The King Rat

Ezor will be seated at a table with a bottle of wine, as his guard rush about frantically

"friends! your a tad early, but dont worry, well be ready soon, take a seat", he offers the players a seat and a glass of wine.

"you know, i should thank you. not for all the tasks you been doing, but for what lead up to that. i had a realization, that business i had going on, it had no future. sure, i made a shit ton of money, but it didnt matter. no matter how rich i was, how i dressed or acted or how many nobles flocked to see my show, they still looked at me like i was beneath them. a pest. no matter what i did, and i probably would never have done anything more. but you've given me a fresh start, and an opportunity to achieve what I've been wanting my whole life. so thanks."

one of his guards comes and whispers something in his ear "alright, showtime, you 3, follow me" he walks out his hideout, into the streets and out of the city gate, waving and smiling to those around him. he leads you down the rat strip, towards 3 caravans covered by cloth. his guards are removing their studded leather and equipping scale mail, swapping out their old weapons for newer, more expensive ones. "You 3 just follow my lead, this is the easy bit. if everything goes right well all have what we want by sundown". the 2nd and 3rd caravan open up to reveal dozens of rat-human hybrids, their bodies twisted wearing the remaining rags of their past human self. they have a lifeless look in their eyes, but do whatever the rat king commands of them, each taking an iron spear. "All Enros handiwork, a modified lobotomy removes their rebellious tendencies and gives me 100 percent control over them" you recognise the clothes of the 5 you kidnapped on some.

You, the rat king and his small army approach the main gate. the 4 guards begin to reach for their weapons before being swarmed by the rat slaves, holding them down and allowing them to be beaten to death by the Morningstar's of Ezors guard. Ezor turns to the players "Stick with me but make a scene". the gate screeches open and the rat slaves and guards swarm into the town, killing guards running over and terrorizing locals. you hear a bell toll and the roar of more town guards rushing to defend Harrowfen

He will slowly stroll towards the castle, occasional guards breaching to attack him or the players. 4 of Ezors guard stay around him, and push open the castle gates, closing it behind you as you enter, drowning out all the chaos outside, to silence, your footsteps echoing throughout the halls and up the staircase you ascend, until you eventually come to the royal hall.

The king is seated at his throne, surrounded by guards, and the 2 Ettin. the court mage and the military advisor stand ready for combat while the general and religious advisor cower behind the throne. "what is the purpose of this Ezor"

"you have 1 chance to surrender your crown to me to avoid further violence"

"you FOOL" the court mage bellows as lightning flashes from his staff towards Ezor, who narrowly avoids it. this causes an explosion of chaos, the attackers on all sides to rush forward, and begin to fight while the king watches, the rat guards fighting the royal guards and one of the Ettins, Ezor is fighting the court mage, and the military advisor and one of the Ettin storms towards you, weapons in hand with a look of anger.

throughout the battle flames, sparks, and other various magical effects will come from Ezor and Ulfius's battle. the rat guards will be winning

~~~

the court mage will drop to the floor, coughing, burns all over his skin. rat guards will rush over and tie him up, as well as all the other court officials and the king. Ezor will turn to the players "we still aren't done, there are some bedrooms down the hall to the right, i want you all to recover for 5 or 6 hours while i make some arrangements, we cant have you looking all damaged for the next bit. meet me back here when your recovered."

The bedrooms are very luxurious compared to the tavern bedrooms usually slept it. one of the bedrooms has a chest containing 2 greater healing potions and some magic and herb books, one bedroom lacks furniture, only containing a symbol on the wall and a book called the "Meshed" on the bed, and the other contains several bottles of wine and a satchel of a bluish grey powder, as well as a healing potion.

~~~

going back into the royal hall, Ezor will have changed into more royal clothing, with a flowing red robe and a crown atop his head. "just in time, just stand near me and look tough, this way" he walks onto the balcony, where the 4 court officials kneel tied and gagged, above a large crowd. corpses of the dead scatter the street and fresh damage covers the buildings and streets "SILENCE" Ezor bellows, and the crowd hushes and looks up at you "The days of this city being ruled by the former king Calvin are over. he had grown too comfortable, comfort turns to weakness, but i am not weak. do not fear, life for you will remain the same, lawbreakers and rogues from all over the country will still be given asylum in our city of Harrowfen, but you will look up to me, as your ruler, and you will call me King Ezor." stunned silence from the crowd, but the rat guards and slaves below roar with victory. "But the question remains, will they accept me as their leader"

he gestures to the officials, and ungags the military advisor who spits in his face. outraged, Ezor pulls out a blade and beheads him in one clean slash. next he goes, to the general advisor, who nods acceptance with fear in his eyes, then the court mages, who bitterly accepts him as king. finally he comes to the religious advisor, who begins to bellow a religious verse of contempt towards Ezor, but doesn't make it through the sentence before losing his head from his shoulders. finally Ezor makes it to the king, but doesn't bother ungagging him, raises the sword, and shouts to the crowd "LONG LIVE THE KING" before beheading Calvin, his head rolling off the balcony into the crowd below. Ezor cackles and walks inside, gesturing for the party to as well, and takes a seat at the throne, beside the dead Ettin