or die)

Mystery Maintains Power: - Unknown identity (can’t be targeted) - Unknown location (can’t be found) - Unknown appearance (could be anyone) - Fear of unknown (more powerful than known threat)

Communication: - Through lieutenants (never direct) - Written orders (delivered by trusted couriers) - Rare appearances (masked, voice disguised) - Maintains mystique (legend grows)

Lieutenant Structure

Five Lieutenants (Named): - Vex Shadowhand (Murky Chasm operations) - [Four others unnamed—DM can populate]

Responsibilities: - Manage territory (specific region or operation type) - Report to Captain (regular updates) - Enforce Captain’s orders (absolute obedience) - Compete with each other (Captain encourages this—prevents unity against them)

Selection: - Promoted from within (prove capability) - Captain’s choice (no voting, no democracy) - Serve until death or removal (no retirement)

Cell Structure

Compartmentalization: Deliberate - Cells operate independently (don’t know each other) - If one cell caught, others safe - Information limited (need-to-know basis) - Resilient (can’t destroy entire Cartel)

Cell Types: - Smuggling: Transport illegal goods - Enforcement: Violence, intimidation, collection - Fencing: Buy/sell stolen goods - Information: Spying, intelligence gathering - Specialist: Unique operations (assassination, sabotage, etc.)

Operations and Activities

Smuggling Operations

Rot-Shards (Most Profitable): - Acquire from Murk (scavengers, Rot-Touched) - Refine (secret process, dangerous) - Transport (avoid authorities) - Sell (alchemists, researchers, addicts) - Profit: 500-1000% markup - Risk: Extreme (possession is death penalty)

Weapons (Steady Income): - Steal from military (corrupt soldiers) - Import from unknown sources (pre-Shattering finds?) - Sell to anyone (criminals, rebels, paranoid merchants) - Profit: 200-300% markup - Risk: High (weapon trafficking is serious crime)

Stolen Goods (Bread and Butter): - Fence for thieves (buy at 20-30% value) - Sell to clients (at 70-80% value) - Profit: 40-60% markup (volume business) - Risk: Moderate (theft is common crime)

Contraband (Various): - Forbidden texts (heretical, dangerous) - Exotic substances (drugs, poisons) - Illegal services (assassination, sabotage) - Profit: Variable (depends on item) - Risk: Variable (depends on item)

Protection Rackets

The Offer: “Pay us, we protect you”

The Reality: “Pay us, we won’t hurt you”

Targets: Merchants, taverns, brothels (anyone with income)

Rates: 10-20% of profits (monthly)

Enforcement: Violence (if refuse to pay)

Justification: “We actually do protect (from other criminals)”

Truth: Partially true (Cartel does prevent other crime in their territory)

Assassination Services

Availability: If you can pay (50-500 Coins depending on target)

Process: - Client approaches Vex or lieutenant - Target specified, payment negotiated - Contract accepted or refused (Cartel chooses jobs) - Assassin assigned (usually Grim or specialist) - Target eliminated (professional, clean) - Payment collected (no refunds)

Rules: - No children (Cartel has some standards) - No random violence (business, not chaos) - Clean jobs preferred (witnesses are problems) - Professional (quick, efficient, minimal collateral)

Reputation: Feared (Cartel assassinations are legendary)

Success Stories

The Murky Chasm Establishment (Year 105 S.)

Achievement: Created safe haven for criminals, outcasts Cartel Role: Organized, protected, governed (loosely) Impact: Murky Chasm thrives (600+ residents) Legacy: Proof that even criminals can build community

The Guild Standoff (Year 172 S.)

Event: Guild tried to eliminate Cartel Cartel Response: Economic warfare (disrupted Guild trade) Result: Stalemate (Guild withdrew) Legacy: Cartel proved it can’t be eliminated

The Informant Network (Ongoing)

Achievement: Spies in every major institution Cartel Role: Recruited, paid, managed informants Impact: Advance warning of threats (Cartel survives) Legacy: Cartel knows everything (information is power)

Failures and Costs

The Ironhold Purge (Year 267 S.)

Event: Commandant Vask crackdown on Cartel operations Casualties: 40+ Cartel members killed or imprisoned Impact: Ironhold operations destroyed (haven’t recovered) Legacy: Cartel fears Vask (avoids Ironhold)

The Betrayer’s Fate (Year 279 S.)

Event: Lieutenant betrayed Cartel (sold information to Guild) Cartel Response: Grim hunted them down (took 3 months) Result: Lieutenant killed (publicly, brutally) Message: Betrayal = death (no exceptions) Impact: No betrayals since (fear is effective)

The Rot-Shard Addiction Crisis (Ongoing)

Problem: Rot-Shards are addictive (users become dependent) Impact: Creating addicts (moral cost) Cartel Position: “We supply demand, we don’t create it” Reality: They profit from suffering Guilt: Some members uncomfortable (most ignore it)

In-World Documents

The Captain’s Message (Delivered to New Lieutenant)

Welcome to leadership.

You’ve proven yourself. You’re trusted. You’re powerful.

But understand: Power is responsibility. Failure is death. Betrayal is worse than death.

You serve me. I serve the Cartel. The Cartel serves profit.

Profit is how we measure success. Loyalty is how we measure worth.

Be profitable. Be loyal. Be ruthless when necessary. Be smart always.

I’m watching. I’m always watching.

Serve well, and you’ll be rewarded. Serve poorly, and you’ll be replaced.

Betray me, and you’ll be example.

Welcome to the Black Sky Cartel. We are family. We are business. We are power.

Don’t disappoint me.

—The Captain

Vex Shadowhand’s Price List

VEX’S ARMORY - DISCREET SALES

“No questions asked. No names recorded. No Guild taxes.”

WEAPONS (All prices negotiable): - Stolen Ironhold sword: 20 Coins (70% off legal price) - Poisoned dagger: 30 Coins (includes poison) - Hand crossbow: 20 Coins (assassination special) - Garrote: 5 Coins (silent, effective) - Alchemical fire (3 vials): 25 Coins (burn anything)

ARMOR (Limited stock): - Stolen chainmail: 40 Coins (military grade) - Partial plate: 100 Coins (officer’s armor, “acquired”)

EXOTIC (Rare, expensive): - Pre-Shattering pistol: 1200 Coins (12 bullets included) - Crystal dagger: 600 Coins (never dulls) - Storm-Serpent scale (single): 200 Coins (craft your own)

ROT-SHARDS (Dangerous): - Raw shard: 50 Coins (unrefined, unstable) - Refined shard: 100 Coins (stable, potent) - Compound Theta-7: 80 Coins (stolen from Kael’s lab)

SERVICES: - Weapon modification: 10-50 Coins (poison grooves, hidden blades) - Armor fitting: 20 Coins (make stolen armor fit) - Training: 50 Coins per month (learn to use what you bought) - Assassination: 50-500 Coins (target-dependent)

DISCLAIMER: All sales final. Malfunction not my problem. Getting caught not my problem. Dying not my problem. Buy at your own risk.

—Vex Shadowhand, Proprietor

Informant’s Report (Intercepted)

TO: Cartel Leadership FROM: Informant #47 (Skyport Eos Guard) SUBJECT: Upcoming Raid

WARNING: Guard Captain Deryn planning raid on Underbelly operations (Day 134, dawn).

Details: - 20 guards (heavily armed) - Target: Vex’s warehouse - Goal: Seize contraband, arrest operators

Recommendation: Evacuate warehouse, hide contraband, disappear personnel.

Payment: 50 Coins (usual rate)

Personal Note: This is getting dangerous. Deryn is suspicious. I might be compromised. If I disappear, assume I was caught. Don’t contact me again.

—Informant #47

Cartel Response: Warehouse evacuated. Raid found nothing. Informant paid. Deryn frustrated. Success.

Grim’s Contract (Assassination Order)

TARGET: Merchant Theron Quickcoin

Reason: Owes Cartel 500 Coins (6 months overdue)

Method: Clean (no witnesses, no evidence)

Timeline: Within 7 days

Payment: 100 Coins (standard rate)

Notes: Target is paranoid (bodyguards, secure location). Make it look like accident or Rot-Beast attack.

Grim’s Response: [No words. Just nod. Job accepted.]

Result (Day 5): Target found dead (apparent fall from island edge, drunk). No evidence of foul play. Cartel debt settled. Grim paid.

Cartel Member’s Diary

Day 1 as Cartel Associate

Did my first job. Smuggled Rot-Shards from Murk to Eos. Avoided patrols. Delivered successfully. Paid 50 Coins.

I’m criminal now. Officially. Irreversibly.

Feels… wrong? Right? Both?

I needed money. Cartel pays. That’s all that matters.

Day 47

Fifth job. Getting easier. Know the routes. Know the guards. Know how to avoid them.

Made 200 Coins this month. More than I’d make in year doing legitimate work.

Is it worth it? The risk? The guilt?

I don’t know. But I’m eating well. My family is fed. That’s something.

Day 134

Witnessed execution today. Cartel member betrayed us. Sold information to Guild.

Grim killed him. Slowly. Publicly. Message sent.

I’m terrified. I’m trapped. I can’t leave (they’d kill me). I can’t betray (they’d kill me worse).

I’m Cartel now. For life. However long that is.

What have I become?

The Captain’s Legend (Tavern Tale)

You want to know about the Captain? I’ll tell you what I know. Which is nothing.

No one’s seen their face. No one knows their name. No one knows if they’re man, woman, old, young, human, or something else.

They’ve led Cartel for 40 years. Survived Guild, military, Clergy, rivals. Killed dozens. Earned millions.

Some say they’re ghost. Some say they’re committee (multiple people pretending to be one). Some say they’re Rot-Touched (Stage 3, using powers to hide).

I say: Doesn’t matter. They’re effective. They’re feared. They’re untouchable.

And if you’re smart, you’ll never try to find out more.

Because people who investigate the Captain? They disappear.

Every. Single. One.

—Drunk patron, Abyss Bar, Murky Chasm

Authorities’ Frustration (Official Report)

CARTEL SUPPRESSION EFFORTS - YEAR 287 S.

Summary: Failure. Again.

Actions Taken: - 12 raids (found nothing—advance warning) - 8 arrests (low-level members, easily replaced) - 3 shipments seized (insignificant loss for Cartel)

Results: Minimal impact. Cartel operations continue.

Challenges: - Informant network (they know our plans) - Murky Chasm sanctuary (we can’t operate there) - Public tolerance (some people need Cartel services) - Resource limitations (we can’t dedicate enough personnel)

Recommendation: Continue efforts (but expect limited success)

Personal Assessment: We’re fighting symptoms, not disease. Cartel exists because people need what laws forbid. Until we address that, Cartel will persist.

But I can’t say that publicly. So we’ll keep raiding. Keep arresting. Keep failing.

—Guard Captain Deryn, Skyport Eos

Quest Hooks

1. The Deal: Need illegal item/service (approach Cartel, negotiate price, accept moral compromise)

2. The Hunt: Authorities hire party to strike Cartel operations (raid warehouse, arrest members, face consequences)

3. The Infiltration: Penetrate Cartel (gather information, sabotage, or join genuinely?)

4. The Defense: Help defend Murky Chasm from authority raid (protect criminals or enforce law?)

5. The Captain: Investigate mysterious leader (dangerous, probably fatal, but answers are valuable)

6. The Informant: Discover Cartel spy in institution (report to authorities, blackmail, or become double agent?)

7. The Rot-Shards: Stop dangerous substance trade (moral crusade, dangerous enemies, limited success)

8. The Moral Choice: Cartel offers help against common enemy (accept aid from criminals?)

9. The Succession: Captain killed/removed (power vacuum, violence, opportunity or chaos?)

10. The Alliance: Unlikely partnership against common enemy (Rot, military, Guild—enemy of enemy is friend?)

11. The Debt: Owe Cartel money (pay, flee, or face Grim)

12. The Recruitment: Cartel tries recruiting party member (tempting offer, dangerous path)

13. The Betrayal: Cartel member wants out (help them escape, turn them in, or kill them?)

14. The Territory: Cartel expanding into new area (stop them, help them, or profit from chaos?)

15. The Truth: Discover who the Captain really is (revelation changes everything—or gets you killed)

Related Topics

• The Captain
• Vex Shadowhand
• Murky Chasm
• The Underbelly
• Grim

“We’re criminals. We admit it. But we’re honest criminals. We deliver what we promise. Can legitimate institutions say the same?”

“The Cartel exists because people need what laws forbid. Destroy us, and chaos fills the void. We’re order within disorder.”