Matcher

Matchers are the masterminds of the criminal world. They maintain as many legitimate business relationships as illicit ones to ensure a steady flow of illegal goods in and out of the cities. They keep networks of producers, carriers, forgers, and sellers of various goods, often remaining in the shadows and employing legitimate merchants, enforcers, farmers and hunters to do the real work.
They can come from various different backgrounds, from lower nobility to enterprising street urchin. Often matchers are merchants themselves who use their contacts to make certain goods more available, or affordable. It benefits their profits, after all, to avoid the tax of import.
Thieves also depend on matchers to help whitewash their stolen goods, either by organising sales or forging the certificate.

Illicit Materials

With the establishment of the Merchants' Guild and the Merchant's Council, the sale, import, and distribution of certain materials and produce within large cities requires certification. This certificate can be picked up at any local Merchant's Guild outpost or headquarters for a small fee. In order to circumvent the tax of import, or the certification fee, matchers will be employed.
Materials currently requiring a certificate include: assembled or disassembled weapons and armour; alcohol; rice; cattle; horses; precious stones; unrefined ore, and refined metal ingots; lotus rhizomes; tea leaves; alum; hunted hides, and the leather produced thereof.
Some examples of materials that are illegal or restricted are: sleeping root, and the pyre wort plant; amethyst crystals; Amaris silk; imemi plant, and the dye thereof; coriander plant, seeds or leaves.

Enforcement

Gatehouses, manned by aptly named gatesmen, bottleneck the flow of people entering and exiting walled cities such as Hammar and Rammarvijk. They are charged with validating certifications, and keeping out the unwanted poor population. An unofficial "tax" might be accepted, but if they don't like the look of you, you are more likely to spend the night in their gaol.

Occupational Hazards

The risks involved in matching are many. Goods do get confiscated by gatesmen; carriers get caught by city guards; payments for armsmen or forgers go missing. Even though smugglers are rarely in the field themselves, the threat to their lives are very real. Unsatisfied customers and unpaid employees commonly feel that mutilation and death are valid ways to express their disappointment.

Benefits

Of course the profit must outweigh the risks of any profession, which, for a matcher, it does. There is a high demand of illicit goods, especially within the lower nobility who want a taste of what only the high nobility might savour. Unregistered merchants or craftsmen require goods to operate, and even the legitimate ones want to save a copper if they possibly can.
Most of the material profit is provided by the lower nobility and merchants. Craftsmen are often charged with favours that keeps the operation running smoothly.

People Smuggling

There comes a time in every person's life, when the barriers are simply too high and you need a leg up to reach the next stage. That is exactly what a matcher can help you with. As the gatesmen tend to turn away any person who cannot pay to enter the city, many poor people get stuck outside. A matcher may be employed, in return for favours, to help you pass the blockades. In the opposite direction, known criminals can easily be recognised and caught at the gates of the city. This is where a matcher can arrange a safe ride for you to leave without being noticed.

Type

Illicit

Related Locations

• Hammar
• Rammarvijk