Eye in the Crowd - Palanthian Prices on the Rise

by JOSHUASIGEP44, Staff Writer
Last Updated: Palast, Darkember 13, 2006

Palanthas - Of late the citizens of Palanthas have had less to worry about, but more on their minds collectively, thanks largely due to the inflation rates over the past decade. Many reasons have been given in the explanation of this. Simply put steel does not get you as much as it used to, and with the recent threats of price hikes from the Merchants Guild the city is in the grips of an economic panic.

Of course the reason behind these threats is well documented. The Merchants Guild has for many years maintained shipping lines that cross the entire continent. The majority of goods that reach Palanthas use one of the aforementioned shipping lines. While these lines can be extremely lucrative in the end, any merchant can tell you that several factors go into successfully managing them, and if one thing goes wrong steel can be lost by the tens of thousands.

Over the past few months dozens of merchant caravans have been raided by a rogue group of hijackers. The Guild has stated that, if the raids do not stop, prices in Palanthas will more than double. The Merchants Guild has requested the aid of the City Senate, but that help has been slow to come. So the Herald wants to know...

What, if anything, can be done to help the guild?

Walton Mc Kee, captain, had this to say.

"Blow me down! It ain't the Senate's fault that the Merchants Guild is having trouble with their caravans. I've had to deal with pirates at sea before, and I never asked the Senate to solve my problem. After all what in the Abyss can they do anyway? They need to go to the Solamnic Knights, or better yet hire some sell swords. Seesh, it ain't like they don't have the extra steel lying around."

Darla Gruene,, traveling dancer, stated the following:

"These guild types beat all I have ever seen. I mean, sure it's horrible that they are being robbed, but why are they passing the buck to me? Instead of trying to figure out a way to make a profit, why don't they just solve the problem? Sure the Senate can't really do anything in the way of helping them, but they can pressure the Solamnic Knights."

Nehemiah Grandon, carpenter, shared his thoughts:

"They are right to ask the Senate for help. I can barley afford materials as it is. If they raise prices even a few steel it will drive me out of business. Somebody needs to arrest the ones responsible and string' em up by their thumbs. By the Abyss, I think I have some old thumb screws at my shop.

Eye in the Crowd - Palanthian Prices on the Rise

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