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| Dirty Father Thames http://jasonmheller.blogspot.com/2012/05/fiction-feast-of-night-soil-man.html |
The Morningsong family collect night soil from the residents of Everway-proper as well as from the residents of Strangerside, selling it to farmers for fertilizer. Their carts creak through the city in the early morning, as family members sing out "Brown gold!" to collect the contents of chamberpots. By noon, most of the Morningsongs have returned to their mud-dome clan house for collective worship, followed by a midday clan feast.
Everwayans who live near the Morningsong's clan house call it the "Fly's Nest" because of its notable stench. There has even been a recent petition before the Council to require the Morningsong' family to relocate their clan house outside the city walls. Surprisingly, the petition failed to pass. It had quite a bit of support in the neighborhoods surrounding the clan house.
Fear played a factor in the Council's decision. They know that the Fly's Nest contains a potent family shrine to the Filth-Mothered Goddess with her tears of excrement and urine. The family's filth offerings at midday worship keep the goddess from leaving the family shrine and ambling about the city to spread misery and disease.
The way the Morningsongs see it, they are providing two services to the city: one physical, one spiritual. too bad no one sees it their way.
Of course, the Council is aware of this.
They know that the Filth-Mothered Goddess has laid waste to other realms. The Council does not want that happening here. The Morningsong family has capitalized on this leverage by securing a significant subsidy directly from the Emerald family coffers for its filth collection efforts.
But some in the Council believe this family is trouble over the long term; no one likes to pay ransom. These Council members think Everway would be better served if the Council had some leverage of their own over the Morningsongs.
They are looking for adventurers and spies who can help them get this leverage...
