> [!infobox] > # City of Guilds > ![[Lockinge1.jpg]]<span style="display:block;text-align:center;">[[Lockinge1.jpg|Show to Players]]</span> > # Information > | | | > |---|---| > |**Region**| [[Zalfaria]] | > |**Ruler**| [[Lockinge#The Council of Masters and Their Domains\|Council of Masters]] | # **Overview** Lockinge is one of Zalfaria’s most industrious and well-developed cities, renowned for its bustling artisan districts, powerful trade guilds, and a strong mercantile culture. It is a hub for craftsmanship, innovation, and wealth accumulation, where skilled artisans, merchants, and industrialists work together to shape the economy of Zalfaria. Unlike the more political and bureaucratic capital of Zalfari, Lockinge thrives on commerce and production, making it a crucial economic pillar of the region. # **Geography & Layout** Lockinge sits at the crossroads of several major trade routes, nestled near the base of the Stormspine Mountains. Its strategic location allows it to serve as a central trade hub, facilitating commerce between the inland cities and the coastal ports. The city is divided into several districts, each specializing in different crafts and industries: - **The Artisan Quarter** – Home to master blacksmiths, jewelers, textile weavers, and alchemists. - **The Grand Bazaar** – A sprawling market filled with exotic goods, rare imports, and street merchants selling wares from all over the continent. - **The Coin Ward** – The financial heart of Lockinge, where banking houses, moneylenders, and guild headquarters reside. - **The Guild Row** – The seat of the various trade guilds that dictate much of the city's policies, including the influential **Guild Masons**. # **Politics & Governance** While Lockinge acknowledges the rule of Zalfaria’s king, in practice, the city is largely controlled by its trade guilds and merchant oligarchs. The **Council of Masters**, an assembly composed of the heads of the most powerful guilds, oversees governance, ensuring that the city's wealth and industry remain its top priorities. The city functions almost as an independent mercantile state within Zalfaria, with laws that favor commerce and innovation. ### The Council of Masters and Their Domains <br> ###### Master [[Elric Dainhart]] – _Master of Commerce_ - Represents **The Lockinge Trade Consortium (LTC)**, the largest merchant guild overseeing all imports, exports, tariffs, and trade negotiations with Zalfaria and foreign lands. - Ensures fair (but profitable) trade agreements with the other major cities, including Zalfari and Ubbin Falls. - Manages Lockinge’s banking system, enforcing loans, interest rates, and debt collection policies. | | | |---|---| |**Business**|Dainhart Mercantile Holdings| |**Industry**|General trade, import/export, shipping logistics| |**Details**|Owns one of the largest trade fleets in Zalfaria, specializing in exotic goods, rare spices, and fine textiles. His company has exclusive trade contracts with Kaldia and imports its prized silks and dyes.| ###### Master [[Veyla Kaedrin]] – _Master of the Forge_ - Oversees the Black Anvil Consortium, the dominant smithing, metalworking, and armaments guild supplying weapons, armor, and enchanted arms to Zalfaria’s armies. - Regulates ore refinement and blacksmith guilds, ensuring quality control for Lockinge’s world-renowned steel. - Handles war contracts, making alliances with noble houses for military provisions. | | | |---|---| |**Business**|Kaedrin Armaments & Forgeworks| |**Industry**|Weapon and armor smithing, metallurgy| |**Details**|Runs Lockinge’s largest weapons manufacturer, producing steel-forged blades, enchanted armors, and siege equipment for Zalfaria’s armies. Kaedrin steel is regarded as the finest in the region.| ###### Master [[Tavish Renholt]] – _Master of the Coin_ - Represents The Golden Ledger, Lockinge’s bankers' guild, which oversees taxation, loans, money-lending, and currency circulation in the city. - Works closely with merchant houses like House Lavendel to stabilize inflation and fund trade expansions. - Enforces tariff laws and ensures merchant wealth feeds back into the city’s infrastructure. | | | |---|---| |**Business**|Renholt Banking House| |**Industry**|Banking, finance, money-lending| |**Details**|Runs Lockinge’s primary financial institution, issuing loans, handling trade financing, and collecting debts. Nobles and commoners alike owe him money, ensuring his unbreakable grip on the city's economy.| ###### Master [[Liora Valenstride]] – _Master of Law & Order_ - Oversees The Sentinel’s Guard, Lockinge’s official law enforcement, ensuring neutrality and stability in trade zones. - Works with The Guild Arbiter’s Circle, a legal guild ensuring trade disputes are handled without bias (or at least without disrupting the economy). - Regulates mercenary companies that provide private security for merchants, including guild-sanctioned bounty hunters. | | | |---|---| |**Business**|Valenstride Enforcement & Security| |**Industry**|Law enforcement, security, bounty hunting| |**Details**|Operates the largest private security company in Lockinge, which provides mercenaries, bodyguards, and legal enforcers to wealthy merchants and noble families. Many of her guards double as bounty hunters, ensuring justice is both swift and profitable.| ###### Master [[Dorian Vexwell]] – _Master of Arcana_ - Leader of the Arcane Consortium, an organization that controls the city's enchantment trade, magical research, and arcane industry. - Regulates the sale and manufacture of enchanted weaponry, magical scrolls, and arcane materials used by blacksmiths and artificers. - Maintains Lockinge’s arcane infrastructure, including magical street lamps, teleportation circles, and defensive wards. | | | |---|---| |**Business**|Vexwell’s Arcane Innovations| |**Industry**|Enchantments, arcane technology, magical research| |**Details**|A brilliant enchanter and entrepreneur, Dorian controls Lockinge’s largest magical manufacturing firm, selling enchanted weapons, armor, and trinkets to nobles, adventurers, and military clients. His business directly rivals Kaedrin Forgeworks.| ###### Master [[Bronn Harrowfell]] – _Master of Industry_ - Represents The Mason & Miner’s Guild, responsible for construction, quarrying, and large-scale industrial projects such as roads, bridges, and city expansions. - Oversees resource management, including stone, lumber, and raw materials needed for Lockinge’s rapid urban development. - Holds influence over dockyard expansion and naval shipbuilding due to his access to industrial labor forces. | | | |---|---| |**Business**|Harrowfell Masonry & Mining| |**Industry**|Construction, stone quarrying, industrial expansion| |**Details**|Runs Lockinge’s largest masonry and quarrying enterprise, supplying the city with stone, lumber, and building materials. His company is responsible for infrastructure projects, including roads, bridges, and fortifications.| ###### Master [[Selene Roderan]] – _Master of the Streets_ - Unofficially represents Lockinge’s shadow economy, including smuggling, black-market trading, and underworld dealings. - Works with The Silent Ledger, a guild of informants, spies, and black-market brokers who ensure criminal operations do not disrupt commerce. - Keeps an unspoken agreement with Liora Valenstride to balance crime and order, ensuring that corruption never destabilizes the city. | | | |---|---| |**Business**|Roderan Trade Solutions| |**Industry**|Smuggling, underworld dealings, black-market trade| |**Details**|Officially, Selene operates a “trade consulting” firm that assists merchants in finding alternate routes and connections when bureaucracy gets in the way.| > [!scratch] Secret Business > | | | > |---|---| > |**Business**|The Silent Ledger| > |**Industry**|Smuggling, underworld dealings, black-market trade| > |**Details**|Unofficially, she controls The Silent Ledger, a network of smugglers, spies, and black-market dealers who ensure contraband flows without disruption.| # **Economy & Trade** Lockinge is an economic powerhouse, specializing in: - **Exports:** High-quality metalwork, enchanted tools, textiles, rare alchemical components, fine wines, and luxury goods. - **Imports:** Precious gems, rare herbs, magical artifacts, exotic spices, and skilled laborers. The **Guild Masons** maintain a dominant presence in Lockinge, ensuring that all industry remains within the hands of recognized guild members. Unaffiliated craftsmen often struggle to find work unless they join a guild or operate in the city's underground economy. # **Social Structure & Culture** Lockinge is a city of opportunity but also one of hierarchy. Those who master their craft and rise through the ranks of the trade guilds can achieve immense wealth and influence. However, those without a trade or connections often find themselves struggling. - **Guild Loyalty:** Most citizens align themselves with a guild, treating it as both a workplace and a social identity. - **Apprenticeships:** It is customary for young artisans to spend years as apprentices before gaining recognition as journeymen. - **The Festival of the Forge:** A major citywide event celebrating craftsmanship, where artisans showcase their greatest works and compete for prestige. # **Law & Order** Lockinge maintains a well-funded city watch, but true power lies in the hands of **guild enforcers** who ensure that trade laws are followed and that guild interests remain protected. Corruption is common, and many disputes between rival merchants or guilds are settled through underhanded dealings or quiet eliminations.