Trade enters and leaves Nod through its gates, the Dockyards on the endless ocean, the roads leading out through the Deadlands and the Weald, and the work of Striders and Scribes who maintain transit connections with Earth and other Domains. The Dockmasters manage the logistics of this traffic at the city's major entry points.
They are customs agents, warehousers, and traffic controllers rolled into one organization, operating under a charter granted by the Council and enforced through their control of the physical infrastructure at Nod's ports and gates. The largest Dockmaster operation is (appropriately) at the Dockyards, where ocean-going trade and fishing catches are inspected, assessed for tariff, cataloged, and cleared for distribution through Ashmarket or direct to guild buyers. Smaller stations operate along the Deadlands roads and at the Bethier Portal. The Dockmasters also maintain quarantine protocols for materials and creatures arriving from Domains whose contents are unstable, toxic, or inclined to eat the inspectors.
The Merchants Guild resents the Dockmasters as an unnecessary toll on commerce but the Council values them as a source of revenue and intelligence, since every shipment that passes through inspection tells the Council something about who is trading with whom. This tension keeps the Dockmasters financially secure and politically precarious.