The Dealrunners

The Dealrunners are a vital part of business and life in Camp Thrifty. They are a guild of independent financial brokers working out of the Coinyard.
Each Dealrunner acts as an independent broker and administrator of deals between the many parties that come to trade at Camp Thrifty. This can include legitimate business concerns such as the trading of food and natural resources, or speculators from the The Academy come to the archipelago to secure ancient artefacts from the ruins, or the more illicit trade between smugglers, pirates and members of The League of Shadows.
whatever the nature of the deal, no questions are asked. But equally, no trade can be made in Camp Thrifty without the involvement of a Dealrunner. To do so invites permanent expulsion.

Running a deal

The basic operation whenever a deal is to be made, is to first secure the services of a Dealrunner. This can easily be done anywhere on Camp Thrifty. Deal Runners each have the obvious tattoo of a distinctive and elaborate coin on each of their hands.

• The Dealrunner will then be given the terms of what is to be sold, and how much is wanted for it. Any other stipulations may be given at this point - such as open market, or specified buyer(s).
• The Dealrunner then either advertises within the Tethers to any interested parties, or takes the offer direct to the named buyer(s).
• Negotiations can take a while, as the Runner literally runs back and forth securing the terms of the deal.
• Once done, the deal is recorded into the ledgers at the Coinyard, and the good exchanged under the eyes of the Dealrunner.
• The Dealrunner will then take their commission from the moneys given before the Seller gets their sale.

A common criticism of the method is how long it takes, but most will comply as otherwise they risk being found out by a Dodgyward and exiled from camp.
The reverse of the normal operations is rife for issues as well. The Dealrunners do not instigate deals on behalf of buyers. If someone is seeking something they want to purchase, they must ask for it, but under no circumstances can they pay for it on the spot. The seller must secure a Dealrunner for any deal. Many an impatient deal has fallen afoul of the Dodgywards.
It has also been suspected that some individuals and organisations with clout or influence may have undue nfluence on the Dealrunners activities - how fast or efficient they are at their job, people sharing the details of private deals and other forms of corruption. These things are hard to prove, and generally accepted as "part of the deal" of living and trading in Camp Thrifty.
Bribes are also common, where a Dodgy deal has been detected, the Dealrunners will often look the other way if the appropriate commission is paid quickly enough, and with a bit extra for their trouble.

Roles

The majority of Deal Runners are those for which the organisation gets its name - those varied people who literally run from one place in Camp Thrifty to another securing agreements and concessions before final delivery of goods and trade.
Addtional roles include:

• Dodgywards - the investigators who check compliance with agreements or detect underhand movements of trade without a dealrunner.
• Goons - the thugs who enforce any problems with compliance. In some cases these are not enough, and the trusted Few may be asked to intercede.
• Coinkeepers - the adminstrators who keep the ledgers and secure the vaults wihin the Coinyard

Type

Guild, Merchant

Capital

Camp Thrifty

Location

Camp Thrifty