A traveler's guide to quay scrip, black glass coins, salt chits, clinic tokens, vow ribbons, odds slips, tide shells, work records, and favors.
The aurel is accepted anywhere Veyr law reaches. It may appear as a coin, docket, bank mark, transit credit, or debt entry. This makes it useful between worlds, but it does not make every other form of payment an imitation of it.
Many local currencies began as claims on something specific. They remain useful because the person accepting them knows what they represent.
Quay scrip: Ports issue scrip for food, small purchases, and work completed inside the dock economy. A food cart may prefer it because every porter and loader nearby is paid in it. Another port may refuse the same piece or exchange it at a poor rate. Spend old scrip before leaving unless a broker offers a fair conversion.
Black glass coins: These pass through the Lantern Market as payment for roads that cannot be written down. The coin buys a guide's knowledge and discretion, not ownership of the road. It does not guarantee that the route remains open, safe, or acceptable to the officials at the other end.
Salt chits: Storehouses, ships, and coastal settlements issue these against measured reserves. Depending on the issuer, a chit may be exchanged for salt, preserved food, or a fixed share of provisions. Check the issuing mark and expiry. A salt chit from an empty storehouse is only a record of what used to be there.
Clinic tokens: A clinic token records treatment already paid for, publicly funded, or owed by the issuing institution. It may cover an examination, medicine, clean water, or a period of recovery care. Ask what service is named. A token for an intake visit does not promise a bed for the night.
Vow ribbons: A vow ribbon is a witnessed promise, not ordinary spending money. It may establish a bond, duty, adoption, sanctuary, or debt of mercy where the recognizing shrine accepts it. Do not buy a ribbon as though the promise attached to it can be separated from the people who made it.
Odds slips: These record a wager or a market prediction and the payment due if its stated event occurs. Read how the event is defined, who certifies the result, and when the claim expires. A correct prediction can still produce no payment if the wrong authority certifies it.
Tide shells: Tide settlements use marked shells for local ferry fares, baths, market purchases, and shared services. The mark matters more than the shell. A visitor should learn which court, island, or ferry house recognizes it before accepting change.
Guild tallies and work chits: These record labor owed or completed. Guild tallies usually belong to a trade network; work chits usually belong to a particular yard, ship, mine, or contract. They can purchase tools, meals, housing, or a place on the next shift where the issuing community accepts them.
Favor ledgers: A favor is a debt stated as an act rather than an amount. The ledger should name the debtor, holder, required act, collection conditions, and expiry. A favor with no stated limit is not small merely because no coin changed hands.
Before accepting unfamiliar payment, ask four questions: Who issued it? What does it claim? Where is it accepted? When does it expire? If nobody can answer, value it as an interesting object rather than money.
