Abundance & Debt #
Picentia's industrial production has outpaced the world. Inside the soot-stained steam factory, power looms thunder, stacking finished cloth high. But the livestock is starving.
Reserves are holding, but they are thin. "We have enough fodder for two months," a shepherd reports. After that, the herds will be slaughtered.
A caravan departs, carrying enough cloth to buy winter grain—if it reaches Rome. Gaius looks at a map of the coastline, wary of the long road through bad country. "If the land fails us, we need to be ready to pivot."
The caravan is a tiny speck on the horizon, heading north into the dangerous Via Appia detours. One last roll of the dice.