For many years, Shaldra was one of Cyre’s military heroes. Though she never once set foot on the front lines, everyone knew that many of the nation’s victories were her doing. One of the nation’s greatest non-Cannith artificers, she created all manner of mystical tools and weapons for use by Cyre’s soldiers and mercenaries. The troops loved her, and the citizens adored her.
At least, they did until the Champions of the Bell returned from an intelligence raid on Karrnath with documents proving that Shaldra had been in collusion with operatives of King Kaius for months. She hadn’t given them everything—just enough information on magical advancements and troop movements to ensure that Cyre couldn’t possibly win a decisive victory on the border. Shaldra fled Cyre mere moments ahead of the Cyran military police—and only a few more moments ahead of a lynch mob.
In truth, though few realized it, Shaldra was no mere Karrnathi agent, but a paid operative of Merrix d’Cannith. Her duties were to test Cannith’s inventions before announcing their existence—so that, if they failed, the house reputation wouldn’t suffer—and to ensure that the conflict between the nations continued unabated. Whatever her true motives, Shaldra is remembered by the Cyran survivors with seething hatred, and even today, multiple rewards for her capture, dead or alive, circulate through the adventuring and mercenary communities.
While most planes are isolated from others and it’s difficult to move from one plane to another, commerce and peaceful interaction are defining aspects of Syrania. Most planes have back doors that lead to the Immeasurable Market. The crystal spire in the Open Sky is merely a gateway leading to an open marketplace that extends as far as the eye can see. To one side, a slaadi haggles with a modron over the price of hippogriff eggs; to the other, a sly dao shows a Shavaran balor a selection of Fernia-forged blades. It’s said that anything you can imagine—and many things you can’t—can be found in the Immeasurable Market.
The Immeasurable Market includes customers and merchants from across the planes, including the Material Plane; there are a few back doors to the Market hidden on Eberron, and those who find them can make a healthy profit trading in exotic goods. It also includes a significant number of native immortals. Angels work as servers and porters, while virtues of commerce run small stands and shops. Dominions of commerce run the largest and most reliable businesses, while the Throne of Commerce monitors the entire Market and banishes troublemakers.
There are countless merchants in the Market. Most have temporary stands or tents, but there are a few permanent structures scattered about; the Last Resort is the most beloved watering hole in the planes. The Immeasurable Merchants table provides a few examples of merchants and shops adventurers could discover.
Immeasurable Merchants
| d8 | Business |
|---|---|
| 1 | The Last Resort is a tavern where angels and devils drink together, where fey share stories while slaadi do shots. The barkeep Solace is the Dominion of Hospitality; he’s got a sympathetic ear for patrons and knows the perfect drink for any occasion. |
| 2 | Jabra the night hag is an alchemist of exceptional skill. She bottles stolen dreams and nightmares, and sells unique potions with remarkable powers. She peddles her goods from an eye-catching tent of red dragonhide, and when she’s not in the Market, she can often be found selling her goods in Graywall. |
| 3 | Sar Saeran the dao is the finest weaponsmith in Fernia. Sometimes he has goods for sale, but he also comes to the Market to discuss commissions. |
| 4 | Mazalene is the Dominion of Rumors, and she only trades in kind. Anyone who has a particularly interesting story to share with her can get an intriguing—and possibly true— tale from this angel. |
| 5 | The Hoard is the storefront of the ancient gold dragon Halazaryx, who settled in Syrania after some differences of opinion with the Conclave of Argonnessen. Hal has a collection of interesting relics tied to historical figures in Khorvaire, and is always interested in trading for items that have fascinating stories. |
| 6 | Lady Ash is a githyanki merchant who sells the plunder claimed by her city-ship, Zaeran’s Sword. Her goods depend on the Sword’s most recent target. |
| 7 | Bor’ob is a slaadi merchant specializing in extradimensional spaces: bags of holding, handy haversacks, and the like. He’s usually a gray slaad, but it varies from week to week. |
| 8 | Slade is the Dominion of Music. They craft and play magical instruments, and may be willing to sell an instrument, a song, or a performance. |
Violence is forbidden in the Market, and thieves and other criminals are generally deported to Daanvi for judgment and punishment. While merchants always try to get the best deal, when dealing with immortal customers, your reputation is everything. Beyond this, oaths made in the Market carry great weight, and can be enforced in the courts of Daanvi; in the Immeasurable Market, your word truly is your bond. This is important, because most of the merchants aren’t interested in gold, and goods and services usually involve barter. The Immeasurable Currencies table gives a few examples of things that can be used in trade, but this is just a starting point; the DM should feel free to come up with other offers.
Immeasurable Currencies
| d8 | Currency |
|---|---|
| 1 | Angel Tears. These translucent coins are one of the only active currencies in the Immeasurable Market. They’re produced by the Throne of Commerce and honored by most dominions and virtues. For simplicity’s sake, they could be assigned a value in gold pieces, so a Dominion might pay adventurers 100 gp in angel tears for a minor service. These are useful when you want to buy a drink at the tavern without selling your soul. |
| 2 | Dragonshards. Dragonshards are unique to Eberron, and there are merchants who take a great interest in them— especially Khyber dragonshards, which can be used to bind spirits. |
| 3 | Luck. Some merchants literally let you spend your fortune. Luck is measured in “dice.” Each die you spend allows the DM to give you disadvantage on a future d20 roll of their choosing. So if you spend five dice to acquire an item, that’s five difficult rolls in your future. |
| 4 | Trade Goods. Many merchants are primarily interested in things they can resell. What’s valuable to an immortal may not seem valuable to a mortal; an item that is unique or has emotional significance may have value to an Immeasurable merchant even if it doesn’t do anything. So it’s possible a treasured trinket holds more trade value than a legendary magic item. |
| 5 | Odd Organs. Some merchants like to deal in the body parts of unusual creatures—unicorn horns, a dragon’s heart, a demon’s eye. They may be willing to sell something on the promise of future delivery, but there’s usually a fixed time to complete the transaction. |
| 6 | Services. Merchants may well barter goods in exchange for a promise of service, either immediately or to be performed in the future. Remember that oaths sworn in the Market carry great weight; those who break a vow can end up facing a tribunal in Daanvi. |
| 7 | A Song. This doesn’t have to literally be a song, but there are merchants who trade goods in exchange for a performance of some sort. Usually this is about quality; they’ll sell you the dagger for a song, but it needs to be an epic performance. Can you succeed on a DC 20 Charisma (Performance) check ? |
| 8 | A Soul. These aren’t a common form of currency, but some immortals trade in souls . . . if not your own, this is usually about promising to kill someone! A soul traded in this way becomes the possession of the immortal upon death instead of it going to Dolurrh; this eliminates any possibility of resurrection unless the soul is reclaimed. |