[color=9e0b0f]"So, friends and guild masters, what of the new beings that join this competition over a house of cards?"[/color]

Far secluded from the squabbles and arguments between other factions was the closet, known as Q9 by the beings that struggled for ultimate control over the House, was perhaps one of the oldest factions within the House. The South Arachnos Trade Guild, deal brokers and merchants within a system dominated by warrior tribes and other such, violent beings. Oddly enough they almost never went to war, nor waged it openly, often times content in their homes, spun of web and the most prestegious territory in the corners of the ceiling. Very few could ever reach them, without a spider's consent, and reasonably threaten them, but they did not wage war. They knew better, if the Spiders were to take up arms en masse and go to war, they would succeed in uniting the other disparate factions of the House against them, and be wiped out to the last. The Assassin Bug, and most successful of her kind, spoke first, apparently kind tones belying her status as the second most dangerous member of the Council.

[color=6ecff6]"Broker, some of my own have watched from afar and brought us tidings. Hornets and Wasps, lethal flyers and deadly fighters. Should they prove violent to us, I would recommend cutting down spider silk exports to further reinforce the webbing that protects."[/color] The Broker, and de facto leader of the Guild, Guildmaster Xenth, nodded his arachnid head, eyes blinking calmly while the other three spoke amongst themselves. They were traders all, and cutting spider silk production for export would cut into profits. But being obliterated would do so, far worse, and the Wolf spider spoke up next, his tone far gruffer then any other. [color=a36209]"We are in agreement, should the bold merchants that go first be slaughtered whole sale, we will prepare to defend ourselves."[/color] The other two seemed content to leave that be, so the rest of the meeting mostly covered their rising profits, the first merchants to be gifted trade rights to the newcomers, so on and so forth. Eventually the meeting was adjourned, and within a surprising time, the first caravans of trade spiders, and their guards, marched out.

The caravans of traders were known across all lands, often trading on the side to whomever was willing, and did not openly brandish arms like the soldiers did. But, tribes that had attempted to scale the walls and strike the spiders found lethal results, spiders literally coming from all directions, specialists in glass blades, six limbs wielding a dervish of razor sharp glass, honed to a fine point. That was key, their trade of glass weapons to violent tribes. The fine examples, not the best which was reserved for spider soldiers and their assassin bug allies, traded for anything of sufficient value. Something, Guildmaster Xenth hoped, would be readily apparent to these newcomers. Trade with the other tribes would continue, no official allies or enemies, each trade spider free to deal with whom they will, so long as loyalty remains ultimately to the Guild. Once the Council meeting was adjourned, Xenth sat alone in his chambers, overlooking the bustling trade webwork, literally, sprawling beneath him.

[color=9e0b0f]"Hornets and Wasps, hmm... War would cost much, even a webbed stinger is still deadly. I do hope they see reason in trade, as all others have."[/color]

The spider trade cities, secluded above the reach of most any others, continued like nothing was different and, indeed, it really was not. Trade caravans left and returned, with goods to trade with, as visitors, merchants, and envoys of other nations made their approaches and departures, guided by a sophisticated band of spiders gifted with unusually strong web, capable of lifting up and returning the bustling traffic to and from the webworks. Defenses were not apparent, though present, and to most outsiders it was indeed a loose coalition of traders instead of a unified nation, which was precisely what one would prefer to hope to be seen as. It made a unified front forming that much more surprising.