The Barleys

Overview

The Barleys breed and manage the city’s insects. They provide silk, venom, alchemical glands, waxes, resins, meat, and leather-like hide. Their lines also supply brood for waste control and soil turnover in the fields. The guild treats breeding, harvest, storage, and sale as one controlled chain. They believe steady yield and strict containment are the foundation of Odrun Fell’s survival. Jezabel Varlas is the current guildmaster. She enforces standards, protects bloodlines, and resists rapid change that could cause a breach or a collapse in supply.

History and Role

The guild began with small pens near the early shelters. Keepers learned which beetles accepted harnesses, which treebugs grew strong silk, and which grubs produced useful oils. Losses were common in the first generations. Records improved the results. Families kept ledgers on feed, temperature, humidity, and pairing. When lines stabilized, the guild formed to guard those ledgers and to set shared methods. As Odrun Fell expanded, the Barleys pushed pens outside the northern walls and down into sealed chambers beneath the Sprigs and the Hilt. The guild supplied food when traders failed and provided fibers when metal was scarce. In every crisis, their work linked farms, workshops, and healing houses.

Leadership

Jezabel Varlas leads the Barleys. She is strict, precise, and reliable in public. In private, she is direct and expects the same from her staff. She came up through venom lines and pen design. Family losses to a mishandled fang strain shaped her methods. She rebuilt her household with sealed pens, stronger cull rules, and cleaner ledgers. The results brought her into guild leadership. Jezabel later developed practical druidry focused on insect behavior. She uses it to calm swarms, mask scents, and sense stress or disease. She does not present druidry as faith. She treats it as a technical tool that supports breeding plans.

Organization and Sites

The guild divides its work into three main sites:

The Barley Fields outside the northern walls. These hold treebugs, grubs, and beetle lines for meat, fibers, waxes, and glands. Wards, fences, and patrols protect the fields. Line pennants mark ownership and bloodline.
The Varlas Breeder’s Archive near the Hilt. This stores samples, ledgers, and experimental pens behind sealed hatches. Only licensed handlers and inspectors enter. The Archive runs quarantine cells, stasis chambers, and sealed waste routes.
The Varlas Conservatory in the Sprigs. This is a display and negotiation hall for luxury and rare lines. It operates under guest limits, silence rules, and inspection at entry and exit. The Conservatory funds field pens and Archive upgrades.

Smaller holding pens exist in the Spindle for short-term storage before sale or shipment. Hazardous stock does not pass through public markets.

Workforce and Training

Handlers train in stages. Year one covers safety, cleaning, feed prep, and record basics. Year two covers line identification, scent control, and brood rotation. Year three covers cull protocols, incubation, and disease response. Year four covers hazard pens, queen management, and transport. Promotion requires clean ledgers, correct use of masks and gloves, and a pass on a live drill for breach control. Brood tenders with strong records can apply for druidic cue training under supervision. Inspectors sit outside the site hierarchy and report to a central office under Jezabel.

Standards and Methods

Jezabel enforces the following rules across all pens:

Line Integrity: No crossbreeding without signed approval, quarantine, and post-trial cull of failed litters.
Containment: Two-person rule in high-risk pens. Door interlocks stay active. Escape signs trigger full stop and count.
Handler Safety: Masks, gloves, scent control, and eye shields are mandatory. No lone work in hazard chambers.
Culling: Any breeder that shows defect, abnormal aggression, or disease is removed. Byproducts move to approved buyers.
Transport: Cudgel escorts for high-risk cargo. Sealed wagons. Logged routes. No stops in the Slough unless pre-cleared.
Records: Every feed, pairing, cull, split, and shipment is logged to a line ledger and handler ledger.
Audits: Inspectors run surprise checks. Any false entry triggers suspension or removal.

These rules raise costs. The guild states the costs prevent crises that would be worse.

Druidic Practice

Guild druidry serves breeding and handling:

Scent Masking and Lure: Adjusts or reverses pheromone trails during cleaning and load-outs.
Brood Calm: Sound and gesture patterns that lower aggression in specific lines during rotation.
Infestation Sweep: Quick checks for mites, molds, or invasive larvae in wood, silk, or resin.
Pen Stasis: Short suppression to allow safe repair or breeder treatment.

Use of these tools is recorded. Outcomes are reviewed weekly. Advanced cues stay restricted to certified tenders.

Products and Lines

The Barleys supply:

Silks: Work-grade cable silk, fine weave for clothing, and display silk for noble orders.
Venoms and Glands: Measured ampules for alchemy, surgery aids, and sanctioned traps.
Resins and Waxes: Sealants for armor joints, ward housings, and field kits.
Meats and Hides: Food for crews and tanned plates for light armor.
Utility Brood: Waste reducers and soil turners for the fields.

Each product tracks to a bloodline and lot. The guild posts quality grades and warns if a line is under stress.

Security and Countermeasures

The guild stamps line marks and embeds micro pins in crates. This exposes counterfeit swaps. The Promissory and the Cudgel receive alerts when fakes surface. First offenses by buyers result in seizure and fines. Repeat offenses move to the Span courts. High-risk pens use keyed wards and scent-locked gear. Wagons pass sniffer gates when leaving sites. The Archive keeps a breach team on duty at all hours. Drills run each tenday.

Relations with Other Powers

Ashcoats: The Barleys purchase pen bars, hatch trays, and sealed gear. They expect parts that can be serviced on-site by trained keepers. Shared priorities include repairable designs and clear manuals.
Cudgel: The guild contracts escorts for hazard transport and posts watch lists for routes. Jezabel pushes for steady patrols on lines serving the fields and Archive. She supports pay scales tied to Threadspire risk levels.
Promissory: The guild works through contracts with clear terms on liability, waste, and recall obligations. Auctions for rare lines occur in the Conservatory under strict controls.
Regent: Jezabel holds one Council seat. She frames votes around stable yield and containment. She supports the Regent’s tie-breaking role but opposes appeals to the Regent over technical guild matters.

Politics and Posture

Jezabel distrusts fast swings in policy. She views public pressure as a risk to careful work. She is not hostile to Captain Orin Vellak. She respects his record. She warns that popularity can distort Council decisions and shorten review periods. She aligns with the Promissory on contract clarity and with the Ashcoats on equipment standards. She opposes demands that open pens to outside survey without Barley control. She supports overtime pay for guards when the Threadspire raises route risk.

The Conservatory

The Conservatory showcases luxury silks and controlled-venom lines to approved buyers in the Sprigs. Attendance is capped. Guests pass scent scans and leave containers at the door. Demonstrations use tethered brood and double cages. Sales fund pen repair, handler pay, and Archive expansion. The Conservatory’s rules often frustrate nobles, but the city accepts them because they prevent theft and contamination.

The Archive

The Varlas Breeder’s Archive stores line seeds, ledgers, and test pens. New cells receive acid-proof lining, independent air, and waste capture. The Ashcoats inspect each cell before live use. A Barley and a Cudgel sign off on access and removal. The Archive holds breach gear, flame wards rated for brood safe limits, and first-aid for handlers. It also holds the quarantine vaults. These vaults allow study and controlled cull when a line fails.

The Barley Fields

Beyond the northern walls, the fields run in plots. Treebugs form slow orchards. Grubs turn soil. Beetles graze under netting. The fields rotate to manage stress and prevent disease. Watch posts and ward lines mark edges. The guild’s rule is simple: a field breach closes routes until counts recover. Farmers near the boundary accept checks and share watch duty under pay.

Operating with Other Districts

The Spindle sees most of the guild’s trade. The Barleys avoid open booths for live stock. They use sealed stalls with posted grades. The Hilt handles escort contracts and returns hazard gear after use. The Barrows supply labor and receive steady food orders. The Sprigs host the Conservatory and fund special lines. The guild keeps each flow separate to limit cross-contamination.

Current Projects

Brood Stability: Increased ward checks in the fields after recent weather and tunnel stress. Added rest plots and higher keeper ratios per shift.
Luxury Silk Demonstrations: Limited showings continue with stricter guest controls. Revenue funds stasis chambers and waste lines in the Archive.
Hazard Study Cells: New sealed galleries come online with dual-key access and independent air.
Guard Protocols: Work with the Cudgel to align pay with risk and to post clear route advisories from the Threadspire.
Odrun’s Head: Full support for the closed border. No harvesting, no scouting, no brood transfer. Jezabel states the risks outweigh any gain.

How to Work with the Barleys

Buyers should bring clear needs, accept posted grades, and sign standard waste and recall clauses. Escorts should arrive clean and follow handler direction. Inspectors from other guilds should schedule visits through the Archive office. Any breach sign should be reported at once and routes closed until counts confirm control. The city relies on that discipline, and the guild intends to keep it.