The Magpies

A crime organization that mainly operates on Earth. Though not particularly large, they're incredibly efficient. They commonly claim to steal and redistribute to the truly needy, but many often ask "truly needy according to whom?" They are a direct rival to House Spider, as they often stole from him directly.

Some refer to them as pirates, given that they also raided The Reef in their (stolen) ships, not unlike the Eliksni raiding parties. Magpies, however, often focus more on fast "smash and grab" operations, generally trying to minimize casualties to zero if at all possible, and ultimately aiming to slip in and out undetected (though that doesn't often happen).

No matter their mode of operation, no matter the target, be it a bunker in The Reef, Spider's caches, or a weapons foundry in The Last City, they almost always leave a calling card of some description, be it a slip of paper with their emblem, or directly spray-painting the emblem on a wall. They always want their targets to know -- it was them.

The Magpie Code

1. Don't kick a man when he's down.

2. Never leave empty-handed.

3. Do some good, or die trying.

Rules for Thee, but Not for Me

Some have noted that with the existence of The Magpie Code, it seems to apply largely to everyone but Ardwynn, though there are precious few who would dare to bring it up to him directly. It is sometimes a topic of discussion, with the general consensus being that he follows the code in his own way. "They're more like guidelines, anyway."

Misconceptions

As with any band of thieves, there are bound to be misconceptions about them.

• The Emblem: Anyone that has met Ardwynn has probably noticed the pendant he wears around his neck. A common misconception is that either the pendant is the emblem in jewelry form, or that the emblem came from the pendant. Both assumptions are incorrect. Ardwynn's pendant has nothing to do with the emblem, and vice versa. The emblem was inspired by Eliksni house banners, and is meant to reference the claws on the foot of a magpie. The circle was added because Ardwynn thought the marks by themselves looked stupid, though other Magpies have noted that the circle, in turn could be a bauble clutched in the magpie's talons.

• Criminals and Pirates: The organization is actually only partially filled with criminals from The Last City. Most of the ranks are filled with very brave, but otherwise fairly normal people. That's half of the success of the organization: no one knows what a Magpie would look like, so it's hard to keep them out and away from a location to canvass it, or to avoid being pickpocketed. Some Magpies even operate strictly as informants, seeing no action whatsoever. After the defeat of The Witness, Eliksni and unpaired Ghosts even join the ranks. Rumour has it that there may even be Guardians working for Ardwynn, now.

Inner Workings

Hierarchy

The structure within the organization is loose outside of the leadership, though there is some structure regardless. Magpies are often split up into teams of two or three, depending on the job. Jobs are organized out according to the goal, the location, and the risk. Scouting The EDZ for example is considered fairly low risk, given the high concentration of Guardians often in the area. A scouting team would be a group of two, in that case. A heist run in The Reef, on the other hand, is considered high risk due to being off-world, in a kingdom with fairly advanced tech and skilled guards flying fighter jets, and with a goal of actually stealing something. That would be a three-person job, though there's a high likelihood there would be multiple teams of three on the job.

Leadership (also known as "The Talons") is split into four departments:

• Third Talon: Aircraft, Flight, Dispersal, Repairs

The realm of a human/Awoken hybrid, Eurydice. Previously a part of The Vanguard Shipwrights, for whatever reason she found herself on the wrong side of the law, and was recruited by Kenta-2. She monitors the aircraft in The Magpies' possession, from maintenance to acquisition, and monitors flight logs, aiding Ardwynn in charting new flight paths. She also helps with planning the distribution of goods to various settlements. Eury is often the voice of reason. In spite of this, she is also the youngest of The Talons.

• Second Talon: Smuggling, Inventory, Disciplinary

Most people discount "Billy Goat" Billy for her gruff and loud demeanor and large stature, assuming she's little more than the brawn of any operation. They couldn't be more wrong. Billy manages the smuggling side of things, moving items that don't get distributed to settlements, generally because they're too "hot". These items generally get smuggled into The Last City and go through more... illicit channels. Because of this, she also helps keep an eye on inventory, helping catalog their ill-gotten wares and supplies. Billy is also the one that deals with internal disputes and issues. The Magpies have a very simple code, and they don't take kindly to it being broken. Generally, rule breakers or other ne'er-do-wells are simply given a good beating and then tossed into some Last City back alley, with a stern warning to not show their face near the hideout ("The Nest") ever again. Rarely, a stronger hand is required, a stronger dose of disciplinary action. While The Magpies aren't the sort to kill people, an egregious enough infraction can land one with a heavy beating and then being dropped in the middle of the EDZ, with only a single handcannon. Billy is usually the loud troublemaker, despite her position as one of The Talons. She originally worked with Kenta back in his smuggling days, prior to The Magpies.

• First Talon: Scouting, Recruitment, also Inventory

Recruiting for The Magpies would normally be a tricky affair. Convincing someone to live the life of a thief, putting their lives in danger to steal someone else's stuff, only to then frequently give said stuff to someone else, someone you've never even met, can be a bit difficult. So, Kenta-2... doesn't. He just says right out what he does, what the job entails, and says "If you wanna help us help people, let me know." Kenta's lax "let them come to us" method of recruiting means he spends most of his time on helping Billy manage the inventory and keeping track of what scouting parties are out doing what and when they'll be back. The horned Exo has a history running a smuggling ring in The Last City with Billy, and as such has plenty of experience keeping tabs on their inventory, and keeping his ear to the ground as to how hot their inventory is, and how soon it needs to move hands. Out of the three, Kenta most often also works closely with Ardwynn, helping plan heists. Some people consider him the true founder of The Magpies. He often calls himself "The Devil", as he still, on the side, brokers information and makes deals, though generally with The Magpies' best intentions at heart.

• The King: Scouting, Logistics and Everything Else

Ardwynn is the leader, and ultimately has final say on any and all decisions. That said, he usually concerns himself only with planning heists, keeping the base safe, and making sure everything runs smoothly on its own. He generally is the one that aggregates all the scouts' reports and turns it into actionable data they can use. Despite Kenta usually being the one to manage scouting, it isn't unheard of for Ardwynn to also coordinate scouting missions and patrols. Despite his image as a wild hedonist that runs around while everyone else does the work, he actually does quite a bit of work. He usually meets with the other three at least once a month, if not more, to check in on how things are running, and make adjustments, or pick up the slack himself, as needed. He also makes it a point to be "the face" of the syndicate, as he (quite loudly) represents them and calls attention to himself. Ultimately, he has orchestrated everything to run fairly (though not perfectly) well without him, in the event of anything happening to him, while at the same time making it a point to always draw all of the attention and fire to himself.