A Few Things About Rats

     In Descent, much of the surface world's wildlife is lost following the coming of the Swarm. However, vermin have a way of surviving, like a cockroach surviving a nuclear blast. This, of course, includes rats. 

    Rats came down on the Long Walk with humans, along with disease, firearms, and mustaches. And, as with all things in the Beneath, they were affected by the Deep in some way. Specifically, they gained awareness of themselves. They saw what they were, and were sickened by it. To this end, every single rat dreams of something above their current situation (i.e, living in little burrows, eating out of trash heaps, and being just so very small) be it a captain of industry, a juggler, or a world-famous chef. However, there is one dream that no rat seeks. The dream of being the Rat King. 

    The Rat King is a myth among ratkind, a prophesied "chosen one" destined to lead the rats to greatness, that they might stand taller than the humans that so abhor them. 

    Another thing about rats is that they know secrets. Being small and virtually everywhere lends itself to eavesdropping, and there are whisperings of a rat-market somewhere in the Underunder, where secrets are traded for trinkets, both among rats and the few human allies ratkind has. Rats, having no context for the importance of a secret (and no capability for human speech aside from magic), will just as likely trade a half-penny for the Lord Mayor's drag persona, or a vial of bottled sunlight for a small shortcut through Mitchellsburg. If you want to haggle, the rats won't stop you, but they'll get frustrated if they perceive your requested price as having less value. Your best bet is to trade a secret for a secret.