The Sea Serpent's Step

Description

The Sea Serpent's Step is an Anthalian-based Guild of traders and longshoremen that operates out of Corasonne. The longshoremen are split into eldershoremen, who own their own ships, and longshoremen, who do not own their own ships and instead serve on other ships or on the docks. Considering the importance of the sea and trade, they occupy an important position in Anthalia.
Other regions tend to have their own trader associations, and as such they have not been able to expand much beyond Anthalia, but they do not need to. Anthalia is exceptionally rich in trade and has obtained good trade deals with the Sulvari, causing the Sea Serpents, as members like to call themselves, to thrive.

Services

The Sea Serpent's Step consists of multiple different parts. The longshoremen of course fulfill their normal job of loading and unloading cargo from trade vessels, while the traders set up the trade deals and send out the ships. The trade in exotic goods, especially with the Sulvari, has been very lucrative and caused Anthalia to be quite diverse in its cuisine among other things. And while Anthalia has some farmland outside of its cities' walls, a significant portion of its food supply comes from the sea. Many of its residents eat fish multiple times a week, and this seafood is almost exclusively supplied by the longshoremen of the Sea Serpent's Step, who have a near monopoly on the bulk fish trade. Smaller fishing boats can barely keep up with this quantity and are forced to drop their prices to uncomfortable levels to stay afloat.
It is almost an open secret among the populace of Corasonne that the Sea Serpent's Step is more than just a regular Guild. They are also a front for a criminal syndicate that only the most influential and/or loyal members are allowed to be part of. On this side they regularly participate in theft (generally on request), information brokering and most of all, smuggling. They are responsible for a large amount of the illegal drugs circulating through Corasonne, and they are hard to track down since they are divided in cells. They also have a few high-end establishments for gambling, auctioning of illegal goods and of course, drug consumption.

Influence

The extensive trade with the Sulvari and otherwise has culturally enriched the Duchy of Anthalia greatly. There is an exotic diversity in food, crafts and other arts. However, the Serpent's trade in drugs has also created a particularly nasty dark underbelly in the otherwise beautiful city of Corasonne. Moreover, the fact that a criminal element of the city has significant political power in the Duchy due to their influence on the trade, means that legislation can be affected for the worse (or better depending on who you ask of course).

Nothing is out of reach.

Type

Guild, Merchant

Location

Middenland