Seven Suns Trading Coster

The Seven Suns Trading Coster was a merchant organization operating in Faerûn in the 14th century DR.

History
The coster was formed by seven partners of widely separated origins: Jhasso of Baldur's Gate, Shield of Everlund, Pomphur of Almraiven, Chond of Calaunt, Alvund of Ormpetarr, Dzunn of Sheirtalar, and Nammna of Milvarune. The "Seven Suns" referred to the seven merchants themselves. Each had their own small companies, such as Jhasso's Wagons, but converted these into regional bases for the coster. The Seven Suns were in business by 1358 DR.

They were still going through 1367 DR. In Cormyr, at least, it came to be controlled by the Bleth noble family. It was among the most powerful merchant houses in Suzail and Cormyr, and made the Bleths both wealthy and powerful. Thus, in the late 1360s, the head of the Seven Suns attended a celebration held by Lord Partic Thistle at his manor, Thistleflame, in honor of King Azoun IV's birthday, in addition to Lord Gruen Bleth.

In the Year of the Banner, 1368 DR, the Seven Suns headquarters in Baldur's Gate was infiltrated and taken over by doppelgangers, working on behalf of the rival Iron Throne. One assumed Jhasso's identity and kept him captive in the basement. The doppelgangers then proceeded to make poor business decisions that drove the coster toward bankruptcy. This affected the economy of the whole city and attracted the attention of the Grand Dukes. Scar, the commander of Baldur's Gate's Flaming Fist mercenary guards, asked Gorion's Ward to investigate strange goings-on at the Seven Suns headquarters in Baldur's Gate. Gorion's Ward and their team eliminated the doppelgangers and rescued Jhasso.

The Seven Suns were still going in 1374 DR.

Organization
The leading partners of the Seven Suns were Alvund, Chond, Dzunn, Nammna, Jhasso, Pomphur, and Shield. The Bleth noble family controlled Seven Suns activity in Cormyr, with Lord Gruen Bleth managing affairs in Suzail.

The coster had regional bases located in cities across Faerûn, such as Baldur's Gate on the Sword Coast, managed by Jhasso, and Suzail in Cormyr, managed by Gruen Bleth. Each of the partners provided wagons, horses, and draft oxen to the coster, and hired local guards.

Activities
The Seven Suns was a trading coster, an coalition of merchants who merged their caravans for safety and offered transport to other merchants. The Seven Suns was one of the poorer quality costers around, with weak locally hired guards and shabby wagons. As a consequence, its caravans were slow and often targeted by bandits. But it was also the least expensive, undercutting their competitors on almost every trade-route. As a result, they normally carried low-value cargoes, but occasionally people chose to cut corners and costs and took the risk of sending valuable goods with the Seven Suns. Rand Sharpsword, a Zhentarim anti-caravan agent, felt they were hardly worth the effort of attacking.

They operated throughout the Western Heartlands and Sembia.

The Seven Suns' symbol, used on banners and trailglyphs, was seven spaced circles arranged in the shape of a stick figure, laid on its side with head to the right.