The Merchant Guild

Foundations and Mandate

The Merchant Guild grew from market elders who kept the Trunk Market fair when Naath was small. As the city widened and caravans reached farther, trade needed records, escorts, and rules that could be trusted by strangers. The Council gave the elders a charter and the Guild took on duties that touch every stall and ledger in the city. The charter is plain. Keep the peace of the market. Measure and mark the value of goods. Issue permits for rare or risky trade. Resolve disputes without blood. When trade threatens the land or the people, stop it.

The Guild holds its seal in the Highgrove Pavilion, where arboreal courts and moss-hung walkways keep noise away from decisions. Here, coin does not shout. It is counted, signed, and bound to the line of law. The Guild does not rule Naath, but it shapes the city’s rhythm. It times the opening of fairs, sets storage rights for caravans, and lists which goods need council notice or Lorekeeper review. It writes price bands when harvests are thin so families can afford staples. It arranges wagons and escorts when danger rises at the forest edge.

The Guild’s reach is steady because it keeps clear books and clean rooms. Ledger vaults hold trade bonds and escrow notes that let a weaver in the Embergrove sell to a miner in the foothills without fear of loss. Bond clerks know the names of boats at Selenmere, the weight of resin gathered in the Verdwood, and the state of rope stocks before winter. Every mark is checked by a second hand. The Guild’s power rests on that habit. Traders accept hard rulings because they can see the working and read the note.

Halls, Permits, and Law

The Stall Hall stands at the east curve of the Trunk Market. It is a long space of polished wood with carved doors and open counters. Here, guild arbiters sit with bodyguards and hear quarrels that begin in the aisles. A measure in doubt. A promise broken. A wagon cut off at the gate. The Hall hears both sides and renders a judgment the same day if it can. Fines go to the wronged or to the city, not to the arbiters. A stall that cheats twice loses its license and its space until the Council restores it. That happens rarely. The fear of exile from the market is enough.

Permits are the Guild’s other sharp tool. Common goods need only a stall license. Rare plants, worked iron from outside the city, enchanted items, and deep-lake fish require special papers. Those papers list who may carry, where, when, and under what watch. Magical wares cannot be sold without a Lorekeeper’s stamp and a record of how they were made or found. The Guild will not risk the flows or the lake for coin. The Lake-Wardens check boat ledgers against market permits at the Selenford pier. Rootwatch checks carts and beasts at the Eldertree Gateways. When all three agree, trouble stays small.

Smuggling is a known danger. The Guild answers it with patient pressure, not spectacle. It buys information, rewards quiet honesty, and uses the Seekers when it needs hands that can move fast in wild ground. When a ring is found, the Hall closes its stalls and post men mark the boards with every name. Those named cannot buy or sell until they stand before the arbiters. If guilt is clear, fines and exile follow. If guilt is not clear, bonds are held and the Lorekeepers read the ledgers for signs of tampering or curse. The work is careful because a wrong exile harms trust more than a stolen crate.

Trade in Motion

Trade begins with daylight in the Trunk Market. Produce arrives on handcarts from shared gardens. Foragers bring resin, bark, and fungus under license. Embergrove wagons follow with tools, cloth, and carved work. Imports roll in at midmorning under warden eyes. The Guild posts a daily board near the Stall Hall listing shortages, surpluses, and notices from the Council or the Cloister. At twilight, the Food Court fires burn and the day’s bargaining eases into talk. The Guild walks the rows in pairs and listens. Quiet words here prevent loud quarrels later.

Beyond the market, trade follows marked roads and known water. The Guild maintains storage courts near the gates for outbound caravans, with guards hired from the Seekers when routes pass close to the Wyrmshade or skirt the lower reaches of Maer’thalas. It issues convoy writs that grant right of way through busy lanes and fix who is responsible for what if wagons tangle or loads spoil in rain. In autumn, when the Embergrove finishes large orders, the Guild opens packed yards in the Highgrove terraces and schedules departures by bell and path. This keeps the roads clear and the wardens calm.

Seasons bring their own rules. Spring permits open bark harvests and restrict heavy carts on soft paths. Summer fairs draw outside traders, so the Hall sets temporary stalls and assigns peacekeepers to prevent crowding. Autumn price bands keep staples within reach while artisans sell their best work. Winter storage rights protect grain, resin, and salt, and the Guild releases rope, oil, and cloth from reserve stores at fixed prices to steady the city. These choices are not kind or cruel. They are needed so that one bad season does not lead to panic.

When the lake stirs, the Guild stands back and lets the Lake-Wardens set the tone. If fog thickens or the water pulls, boat permits pause and shoreline stalls shift to other goods. When signs from the mountains press close, it is the Wardens who post warnings and the Seekers who carry messages to wayhouses. The Guild does not try to be a guard or a priest. It keeps to its lane and supports the castes that hold theirs.

Allies, Pressure, and Quiet Power

The Guild’s closest partner is the Naath Council. The Council writes law and hears high appeals. The Guild enforces market order and keeps coin moving. They meet in the Fountain Pavilion before each season to set goals. Flooded trails in spring mean fewer carts and more boat work. Lean harvests in autumn mean stricter price bands and quicker action on theft. Winter storms in the Hulderhorns mean escort writs for caravans that must cross the foothills. The Council’s voice is final. The Guild’s advice is valued because it comes with numbers, names, and dates.

With the Lorekeepers the tie is caution and duty. Enchanted tools, relics from lake shallows, and finds from the ridge all pass through their hands. The Cloister tells the Guild what can be safely sold and under what record. In return the Guild funds copying, storage, and repairs to vault seals. It also funds simple schooling in accounts and contract reading so stallholders can understand what they sign. Clear reading prevents many quarrels.

With the Wardens of Rootwatch the tie is mutual need. Wardens keep roads safe enough for trade. The Guild pays for trail posts, bridge planks, and wayhouse stores. With the Lake-Wardens it funds pier work, rope, and lamps, and it accepts boat limits without argument. With the Seekers it shares steady work, hiring escorts, messengers, and recovery crews. Seekers can go where a warden patrol cannot leave its line. The Guild trusts them to bring back truth when rumor runs wild.

Pressure comes from beyond. Redfang orcs shift passes in the Bronthok Reaches and raid when hunger grows. The Skeliri watch the Varnhollow Peaks and do not bargain. Giants cross old routes in the Hulderhorns without notice. The Guild cannot command any of them. It can plan. It staggers shipments, spreads risk, and pays for guides who know when to turn back. It keeps a quiet fund to help families struck by loss so panic does not spread through the stalls.

The Guild’s power is quiet because it is steady. It does not boast. It posts clear rules, pays its guards on time, and brings disputes to the Hall. Traders know where they stand, and outsiders learn the rules by watching the outcomes. When a caravan returns late but safe, when a stolen crate is returned after a fair hearing, when a sharp price eases in winter because reserves open on schedule, the city sees the work for what it is. Not glory. Not favor. A set of habits that keep food on tables, light in workshops, and peace on the market stones. That is the Guild’s pride, and it is enough.