WORLD BOOK WORLD BOOK WORLD BOOK 0016 0016
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subsistence in servitude
For some truly at the edge of survival, trade caravans
are bitter opportunities to sell off mouths they cannot
afford to feed. Caravan merchants weigh the coin new
slaves, usually young children, may bring against the
cost of feeding and transporting them to market. They
also decide whether or not the extra ‘stock’ will slow
them down and make the caravan susceptible to raiders. Despite the ugly calculus of coin and flesh, many
caravan merchants have some pity for these unwanted
children, as many of them started out as such. The best
children are taken by the caravan merchants and apprenticed, or trained to be associated guards or laborers. Raised to become caravan merchants in their own
right, some eventually make enough money to purchase their freedom. Most, however, become trade
goods in the Khitan flesh markets.
uniform and unmarked, unlike other Khitan coins. Even
the dullest Khitans now recognize that the subtle touch
of the Pale is behind the widespread, wanton plunder of
the world.
Merchants of Khitus
Trade never dies. Even in the brutal wastelands, villagers hawk hardscrabble wares at weekly marketplaces
and put on great celebrations when the caravan merchants stop to trade. Caravan merchants don’t just bring
essential goods, they also bring stories from the outside
world. The opportunity, infrequent as it is, to trade with
a caravan often means the difference between a family
surviving the ruthless summer, or not. While the caravan merchants see only small profits from such trade,
the villages are excellent sources of news about bandits,
new trade opportunities, and the comings and goings of
other merchant houses.
Mercantile Ranks
In the cities, craftsman, farmers, and unaffiliated merchants sell their goods out of rented spaces in grand
bazaars operated by the great merchant houses. Pampered merchants oversee these spectacles of commerce,
demanding tribute in both coin and information from
those who wish to trade under merchant house protection in the spaces provided. While not as physically
dangerous as operating in the wasteland, a city merchant’s fortune and influence can fall with just one bad
deal or misspoken word. Reputation for city merchants
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is nearly as important as coin, and the secrets they keep
often beget advancement and profit. Phyrha, the Chindi
‘Merchant Wives,’ often serve as high managers of merchant families among their own kind. They often draw
upon vast family wealth to support their enterprises.
Above all these sit the merchant houses: trade conglomerates that deal in goods, flesh, and information. The
vast majority of merchant houses are small affairs with
a handful of merchants and a small office located in the
trade quarter of a city. Most of these houses remain citybound, while a few more ambitious houses occasionally
rent space, when they can afford it, among the many caravans traveling between the cities. These houses usually
specialize in one or two types of goods, though they sell
other items when they find the opportunity.
Mid-sized merchant houses typically have a warehouse
of their own and several places in a city from which they
sell their goods. They hold favorable deals to sell in the
bazaars, and keep a caravan merchant or two on staff
to oversee any cargo transported by one of the massive
wasteland caravans. These houses generally have a variety of goods to sell, though they often focus on a few
types, such as weapons, slaves, food, pottery, etc. Common
livestock and produce include cattle, swine and boars,
chickens, raven-hens, as well as uludur and manju; corn,
wheat, barley, rice, dhoru, and shell-oats; apples, grapes,
bananas, mangos, letu-apples, or choranges.
The largest merchant houses are consortiums massive
in coin and influence. They can operate their own caravans, manage large bazaars and slave markets, employ
The merchant council
The eleven most powerful merchant houses of Khitus comprise the Merchant Council. Once a year,
the Council convenes in the village of Bleeding Well
Crossing to collude, scheme, fix prices, and ensure
that commerce among the cities favors the Council
members as much as possible.
Over the years, the Merchant Council has expanded and contracted in small increments, though
Council membership only comes from a unanimous
vote. Ouster from the council happens the same way,
but the vote occurs in secret meetings, usually without that house’s knowledge. An ousted house quickly
falls prey to the other Merchant Council members
and is exterminated. This happens infrequently, but
the Council always wipes out a failed house rather
than see a devastating trade war break out (or have its
secrets exposed to the public).
