These commercial laws were first established in the time of Artel and are yet upheld by the Free Merchants’ Guild.

ART. I. An allied city is any city or recognised commercial community not formally incorporated into the Artel, yet joined thereto by treaty, compact, or established commercial privilege, and which hath pledged to uphold mutual protections, recognise Artel proscriptions, and grant reciprocal rights and safeguards unto the merchants of the member cities.

ART. II. All recognised merchants of member or allied cities shall enjoy full observance of their rights according to Artel Law. They shall pay only the customary tolls and shall not be subjected to new or extraordinary levies.

ART. III. Merchants of member cities entering any allied or member city with lawful and undisputed goods shall possess and enjoy the same rights, protections, and legal remedies as native citizens thereof.

ART. IV. If merchants or citizens of any member city be attacked by robbers within the agreed territories, the affected allods shall share equally in the expense of pursuing, apprehending, and punishing the offenders.

ART. V. Any person expelled or proscribed for crime in one member city shall not be received nor protected in any other member city.

ART. VI. All pirates and robbers shall be declared outlawed throughout the Artel. Any city or territory harbouring such persons shall be deemed complicit and subject to collective sanction.

ART. VII. Each member-allod shall, to the best of her ability, keep the astral territories under Artel influence clear of pirates, that merchants may freely carry on their business by sea.

ART. VIII. If a citizen be seized by pirates or robbers, they shall not be ransomed; instead, the sword-belt and knife shall be sent unto the captors as token and warning. Any merchant who ransoms such citizen shall forfeit their goods and commercial privileges within all member cities.

ART. IX. If there be war within an allod, no city shall on that account injure a citizen of another allied or member-allod, whether in person or in goods, but shall grant unto them due protection.

ART. X. If a lord lay siege unto a city, none shall aid them in any wise to the detriment of the besieged city, unless the besieger be their lawful lord.

ART. XI. No Artel allod shall declare martial or financial war upon another Artel allod without the approval of the kontor to which she reporteth.

ART. XII. Urban authorities shall exercise jurisdiction over weights and measures, the regulation of markets, and the sale of provisions. Offenders may be fined and detained until such time as payment be made.

ART. XIII. Foreign merchants recognised as guests shall be granted prompt hearing before the court. Their property shall not be seized nor execution levied thereon without due notice and lawful opportunity to appear and defend the same.

ART. XIV. Citizens shall be liable for taxation upon property held both within and without the city’s territory, the same to be assessed under oath according to its true value.

ART. XV. In all disputes between member-allods, Artel Law shall take precedence over local ordinance in matters touching commerce, navigation, and merchant privilege.

ART. XVI. Every member of the Artel shall uphold and defend Artel Law and the privileges granted thereunder.

ART. XVII. If any ruling power violate the rights or privileges of the Artel, all member-allods shall, upon decree of the Assembly, cease trade, close kontors, suspend debts, and act in common defence until satisfaction be made.

ART. XVIII. Each member-allod shall contribute ships, sailors, and coin toward the Artel Navy in proportion to its means, when such levy be declared for the security of trade or suppression of piracy.

ART. XIX. The Artel shall maintain standard measures of weight, cargo capacity, and contract form, that commerce be conducted in uniform fashion throughout its territories and kontors.

ART. XX. A common navy fund shall be maintained for the assurance of vessels and cargo. All participating merchants shall contribute thereto, and compensation for lawful loss at sea or in astral waters shall be made according to established schedule.

ART. XXI. If any merchant be declared bankrupt through fraud or dishonourable dealing, their goods may be seized for satisfaction of debts throughout all member-allods, and their privileges suspended or revoked.

ART. XXII. No member-allod shall extend sovereign credit to a non-member allod without knowledge and assent of the kontor to which she reporteth, lest the common interest be endangered.

ART. XXIII. If any merchant abuses Artel privilege for fraud, smuggling, or unlawful gain, such privilege may be stripped from them by decree, and they shall be shunned in all member-allods.

ART. XXIV. Any city expelled from the Artel for dishonourable conduct may petition for readmission; yet if restored, she shall be accounted as a new member and shall not reclaim former precedence or privilege.

ART. XXV. The kontors shall oversee merchant conduct abroad, regulate warehouses and traffic of goods, adjudge disputes arising beyond the borders of any one allod, and render account unto the Assembly.

ART. XXVI. Each member-allod with a kontor shall maintain reserves of grain or other necessaries against famine, pestilence, or catastrophe, and may, upon decree of the Assembly, release such stores for the preservation of the common good.

ART. XXVII. All official documents governed by Artel Law shall be written in one or more of the official languages of the Artel: Elfin, Ghibbermál, and Aro. Any allod or town admitted to the Artel shall permit the lawful use of these languages within her territory and shall neither prohibit nor restrict their use in matters concerning trade, navigation, or Guild administration.