Overview
The Goldleaf Merchant Guild is the largest merchant guild in Hernand, run entirely by goblins. Their commercial influence stretches well beyond the duchy, reaching across the continent of Pywel. The guild prioritizes profitable deals over ethical considerations, and internal power struggles among its goblin leadership have defined much of its recent history. Players who build Contribution with the guild gain access to exclusive trade goods, the black market, and faction-specific quests.
The guild is one of 110 factions tracked in the game's Knowledge Library. It operates as a core faction within the Hernand region, meaning it holds territory, offers quests, and can be blockaded by hostile groups.
Details
Attribute | Details |
|---|---|
Type | Merchant Guild (Core Faction) |
Region | |
Governing Race | Goblins |
Leader | |
Former Leader | Kailok, the Hornsplitter |
Alignment | Neutral (commerce-driven) |
History and Lore
The Goldleaf Merchant Guild established itself as the dominant trade organization in Hernand by leveraging goblin shrewdness and an extensive network of trade routes. For a period, the guild fell under the control of Kailok, known as the Hornsplitter, who ran operations through blood and violence. His enforcers, the Hornsplitter's Guards, patrolled guild locations and intimidated anyone who challenged his authority.
Shakatu, the current trademaster, is a goblin known for his exceptional wit. Unlike Kailok, Shakatu harbored an aversion to the Hornsplitter's brutal methods. The transition of power from Kailok to Shakatu forms the backdrop of several guild questlines, including a rebellion that players can participate in directly. Shakatu's leadership has steered the guild back toward cunning deal-making rather than outright violence, though the guild's willingness to bend rules for profit remains unchanged.
Thinker's Meadow, a wide grassland that once served as a rest stop for guild caravans, was abandoned at some point during the internal turmoil. It has since returned to its natural state, though traces of the guild's former presence remain.
Occupied Locations
The Goldleaf Merchant Guild controls several locations across the Hernand region.
Location | Description |
|---|---|
The guild's headquarters in Hernand. Controls the local economy and enforces brutal penalties for contract breaches. Contains the Goldleaf Merchant Guild Trading Center managed by Ugmon. | |
The guild's primary trade hub where goods from across the land are exchanged. Guild guards oversee operations, and some merchants offer bribes hoping for lower prices. Contains a black market. | |
An arena operated by the guild where high-stakes combat matches take place daily. Winning here is considered a mark of great prestige among warriors. | |
A secondary trading outpost extending the guild's reach into outlying areas. | |
A wide meadow with fresh green grass. Formerly a rest stop for guild caravans, it was abandoned and has returned to its natural state. |
Notable Members
Name | Role |
|---|---|
Current trademaster. A goblin of exceptional wit who overthrew the Hornsplitter's violent regime. | |
Kailok, the Hornsplitter | Former guild leader and boss enemy. Ran the guild through intimidation and violence. |
Vendor who manages the Trading Center shop at the Goldleaf Guildhouse. | |
Vendor at the Goldleaf Tradepost. |
Related Quests
Guild quests often revolve around trade disputes, power struggles within the goblin leadership, and the aftermath of the Hornsplitter's reign.
Quest | Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|
Main Quest | Takes place at the Goldleaf Tradepost. Involves Shakatu. | |
Main Quest | Takes place at the Goldleaf Tradepost. | |
Main Quest | Involves Shakatu and the transition of guild leadership. | |
Main Quest | Involves Shakatu, likely concluding the Hornsplitter storyline. | |
Main Quest | Takes place at the Goldleaf Guildhouse. | |
Faction Quest | A direct request from the trademaster. | |
Faction Quest | A task from the Trading Center vendor. |
Trade Goods
The Goldleaf Tradepost stocks a variety of goods for trading. Known items available through the guild include Packed Honey, Black Pepper, Nacre Lacquerware, and Ceremonial Swords. The tradepost also contains a Sealed Abyss Artifact that can be found at the western side of the post, between the roads that split, sitting atop some rocks alongside a candle, apple, and sword.
Tips
Building faction standing with the Goldleaf Merchant Guild unlocks better trade prices and access to the black market at the Goldleaf Tradepost.
The Goldenfist Arena offers repeatable combat challenges. Victories earn prestige and likely contribute to guild standing.
Watch for Hornsplitter's Guards around guild locations; they can appear as enemies during certain quest phases.
Role in Ruined Chapel Unlock
The Goldleaf Merchant Guild is a hidden prerequisite branch for the Ruined Chapel Blooded Sanctum trigger inside the Hernandian Parish of Solumen. While the guild does not appear in most community checklists for the Greedy Lightningblade hunt, the chapel mission will not appear in the player's journal until the guild's Extinguishing the Last Flames quest has been resolved.
Required Guild Work
Extinguishing the Last Flames is the confirmed hard requirement. It must be marked complete before the chapel check fires.
Any other Goldleaf quests that are already unlocked at the same time should also be cleared, since the chain performs a full guild audit when it fast-travels between the Scholar Stone Institute and Hernand.
The guild quest line is usually active by Chapter 4, so players who have been keeping up with merchant contracts are already past this gate without realising it.
Where It Sits in the Chain
The Goldleaf work sits alongside the cleanup pass that includes the final House Celeste bounty (the ninth Outlaw, which spawns only after Vilcom Outpost is cleared), the House Circus quest Nemesis Demise, the Pywel Forest Guardians missions (Toll of Pywel, Trembling Wood, Children of the Woods), and the Scholar Stone Institute research track. Missing any one of those branches will leave the Ruined Chapel mission unlisted, even when every house quest is green.