The Promissory

Overview

The Promissory manages trade in Odrun Fell. It issues permits, registers contracts, sets tariffs, and records debts. It certifies goods that enter and leave the markets. It publishes fee tables and posts price boards for common items. It audits ledgers, inspects cargo, and resolves disputes between buyers and sellers. The Promissory also tracks the gray trade. It does not claim to end it. It limits harm by setting terms, collecting fees, and blocking goods that would endanger the city. The guild acts to keep trade lawful on the surface and orderly underneath. Its measure of success is steady movement of goods, predictable prices, and few public fights.

History and Purpose

Trade in Odrun Fell began with handshakes and personal favors. This failed when caravans grew, when delves went deeper, and when markets moved faster. The Promissory rose to prevent chaos. It made three simple rules. No shipment moves without a manifest. No market opens without a posted tariff. No dispute closes without a signed record. Over time the guild added bonded stores, sealed archives, and permit counters at the busiest gates. The purpose has not changed. The Promissory exists to keep goods flowing, to protect honest dealers, and to keep the city budget stable.

Leadership

Damas Underflame is the current Guildmaster. He grew up in the Spindle and learned ledgers as a runner. He advanced from scribe to auditor to negotiator. He built trust by paying on time, exposing false manifests, and ending price spirals with clear fee caps. He rarely uses threats. He prefers leverage, timing, and clean paper. He punishes theft by closing credit and warning stall owners. He rewards reliable crews with extended terms, reduced fees, and introductions to better buyers. He meets captains at the Gate of Tines and stall leaders at the Bentroot Exchange. He checks facts against Promissory books and sends auditors when numbers do not match. He keeps distance from any ally he cannot defend in public.

Structure

The Promissory is organized into five branches:

Permits and Tariffs. Issues travel permits, stall licenses, auction rights, export marks, and bulk-fee waivers. Updates tariff tables each tenday or after a major route change.
Contracts and Ledgers. Registers contracts, escrows payments, files collateral, and records debts and credits. Operates a sealed archive for high-risk deals.
Audit and Inspection. Reviews manifests, checks weights and contents, tests seals, and flags counterfeit goods. Runs surprise checks on stalls and warehouses.
Disputes and Enforcement. Schedules hearings, assigns arbiters, posts fines, and files charges with the Cudgel when force is needed.
Signals and Notices. Maintains price boards, route advisories, recall bulletins, and blacklists. Distributes notices to the Hilt, the Ashcoats, the Barleys, and the Regent’s office.

Each branch keeps its own ledgers and answers to a deputy. Deputies report to Damas weekly. Emergencies go straight to him with a signed memo and witness names.

Operations in the Spindle

The Spindle is the center of trade. The Promissory’s duties there are simple and constant. It opens markets at dawn and closes them at dusk. It posts fees at gates and updates the boards when routes change. It inspects scales and measures. It licenses auctioneers and limits private rooms where fraud thrives. It assigns guards during tense weeks and brings in Cudgel details when trouble is likely. It registers stalls and rotates spots to prevent territorial fights. It runs seizure wagons for counterfeit goods and unsafe stock. It publishes blacklists for known cheats and rescinds lists when fines are paid and behavior improves.

Auctions and the Chitin Vaults

Large or rare lots sell by auction with registered bidders. Lots enter sealed, pass inspection, and open only on the floor. The guild runs several auction halls. The most secure are the Chitin Vaults. Here, high-value stock changes hands under heavy audit and limited attendance. The Vaults have bonded stores next door for immediate escrow. Damas uses these auctions to set fair prices for rare goods so common markets do not swing wildly. Bidders who fail to pay are barred and fined. Repeat offenders face seizure of collateral and public notice.

The Gray Trade

The Promissory does not deny the gray trade. It limits damage. Damas sets “containment terms” during bad seasons. These include tighter hours on certain lanes, higher fees on unsourced lots, and hot checks on goods linked to past breaches. He pays informants who expose counterfeits, stolen stock, and false seals. When a crew draws too much heat, he cuts them off. If violence begins, he yields jurisdiction to the Cudgel. If a gray route keeps public order and does not harm supply, he may leave it alone but will tax it if it grows.

Relations with Other Guilds

Ashcoats. The Promissory preorders tools for expected delves and funds recall swaps to keep crews moving. It pushes for clear manuals and revision codes so buyers know what they are getting.
Barleys. It protects line integrity by scheduling escorts, timing auctions to prevent hoarding, and funding cold storage. It refuses to force risky increases in brood output.
The Cudgel. It pays hazard fees for market guards and respects inspections. It shares blacklists and fake-seal reports. It avoids asking for favors that would break route safety rules.
Regent and Council. It files monthly summaries of trade volume, fee intake, major recalls, and price shocks. It argues for policies that lower deaths and stabilize prices.

Council Posture

The Regent is elected every ten years by the Guild Council. Each Guildmaster has one vote. Damas plans well ahead. He funds small public works in the Barrows that reduce injury and food loss. He lowers Spindle fees during lean weeks. He invites Sprigs patrons to open auctions rather than private rooms. These steps build support for the policies he wants without naming a candidate early. He withholds endorsements until the end. He trades terms that protect market stability, worker pay, and tunnel safety. He does not back anyone who dismisses audit or inspection.

Expeditions and Bonds

The Promissory does not order delves. It pays for them and shapes them with contracts. It prefers short routes with steady return over deep strikes with unstable gains. It funds crews with strong survival records and complete logs. It requires route notes to be filed with the Threadspire within a day of return. It reduces fees for useful maps and hazard data. It cancels credit for crews who lie. High-risk expeditions require a bond and a casualty plan. Payment releases in stages: departure, route confirmation, delivery, and audit close.

Disputes and Hearings

Disputes move fast. A clerk sets a time, the parties present documents and witnesses, and an arbiter records a decision. Simple cases finish in an hour. Complex cases may hold goods in escrow until a deputy reviews the record. Fines scale with harm and intent. First offenses may close with payment and a warning. Repeat offenses bring bans and seizure. If force is needed, the Cudgel takes over. The Promissory does not conduct raids. It produces paper that justifies them.

Enforcement and Recalls

If an unsafe product or stolen lot reaches the market, the Promissory issues a recall notice. The notice lists lot codes, sellers, buyers of record, and steps to return or replace the goods. The Ashcoats and Barleys receive copies when the recall touches their lines. Replacement or refund depends on the contract. The guild prefers to resolve recalls quietly but posts public warnings when harm is likely. It flags sellers who hide lots or ignore notices.

Security and Counterfeit Control

Auditors check seals, run acid and fiber tests, weigh cargo, and compare ledgers to physical counts. The guild uses micro pins, wax stamps with trace flecks, and ribbon tags that fray under heat. It maintains a mark registry to catch copied seals. It buys tips on counterfeit lines and pays more for names, sites, and schedules. It rotates inspectors and forbids a clerk from auditing the same stall twice in a row. It publishes seizure results to deter copycats and remove false rumors.

Reputation

Merchants call the Promissory strict but workable. Delvers view it as demanding yet reliable. The Cudgel respects its paperwork and early warnings. The Ashcoats and Barleys describe it as a steady customer that pays on time. Sprigs patrons treat it as a necessary broker. Barrows workers think its fees are heavy but safer than chaos. Smugglers fear its schedules and seal tests. Many believe Damas can be bought. He replies that he can be negotiated with, not bought, and only within the rules.

Working with the Promissory

Bring a clean manifest. Use real weights and counts. File route notes with the Threadspire. Read tariff boards before you load. Ask for escrow on big lots. Do not break seals or switch crates. Have your permits ready. Show up to hearings. Pay fines and move on. If you deal fair, the Promissory will treat you fair. If you cheat, expect closed credit, cold stalls, and long inspections. The guild wants busy markets, safe crews, and steady prices. It will do what is needed to hold that line.