Location:INTERIOR — Riverfront (East)

Proposed to the First Freehold Council on 30 Hammer, 1374DR, by Lord Aram Lazard, construction began on First Freehold Accounts and Securities in Alturiak. Intended to be more than a simple bank, First Freehold is in actuality a credit union, meaning its financial power is dependent on the participation of Freehold's citizens and the money they put into it, unowned by a private party. Citing a need to move away from a barter economy as the settlement grows, Lord Lazard explained the concept and offered to be the first investor, generating a cushion for others to borrow against for mortgages and other loans, rather than being forced to approach him personally. In this fashion, the community owns the money and decides how it is used, and when interest is paid back into the bank, everyone benefits from the increased solvency.

While First Freehold is not meant to take the place of the municipal treasury, it performs some of the same functions, in that interest drawn from loans is meant to be redirected back into civic projects like maintaining roads and sewers. This means the more assets stored in the bank, the more and faster Freehold develops. This was proven critically important by the recent formalization of Freehold's alliance with Hrrlak's people at the iron mines, since the production of ore and, eventually, finished metal goods would draw increased trade, which in turn would require cash rather than barter.

The bank was completed and opened for business on 6 Mirtul, 1374DR.