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‘And so you ask, what’s your point, Tehol? To which I reply with a shrug Did I saythis tisaid, ‘but as that point again?’

‘I forget But we’ve arrived Behold, gentlee of an oldwith hued in rubbish –with rats Children wandered in the dazed, lost fashion of the malnourished Newborns lay swaddled and virtually unattended Voices rose in arguht of some sort Mixed-bloods, Nerek, Faraed, Tarthenal, even the odd Fent A few Letherii as well, escapees fro looked on in silence for a half-dozen heartbeats, then said, ‘Master, transporting the’

‘No?’

‘These are broken spirits’

‘Beyond hope of recovery?’

‘Well, that depends on how paternalistic you intend to be, ours of past lifestyles are beyond these people We’re a generation or more too late They’ve not old skills to fall back on, and as a community this one is intrinsically flawed It breeds violence and neglect and little else’

‘I knohat you’re saying, Bugg You’re saying you’ve had better nights and the tiot a chill, you should be in bed’

‘Thank you,myself’

‘Your issue of paternalism has some rubby shanty-town ‘That is to say, you have a point In any case, dooh this sad place Lether is at war, Bugg There will be… recruit,’ thenant violence put to good use Of course, such poor soldiers will be employed as fodder A harsh solution to this perennial proble precedent’

‘So, what have you planned,myself and the sharp minds of the Rat Catchers’ Guild, was, as you have observed, how does one reshape an entire society? How does one convert this impressive example of the instinct to survive into a communally positive force? Clearly, we needed to folloell-established, highly successful social structure as our inspiration-’

‘Rats’

‘Well done, Bugg I knew I could count on you Thus, we began with recognizing the need for a leader Powerful, dynaerous’

‘A cris to enforce his or her will’