Nine Golden Swords

The Nine Golden Swords were a secret society and criminal gang (called a tong) operating in Thesk and other cities through the mid–14 and late 15 centuries DR.

History
During and after the Horde Wars of 1359/1360 DR, Shou people displaced by the Tuigan migrated and settled in Thesk to build a better life. However, among the mostly honest and hardworking folk was a criminal element, yakuza. Picking up their old habits, they formed the crime syndicate known as the Nine Golden Swords. They were well-established in Thesk by the early 1370s DR.

By the 1470s DR, the Nine Golden Swords had a position in Telflamm and had apparently achieved their goal to become power brokers in Thesk. They had also spread across the Inner Sea, as far as Westgate on the Dragon Coast  and Marsember in Cormyr.

Members
In the 1370s DR, the number of members was somewhere in the hundreds, with hundreds of members in Phsant alone. They were largely thugs and thieves, dubbed "solders"  or yakuza. Their leader was a mysterious figure known as the Golden Master.

Activities
No different to other thieves' guilds and crime gangs, the Nine Golden Swords practiced all kinds of illegal and illicit activities, from dealing in various vices in drug dens and brothels, to stealing from caravans, to extorting local businesses, demanding a crippling cut of profits. They focused their efforts in Shou-towns and on Shou-owned businesses, however, in an effort to dominate their fellow Shou rather raise the ire of Thesk's existing merchant-princes.

However, they had a long-ranging goal to bind all the Shou people of Thesk under their power, and through them become the hidden rulers of the realm. After that, they desired nothing less than to reign over Faerûn.

Possessions
They were apparently named for the nine golden blades—the original nine Golden Swords—created at the behest of the first emperor of the Li Dynasty of Shou Lung to arm his generals. The Nine Golden Swords hunted for their namesake swords, believing that with their power they could conquer the Realms, but they were patient. They possessed three of the fabled nine golden blades by 1479 DR and hoped to claim Duc-Sum Li's blade, believing it to be one, once they had the others.

Thesk
They were headquartered in the city of Phsant in central Thesk. Supposedly, the Golden Master could call on hundreds of people there if needed and was building resources to extend his reach across the city around 1372 DR. On the verge of dominating the city, they looked to extend their reach along the Golden Way.

Circa 1372 DR, Nine Golden Swords members lurked in Shou-towns in settlements along the Golden Way all through Thesk, including Phent and Tammar.

Westgate
The Nine Golden Swords gang in Westgate was based in its Shou District, and were one of the dominant groups in the city. They purported to represent the common people, and though this was doubtful, their open opposition to the Fire Knives earned them their respect. They were rumored to get their funding from the Shou clans on Nathlan. The Westgate guild was employed as agents by the exiled eladrin Caelynna.

Marsember
The Nine Golden Swords had a small chapter in the Shou enclave of Xiousing in Marsember circa 1479 DR. They engaged in various illegal enterprises, such as black markets and gambling, but maintained a low profile, for they had higher goals than crime. Members hung out at Zhang's Teahouse and the Double Dragon Gambling Hall.

Relations
Rivals in crime and already entrenched across Thesk, the Shadowmasters of Telflamm found no way to exploit the Nine Golden Swords. They were caught up in a vicious gang-war in the 1370s DR. The Nine Golden Swords wanted to take control of Telflamm and depose the Shadowmasters, but found no way to face them in their own territory.

The Witches of Rashemen also found cause to worry about the Nine Golden Swords.

In Tammar around 1372 DR, the martial artist Li Pao led a crusade against the Nine Golden Swords there.

Circa 1479 DR, the Nine Golden Swords of Westgate clashed with the Fire Knives thieves' guild there.

Notable Members

 * The Golden Master
 * Tse-mei Zhou, agent in Phent
 * Chou Pei Gong, master of the gang in Tammar
 * Lin Tung, a corrupt knight in Marsember