Ratfolk

The ratfolk originate in the Two Kingdoms, where they make their warrens in the tangled tomb tunnels of the Tomb-Riddled Cliffs, the great and ornate catacombs.  It is whispered that they are the manifestation of the curses set by the pharaohs upon their tombs to discourage thieves and that this origin is the cause of their interest in and affinity with plague.  It is also whispered that this magic which created them has become somehow twisted, as the ratfolk have found one other environment much to their liking: the bazaars and marketplaces.  Some say that the mysterious and valuable treasures they hock are stolen from the tombs they were intended to guard.  Others reply that the rats prefer barter to selling and their hoards are simply the result of innumerable trades swelling their sacks.

It is the ratfolk who bury the pharaoh, appearing but moments after eir death and performing the sacred rites which help ensure eir transformation into a ghost.