The Rock and Stone Mercantile is an infamous trading company founded in Cair Bolun about 100 years ago by a group of Dwarven adventurers. The leader of the group and the company was named Karrul Stoneswing, a larger than life figure whose legacy was the biggest trading company in a nation of traders.
Founding
The Mercantile wasn't so much founded as it was grown out of Karrul's adventuring troupe, the Rawhide Roughnecks. The Roughnecks traveled all over Morgrave, bringing their "problem-solving" talents to every nation. After a time, Karrul realized he could earn some extra income without any extra work (usually) by soliciting the Roughnecks as an extremely secure delivery group. They had a wagon, so they could take big items and they were highly trained combatants so they could prevent any theft - any theft... Karrul prided himself that every deliver by the Roughnecks was successful. The roads were dangerous, either due to bandits or beasts, and rich folk were willing to pay extra to make sure their packages made it to where they were intended to go. Once the adventuring life ended for the Roughnecks, Karrul transitioned seamlessly into the Rock and Stone Mercantile.
Reputation
Karrul was a shrewd man, and he had an idea of how he could become the premier trading company. He trained his own cadre of guards, who then trained their own groups once they were experienced enough, allowing the company to grow exponentially. Karrul focused on maintaining a positive reputation in the early days, but once they got big enough that they had a loyal base of customers all over Morgrave, Karrul started robbing other caravans. A move that said "if you don't use us as transport, you're going to be in trouble." Karrul never went far enough to kill anyone over it, it was usually intimidation tactics, but broken bones of the opposing caravan guards weren't uncommon.
This could have backfired on Karrul, but he managed to keep the PR from imploding the Mercantile and after a brief downswing, the company was growing bigger than ever. Now, Karrul is dead but he left a big shadow on the trading scene of the biggest trading nation. R&S Mercantile is the biggest company in Morgrave: they deliver, they have their own merchants, they have their own subsidiary companies that gather raw materials, they sponsor craftsmen to make goods for them, and they don't play fair. Love 'em or hate 'em, the Mercantile is here to stay.
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