The Sewer Tenders of Baron's Point

Now remember... alway be sure o' yer footing. Slippin' an' fallin' into one of the water channels down here could be the last accident ye ever have. This far from one o' the pits, ye'd stand a chance o' gettin' yer feet under ye again, but farther down the line the water be deeper and moving faster. An' ye know where all these channels end. Them otyughs don't know or care that ye work here -- ye'd just be a bigger chunk o' dinner fer them.
— Veteran sewer tender training a new hiree

Perhaps the most dangerous job in all of Baron's Point is one that most of the citizens of the city are completely unaware of. This is because it is performed in the dark channels and tunnels of the undercity that some call Baron's Bottom. Were this job to go unperformed, though, the city would sooner or later be engulfed in the stench of decaying and festering waste. The job in question: Sewer Tender.

There have been sewer tenders ever since the sewers of Baron's Point were established. In fact, the first sewer tenders were the first of the city's citizens to move down into the tunnels more or less permanently - the first of the Hidden.

Alternative Names

Sludge mover
Sh*t shoveller

Demand

Necessary (for quality of life in the City above)

Job Description

The job of a sewer tender is simple: keep the sludge moving toward the pits. Tenders traverse the many sewer channels beneath the city of Baron's Point looking for any places where collections of solid matter are blocking the water flow. When found, these are broken up. If a clog can be dispersed such that the channel can carry the debris onward, so much the better. But in the event that material too heavy or two enmeshed is encountered, it must be collected, carried to one of the otyugh pits, and tossed in by hand.

Qualifications

The only qualifications for the job of sewer tender are a willingness to spend one's entire working life beneath the city in the sewer channels, and the ability to withstand the stench of doing so. Basically, anybody that can shovel sludge has all the training needed for the job.

Compensation

Sewer tenders are paid, and as far as common laborer jobs go, the pay scale is quite generous. A week's work beneath the city in the sewer tunnels will put 12 silver panthers into one's pocket - twice what can be earned as an unskilled laborer above ground. Those few that end up in administrative positions see their salaries jump to 20 silver panthers.

Other Benefits

There are no fringe benefits bestowed upon sewer tenders, and there is no pension plan. The pay being double what a typical unskilled worker can expect is deemed to be more than sufficient.

Career Progression

One does not join the ranks of the sewer tenders to seek advancement or learn valuable skills. Quite the contrary, for the residents of the above ground city of Baron's Point, this is usually the job of last resort for anyone who is destitute and cannot find (or hold) another position.

For those who live beneath the city, it is one of the few "respectable jobs", and there are rare occasions to move up into one of the few administrative and management jobs available. These pay a bit more, and the dangers are less, but there are few enough of these positions that the regular tenders have few expectations of ever receiving one.

Hazards on the Job

There is only one hazard that sewer tenders are concerned with: falling into an otyugh pit. These pits were designed to keep the creatures contained, so there is no escape if one should fall in. And it wouldn't take long for the beasts to detect living prey - a special treat for them. Likely armed with nothing more than a shovel, no sewer tender would survive an attack by the otyughs of any of the pits.

Tools of the Trade

The principle tool of the sewer tender is a shovel. These are used to break up clogs of debris that may block a sewer channel; after breaking the clogging material into smaller, more transportable pieces, these are simply sent down the water channels to their ultimate destination: one of the otyugh pits.

On occasion, a sewer tender may take up the tools of a bricklayer to repair a tunnel wall or sewer grate. Performing the latter task may even afford the tender an opportunity to venture into the city above.

Social Status

Among the above-ground residents of Baron's Point, those who work as sewer tenders are perhaps the lowest of the low when it comes to job respect. The perpetual stench that permeates their clothes (if not their very skin) ensures that they will have very few close companions whenever they venture out on the streets of the city.

But among the Hidden - the Folk who live in the undercity - sewer tenders are respected. Were the sewer channels to clog and back up, the homes of those who live beneath the city would be threatened. The Hidden realize that it is the sewer tenders that keep their homes bearable. They also realize and understand the dangers associated with the job. One slip in the wrong place, and a sewer tender disappears without a trace: torn apart and consumed by the otyughs that process every scrap of organic material that flows into their pits from the sewer channels.

Demographics

There are approximately 150 of the Folk employed as sewer tenders. Their distribution by ancestry is as follows:

We gather here ter recall the times we 'ad wi' old Grazzit. He were a good goblin... cheerful... tellin' jokes... e'en offerin' ter share some o' 'is grub. An' a few o' ye were even brave enough to take 'im up on the offer. Poor Grazzit got a little too close to Pit Three this mornin'. At least it were over quick fer 'im... he fell right at the feet o' one o' the beasts. Damn near fell straight inter it's mouth.
— Sewer tenders recalling the memory of a fallen friend

Credits

Banner Image by RayMark from Pixabay

Page background cathedral Image by 5163451 on Pixabay
Page background manor house image by Josef Pichler on Pixabay
Page background hut image by PamelaAndrey15 on Pixabay
Page background forest image by Waldkunst on Pixabay
Character portraits by RPGDinosaurBob on Hero Forge®

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