The Rat's Door
In the dark alleys and hidden basements of Cidel there are those who detest the state of the country and refuse to stand idly by. While opposition is harshly punished by the Afrean aristocracy, this does require constant attention from their various policing agencies. With leadership's effective control of resources, this is only a problem inside the country's largest cities, as local lords are easily able to quell rebelion in the rural areas which comprise nearly the entire nation. Despite the large quantities of people which go looking for rebelious organizations to join in Cidel, most attempts to start one are quickly put down. Either by foolishly brazen attempts to gain members getting a meeting quickly broken up, or when a group which gets a little too successful and is infiltrated by an esspecially powerful Lord or General's personal secret police. This will typically end with the organizers being arested in their homes after a meeting. There have been other cases though, where a puplic execution of a few leaders is used to disuade these larger groups. It's likely The Rat's door will be no exception to this.
The organization was founded by the poor and the downtrodden, but its founders were inspired by the selfless actions of one of the most renowned commoners in the Afrean empire, Gerst. His exile was a very public affair, and at a pub in one of the city's slums a couple of days after he was out of the country a number of men discussed his freeing of those slaves, how Forin and terran couldn't be citizens, and how much time their Lords and Generals spend at parties, socials, and galas. These few men, including the owner of the bar, made the decision the try to make some changes to the leadership in Afrea. To do what they could now, since they knew others already had and were punished for it while they had just sat back and complained. It took a few years of quietly gathering information and looking for potential support before they found a wealthy merchant that brought foodstuffs in from the countryside to sell for manufactured goods in Cidel and bring those back out to small villages. This merchant was likeminded to the men, in the sense that he despised the concept of slavery despite his station in Afrea.
It was after this new member was found and brought into the fold that they started making plans for real change to be made. First on their agenda was a lesser lord ruling near the Pyre Glaa border. All of the traders in the regioin were under his employ, and to grow his own wealth he inflated the price of staple foods and essential goods. He would beat, and had been known to kill more than once, farmers in small hamlets who would not meet his harsh tithe requirements. Those in smaller towns were often kept near starving in the colder months when crops were unlikely to grow due to having to give up so much of their harvest while recieving no aid in the winter. It was a delicate situation, as it could be considered simple to assassinate such a corrupt man. This would however gaurentee the downfall of their newly formed rebellion, and likely do little to change the situation for the locals, as the lord has a son who seemed ready to lead already.
The organization was founded by the poor and the downtrodden, but its founders were inspired by the selfless actions of one of the most renowned commoners in the Afrean empire, Gerst. His exile was a very public affair, and at a pub in one of the city's slums a couple of days after he was out of the country a number of men discussed his freeing of those slaves, how Forin and terran couldn't be citizens, and how much time their Lords and Generals spend at parties, socials, and galas. These few men, including the owner of the bar, made the decision the try to make some changes to the leadership in Afrea. To do what they could now, since they knew others already had and were punished for it while they had just sat back and complained. It took a few years of quietly gathering information and looking for potential support before they found a wealthy merchant that brought foodstuffs in from the countryside to sell for manufactured goods in Cidel and bring those back out to small villages. This merchant was likeminded to the men, in the sense that he despised the concept of slavery despite his station in Afrea.
It was after this new member was found and brought into the fold that they started making plans for real change to be made. First on their agenda was a lesser lord ruling near the Pyre Glaa border. All of the traders in the regioin were under his employ, and to grow his own wealth he inflated the price of staple foods and essential goods. He would beat, and had been known to kill more than once, farmers in small hamlets who would not meet his harsh tithe requirements. Those in smaller towns were often kept near starving in the colder months when crops were unlikely to grow due to having to give up so much of their harvest while recieving no aid in the winter. It was a delicate situation, as it could be considered simple to assassinate such a corrupt man. This would however gaurentee the downfall of their newly formed rebellion, and likely do little to change the situation for the locals, as the lord has a son who seemed ready to lead already.
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