The cities of the rat clan were bustling with activities, every street crowded to the absolute brim with crowds of citizens. It was even more overpopulated than the rabbit clan… but many would consider that a strength. Every rodent around only cared about their own business, trying to focus on their own little world in an effort to ignore just how small they were in the grand scheme of things, as they trudged along the street beneath a gloomy, ominously red night sky.
Of course, the surrounding rats were all roused from their stupors at the same of a nearby casino entrance being loudly smashed open. A familiar rat, Mercurio, was sent flying out the doors as if thrown, landing with a yelp on the concrete below… and following soon after was a furious-looking wolf, all muscle and fury, looming slowly down the stairs towards him. “Give me the fuckin’ gold back, you cheating bastard!” The powerful, muscular wolf shouted angrily at Mercurio, as he lay there on the ground. “First you steal my girl… then you steal my last bit of gold? Don’t think I don’t know you were marking cards!”
With a groan, Mercurio tried to lift himself to his feet, muttering a bit as he was still wracked with pain from the throw. “P-preposterous!” He managed to choke out, clutching his side as he sat up on his knees, one hand braced against the ground. “I’ll have you know I’m a man of class! I would never- mph!”
He let out another muffled yelp as the wolf suddenly grabbed him by the throat, easily lifting him up off his feet with incredible strength. Mercurio was forced to look into those furious, glowing eyes as the wolf digs his claw into the fur of his belly, threatening to disembowel him. “Tell me where you hid MY gold or I’ll gut you like a fish.” He growled.
“Markus, Markus! Old friend! No need to resort to violence!” He gave a sheepish smile, giving it one last attempt to talk the wolf down. “Tell you what… how about a rematch? If you win, you can have all your gold back and more!”
The wolf’s eyes narrowed as he held him close. “No. More. Games.” From the sound of it, he was, indeed, probably a hair’s breadth away from just cutting Mercurio open.
Mercurio was a tiny bit frightened for the first time in a while, seeing that the wolf was definitely serious about this. He definitely wasn’t just gonna talk his way out of this one. “F-fine! Fine! Don’t kill me! You can have your gold back!” He relented, holding up his hands, before slowly reaching into one of the pockets of his vest. “In fact, I have it right here in my pocket- HIYAH!”
The wolf suddenly tensed up when Mercurio suddenly produced a concealed dagger from his pocket, taken by surprise as the rat plunged the blade into his chest! “Augh!” The wolf stumbled back, releasing his hold on Mercurio… but the rat kept a hold of his paw. With every bit of his strength, Mercurio grabbed the dazed and pained wolf… and practically roared as he reared back, sending the wolf flying right over the edge of the nearby docks! The wolf let out one last yelp as he was flung into the lake below… and that was the last anyone saw of him, the water around turning scarlet.
Panting, with adrenaline still rushing though his veins, Mercurio turned back to the crowd, all gawking at the display. “You all saw ‘im! He was out of his mind! It was self-defense, you see?” He called out, and a few of the towns members just gave approving nods, before they all continued on their way. Nobody really paid what had just happened much mind. Not like such acts of violence were rare around these parts. In the end, the wolf was just yet another body clogging up the city’s river.
Overall, that definitely wasn’t how he was expecting his night to play out.
But at least he got his fair share of gold… and he finally got that unpredictable wolf, Markus out of his hair. All he wanted to do now was to retreat to his apartment and just relax with a nice, cool drink… but as he made his way there and stumbled inside, his nose twitched as he smelled something. Something… well, quite foul. He stood there, sniffing the air, before he finally recognized it. “... I can smell you, you know. You’re not being sneaky.” He said, simply, to whoever was there.
On cue, a panther woman emerged from the shadows with a smug little grin on her face. She was one of the most beautiful women in this town… which only made it more tragic to Mercurio that she’s recently begun to experiment with the Rot, and thus, she now smelled absolutely dreadful. “By the blood on your vest, I see you haven’t changed a bit, Mercurio…” She purred. “Still out there getting into trouble?”
He wiped his dagger off a bit with a little grumble, annoyed by the panther’s tendency to let herself into his apartment whenever she pleased. “Oh, Agatha, darling. You used to be so… ladylike,” he sighed, looking at her now mangy fur, as he grimaced a bit at the stench he could smell even from across the room. “Why did you get tangled up in all that… that rot?”
“The power,” she breathed, holding up a fist with a smug grin on her face. “All the power in the world. Far more than even you’ve been able to command. And you’ll need that sort of power… if you’re going to capture the throne.”
He sighed, remembering his vow to claim the throne of Armello in the name of the rat clan. He sort of forgot about that recently. “I don’t need to resort to dark magics just to capture that accursed throne. I’ve already worked out a deal with the local barons. They’re putting together several levies-”
“Doesn’t matter how many armies you put together when a warrior of the rot can knock them out with a single fart!” She laughs, interrupting him. “Trust me, Mercurio… you’ll give in, one way or another. But that’s not what I’m here for.” She was about to step closer, but he lifted a hand up, signifying that he didn’t want the smelly feline anywhere near him. With a giggle, she kicked a small bundle of papers across the floor over to him, which he curiously picked up and read over. “I know I don’t work for you anymore, but… I put together some new contracts for you anyway. It was almost sad to see how lazy you got when I wasn’t there ordering your around… hah! You know what they say about idle paws…”
Well… he supposes he hasn’t really been doing much serious, productive work ever since Agatha left. He frowned as he looked through the contracts she’s brought him, eyeing each one over carefully. Couldn’t hurt to get one of them done in the morning. “Alright. Thank you, Agatha. But remember, I don’t require your services any longer.”
“Whatever you say~” She cooed, as she stepped out. With that, the rat sat down to look over the notes, and decide which contract he should embark on in the morning.
Catching his eye was some sort of Wits Challenge, involving some sort of rogue baron from another clan threatening to have a loyal member of the Rat Clan executed... then some sort of Fights Challenge, involving a ruler of some village nearby who's reportedly been pillaging any trade wagon that dares pass into his town... and finally, some sort of Spirit Challenge, involving rumors of some sort 'spirit stone' in the wilderness bordering rat clan territory.
Health: 5/5
Magic: 2
Gold: 5
Rot: 0
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