The Guild of Gondoliers

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### Notable Members

The Gonfaloniere
The Doleful Poleman

> *"Jericho Locks is home to its Guild of Gondoliers: the canal-men and women who live and work the necessary but distasteful trade routes between the two great cities of the west."*
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> *"The canals are full of barges, black-painted and sombre. Some are adorned with silver bells, others heavy with crates, bottles and stacks of padded envelopes. Each barge is staffed by two gondoliers: one to row, the other to play a reedy viol."*
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The **Guild of Gondoliers** is a trade guild based in Jericho Locks.

## Row, Row, Row Your Boat...

> *"Barges steered by black-liveried oarsmen pass by slowly. Somewhere, a distant viol plays, before being lost upstream."*
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The Guild of Gondoliers' members, stationed in the canal hub of Jericho Locks, travel the rivers of the Hinterlands between Hell and London, facilitating trade and transporting passengers. The Gondoliers have a somber aesthetic: they wear black uniforms, and their boats and oars are painted the same color. Captains of the Guild wear silver half-masks, and other senior members of the Guild wear black and silver full masks when on duty. Each of the Guild's barges is staffed by two gondoliers, one an oarsperson, and the other a viol player.

The Guild is a highly structured organization. At the bottom are water carriers who perform menial tasks like wayfinding. Above them are pole-arms, explorers, and scouts. At the top are masters, captains, and the Gonfaloniere himself. The **Doleful Poleman** is a captain and the Gonfaloniere's second-in-command, who handles affairs in his superior's absence. The Guild's governing body is called the **Court of Penances**. Not all of the Gondoliers are human: some are devils, such as the **Saturnine Gondolier** who is apparently "on loan."

The Guild oversees the Hinterlands' waterways, demanding tolls and firing upon those who refuse. They also defend their territory from enemy factions and monsters of the canals. They do not often explore the waterways, however, outside of expanding their trade interests. Gondoliers congregate at meeting places like the Fiddler's Scarlet, an inn which they run to house their own. They also have secret dealings with certain factions, such as the renegade devils of the Cedar-Woods.

## Origins

> *"A Neapolitan scholar details the exodus in the wake of political upheaval. A time of promises hastily made, of opportunity opening in deep below...."*
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> *"A rose-hued text details the fierce competition with the bargemen contracted by Hell from the docks; the mysteries of their disappearance, its totality..."*
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The founders of the Guild were workers from Naples who migrated to the Neath in the wake of the Fall of London. These workers may have also worked on the Cumaean Canal. In its early days, Hell assisted the gondoliers in navigating the Hinterlands' rivers, and the two factions forged many a contract between them. At some point, the Guild faced competition from dockworkers contracted by Hell, but the latter group disappeared under mysterious circumstances.

The members of the Guild believe their organization dates back to before the First City, at which point its membership consisted of devils and "other things." It is said this ancient Guild forged a treaty with the Neath's powers, leaving behind a monument in a language called the **Tongue of Ash**.

## Culture

> *"The traditions of the Gondoliers are legion: feastdays of the old world syncretise with the new. Once adopted, a tradition is held in the highest reverence. By such codes, the Gondoliers are willingly and eternally bound."*
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> *"A green tome slick with amber reveals a tradition of leaving coins in the river for the Swan Bride, in the hopes of paying a debt. The debt goes unsaid, the Swan Bride entirely unaware of the custom. "Given no one will sell a thing to me, I think the execution leaves a little to be desired," she says wearily."*
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The Guild has many rules and traditions its members would never dare violate. Examples include a ban on any music in Jericho except the viol, a rule that anyone who charters a gondola can choose their gondolier, and a ban on conferring with the Swan Bride. Not all of the Guild's traditions arose organically; the Masters of the Bazaar rely on the Guild for trade, so they manipulated its previously unaffiliated workers by setting up hierarchies and rules to ensure their compliance. In fact, several of these rules were justified using fabricated tomes.

The Guild's members are typically conservative in their outlook, and have strong faith in their hierarchy. Since they are often away from London for months if not the rest of their lives, their knowledge of current events may be outdated. Conversely, they focus heavily on the Guild itself and its history, staging parades to celebrate it. The Guild views the Great Hellbound Railway with distrust, as it poses a threat to their business. Members are known to call its locomotives "the devil's own chariots," and some even attempt to sabotage the railway. The Gondoliers also view zailors as rivals, despite their frequent interactions.

Weddings and marriage are treated especially seriously among the Guild. A member of the Guild may typically only marry another member. Many choose not to marry at all, but some may symbolically marry the water itself. In fact, water has a very special place in the Guild's culture, described as the "mother and bride and mistress of ceremonies all."

## References

2. ↑ Enter Jericho Locks, *Fallen London*
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Jericho Locks (Storylet), *Fallen London* *"Jericho Locks: [...] where the bargemen cool their heels between voyages, where certain trade between London and Hell flows."*
4. ↑ Jericho Locks: The Lockside, *Fallen London* *"Jericho Locks [...] its Guild of Gondoliers: the canal-men and women who live and work the [...] trade routes between the two great cities of the west."*
5. ↑ Take a barge to the lower rivers, *Fallen London* *"The Guild is permitted to take [...] passengers on tours of the canals [...]"*
6. ↑ Enter Jericho Locks, *Fallen London* *"Barges steered by black-liveried oarsmen pass by [...]"*
7. ↑ Jericho Locks: The Lockside, *Fallen London* *"The canals are full of barges, black-painted [...]"*
8. ↑ Take a barge to the lower rivers, *Fallen London* *"A captain of the Guild [...] she sets her black oar into the [...] water and you set off."*
9. ↑ Take a barge to the lower rivers, *Fallen London* *"A captain of the Guild smiles from under her silver half-mask."*
10. ↑ Betray the Wandering Gondolier, *Fallen London* *"The most senior Guild members convene [...] Behind their masks of silver and jet, the guild members’ expressions are concealed [...]"*
11. ↑ Jericho Locks: The Lockside, *Fallen London* *"Each barge is staffed by two gondoliers: one to row, the other to play a [...] viol."*
12. ↑ Betray the Wandering Gondolier, *Fallen London* *"[...] demoted to waterboy, to run the canals route-finding [...]"*
13. ↑ Watch a parade, *Fallen London* *"[...] order of rank within the Guild. Waterboys and girls [...] pole-arms, explorers and scouts [...] masters, captains and the Gonfaloniere [...]"*
14. ↑ Join the Wandering Gondolier, *Fallen London* *"[...] the Doleful Poleman, second in rank to the Gonfalionere himself. [...] The Captain scowls."*
15. ↑ The Doleful Poleman, *Fallen London* *"The wellbeing of the gondoliers rests on his [...] shoulders while the Gonfaloniere is away."*
16. ↑ The Poisoner's Library, *Fallen London* *"[...] the Court of Penances (the [...] governing body of the Guild) [...]"*
17. ↑ Ask him about himself, *Fallen London* *"Why is a devil working for the Guild? [...] "Might be that a person's on loan. Might [...] has his own reasons for being here. Might [...] doesn't like too many personal questions."*
18. ↑ Return to London (from Jericho Locks), *Fallen London* *"[...] waterfalls, patrolled by [...] Guildmembers. You bypass their tolls [...] They open fire in response."*
19. ↑ Return to London (from Jericho Locks), *Fallen London* *"[...] a tense stand-off between gondoliers, two sects of devils and an ancient, [...] thing rising from the [...] canal water."*
20. ↑ Ask about the palace, *Fallen London* *"[...] the Guild doesn't want me to. [...] If it doesn't support trade, they're not interested in exploring further."*
21. ↑ Leave the barge (The Fiddler's Scarlet), *Fallen London* *"[...] the Fiddler's Scarlet – a [...] inn run for and by the Guild of Gondoliers."*
22. ↑ Give him a report on the cedar grove, *Fallen London* *"They must be careful. We must be careful. London doesn't know everything that happens here."*
23. ↑ Leave the barge (The Cedar-Woods), *Fallen London* *"[...] devils guard the woods [...] An accord with the Guild lets them make use of the river that runs through the grove, in exchange for [...] intelligence. [...] the bargewoman confers with senior members of the devils [...] [...] the [...] junior devils [...] grow bold and blaspheme against Hell."*
24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 24.2 24.3 The Poisoner's Library, *Fallen London*
25. ↑ The Poisoner's Library, *Fallen London* *"[...] migrations of peoples in the mid 19th century is, [...] the 'Translation of London'. [...] the 'Neapolitan Exodus.'"*
26. ↑ The Poisoner's Library, *Fallen London* *"A Neapolitan scholar details the exodus in the wake of political upheaval. [...] opportunity opening in deep below...."*
27. ↑ The Poisoner's Library, *Fallen London* *"[...] the progress of the modern Guild from its origins as workers in the Cumaean north and westward [...]"*
28. ↑ The Poisoner's Library, *Fallen London* *"[...] the efficacy of Hell's assistance to the Guildsmen as they set up to service the [...] trade route between Hell and its newest neighbour."*
29. ↑ The Poisoner's Library, *Fallen London* *"A volume [...] details the contracts forged between Hell and the Guild [...]"*
30. ↑ The Poisoner's Library, *Fallen London* *"[...] the [...] competition with the bargemen contracted by Hell from the docks; the mysteries of their disappearance, its totality..."*
31. ↑ Support the motion of the Wandering Gondolier regarding a route to Moulin, *Fallen London* *"The Wandering Gondolier's information comes out in the form of ditties and rhymes, [...] Failed gondola expeditions [...] before the First City. [...] the Guild of Gondoliers cannot [...] predate the First City. [...] The Wandering Gondolier shakes his head [...] "The Gondoliers were here before the city was, [...] the guild was mostly devils [...] And other things, they say.""*
32. ↑ Persuade the Hell-Scarred Gondolier/Tables, *Fallen London* *"The Hell-Scarred Gondolier [...] where the treaty was made between the ancient Guild and the powers of the Neath. [...] a monument, [...] inscribed in the Tongue of Ash, [...] words are never used [...] except in eulogy.""*
33. ↑ The Poisoner's Library, *Fallen London* *"The traditions of the Gondoliers are legion: [...] Once adopted, a tradition is held in the highest reverence."*
34. ↑ Ask him about the prohibition on music, *Fallen London* *"Why are viols the only permitted instrument in Jericho? [...] an old superstition. [...] blow a trumpet in Jericho, the walls will come tumbling down." [...] No music, except the viol. [...]"*
35. ↑ A Conversation with the Wandering Gondolier, *Fallen London* *"The Guild [...] have a tradition. Anyone who charters a barge can choose their gondolier [...]"*
36. ↑ The Poisoner's Library, *Fallen London* *"A woman [...] wears a mask depicting a golden swan, [...] The Gonfaloniere [...] forbids contact with her; [...] barred from the Arborist's Hands [...] no bargeman will carry her."*
37. ↑ Ask about the Guild of Gondoliers, *Fallen London* *"[...] not always been a Guild here. Just boatmen [...] Kept things flowing, trade [...] they started to get uppity. [...] the Masters give 'em something to aspire to: traditions, honours, ranks. A boss. Gives 'em meaning. [...] keeps 'em quiet.""*
38. ↑ The Poisoner's Library, *Fallen London* *""A golden prayerbook [...] a careful forgery: designed for the Guild to shore up their traditions [...]"*
39. ↑ Provide news from London, *Fallen London* *"[...] disappointed to learn the outcome of the most recent election, repulsed by the latest fashionable trends, [...] pleased to learn [...] Mr Fires' efforts against the unions."*
40. ↑ The Poisoner's Library, *Fallen London* *"A [...] tome on the duties of the Gondoliers reaffirms [...] importance of [...] captain, the [...] tragedies that arise when the hierarchy goes ignored."*
41. ↑ Provide news from London, *Fallen London* *"The bargemen work [...] months away from the Fifth City. Many never go back, [...] Much of their information is out of date [...]"*
42. ↑ Watch a parade, *Fallen London* *"[...] the Guild of Gondoliers stages processions [...] to honour [...] great gondoliers. [...] banners depicting saints of Hell, former regiments of London's armies, [...] prestigious confraternities within the Guild. Barges go by in order of rank within the Guild. [...]"*
43. ↑ Assist an out-of-work Gondolier, *Fallen London* *"Demand for the Guild of Gondoliers has suffered now that the GHR [...] at Jericho Locks."*
44. ↑ Join the Wandering Gondolier, *Fallen London* *"[...] The Captain scowls. [...] outsiders," [...] who come here on trains! The devil's own chariots.""*
45. ↑ Return to London (from Jericho Locks), *Fallen London* *"One of the gondoliers [...] engaged in [...] industrial sabotage. [...] You haul him from the engine [...]"*
46. ↑ The Poisoner's Library, *Fallen London* *"Research the dialects of zailors [...] Despite their rivalry, they traffic with Jericho often."*
47. ↑ The Poisoner's Library, *Fallen London* *"[...] jokes are crude on all [...] but marriage. [...] the holiest state [...] cannot be broken. [...] a gondolier will not be unbound."*
48. ↑ The Poisoner's Library, *Fallen London* *"Only a gondolier is fit for another gondolier."*
49. ↑ The Poisoner's Library, *Fallen London* *"Marriages are rare in the Guild; [...] Some marry the waters in ceremonies of [...] symbolic nature, [...]"*
50. ↑ The Poisoner's Library, *Fallen London* *"[...] the significance of water to the Guild: mother and bride and mistress of ceremonies all."*