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The Notaries

In its first decades, the Notaries were a loose company of witnesses and traveling clerks. Their authority came from the practical need to remember who owed what after war, famine, and shifting borders made local records unreliable. They expanded by offering a rare service: a contract recognized at multiple crossings and markets. Their watershed moment came during the White Gull Winter, when a string of settlements defaulted on grain bargains after a blight ruined the harvest. The Seal Council's predecessors could have seized stores and forced repayment. Instead, they converted the debt into a schedule of future labor, repairs, and shared seed reserves. The bargain prevented several communities from collapsing, and the Notaries gained a reputation for making obligations survivable rather than simply collecting them. That reputation changed when the Patron entered the record. The original terms are missing, but the Notaries accepted a charge to collect what the Pale Accord was owed and to broker new bargains for the Patron. Their reach grew rapidly. They began appearing wherever contracts were made, from city countinghouses to isolated crossings. Some communities welcomed their impartial records; others found that a neutral witness could still be the agent of a powerful creditor. A generation ago, an assessor enforced a disputed clause that sent an indebted village's young adults away as bonded workers. The debt was eventually judged valid by the Seal Council, but the method of enforcement split the faction. Reformers demanded a right of refusal for cruel bargains. Traditionalists argued that a Notary who chose which signed promises to honor was merely another ruler. The argument remains unresolved, and the village's descendants still regard the seal as a threat.

Factions
Faction

The Notaries

To merchants and travelers, the Notaries are useful, exacting witnesses who can make a bargain matter beyond the place where it was made.
Type
Pact-brokering and…
Size
420 members
Reach
High wherever multiple…
Base
Survey Nine

Overview

In its first decades, the Notaries were a loose company of witnesses and traveling clerks. Their authority came from the practical need to remember who owed what after war, famine, and shifting borders made local records unreliable. They expanded by offering a rare service: a contract recognized at multiple crossings and markets. Their watershed moment came during the White Gull Winter, when a string of settlements defaulted on grain bargains after a blight ruined the harvest. The Seal Council's predecessors could have seized stores and forced repayment. Instead, they converted the debt into a schedule of future labor, repairs, and shared seed reserves. The bargain prevented several communities from collapsing, and the Notaries gained a reputation for making obligations survivable rather than simply collecting them. That reputation changed when the Patron entered the record. The original terms are missing, but the Notaries accepted a charge to collect what the Pale Accord was owed and to broker new bargains for the Patron. Their reach grew rapidly. They began appearing wherever contracts were made, from city countinghouses to isolated crossings. Some communities welcomed their impartial records; others found that a neutral witness could still be the agent of a powerful creditor. A generation ago, an assessor enforced a disputed clause that sent an indebted village's young adults away as bonded workers. The debt was eventually judged valid by the Seal Council, but the method of enforcement split the faction. Reformers demanded a right of refusal for cruel bargains. Traditionalists argued that a Notary who chose which signed promises to honor was merely another ruler. The argument remains unresolved, and the village's descendants still regard the seal as a threat.

How it began

The Notaries trace their beginning to a winter famine, when three market towns and a chain of isolated crossings were bound by promises no single ruler could enforce. A broker called Mallow, remembered in the oldest accounts only by that name, carried a slate of debts between the settlements. Mallow arranged grain advances, safe-conducts, and repayment in labor after the thaw. The bargains kept the roads open, but each town accused the others of changing the terms. At the final crossing, Mallow persuaded the disputants to accept one witnessed record and one common seal. The first Notaries were the witnesses who stayed behind to keep that record.

How to know them

MottoA promise travels farther than its maker.
EmblemA brass balance with one pan holding a blank sheet and the other a closed eye. The blank sheet represents terms not yet written; the eye represents what witnesses choose not to see.
Colours

Bone white, Ink blue, Dull brass

Signs
  • A brass seal stamped with an open ledger
  • A short blue thread tied around a completed contract
  • A blank witness line, left visible when no acceptable witness was present
DressNotaries wear practical travel clothes in ink blue or undyed wool, with a narrow bone-white band at the wrist. The band is not a uniform requirement but a public sign that the wearer is willing to witness a statement. Assessors carry a brass seal case; Collectors usually wear no visible badge unless a local authority demands one.

Standing

AlignmentPragmatic and internally divided. The Notaries value enforceable promises over abstract justice, but disagree bitterly about who deserves protection when obligations collide.
AgeThe Notaries have operated for 83 years, though the Pale Accord they serve is older and its true age is disputed.
WealthSubstantial but uneven. The Notaries hold little territory and avoid displaying riches, but their fees, collateral, records, and access to credit give them considerable leverage.

What they say they want

Make promises clear, witnessed, and portable across borders.
Prevent disputes from turning into feuds or armed conflict.
Collect only what the Pale Accord is owed, according to its terms.
Offer workable renegotiation when hardship makes an agreement impossible to fulfill as written.

What they are doing now

Collect overdue obligations under the Pale Accord before rival powers declare them void.
Recruit new brokers in isolated settlements where no recognized authority can reliably witness agreements.
Discover who has been issuing counterfeit Notary seals and determine whether the fraud is local or coordinated.
Secure a new bargain with the Patron without giving the Patron a claim over the Notaries themselves.

Where it leads

To make the Pale Accord a durable framework for promises across borders and generations, while retaining enough discretion to keep its bargains from becoming instruments of ruin. The Notaries cannot agree whether this vision serves communities, the Patron, or the institution itself.

How others see them

To merchants and travelers, the Notaries are useful, exacting witnesses who can make a bargain matter beyond the place where it was made. To debtors, they are the polite face of an obligation that will not disappear. In isolated settlements, their arrival can mean a fair hearing or a new creditor with a longer reach.

People

6 ranks

First Witness

Mallow

Calm and humane in public, privately calculating about which compromises will prevent the greatest harm. Rarely raises their voice, which makes their anger unmistakable.

  1. First Witness1 member

    The elected senior voice of the Notaries, authorized to negotiate with the Patron and issue temporary interpretations of the Accord.

  2. Seal Council7 members

    Reviews major bargains, appoints regional assessors, and can challenge the First Witness through a formal counter-witnessing procedure.

  3. Assessors24 members

    Travel between settlements, investigate claims, hear disputes, and decide what evidence counts toward an obligation.

  4. Collectors63 members

    Deliver demands, negotiate repayment, escort seized goods, and arrange service in lieu of payment.

  5. Counters118 members

    Maintain local books, copy contracts, identify witnesses, and handle the public-facing work of the faction.

  6. Runners and Witnesses210 members

    Carry sealed messages, verify signatures, locate parties to a contract, and provide temporary testimony. Many are paid per journey rather than sworn members.

Other key members

  • Rook Senior Assessor and likely successor
  • Sedge Counter and Mender organizer
  • Gull Collector and field negotiator

How they are organised

How it is runA mobile, federated order of contract witnesses, debt assessors, and pact brokers
Who comes nextWhen the First Witness resigns, dies, or is formally challenged, the Seal Council nominates three candidates. Counters and Assessors submit written testimony, and each candidate must defend a disputed precedent before the full council. A majority chooses the next First Witness. In practice, the Patron's approval matters, though the faction publicly denies that the Patron has a formal veto.
How they recruitCandidates begin as paid runners, copying messages and carrying sealed documents. A Counter observes their conduct over several journeys. Those who pass are tested on a deliberately ambiguous contract and must explain what is known, what is assumed, and what must be witnessed again. Successful candidates swear before two members who are not their sponsors, then serve a year as probationary witnesses.
To join
  • Demonstrate careful record-keeping and the ability to distinguish a witnessed statement from hearsay.
  • Provide two references who will answer for the candidate's honesty, not merely their competence.
  • Complete a probationary journey as a runner or witness without breaking a seal or concealing a correction.
  • Swear to preserve records accurately, including records that embarrass the Notaries.

Relations

7 factions
The Sedge Marsh…UNEASY NEUTRALITYThe Third Ledger CourtTRANSACTIONAL ALLYThe Reed Ferry KinCAUTIOUS ALLYThe Crown's CollectorsINSTITUTIONAL RIVALThe Reed Ferry KinCONDITIONAL RIVALThe LanternlessOPEN ENEMYThe Crown's CollectorsJURISDICTIONAL ENEMY
Ally · Transactional ally
The Third Ledger Court

The countinghouses depend on the Notaries to settle disputed invoices and authenticate long-distance credit. Their support vanishes when a ruling threatens their profits.

Operations

What they do

Witnessing and recording contracts
Collecting debts owed under the Pale Accord
Brokeraging new bargains for the Patron
Investigating defaults and disputed terms
Maintaining routes of recognition between distant settlements

How they do it

Witness agreements in public when possible and keep duplicate records in separate locations.
Investigate the circumstances of a default before demanding payment.
Offer alternative repayment in labor, goods, future service, or a renegotiated schedule when authorized.
Use reputation, access to credit, and recognition of claims as leverage before resorting to physical seizure.
Mark disputed clauses rather than silently choosing an interpretation, though not every field member follows this rule.

Services for hire

  • Contract witnessingA modest fee, two independent witnesses, and a copy of the agreement
    Creates a witnessed record that can be presented to Notary counters in other settlements.
  • Debt assessmentA percentage of recovered value or a negotiated service
    Investigates a default, verifies payments, and offers a formal ruling on what remains owed.
  • Pact brokerageA fee paid by one or both parties, plus any collateral required by the bargain
    Negotiates new terms between parties who cannot agree on repayment, safe-conduct, labor, or exchange.
  • Seal examinationA favor, a fee, or a deposit of equivalent value
    Verifies whether a seal and its witness record match known Notary practice. Verification is not a guarantee that the underlying bargain was fair.

What they can do

Can establish whether a recorded debt or bargain is recognized by Notary offices across multiple settlements.
Can mobilize witnesses, couriers, and local contacts along major roads and crossings.
May deny future access to Notary-certified credit or recognition to people who defy a valid ruling.
As a custom setting feature, some seals may carry supernatural force under the Pale Accord. This is not assumed to be a universal or official rule of any game system.

What they have

A dispersed network of counters and witnesses at markets, crossings, tollhouses, and countinghouses.
The trust of merchants who need debts recognized beyond their home districts.
A body of contract records, some of which preserve information no ruler's archive contains.
The brass seals and verification phrases used to authenticate agreements.
A reputation for finding a way to collect even when ordinary law cannot reach the debtor.

Where they are weak

Their influence depends on trust in the accuracy and custody of their records.
They have no standing army and rely on local escorts, reputation, and economic pressure.
A dispute over one forged seal can undermine confidence in every regional office.
Their formal hierarchy is slow to react to urgent events far from a council or archive.
Members can be compromised by private debts, local loyalties, or the belief that the Patron's demands are illegitimate.

Territory

Headquarters

Survey Nine
KindA former tollhouse and traveling archive

The Notaries have no universally acknowledged headquarters. Their senior clerks keep a moving archive in locked cases, while a small permanent office occupies a former tollhouse at Survey Nine. The office has a public counter, a locked witness room, and a cellar of sealed ledgers that smells of damp paper and brass polish.

Lands they hold

City countinghouses and market halls
Major roads and toll districts
Ferry crossings and bridges where debts change hands
Remote settlements seeking recognition for bargains beyond local authority

Outposts

  • Survey NineThe high road where two toll districts meetHouses the senior archive, receives petitions, and serves as a meeting point for the Seal Council.
  • Reed Ferry PostA busy river crossing used by grain barges and ferry familiesAuthenticates cargo agreements and records debts incurred during crossings.
  • White Gull CounterA market district of countinghouses and bonded warehousesHandles merchant credit, disputed invoices, and verification of seals.

Secrets

The big secret · GM only
What they really want · GM only
Hidden plans · GM only
Smaller secrets · GM only
What insiders say · GM only
Trouble inside · GM only
Crimes · GM only

Plot hooks

5 hooks
  • 1
    The Unwilling Witness
    Low to moderateReward: Payment, a favor from a local Counter, or access to a disputed record
    A Counter hires the characters to find a missing witness before a debt hearing. The witness insists the contract was signed under threat, but the only surviving copy bears a clean seal.
  • 2
    Two Seals, One Debt
    ModerateReward: Coin, negotiated debt relief, or a valuable alliance with the ferry families
    A Collector asks the party to escort a repayment caravan through a dangerous crossing. The debtor offers proof that the amount was already paid, and both sides present authentic-looking seals.
  • 3
    A Clause in the Rain
    Moderate to highReward: Influence within the Notaries, a restructured debt, or a dangerous enemy
    The party is caught between Rook and Sedge after a village refuses a collection demand. Rook insists the written debt is valid; Sedge has evidence that the original witness was replaced. The characters must investigate while the Seal Council prepares to rule.
  • 4
    The Counterfeit Accord
    HighReward: A major service from the Notaries, access to sealed archives, or leverage over the Patron's agents
    A counterfeit seal is being used to bind travelers to a bargain with the Patron. The trail leads through several settlements, each of which has a different version of the contract. The culprit may be an outside forger, a Notary protecting a secret, or someone testing whether the Patron will enforce the terms.
  • 5
    The Book Beneath Survey Nine
    Campaign-scaleReward: The power to reshape the Notaries, a direct audience with the Patron, or a crisis that alters the region
    Mallow asks the party to recover an old ledger before the Seal Council discovers it. The ledger could prove that the Notaries once promised a village it would never be collected upon, but it may also contain evidence that the Patron's bargain binds the institution itself.

Work they offer

1Locate a debtor who vanished with the only copy of a contract.
2Protect a witness traveling to a hearing.
3Recover stolen records from a flooded archive or abandoned tollhouse.
4Negotiate a repayment schedule that satisfies both a desperate community and an inflexible creditor.

What gets in the way

A valid contract can be enforceable and still be monstrous. Members disagree over whether refusing to broker such a bargain is disobedience or moral duty.
The Patron's instructions are sometimes ambiguous, and senior Notaries compete to define what the Patron meant.
Some debtors genuinely cannot pay. Collectors who show mercy may be celebrated by locals and disciplined by their own superiors.
The faction's authority depends on people believing its seals are reliable, even when the Notaries privately know a seal's history is compromised.

Rumours

1True: The Notaries keep duplicate copies of important agreements far from the place where they were signed.
2True: A Collector can sometimes delay enforcement by recording a claim as disputed.
3False: Every Notary has sworn away their own name to the Patron.
4Unproven: The First Witness can speak a phrase that makes any signed contract binding, even if the signer never understood it.
5True in part: The Notaries have erased at least one debt from their books. The reason and the identity of the debtor remain unknown.

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