02 - Iron Kingdoms W.. - Captain Spud Is Amazing

108.1.141.197
72 Iron Kingdoms
west to Ceryl, Five Fingers, or Orven are typically eager
to have a cleric of Morrow with them, in addition to
skilled guards or adventurers, to deal with the restless
dead that haunt the many routes running near or even
across old battlefields. Though southern routes to
Fort Falk or Fharin are for military clients and follow
more established trade lines, the guild sometimes
hires adventurers to discourage competition from
gobber traders, junkers, and others who they view as
intruding on their established lanes of commerce.
Current conflicts between the kingdoms of western
Immoren have done little to stymie the guild’s intrepid
movement of goods across national borders—a fact of
which many adventurers and mercenaries are keen to
take advantage.
Corvis Merchant’s Guild
Once an independent entity, the Corvis Merchant’s
Guild has become a trade association owned by the
Mercarian League in all but name. This guild has
historically regulated the flow of goods, coal, and
other commodities into and out of the City of Ghosts.
Traditionally the Merchant’s Guild has worked with
several caravan and riverboat companies to ship
supplies throughout the region, but at the League’s
behest it has recently entered an arrangement with the
Corvis Caravaner’s Guild in order to reach remote areas
still inaccessible by rail or water. These arrangements
appear mutually beneficial, but some friction exists
between older members of the Merchant’s Guild
and the “Mercarian upstarts.” This is mainly due to
Mercarian members—most of whom are not natives of
the city—who own the greater shares in the alliance,
use their profits to buy out longstanding businesses,
and purchase plots of land within Corvis. This tension
is only increased by rumors that older members of the
guild are engaging in the politically motivated supply
of arms to guerillas fighting in the north. These issues
have created a growing level of turbulence within the
guild’s membership—a matter of mounting concern
among its new leadership.
Cygnaran Dispatch Alliance
Letters and packages have been carried by horse
or horse-drawn coach from place-to-place by the
Crown-sanctioned Cygnaran Dispatch Alliance, more
commonly called the CDA or simply “the Dispatch,”
for several years. The couriers, referred to as either
dispatch officers or CDA officers, are often members
of the Cygnaran military. They travel with their
correspondence from one relay station to the next
where fresh couriers wait to press onward. Records
show that messages may travel as many as 150 miles in
a 24-hour period. This haste cannot always be counted
on due to the perils of the outlands and the reliability
of an address system that is rather imprecise.
For years this system was reserved for official
kingdom dispatches. In 526 AR King Vinter Raelthorne
II realized much money could be made by opening
this service not only to the merchants of the day, but
also to other privileged persons with enough coin and
influence. For fifty years, the CDA ran correspondence
for both the Crown and merchants until Raelthorne
the Elder put a stop to services for merchants when he
assumed the throne in 576 AR.
King Leto, in his good sense, has since re-opened
the channels not just for merchants but for the
entire Cygnaran populace. Anyone who wants a
letter delivered anywhere in Cygnar can now take it
to a CDA relay station where it will be taken by rider,
train, or boat to its destination. Price depends upon
the size and destination of the package and can range
from a couple of crowns to several hundred. Alas, the
CDA is understaffed these days and delivery is not as
efficient or reliable as it was a generation ago. There is
pressure on the Crown to see to this inconsistency, but
streamlining the CDA for the benefit of the public is
rather low on the king’s priority list these days.
During the Elder’s rule a couple of underground
postal systems cropped up as well as independent
couriers who risked delivering private mail for those
willing to spend the necessary coin. Some of these
smaller operations still exist such as East Central
Couriers operating east of the Wyrmwall and the
more irregular Anywhere Dispatch Company—the
name belies the service, for packages may or may not
arrive at their destination in anywhere from four days
to four years.
The Mercarian League
Founded in the city of Mercir as a confederation of
traders and noble interests, the Mercarian League is
an influential and powerful organization. While it has
existed in one form or another for hundreds of years,
its formal, legal consolidation under Cygnaran law