Shadehouse Trading Company
"You go to any major city and you will find a warehouse or 2 belonging to the Shadehouse Trading Company. Their caravans are faster overland, delivery is guaranteed, and their ships, to my knowledge, have never been ransomed by pirates. Course, they have a strict "goods only" policy, dont hire outside guards, refuse to let anyone not part of the company travel with them, and even if you are going the opposite direction you will never come across a campsite they have used. Aint natural, and that before the rumors of people in smaller villages going missing whenever they go through." - Jasper Cameron, Leader of the Bronze Ravens on the Shadehouse Trading Company
History
Started in the 947Af, The Shadehouse Trading Company was founded during the rise of the vampire hunter. The founding vampire family converted a trader. The trader mentioned that everyone expects a person or 2 to go missing from a town after his caravan passed through whether to take safe passage to the next town, act as a guard for some money, or just attempting to "get away". This led to the development of a sealed chamber hidden underneath wagons (well, completely sealed, smugglers were already familiar with the concept) allowing a vampire to travel in each wagon.
While initially the occasional person was lost to bandits breaching the chamber during the day.eventually the chambers were designed to be reinforced. This led to the Shadehouse Trading Company gaining a reputation for the safe delivery of goods, not because they never got robbed, but because those that robbed them often ended up in thrall to the hidden Vampire, and would replace any workers that were lost.
Over time the power and wealth of the company grew, as did its size, until it because a worldwide conglomerate controlling much of the trade across the world with the help of other vampire clans.
"Of course all of this is a secret that we work very hard to keep, so I guess that I can offer you 3 options, would you like to die, become my thrall, or as you have shown skill in even reaching our historical archives in this branch, be converted and join our family?" - last words heard by an unfortunate thief.
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