RP:Gathering Information

Part of the Rise of Larket Arc

Summary: Kelovath visits Lamorak.

The Cells

Kelovath came right to this very room after his little adventure into the sewers. Normally, it’d be unlikely for anyone to come right to a dungeon willingly, but there had been some extra baggage exiting the maze below Larket. A fermin. A, slightly, intelligent fermin. That also had a top-hat for some reason. The fermin also had some sort of power that allowed him to control the other crazy fermin that had been attacking Larket recently. The paladin had no way of knowing if this particular rat was completely responsible for the attacks, but if able, he would find out. A bucket of cold water was dumped all over the fermin. Whether he was awake or not, the damn thing smelled and the water did help with that. For now, that is. “Do you have a name?” Kelovath asked before kneeling down in front of the chained up fermin. The bucket was also set off to the side. The armored man waited patiently for an answer and whatever the answer might be, he followed it up with, “How are you controlling them?”

Lamorak twitched as he laid as a crumpled heap on the floor, his fur standing on end as his leg beat away at the floor, rustling the chains, dragging them across the cell. "Ech..." the noise emanated from the fermin, before a bucket of cold water being dropped all over him, his back arching, his body convulsing as he writhed in the puddle, trying to understand exactly what had just happened. "T-t-thh." the fermin was struggling to make any noise that didn't sound like shivering, at least up until his name was asked. "Oh? Little ol' me? Well my name is Lamorak." the rat dipped his head, curtsying, despite being on the floor. "Controlling? No, you see my darling breeze-quaffer, I'm freeing them, freeing them. Not something you absent minded surface dweller could understand." The rat tilted his head to the side, getting a look at Kelovath through his dripping hair. "What's your name bucket-man?" he asked, snickering.

Kelovath thought that maybe the water was a little too much, once seeing the fermin shivering. Sure, the paladin wanted answers, but this kind of questioning was new to him. "Lamorak. I am Kelovath. I..." He was actually about to apologize for the water, but shook his head instead. Another question soon followed. "What do you mean, freeing them? They are dying. And quickly."

Lamorak shrugged at Kelovath's retort. "Dying quickly? Only a little bit faster than when the sewers were overpopulated. It just takes a few bouncing baby furballs to make everyone else starve." The Rat smugly sat in the corner of the cell, all covered in chains, it was misery. "Oh pardon me, I went all philosophical on you, won't happen again." he went through the motions of tipping a hat that wasn't there, winking at the paladin. "So how goes beating back the ray menace?" he asked, moving to sit cross-legged, looking expectantly up at the paladin with a grin.

Kelovath listened to the rat speak and actually found him to be more intelligent than originally thought. He couldn't help but to smile when at the failed attempt of tipping a hat. He stood and walked toward the only door within the cell and said something to the guard outside. There was a clank of armor, probably the guard saluting, and Kelovath made his way back to Lamorak. "Larket is more than prepared to handle the crazed fermin. I am stopping them from launching a full scale attack on your people, Lamorak. They would be dying much faster than now, I assure you." He lowered himself down to the cold stone floor, once again kneeling. "According to most of the people that know you're here, you should be dead already." Pointing toward the only door, "They want you dead, Lamorak. In a few days, you will be, unless you cooperate."

Lamorak grinned to Kelovath, slinking back into his chains, the slick ground shifting under his lithe frame. "Full scale attack on the fermin? Obviously you're stopping them because the rats would be the least of their worries." the rat yawned, scratching the back of his head. "Think of the plagues." Then the idea of being executed struck him, causing his ears to perk up once more. "Me? Die? What did I do?" The rat's ego was obviously feeding off of this endeavor greatly. "Tell me in detail, the crimes the frail Lamorak, who was felled in two swings, has committed against Larket?" he gave the paladin something akin to puppy dog eyes, the rat taunting the paladin further, not biting the hand that feeds him, gnawing on it.

Kelovath closed his eyes for a moment and silently prayed to Arkhen. It wasn’t really needed at the moment, but he could feel his mind starting to struggle. At the mention of plagues, he opened his eyes and sighed. “We have a cure, Lamorak. Sure, people would get sick, but Larket has some of the best, most experienced healers within Hollow. The fermin are an annoyance to Larket. Your numbers are staggering, yes, but you have no allies.” Softer words now, “No friends…” He sighed, getting ready to speak once more. “Your people have attacked Larket on numerous occasions. You specifically, are a fermin. That’s the only reason those people need to remove your head and burn your body.” It was at that time, that the guard opened the cell door. For the second time, Kelovath stood and walked over to the door. This time, his armored hands reached out and accepted something from the guard. Moving back into view of Lamorak, the fermin would be able to see his burned up Top-Hat from the sewer.

Lamorak smiled and clapped his paws to the sides of his snout, it was his hat. "Of you shouldn't have!" he chuckled, looking ever so happy to see the thing. "Oh yeah, we were talking about important things. About my people being a nuisance?" The rat tilted his head to the side, squinting, taking a good look at Kelovath from the angle, before gathering his posture. "We're such an annoyance, that instead of attacking us head on, you're talking to me? Oh, you flatter me..." Lamorak took in a deep breath, and raised a hand into the air, "You smell that? That's chaos going on with no one in charge, beneath the city." the clever rat put a paw to his chin, "I wonder if my fellows ever got to the matrons, probably not, too many spears in the way." Lamorak then seemed to get an idea and grin, before thinking further, and gaining a more neutral expression. "Er, so, I'm willing to talk now, tell me what you want to know and I'll give it away, just give me the word bucket-face." The rat leaned against the wall, grinning smugly, his eyebrows raised as he snickered.

Kelovath did not hand over the top-hat quite yet. Instead, he remained standing, looking down at the fermin. "I would like to know how you are able to control the fermin. And why you are. What's your goal with all of this?"

Lamorak snickered, breathing a deep sigh as he looked over the paladin for the umpteenth time. "Oh? Why, the precious council give me a fancy rock, and it simply let's me tell my messed up fellows what to do." The rat bit his bottom lip, taking in a deep breath, his eyes shooting around the room, gripping his hand so tight his knuckles whitened, before he stopped, exhaling deeply. "My goal? My goal is to build a better world for the misguided mice that dwell within Larket's sewer, that is all, for I am a humble rat."

Kelovath was rather surprised to hear this news. He was unsure how to response to the fermin, but eventually, he found the words. "The council? The fermin have a council? Are you really -that- organized down there?" The paladin blinked his eyes a couple of times, trying to grasp the idea. "Humble rat, eh?" From how he spoke those words, it was clear Kelovath did not believe it to be true. "I think you are much more than what is shown, Lamorak." That was said with a smile.

Lamorak fanned his face, leaning down. "Oh you're making me blush." he spoke in what could be easily mistaken for a non-taunting tone, alas, he used it all the same. "Organized? Hardly, it's more or less a-" he stopped, raising an eyebrow at the paladin. "I wonder if they teach Larket kids anything about the city under their feet..." he wondered aloud, before he shook his head, and cleared his throat. "Anyway, yeah, just go kill them or something." The rat clutched his hands together, slowly rubbing them together, a grin across his face, staring at the paladin as if he were fresh meat.

Kelovath still wasn't sure what the rat was going on about or if he could even trust what Lamorak was saying. For now, he probably got what little information he could. "I'll be back when I can, Lamorak. But for now, you'll remain here." With a shrug, the burned up top-hat was dropped in front of Lamorak, which he could easily reach. "I'll have the guard bring you some food later on." The paladin turned away from the fermin and knocked on the cell door, waiting for the guard to open it to let the paladin out.

Lamorak grabbed the hat off the ground, waving it as Kelovath left the cell. "Enjoy your victory my friend! I'll see you soon!" He grinned, all of his teeth exposed as he donned his hat, sinking into his cell, laughing gently.