House Orien — Services & Prices

"Doesn't matter if it's a letter, a person, or a hundred tons of steel. Whether we have to cross mountains, rivers, or the Mournland itself, Orien finds a way." — Bali d'Orien, veteran courier

Mark: Passage | Guilds: Couriers Guild, Transportation Guild | Symbol: The Unicorn

House Orien is the dragonmarked house of the Mark of Passage. Its services encompass passenger and freight transportation by lightning rail and overland coach, postal and courier delivery, and — at significant cost and limited availability — teleportation between major enclaves. The house also licenses unmarked teamsters and employs a massive support workforce for everything from mail sorting to conductor stone maintenance.

Prices are listed in gold pieces (gp) unless otherwise noted. Fares reflect standard house pricing across Khorvaire's western circuit. Eastern routes — those requiring transit across or around the Mournland — are subject to negotiated surcharges, route availability, and political conditions the house cannot guarantee.

A note on the current situation: The lightning rail is divided. The Mournland has severed the eastern and western circuits, and the White Arch Bridge remains unrepaired. Routes requiring east-west transit cannot be completed by rail and must use overland alternatives, Lyrandar shipping, or teleportation at exceptional cost. Clients should consult local enclave staff for current route availability before booking.

What House Orien Will and Won't Do

The house will: Carry anyone with coin and no disqualifying legal status. This posture was maintained through the entirety of the Last War and has not changed. Deliver mail to any community on its service map. Contract freight convoys into Darguun and Valenar at negotiated hazard rates. Charter lightning rail coaches for private use. Provide teleportation services with advance booking.

The house will not: Carry contraband — proscribed items are confiscated and reported. Guarantee delivery into active war zones or across the Mournland without baronial authorization. Provide teleportation to destinations outside its registered circle network. Stop a lightning rail outside of a designated station under any circumstances — this is a safety rule, not a policy preference, and no amount of gold changes it.

The Outriders branch handles covert and dangerous deliveries to regions the Unicorn Post cannot reach. Access requires direct negotiation with guild leadership.

UNICORN POST — TERMS OF SERVICE House Orien guarantees delivery to any community on the Unicorn Post service map, weather and security conditions permitting. Mail is held at the destination enclave for pickup; address delivery requires payment of the applicable courier rate. The house accepts no responsibility for items declared as gifts that are actually contraband. The unicorn carries your message. What you put in the envelope is your business — unless it isn't.

I. Lightning Rail Passage

The lightning rail is the fastest overland travel in Khorvaire. A bound air elemental propels each train at approximately 30 miles per hour along conductor stone paths. A dragonmarked Orien heir pilots every train from the helm of the crew cart. A typical train carries two cargo carts, four passenger carts, and two lounge carts.

Steerage is squalid to poor — shared benches, minimal amenities, no storage. On long journeys it can be genuinely dangerous: poor ventilation, crowding, and limited food access. Standard fare is what most merchants and travelers book — modest to comfortable, equivalent to a decent inn. First-class is marketed to nobles, senior guild officials, and anyone who prefers comfort to economy — wealthy to aristocratic in quality, with private compartments, steward service, and dining car access.

To put the pricing in perspective: Sharn to Passage (roughly 1,000 miles by rail) runs 200 gp at standard fare, 50 gp at first-class, or 20 gp in steerage. These are accessible to working merchants and adventuring companies. Express configurations and prototype high-speed vehicles are available on major intercity lines — passage on such vehicles is both more expensive and more dangerous.

Delays due to conductor stone anomalies, manifest zone interference, or security incidents result in compensation arrangements, not automatic refunds.

II. Overland Coach & Caravan Services

Where conductor stones do not reach, House Orien provides scheduled coach lines and chartered caravans along the great trade roads. Travel on Orien trade roads is somewhat faster than open overland travel — the roads are well-maintained and interact with the Mark of Passage to enhance the pace of marked heirs and their mounts.

Guards are not included and must be arranged separately — typically through Deneith or Tharashk. Hazard premiums apply for Darguun, Valenar, Droaam, and Mournland-adjacent routes. The house has opened trade road access into Droaam through negotiated arrangements with the Daughters of Sora Kell; the road to Graywall is functional but carries elevated risk.

III. Courier & Delivery Services (Unicorn Post)

The Unicorn Post is the most extensive legal delivery system in Khorvaire. Bulk mail moves by rail and coach between hub enclaves via the Kundarak Vault Network, then distributes to local couriers for final delivery. The Sivis-Orien alliance is the backbone: add one gold piece to the speaking stone cost and your message is carried from the station to its final destination by an Orien runner.

Courier pricing scales with the mark-level of the heir handling delivery:

A teleporting courier is faster but significantly more expensive, and availability is not guaranteed — a courier with dimension door can cross a city in minutes, but such heirs are not assigned to routine deliveries. Diplomatic pouches carry Orien's institutional neutrality guarantee — a seal the house has maintained through wars and upheavals — but are not antimagic.

The Outriders handle deliveries the Unicorn Post cannot — dangerous territories, mobile targets, Stormreach, the Demon Wastes. Cost is set per mission.

IV. Cargo & Freight Logistics

House Orien moves bulk freight by rail and overland convoy. Rail is faster but limited to conductor stone routes; wagon convoys reach anywhere a road goes.

Perishable and high-value goods receive rail priority over bulk freight. The house does not insure cargo against acts of war, Mournland contamination, or manifest zone interference unless premium coverage is negotiated.

V. Teleportation Services

House Orien maintains teleportation circles in major enclaves: Sharn, Wroat, Varna, Flamekeep, Korth, Trolanport, Fairhaven, Krona Peak, and Passage. At significant cost, a Greater mark heir transports passengers instantaneously. This is a premium, advance-booking service — not a routine option.

You might wait ten days in Korth before a teleporter shows up. A major enclave may have two or three qualified heirs, each casting once per day. Smaller enclaves may have only one. In some towns a circle exists as a destination but no heir is resident to activate departure.

Access requires blood connection to the house, authorization from a house patron, or licensed Transportation Guild status. The house treats unauthorized use as trespassing.

VI. Passenger Amenities & Upgrades

Orien's dining car service uses provisions from Ghallanda suppliers and regional vendors along the route. Quality varies by leg — the Fairhaven–Passage run is notably better provisioned than remote routes through the Talenta Plains. Jorasco healing is available at major stations under a standing agreement; treatment is priced through Jorasco, not Orien.

VII. Conductor Stone Construction & Maintenance

Not a public-facing service — this represents the house's industrial and civil engineering capacity, engaged through national governments and institutional clients.

Neither house allows independent parties to install conductor stone lines on routes they serve. The house has recently extended lines toward Graywall under negotiation with the Daughters of Sora Kell — the current frontier of Orien's expansion.

VIII. Hirelings & Staff

Orien hirelings will not carry contraband, stop a rail outside a station, or act against house interests. Teleportation hirelings require registered sigil access and fixed anchor destinations. The Outriders are not available through standard channels.