Necrulencian Thief

Necrulencia sits at the delta of the Daltaine and De'lai Rivers, far enough from New Beluroc's throne that citizens might hope for freedom and close enough that the Cimmerian Order's reach finds them anyway. The surrounding farmlands yield ebon wheat and umbral barley. The mines produce precious ore. All of it flows to New Beluroc. The overlords demand quotas. Tax collectors take their share. Conscription officers take sons and daughters. What remains barely sustains those who grow and mine it.

So the Necrulencian thieves do what they must.

They're farmers whose land was seized. Miners whose wages were cut. Children of families broken by conscription. They start with simple theft. Skimming harvests, pilfering wagons, breaking into storehouses. But simple theft only goes so far.

Nightshade grows along the riverbanks. Blackrot fungi sprout in the mines. A scratch from a "clumsy" stumble, and the victim feels nothing but a sting. But soon, nausea, hallucinations, and unconsciousness follow. The thief pilfers what they're after, and it's often days or weeks before the victim realizes they were robbed. If they survive.

The thieves don't dwell on it. Guilt is a luxury for those with full bellies.