Merchants' and Traders' Guildhall and Livery
The Guildhall of the Merchants’ and Traders’ Union is probably the most important economic center in the whole of the Flanaess. This union is one of general mercantile activity; members are merchants who do not qualify for membership in another guild. Since most merchants diversify their trading, the majority of them belong to this powerful interest group. This ostentatious complex of barns, warehouses, and stables near the center of Old City has served Greyhawk’s merchants for centuries, and although its buildings bear some of the characteristic stains and grime of the Thieves’ Quarter, the Merchants’ and Traders’ Union remains one of the most influential organizations in the entire city.
The smell from the horses, mules, and oxen stabled here is effectively neutralized by several minor wizards’ spells that cover the entire area. Freight wagons are stored here as well as at the Caravan Warehouse. From dawn to dusk every day of the week, members of the union swarm to the open ground before the three-story hall and furiously trade raw materials that eventually make their way to the Petit Bazaar, the High Market, and the bazaars of the Flanaess far beyond the city gates. At dusk, the private market closes, and representatives of the Union total their receipts and post official prices for certain commodities, regulating trade in the city and maintaining Greyhawk’s well-deserved reputation as a powerful economic force.
Many of the merchant caravans traveling to and from Greyhawk are coordinated through the union’s offices, and they sometimes set out directly from the stables and warehouses here. Agents of the guild often patrol the market looking for freelance thieves to punish.
The guild hall itself is a huge, three-story structure between the barn and stable. No expense was spared to give this building a grand appearance reflecting the worldly nature of this great guild. The guild is dominated by merchants who buy and sell cloth and clothing, wood and metal goods, leather items, and agricultural produce of all kinds. Shrines to Zilchus, Xerbo, Fharlanghn, and a number of other gods connected with trade or travel are present in the hall in various locations.
The Guildhall is a massive hostelry for visiting members, secure warehousing for small, valuable cargoes, meeting rooms, offices and private meeting rooms, several small libraries, an underground cargo storage area, barracks for the union’s own contingent of guards, and large courtyards where the actual business of the union is transacted.
The Guildhall is open day and night, every day of the year, and from dawn to dusk the courtyards are thronged with merchants displaying samples of their wares, investors buying into trading expeditions, representative from practically every city guild both buying and selling (many guilds invest their funds in speculative ventures), and moneylenders touting for trade. Lawyers, scribes, and accountants scribble notes and phrase documents; cartographers check maps and plot courses on land and sea. Trading ceases at sunset, and the union uses the lull to catch up with the day’s business – recording transactions, posting the day’s prices, and checking the quantity and quality of cargoes consigned to the guild warehouses. Most large cargoes are conveyed into the city by night, when the streets are less congested.
Dernan Nathane, already a Director, became Master of the Merchants’ and Traders’ Union not too long ago. From within the ranks of the same Union, a supporter of Dernan, Cariel Mansharn, was appointed Director. The Guildhall and the day-to-day business of the Union are administered by Thorus Silverstone, the dwarven Assistant Guildmaster, and all applications for membership or admission to the Guildhall are directed to his attention.
Membership in the Greyhawk Merchants’ and Traders’ Union is essential for any merchant or trader who has business within the Free City. Not only do accredited guild members gain the benefit of tax concessions on cargoes entering the city, but membership also permits them access to the various facilities available within the Guildhall and brings them under the protection of this powerful and influential group.
Affiliate membership, which allows entry to and the use of the Guildhall, is available to merchants and traders who are not full-time residents of the Free City at a cost of 30 gp per year, while full membership is available only to Greyhawk citizens for the annual sum of 15 gp.
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