The official head of the Torthuíl Trading Guild is Olenor Drake, a tiefling woman. She takes no nonsense, but is quite good at diplomacy nonetheless. After having a lifetime of adventures both on her own and with her husband Bael (which has given her some impressive skills in combat), she also sits on the Council as the guild leader, having direct input into the running of the city and new policies.
Each smaller guild that’s a member may have its own hall, but the Torthuíl Trading Guild has a large, impressive stone hall building open to all members and to conduct business in and foster business connections between guild members. They also may rent it for functions and events, and sometimes the Guild itself hosts an event - mixers to continue their goal of community networking are not uncommon. Sometimes a member may come forward with a problem that they’ll put forward to the clerk, and they’ll forward it to the officer in charge of seeking out and commissioning out-of-guild contractors (vermin removal, protection, etc). If you have a good rap with the Trading Guild, you have a good change of scoring valuable gigs as a bodyguard or other combat oriented problem. The Guild Hall has an in house cafe with well paid and highly skilled workers on the first level, open to the large hall where tables and a large fountain sits with large, expensive windows. The upper levels are reserved for offices and private meeting rooms. The very top level were originally supplied as emergency quarters in the event of a guild officer being displaced (further precautions after the years of civil unrest, mostly forgotten now), but are mostly used as storage now. Underground is a large storage cavity used to protect valuable goods for their members, at a cost. The guild staffs their own security for this reason.
Guild Members
The Sisters of Holly
A sisterhood who originally hail from the Red Forest region. Followers of
Inlenail, they worship the great fae queen and revel in every day. Following a schism with some of the locals, they wandered for some years before eventually settling in the open-minded
Torthuíl. Their great proficiency with the cultivation and preparation of rare and difficult to grow botanicals which are highly valued as medicinals and in spell components bought them a warm welcome, and they integrated without too much strife. Now they live as a sisterhood in a small compound of buildings and gardens they keep up, with an open shop and running contracts with merchants and spellcasters. Their contributions to the trading network of the city are recognized and relied upon by the trading guild leadership, and the Sisters of Holly were officially recognized as a distinct group member of the Trading Guild and party to all the benefits and requirements thereof. Membership to the Sisters of Holly is dependent on your faith in the queen goddess Inlenail, your devotion to your sisters, and a general love for life and growing things. Most of their number are wood elves and those touched by fae and the wild magics of the world, but they accept anyone who fulfills the prerequisites regardless of race. Humans, elves, halflings, nymphs, and even a dwarf make their home in the sisterhood. Recruitment isn’t a priority, as many of their numbers live for longer years than the ordinary given the long years wild magic gives them, but they are approached by young women of the city often enough. The Sisters of Holly send a delegate to speak for them at Guild meetings.
Red Dyed Weavers
An old and respected group of weavers and dyers who work with textiles. Many many years ago when the city was in a state of oppression after an outsider took over, there was a bout of civil unrest. Artists would tag areas and demonstrate around the city, disappearing into the houses of supportive residents after and avoiding the Guard. The thing that identified a house as a safe house for the rebels was a small square of a particular weave pattern, dyed red as the blood of their friends and family who died in useless battle. Operatives would communicate with each other in codes via patterns in woven swatches of cloth passed along to the destination. After the dictator was thrown off his stolen throne and the Governorship reinstated, the Red Dyed Weavers used their fine skills in weaving for making new livery, and eventually clothing and other high end articles. Generations later the legacy of the original Red Dyed Weavers is all but forgotten, but their exquisite skills are still evident to all who peruse their wares. Membership in the Red Dyed Weavers is requisite upon recommendations and proof of a high level of skill. You also have to make a certain amount of products for the group to use towards the guild pot. However, if you obtain the coveted red woven flag to put in your shop, you are telling all consumers that your goods are guaranteed to be of the very highest quality.
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