Rat Folk

Background Questions

1. Which tunnel district or under-quay was your first home?

2. What broken clockwork device did you fix as a child?

3. Who taught you the rules of favors and debts?

4. What city authority have you angered - or impressed?

Lore & Background

The Ratfolk are the Aldaethu people most closely associated with logistics, storage, distribution, under-streets, salvage, and the movement of essential goods.

They keep civilization supplied.

A granary may be full, but that means little if the grain cannot reach the hungry.

A warehouse may hold medicine, but it is useless if no one knows where it was stored.

A bridge may remain open, but the city still fails if carts are sent down the wrong road.

A Bearfolk garrison may defend the border, but it cannot stand without regular supplies.

The Ratfolk understand that collapse often begins not with total absence, but with misdirection, delay, waste, duplication, theft, and silence.

Their work is rarely celebrated.

People notice a supply system only when it fails.

Ratfolk culture grew around the belief that every object, person, message, and route belongs to a larger web. The purpose of logistics is not simply to accumulate goods.

It is to keep the web moving.

Their place in the Grand Design is commonly described as flow without waste.

What is needed must reach where it is needed, before need becomes disaster.

The Ratfolk and the Grand Design

Ratfolk tradition teaches that the Celestial Dragon gave their people sharp senses, quick hands, flexible bodies, and minds suited to paths, quantities, and hidden connections.

Their purpose was to ensure that the gifts of the other Aldaethu peoples did not remain trapped at their source.

Rabbitfolk grow food.

Cowfolk prepare and distribute meals.

Monkeyfolk design.

Chiaenol and Hippofolk build.

Horsefolk carry messages over long distances.

The Ratfolk coordinate what happens between those visible stages.

They remember:

which storehouse still has grain

which tunnel is blocked

which road has become unsafe

which district has received too much

which district has received nothing

which cart failed to arrive

which official signed the release

which family has quietly stopped appearing at the public table

Scarcity Is Often a Route Problem

Ratfolk teachings distinguish between true scarcity and failed distribution.

A city may believe there is no food while warehouses remain full behind a closed road.

A village may lack medicine because a clerk misclassified the shipment.

A garrison may hoard supplies because no one trusts the next delivery.

A market may appear empty because merchants are withholding goods until prices rise.

Ratfolk are trained to ask:

Does the resource exist?

Where is it?

Who controls access?

What route should it follow?

What interrupted that route?

Who benefits from the interruption?

Waste Is Broken Purpose

Ratfolk consider waste morally serious.

Spoiled grain, abandoned tools, unused cloth, discarded timber, and duplicated labor all represent effort that failed to complete its purpose.

This does not mean every object must be preserved forever.

It means disposal should be deliberate, recorded, and useful when possible.

Hidden Does Not Mean Dishonest

Ratfolk culture makes extensive use of hidden stores, concealed passages, coded inventories, and discreet couriers.

They distinguish secrecy used for protection from secrecy used for exploitation.

A refuge tunnel hidden from raiders serves the Grand Design.

A hidden warehouse used to manufacture famine rejects it.

Appearance

Ratfolk are Small to Medium humanoids with rodent-like features, quick movements, dexterous hands, and long tails.

Their appearances vary widely between lineages and regions.

Common traits include:

grey, brown, white, black, tan, reddish, or patterned fur

narrow or rounded muzzles

prominent whiskers

bright dark eyes

rounded or pointed ears

long, flexible tails

compact builds

quick, precise hand movements

Some Ratfolk possess nearly furless tails and ears, while others are heavily furred.

Their whiskers are highly sensitive to airflow and narrow spaces. Many Ratfolk instinctively pause at a tunnel entrance to feel whether air is moving beyond it.

Tail Markings

Ratfolk tails are often marked with:

route rings

family dyes

warehouse bands

courier knots

mourning wraps

guild seals

coded measurements

A Ratfolk may wrap a section of tail to indicate temporary responsibility for a public store or shipment.

Removing another Ratfolk's route band without permission is a serious insult.

Clothing and Equipment

Ratfolk prefer layered, practical clothing with many secured pockets.

Common items include:

compact ledgers

chalk

string

sealing wax

inventory tags

measuring spoons

foldable bags

hidden pouches

route maps

small repair tools

collapsible lanterns

coded tokens

light climbing gear

Their clothing is designed so that important tools remain accessible even while crawling, climbing, or squeezing through narrow spaces.

Social Structure

Ratfolk organize through warrens, Ledger Circles, warehouse guilds, route families, and under-street neighborhoods.

A warren may be a family household, an entire tunnel district, or a professional community connected by shared stores and routes.

Ratfolk households often include large extended families, apprentices, adopted children, elderly relatives, and unrelated workers who have become permanent members of the warren.

The Warren

A warren is both a place and a social obligation.

Members share responsibility for:

food stores

routes

ventilation

childcare

sanitation

emergency exits

tool maintenance

public reputation

care of injured workers

protection of hidden refuges

Warrens may compete fiercely in trade while still cooperating during crisis.

Route Families

Some Ratfolk live in mobile route families connected to caravans, warehouses, ports, and public markets.

Their identity is tied less to one home and more to a chain of trusted places.

A route family may know every safe cellar, loading yard, side gate, ferry, and rest hall between two cities.

Cache-Kin

Ratfolk recognize a special relationship called Cache-Kin.

Those who share responsibility for a hidden emergency store become bound by mutual duty.

Cache-Kin may come from different lineages and communities.

Revealing the cache for personal profit is treated as betrayal of everyone who depends upon it.

Upbringing

Young Ratfolk learn navigation and inventory through play.

Common childhood games include:

route races

hidden parcel relays

warehouse counting

scent trails

memory corridors

sorting challenges

coded message exchanges

finding alternate exits

identifying what is missing from a shelf

Children are taught that speed without accuracy creates more work for everyone.

A parcel delivered quickly to the wrong place has not been delivered.

The First Parcel

The First Parcel is a common coming-of-age rite.

A young Ratfolk is entrusted with a small but meaningful object and given a route with several required stops.

They must:

protect the parcel

confirm every handoff

avoid unauthorized shortcuts

return with proof of delivery

report any change in the route

The parcel is often ordinary.

The test concerns reliability, not value.

The Empty Shelf

During training, a mentor removes one object from a stocked shelf.

The apprentice must identify what is missing, determine who would notice first, and explain what consequences the absence might cause.

The lesson is that logistics is not counting objects.

It is understanding dependence.

The Three Routes

Before receiving full route responsibility, a young Ratfolk must learn three ways to reach an important destination:

the fastest route

the safest route

the route used when neither of the others remains available

Government

Ledger Circles

Warrens are commonly governed by Ledger Circles.

A Ledger Circle includes respected:

storekeepers

route coordinators

warehouse workers

quartermasters

auditors

tunnel guides

salvage leaders

community elders

Their responsibilities include:

maintaining public inventories

assigning route labor

resolving storage disputes

auditing emergency stores

coordinating with other Pillars

investigating loss and spoilage

protecting confidential refuge information

Double-Ledger Audits

Ratfolk distrust any system controlled by one record keeper.

Important public stores are tracked through independent records maintained by separate teams.

The ledgers are compared regularly.

Differences must be explained.

This system prevents one official from quietly rewriting the truth.

Route Speakers

A Route Speaker represents the people who maintain a specific supply corridor.

They coordinate with:

Horsefolk couriers

Hippofolk port authorities

Chiaenol road crews

Cowfolk markets

Rabbitfolk growers

Bearfolk guards

Elephantfolk legal witnesses

Route Speakers do not own the route.

They speak for those responsible for keeping it functional.

The Logistics Responsibility

Ratfolk do not always hold a formal Great Pillar alone, but their logistics responsibility touches nearly every Pillar.

Their delegates advise the Pillar Conclave on:

reserves

transport capacity

bottlenecks

evacuation routes

emergency distribution

warehouse security

wartime supply

urban flow

A Conclave decision that ignores Ratfolk logistics is often impossible to carry out.

Settlements and Architecture

Ratfolk settlements favor density, connectivity, redundancy, and efficient use of space.

They often exist beneath, behind, within, or alongside larger cities.

Common features include:

narrow connected passages

compact homes

layered storerooms

ventilation shafts

hidden emergency exits

coded junction marks

service tunnels

shared kitchens

salvage yards

repair rooms

dry granaries

raised shelves

flood doors

communal wash chambers

message tubes

roof access

concealed refuge rooms

A well-built warren should never depend upon one route.

If a single collapse, fire, flood, or locked gate can trap the entire community, the design is considered unacceptable.

Ledger-Warren

Ledger-Warren is the principal Ratfolk center of public inventory, auditing, and distribution law.

It began as a network of storehouses beneath a major market district and gradually expanded into a city beneath the city.

Ledger-Warren is known for:

vast public records

bonded warehouses

emergency food stores

independent audit guilds

route arbitration

anti-corruption investigations

coded shelf systems

inventory schools

Its central hall contains the Balance Ledger, a public record comparing what the Confederation claims to possess with what has actually been counted.

Underthread

Underthread is an extensive under-street settlement beneath one of the busiest trade corridors in Aldaethu territory.

Its tunnels connect:

markets

docks

caravansaries

workshops

public kitchens

granaries

council: buildings

emergency shelters

Ratfolk guides can move goods across the district without blocking surface streets.

Underthread is also known for hidden refugee routes and politically sensitive archives.

Quickstore

Quickstore is a major distribution city built around speed of transfer.

Goods arriving by road, canal, caravan, and river are sorted, relabeled, repaired, repacked, and sent onward.

The city is famous for:

modular warehouses

rapid-loading platforms

standardized containers

public weighing stations

salvage markets

food preservation

emergency caravan preparation

Quickstore's efficiency has also made it a center of smuggling, corruption, and political intrigue.

Economy and Trade

Ratfolk participate in nearly every Aldaethu economy because they manage the transition between production and use.

Exports

warehousing

inventory management

salvage

recycling

courier coordination

under-street transport

route mapping

emergency caches

packaging

repair

shipping administration

market logistics

evacuation planning

concealed transport

supply-chain investigation

Imports

grain

cloth

metal tools

paper

wax

rope

containers

glass

oils

preserved food

building materials

locks

writing supplies

alchemical preservatives

Salvage

Ratfolk salvage is regulated by custom.

An object may be claimed if it has been:

formally discarded

abandoned after reasonable notice

recovered from a ruined site with no living owner

surrendered to a public salvage yard

declared unusable by its holder

Taking something merely because it appears unattended is theft.

Public Stores

Ratfolk manage many Confederation emergency reserves.

These stores are rotated regularly so food does not spoil and medicine does not expire.

A reserve that looks full but contains unusable goods is considered a falsified store.

Manufactured Scarcity

Ratfolk are among the first to recognize when merchants or officials create false shortages.

They watch for:

missing shipments

delayed releases

duplicate orders

sudden warehouse closures

false contamination claims

altered ledgers

coordinated price increases

Exposing manufactured scarcity is one of the most respected forms of Ratfolk public service.

Religion: and Philosophy

Ratfolk faith centers on the Celestial Dragon, the Grand Design, and the sacred movement of necessary things.

They believe the Celestial Dragon gave their people awareness of paths, details, quantities, and hidden connections.

Their duty is to prevent the work of the other Aldaethu peoples from being lost between origin and destination.

The Living Web

Ratfolk describe civilization as a web.

Each route connects:

worker to tool

field to table

healer to medicine

message to listener

builder to material

refugee to shelter

child to family

community to community

A broken strand may appear small but can weaken the whole.

The Useful Remainder

Ratfolk teachings hold that many things dismissed as waste still contain purpose.

Broken wood can become fuel.

Cloth scraps can become bandages.

Cracked pottery can line drainage.

Bent metal can be reforged.

Spoiled grain may become compost if not contaminated.

This does not romanticize poverty.

It rejects careless waste.

Shrines of Passage

Ratfolk shrines are often small and hidden near:

warehouse doors

tunnel junctions

market gates

loading platforms

caches

message routes

Offerings include:

a single grain

a thread

a sealed note

a repaired tool

a route token

a coin saved rather than wasted

the name of someone whose supplies arrived safely

The Last Count

When a Ratfolk dies, their household performs a Last Count.

The rite identifies:

what responsibilities remain

which keys must be transferred

what debts are owed

where hidden stores exist

who depended upon the deceased

what work must continue

The purpose is not to reduce a life to possessions.

It ensures that no dependent person is forgotten during mourning.

Warfare and Defense

Ratfolk rarely serve as conventional frontline troops.

Their military strength lies in movement, supply, concealment, evacuation, and disruption.

Supply Warfare

Ratfolk understand that an army without food, water, medicine, tools, or communication will fail regardless of battlefield strength.

They specialize in:

protecting supply routes

relocating stores

identifying enemy depots

disrupting transport

replacing lost routes

concealing emergency reserves

maintaining field inventories

preventing theft

Evacuation

Ratfolk are among the best urban evacuation planners in the Confederation.

They design routes that account for:

children

elders

injured people

blocked streets

smoke

flood

crowd movement

hidden shelters

multiple fallback paths

Sabotage

Ratfolk saboteurs target systems rather than spectacle.

They may:

remove a key shipment

misdirect enemy carts

alter route markings

disable a gate

spoil harnesses

block a tunnel

duplicate false orders

expose hidden hoards

Ratfolk military law forbids sabotaging public food, water, or medicine when civilians will bear the primary harm.

Under-Street Fighters

In tunnels and dense urban terrain, Ratfolk use:

short blades

slings

compact crossbows

smoke

trip lines

collapsible barriers

hidden firing positions

rapid withdrawal routes

They rarely hold a position once the enemy fully understands it.

Relationships with Other Aldaethu

Badgerfolk

Badgerfolk maintain structural safety in the tunnels Ratfolk use.

Ratfolk manage the movement that gives those tunnels purpose.

The two peoples are close partners.

Their most common dispute concerns unauthorized modifications. Ratfolk adapt routes quickly. Badgerfolk insist every change be inspected.

Hippofolk

Hippofolk build ports, canals, bridges, and major roads.

Ratfolk coordinate the goods moving through them.

Ports such as Brass-Quay rely heavily on Ratfolk warehouse systems.

Chiaenol

Chiaenol build and maintain rural tunnels, storage sites, roads, and earthworks.

Ratfolk depend on their stability.

Chiaenol often complain that Ratfolk change passage use faster than plans can be updated.

Cowfolk

Cowfolk prepare, host, and distribute food.

Ratfolk ensure ingredients and supplies reach them.

The relationship is close because both understand that public hunger becomes unrest quickly.

Rabbitfolk

Rabbitfolk grow and store food.

Ratfolk transport it.

Their greatest tensions concern emergency reserves. Rabbitfolk fear losing seed and local stores. Ratfolk see wider regions already starving.

Horsefolk

Horsefolk dominate long-distance courier routes.

Ratfolk coordinate urban handoffs, warehouse movement, and last-stage delivery.

Horsefolk carry the word between cities.

Ratfolk ensure it reaches the right room.

Monkeyfolk

Monkeyfolk design logistics systems, counting devices, route models, and container standards.

Ratfolk test whether those systems work under real pressure.

They are skeptical of plans that assume every worker follows perfect procedure.

Elephantfolk

Elephantfolk preserve legal records and public obligations.

Ratfolk provide practical evidence of what actually moved, arrived, disappeared, or spoiled.

Together they expose false records.

Bearfolk and Pandafolk

Bearfolk protect warehouses, roads, and relief convoys.

Ratfolk supply their garrisons.

Bearfolk often underestimate how many invisible workers keep a defensive line functioning.

Chiaegen

Chiaegen scouts and investigators help trace stolen goods, map dangerous routes, and identify ambush points.

Ratfolk guides help them enter cities without drawing attention.

Caninefolk

Caninefolk guard supply routes and use scent to locate missing people or stolen goods.

Ratfolk appreciate their loyalty but sometimes find pack patrols too visible for discreet work.

Goatfolk

Goatfolk oversee rites around public charity, famine, death, and shared obligation.

Ratfolk work with them to ensure aid reaches intended communities rather than disappearing through administration.

External Relationships

Druis

Ratfolk often work closely with Halfling merchants, couriers, farmers, and hosts.

Both peoples value practical trade and community-scale distribution.

Druaezur

Gnomes create compact tools, locks, sorting devices, pumps, and counting mechanisms used in warehouses and tunnels.

Ratfolk prefer devices that can be repaired locally.

Druazer

Dwarves provide durable hardware, vault doors, shelving, carts, and structural supports.

Ratfolk respect their craftsmanship but find Dwarven storage systems overly rigid.

Aldaemir

Ratfolk trade medicines, fish, reeds, resins, and preserved foods through Aldaemir waterways.

They depend upon reliable ferry law and seasonal route knowledge.

Aldaecül

Ports connecting to the ocean require cooperation with aquatic peoples.

Ratfolk often serve as warehouse intermediaries between land and sea trade.

Human Kingdoms

Human cities offer enormous trade opportunity and equally large risk.

Ratfolk face prejudice in some regions, where they are assumed to be thieves regardless of conduct.

This has led many warrens to maintain meticulous records as protection against false accusation.

Customs and Rites

The First Parcel

A young Ratfolk's first independently completed delivery.

The Open Ledger

Public stores must be available for inspection by authorized community witnesses.

An Open Ledger day allows residents to compare official claims with actual stock.

The Shared Key

When responsibility for a warehouse, cache, or route changes hands, the key is passed in front of witnesses.

Both parties state what is present, what is missing, and what remains unresolved.

The Empty Crate

When supplies fail to arrive during crisis, an empty crate is placed publicly at the distribution point.

The crate remains until the cause is identified.

It prevents officials from pretending the shortage does not exist.

Cache-Marking

Emergency stores use coded symbols indicating:

who may access them

under what conditions

when they were last inspected

what must be replaced after use

The Recovery Table

Recovered goods are placed on a public table before being reassigned.

Claimants may identify property, while unclaimed items are directed toward repair, public use, or salvage.

Taboos

False Inventory

Recording goods that do not exist is among the gravest Ratfolk offenses.

Hidden Spoilage

Contaminated, expired, or spoiled goods must be marked immediately.

Concealing their condition endangers entire communities.

Manufactured Scarcity

Withholding essential goods to increase price or political leverage rejects the Grand Design.

Selling Refuge Routes

Hidden evacuation and sanctuary routes may not be sold or revealed for profit.

Hoarding Public Stores

Emergency reserves belong to the need they were created to answer.

Waste Without Review

Useful materials should not be discarded without determining whether they can be repaired, reused, recycled, or safely repurposed.

The False Shortcut

A route must not be represented as safe merely because it is faster.

Lost Without Report

Anyone who discovers that a parcel, message, person, or shipment has gone missing must report it promptly rather than hiding the mistake.

Current Tensions

Official Ledgers and Actual Stores

Several Confederation inventories claim reserves that Ratfolk auditors cannot physically locate.

Some believe the difference is corruption.

Others suspect years of poor recordkeeping and emergency withdrawals never entered properly.

Black Markets

Unofficial distribution networks have kept some communities alive when formal systems failed.

The same networks also move stolen goods, weapons, and restricted materials.

Ratfolk leaders disagree over whether these routes should be dismantled, regulated, or protected.

Central Control

Zal'Aldaethu officials want standardized inventory systems across the Confederation.

Many local warrens fear that central records would expose refuge sites, private routes, and emergency caches to political misuse.

Prejudice

Ratfolk are frequently blamed first when goods disappear.

This prejudice is strongest in foreign cities but exists within Aldaethu society as well.

Ratfolk advocates argue that constant suspicion allows officials to use them as convenient scapegoats.

Famine and Distribution

Some regions possess food but refuse to release it.

Others are already starving.

Ratfolk route leaders increasingly bypass local authorities to move supplies where they believe need is greatest.

This has saved lives and violated law.

The Broken Web

Road closures, failing bridges, military checkpoints, piracy, and magical disruption have fragmented old supply chains.

Ratfolk must rebuild routes faster than maps and laws can be updated.

Automation and Labor

Monkeyfolk-designed sorting devices and transport systems can move goods more efficiently.

Some Ratfolk welcome them.

Others fear that officials will use efficiency as justification to dismiss workers whose practical knowledge keeps the systems from failing.

Ratfolk Adventurers

Ratfolk leave their warrens and routes for many reasons.

Missing Shipment

A critical supply caravan vanished without explanation.

False Shortage

They discovered evidence that someone is manufacturing scarcity.

Cache-Kin Duty

A hidden refuge store has been compromised.

Ledger Exile

They exposed corruption and were blamed for the loss.

Under-Street Map

They possess part of a forgotten tunnel network beneath an important city.

Last Delivery

They carry a message or parcel entrusted by someone who died before explaining its importance.

Salvage Claim

A ruined site contains tools, goods, or records needed by their community.

Refuge Guide

They lead endangered people through routes that must remain secret.

Broken Web Pilgrimage

They travel to reconnect communities cut off by war, shadow, or disaster.

Grand Design Doubt

They question whether their people exist only to move the wealth and ambitions of more powerful Pillars.

The Empty Warehouse

A sealed public warehouse was opened and found completely empty despite years of recorded deliveries.

Culture Snapshot

Name. Ratfolk

Common Name. Rat Folk

Aldaethu Classification. Land Animal-Folk

Traditional Aldaethu Role. Logistics, storage, distribution, salvage, and under-street transport

Associated Responsibility. Logistics and Under-Streets

Creature Type. Humanoid

Typical Size. Small to Medium

Languages: Common and Aldaethu

Homeland: Zal'Aldaethu under-streets, trade cities, caravan hubs, ports, warehouse districts, and tunnel settlements

Principal Settlements:

Ledger-Warren

Underthread

Quickstore

Government: Warrens governed by Ledger Circles; Route Speakers and independent audit teams oversee shared supply systems

Society: Extended warrens, warehouse guilds, route families, Cache-Kin networks, salvage crews, and under-street neighborhoods

Buildings: Compact homes, layered warehouses, ventilation shafts, hidden exits, service tunnels, dry granaries, salvage yards, repair rooms, refuge chambers, and coded junctions

Exports:

Warehousing

Inventory management

Salvage

Recycling

Shipping administration

Hidden transport

Route mapping

Emergency caches

Packaging

Supply investigation

Evacuation planning

Imports:

Grain

Cloth

Metal tools

Paper

Wax

Rope

Containers

Oils

Preserved food

Locks

Glass

Writing supplies

Diet: Grains, roots, vegetables, cheese, preserved meats, seeds, nuts, fruit, stews, market foods, and carefully reclaimed surplus

Faith. The Celestial Dragon and the Grand Design; Ratfolk purpose understood as maintaining the flow that carries each people's work to where it is needed

Military Role. Quartermasters, urban scouts, saboteurs, evacuation guides, under-street fighters, supply protectors, and route disruptors

Allies: Badgerfolk, Hippofolk, Chiaenol, Cowfolk, Rabbitfolk, Horsefolk, Monkeyfolk, Elephantfolk, Druis, Druaezur, and trade communities dependent on reliable distribution

Common Enemies. Hoarders, corrupt warehouse officials, smugglers who endanger refuge routes, raiders, counterfeiters, supply saboteurs, and those who manufacture scarcity

Core Values:

Efficiency

Accuracy

Adaptability

Discretion

Thrift

Redundancy

Reliability

Prevention of waste

Practical mutual aid

Greatest Taboos:

Falsifying inventory

Concealing spoilage

Manufacturing scarcity

Selling refuge routes

Hoarding public stores

Hiding a lost shipment

Discarding useful goods without review

Declaring an unsafe route secure

History

Before Reth

Ratfolk tradition teaches that the Celestial Dragon gave their people quick hands, sharp senses, and the ability to perceive the hidden routes connecting need to provision.

Their purpose in the Grand Design was to ensure that no gift was wasted simply because it could not reach where it belonged.

Arrival in Reth

During the Aldaethu arrival, Ratfolk organized stores, counted supplies, marked safe routes, tracked separated families, and created the first concealed emergency caches.

Their early work prevented panic and duplication.

While others built camps and negotiated with foreign powers, Ratfolk ensured that food, tools, and medicine reached the right places.

The First Convocation

Ratfolk supported Confederation because distribution already crossed lineage boundaries.

They warned that local stores alone could not protect a scattered people during war.

Their condition was that no central authority should control all caches, inventories, or routes without independent oversight.

This principle became the foundation of the double-ledger system.

The Great Peace

Ratfolk logistics expanded with the Aldaethu road, canal, and market network.

Ledger-Warren became the center of public accounting.

Underthread linked urban districts.

Quickstore standardized the movement of goods through major trade corridors.

Ratfolk systems helped Zal'Aldaethu grow without choking on its own size.

The Second War

Ratfolk maintained refugee routes, emergency stores, hidden supply corridors, and evacuation tunnels.

Some unofficial networks created during the war never disappeared.

These later became both vital mutual-aid systems and powerful black markets.

The Long Shadow

The old web is breaking.

Roads close.

Warehouses lie.

Officials claim supplies that cannot be found.

Local leaders hoard what they have.

Ratfolk increasingly operate between law and necessity, moving goods through unofficial paths when the formal system fails.

Their central question is no longer whether they can keep the web moving.

It is whether the Confederation still agrees on who the web is meant to serve.