Bank of the Silver Bell

Founded a few decades before the Silvermask’s rise to power, the Bank of the Silver Bell is a consortium of many merchants and powerful nobles that have used their vast wealth to create the first continent wide, independent bank. The Bank of the Silver Bell has buildings and offices in cities and towns all across Stridia, and offers a wide range of services beyond the storing of coin and valuables.

The Bank often meets heavy criticism from the Church and other nations for it’s use of indentured service. In the place of capital or valuables, the Bank offers loans of gold in exchange for periods of labour or other service. Other nations and priests ignorantly claim this is no better than slavery, or spread rumours that the Bank uses underhand tactics to keep people in service or to ruin their investments but such words do not dissuade many more from agreeing to the banks terms in exchange for large amounts of gold.

To their credit, the Bank provides food and shelter for it’s “retainers” as they are known and ensures that the retainer is not so overwhelmed with debts that they cannot pay them back. However, many citizens have fallen into decades long servitude contracts without fully understanding the consequences.

With such a large labour force, the Bank is able to produce mass-manufactured goods of average quality, as well as private military forces. They also provide legal services, scribing and wealth protection.

One of the banks greatest accomplishments is the creation of the Free City of Gildenvenn. On the southern edge of Stridia, on land bought from the kingdom of Voras’Kir, the Bank has built a great port city. It houses many of it’s retainers and merchants and trades with foreigners, much to the annoyance of the Callassio Freewaters.

The Bank is led by a group of individuals known only as the Twelve Rings. There identities are kept hidden and secret, even from each other. They communicate in secret and through coded names and messages.