If a Scarterran peasant family is lucky enough to own a milk cow or a doe goat, or a reindeer doe, they probably make cheese with some of that milk and that cheese will be eaten by the family.
If a nobleman or lady owns dairy livestock, the cheese on made the noble's land either goes to the noble's family or goes to the noble family's employees.
But if someone buys cheese at an open Scaterran marketplace, that cheese was probably made by a monk or nun.
On the Earth, the medieval Catholic Church pushed peasants and princes a like to donate generously to the Church and the Church controlled a lot of wealth. This wasn't that different in areas where another faith was dominant.
This means that many temples have to sell goods and services on the open market in order to meet their financial needs. Very frequently, temples make and sell cheese, so much so that "temple cheese" is a stereotype.
by me with Midjourney
In Scarterra, not only do the Nonagon wield political and spiritual legitimacy but they also have real tangible supernatural power which they can use to help their friends and hurt their enemies. Scarterran peasants and princes are expected to make regularly donations to the temples.
That said, the Nine each have their own personal priesthoods, plus the Cult of the Compact is a tenth priesthood if you count them separately. Since a Scarterran's donations are split into many small pieces, most priesthoods do not receive enough voluntary donations to pay all their day-to-day expenses.
History
At least among humans and gnomes, milk and cream is usually reserved for children to consume, and anything not drank is usually made into cheese.
If a clergyman or clergywoman practices an ordinary trade in order to support his or her temple, they are doing "cheese work" whether or not it involves actual cheese. This practice is considered normal and honorable.
Most Scarterran temples recommend but do not require clerical celibacy so they don't have as many children to feed and they often have pasture land ceded to them by the local powers, so they often had an excess of cheese which they would then sell on the open market.
"Temple cheese" has become such a prominent stereotype that if a temple has a blacksmith who sells his services on the open market, he is often colloquially referred to as a "cheese blacksmith". Same thing for bookbinders, copyists, midwifes, leather tanners, tailors, ale brewers, bakers, carpenters, mercenaries, horse trainers, or any other trade.
by Me with Midjourney
Execution
For most part, buying something from a "cheese seller" is the same as buying something from anyone else. Haggling is normal and expected as the cheese sellers have to compete with their secular counteparts for customers. It is normal and proper to ask to see the goods before comitting to a sale. Payment need not be in coin. Barter in the form of goods is as acceptable with most "cheese sellers" as it is with most secular traders.
In some cases, services are theoretically performed for free, but a "donation" is expected. This is especially common for healing or advisory services. A Scarterran who doesn't make an expected donation is unlikely to receive "free" services again from that individual or temple in the future.
Some customers will overpay for their "cheese" as a means to make a de facto donation. Many (by no means all) Scarterran temples practice giving charity to the poor. In some cases, in lieu of giving poor people things for free, they will opt to sell them goods at steep discounts.
Temples and priesthoods are not above playing politics. They will sell goods and services to other priesthoods at a modest discount as a professional courtesy. Sometimes they will provide discounts to local lords and ladies to curry political favor.
Most temples have at least a few theurgists, men and women who can perform acts of divine magic and sometimes sell magical goods and services on the open market. This is often called "fancy cheese".
Some temples are not all that respectable, existing. on the fringes of society. Some priests and priestesses dip their fingers into illegal trades or plunge their whole arms into illegal or otherwise questionable trades. This is often called "dirty cheese".
"Dirty cheese" is not always the province of scum and villainy. If the local rulers are tyrants, you could have Robin Hood-esque providing food and medicine and other vital services on the black market to circumvent oppressive taxes or restrictions on normal trade.
Participants
Most temples of any reasonable size have a "face". The "face" may be male or female, high ranking or low ranking but the "face" is probably among the most likeable or charismatic person they have. Among their other duties, the temple face is the assumed point person for buying and selling "cheese". Any qualified person can serve this role, and some temples like to rotate multiple people in and out of the role. If a temple is one of those temples that is more tolerated than they are beloved, they probably pick their least threatening looking member to act as the face.
by Eron12 with Hero Forge
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