Charming

the plot

He goes by many names: The Forgotten Merchant. The Merchant of Oblivion. Or simply, The Merchant. The reason for this name is quite simple. He traps people into making an unbreakable vow, which at its core is also very simple: the acknowledgement that they owe him a debt (via contract and witnesses), and vow to repay that unspecified debt when The Merchant so chooses.

But of course The Merchant needs more than an Unbreakable Vow. After they make the vow, the memory of their Vow is withdrawn from their mind and put into a Pensieve as collateral. Then, a memory modification charm is placed upon them so they don't remember taking it, and don't remember the witnesses. The rules of the Vow still remain however; the fact that the vow is for an undetermined act prevents them from perishing. Only when the memory charm is lifted are they in danger if they decide they want to go back on their Vow.

Even those who do communicate directly to the Merchant don't know his true identity because of Polyjuice Potion. In the rare instance the potion wears off, another memory charm is placed upon them. Those who are aware of this flaw do well to avoid having a memory charm placed upon them: too many charms means a greater likelihood of permanent damage.

~

the ranks

THE MERCHANT:
deals in information, blackmail, cursed objects, stolen objects, weapons.
highest ranking members are Bishops, who will remain NPCs for the time being
tends to leave anyone underage alone in terms of recruitment and targets, but that doesn't mean they could be affected by the fallout.
The Merchant will send messages to Couriers and Pawns via owl written in ink that only they can see. To keep a paper trail, they must sign the letter. After it's signed, the letter disappears and returns back to the merchant for record keeping.

ROOKS: skilled in magic, especially the dark arts and memory modification. Their memories are kept, but they are bound by a magical contract.

COURIERS: They have no authority in the hierarchy however are permitted to keep their memories and are bound by a magical contract. They willingly carry stolen goods back and forth in addition to keeping an eye out for potential vulnerables to bring back to The Merchant. They are paid by the goods they bring in.

PAWNS: those who have gotten locked into the contract; the memory modification spell has been lifted, and they are awaiting instruction

OBLIVIATED: those who have taken their vow, and have had their memories modified; they do not remember a thing. they could be called upon at any moment.

TARGETS: they are ideally vulnerable, have nothing to lose

You can see a hierarchy of The Merchant's organization here.

ROOKS Jay Fox Agrimony Macnair Adrestia Dantes Name	COURIERS Hestia Name
PAWNS Luna Wakefield Name	OBLIVIATED Gwendolyn Vane-Tempest Name
TARGETS Arthur Pettigrew Isis Silverthorne Name	STOREFRONTS The Ivy Leaf — Diagon Alley Curios Apothecary — London Name

the info

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So this is something that I've been chewing on for the better part of a year — possibly more? — and has evolved to this point. It started when I was writing Rowan Yaxley's app and has slowly evolved to what you see above. The Merchant is not someone I plan on fully apping and bringing on board — though I'm not opposed to threading him with the NPC account — but this is ultimately meant to be a bit of an open-ended plot that could potentially evolve in many different directions, so that as many people could participate with any character that they wish. The Merchant is not all-powerful, but rather his power resides within his collateral (The Pensieve), his anonymity, and manipulation. He's meant to function a bit as a Bogeyman to complicate your characters lives, if you'd like xD

I also hope that because of the memory modification, it'll make it easier if this is something that you're on the fence about and want to insert into your characters lives down the road. That way, it'd fit seamlessly into whatever you have going on then, since - well - your character's forgotten about it, so why would they need to act any different up until that point you decide for them to be involved?

Additionally, I should note that The Merchant is not opposed to violence of any kind, but obviously that is up to your discretion for your characters and what happens to them. It could be as simple or as complicated as you'd like it to be, because at the end of the day, The Merchant thinks himself quite a fair person. Your character's given task could be something as simple as "give this letter to this person at this time and place" and you're done, or it could be something more complicated like "smuggle something (or someone) somewhere, then report back for your next task."

You fulfill your task, he's got no reason to go after you/your family.

I will also add that he's also all about flying under the radar, so no huge explosions or anything drastic xD at least not yet, y'all know how I like a great catastrophe to throw characters into >.>

Simply put, The Merchant is meant to be your MacGuffin device if you want to complicate your characters lives.

This plot also doesn't involve making any new characters, although if you have an idea for an new character, i'm not gonna stop you Wink

Also, I'm making buttons for those who'd like them xD You can see a preview of the button/graphics here, and a Pinterest mood-board (CW, there are some more gritty photos pinned there, but nothing that's super gory I don't think?) here.

an example

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Call 'em as you see 'em, everyone! I've added a running list to keep track, so let me know your "definites" so I can add them! Like I said, a lot of what your characters do is up to your discretion, however if you're looking for something juicy and need to bounce some ideas off of me, pls feel free to hit me up!

I've added another category — Storefronts; these are locations that are going to be used for means of smuggling, whether by force or will. I've also added some more details, so just lmk if you have any questions!

(February 27, 2023 – 6:01 AM)Agape Lestrange Wrote: [ -> ]First thing I thought about was how my dear would totally be a prime target for this in the search for her missing brother. Honestly, only thing popping into my head for my own characters at the moment, but I'm sure my wicked mind will thing of something eventually.

Whoo! Lmk if you have anything, I can add details to the above Smile

(February 27, 2023 – 1:39 PM)Madeleine Backus Wrote: [ -> ]Well I love all of this!!

- would make a useful Rook, meta and sklled duelist and dark witch, trained by and lives with a hit wizard body gaurd. Coming back for other reasons in March.

- could definitely have made a deal for some object to help her get pregnant (and then she ended up preggers with her monster rat baby). Probably still Obliviated, but with capacity to be salty AF about how rubbish her deal was!

could potentially be just about anywhere on the list - but my vibe is Pawn, and that she is used to cover up dirty dealings and messy situations by making evidence go 'poof' - mysterious murders suddenly becoming 'accidental' deaths.

- Could have a deal in place, still obliviated.

could be a potential target - she has done some smuggling work, and has a vessel outfitted for transporting....less than legal cargo.

Would def be interested in having these guys cross paths with other 'impacted'

I love all of this! More specifically, Luna cause having a coroner on board would be great, especially to subvert any suspicious activity like yanno, dead bodies xD I've put Luna on, let me know about the rest of them!

(February 27, 2023 – 4:18 PM)Daffodil Potts Wrote: [ -> ]I have piggybacked an idea I'd been playing with after tossing said idea at Lady! We have temp-schemed a mass break-in across several High Street and Diagon Alley shops, in which Ian's shop is the actual target, for a specific artifact, but the rest are just break-ins, probably some damage, maybe some stolen items if the henchmen think it's interesting! At large, they are just distractions from the actual job.

On my end obviously Ian's shop, but also Honeyduke's and Wildflowers will be hit to add drama to my character's too-content lives. XD

No timeline set yet, unless peeps have something in mind! If you want your shop involved, just let me know so when I write the DP article I can include it, along with a quote if you like!

Wheeee, yes Ivy Leaf will be in that kerfuffle as well. Meredith will also be tragically dragged in >DD lmk the timeline you're thinking of! I'm not picky

(February 27, 2023 – 11:05 PM)Zelda Darrow Wrote: [ -> ] is a perfect target IMO

but also as a potential Ministry connect with varying interest levels?? I'm into this plot idk

Yess I love the look of both of them for this! Let me know if you have any specific ideas

(February 28, 2023 – 11:10 AM)Luna Wakefield Wrote: [ -> ]
(February 27, 2023 – 11:05 PM)Zelda Darrow Wrote: [ -> ]but also as a potential Ministry connect with varying interest levels?? I'm into this plot idk

I could see a situation where she and Luna are expected to intercept deaths that have a connection to him and see to it that no one looks too closely at them. The degree to which they are happy about this arrangement TBD - like dirty cops beholden to the mob.

I love this idea >D

(March 1, 2023 – 3:26 PM)Jay Fox Wrote: [ -> ]HELLO I think Jay would be an excellent Rook! The Foxes already run in criminal circles and deal with cursed artifacts and dark magic... but Jay especially has a talent for memory charms, so being caught up in this would make So Much Sense >D

Also game for him to be a played face available for having interactions with potential pawns / moving other people's plots along <3

we have discussed >DD

Rowan Yaxley

Agape Lestrange

Madeleine Backus

Daffodil Grimstone

Zelda Darrow

Luna Wakefield

Jay Fox

Fortitude Greengrass

Rowan Yaxley

Madeleine Backus