Bill of Lading

This document is a must if you want to establish trust with any businessman, and therefore to increase your prospects. - Bill of Centrum, Merchant.

Overview

Many large guilds are obsessed with tracking where their goods came from, where they have been, how much they cost, and where they are going to. By extension, they are also concerned with the state of goods being delivered from others. In short, the guilds needed a way to affirm trust in business dealings. Thus, the Bill of Lading was adopted to satisfy this need for information and security in knowing the what and where of goods. This document is particularly common in Centrum, where the first bill of lading was written by the Mabara Guild.

Purpose

The bill of lading is meant to document the quantity and price of goods being delivered as well as their destination and point of origin. The document should also list the kinds of goods being delivered.

Historical Details

Background

The bill of lading is generally associated with marine shipments, where large ships often carry large holds of cargo from multiple sources to be delivered to multiple recipients. However, many land carriers, especially merchant convoys, have been adopting a similar version of the document for their own uses.

Public Reaction

When the bill of lading started to be mandated by the Mabara Guild , many claimed that their business dealings with Mabara were inconvenienced. Writing, and the verifying a bill of lading took time and resources. However, when it became apparent that Mabara could more quickly identify when goods went missing, as well as becoming a greatly trusted guild considering the record such a document provides, did many other guilds decide to adopt the document into their own business operations. Nowadays, one will find it difficult to offload goods in large, and respectable markets without such a document.

Term

This document is applicable only for the journey it was written for. When goods are loaded, transported, and then transferred to their explicit destination is the bill of lading concluded. As such, one must draft a new bill after every visit to a market in order to ensure that it accurately reflects current inventory.

Magically Enhanced Bill of Lading

If one is trained in magic or can employ one who is trained in magic, and has access to special ink and paper, one can create a document that changes itself to reflect the contents of the cargo hold. Carriers who have access to these magically enchanted documents are better prepared to detect theft of or unwanted additions to their cargo.

Type

Report, Manifest

Medium

Paper

Note(s) from the Archvists:

Do we check for bills of lading in deliveries to our archive? - Archivist Theta
When possible, always. - Archivist Taenya Naïlo