Tatterdemalion

For a few hours she roamed around the back alleys and tried to bully the stray cats to join with her, eviscerating a few of her more vocal critics. While the cats were undeniably afraid of her, however, she had the sense from their reactions that there was someone else they were even more afraid of. They always told her, with hesistation and fear, that they would ask Tatterdemalion.

Clearly, she had to find out who this Tatterdemalion was and convince him to join with her. To that end, she spent some time wandering around the docks listening to conversations. (The Kitten, being a supernatural creature of pure hatred and evil, did not need to eat. She did not mind snacking on the heart of an enemy every now and then, though.) At first, she heard only terrified hints and snatches, but gradually she began to piece a bigger picture together. She had to be careful to hide herself, as the people of this city, in particular the thieves and politicians (not that there was much of a difference), tended to be rather hesitant around cats. She soon found out why.

Tatterdemalion, it turned out, was a cat. But not just any cat. For one thing, he could speak the languages of men. This in and of itself might prove useful to the Kitten. For another thing, he commanded all manner of other magic powers which enabled him to keep the other cats of the city in line and force them to do his bidding, as well as to tell him anything they had heard-- and cats are very, very good at overhearing things. As a result, he was the port's greatest spymaster and, according to some rumors, assassin. (Everyone knew the story of how the unpopular Mayor Bainbridge had had his throat mauled in the middle of the night as if by a wild animal. Rumor had it that the servants in his house had spotted an alley cat fleeing from his palace shortly afterwards.) The price he exacted for his services was very high, however. Just how he had come into being was a subject of some debate. Some said that he'd been an ordinary cat made sentient after being hit by a stray spell--though he had not been given a soul. Some said that he'd been a conniving necromancer who'd been cursed by his teacher to be a cat after attempting a coup. There were even rumors that he was the last surviving god of a civilization that had dwelled here uncountable thousands of years ago, once a lord of darkness and death who had made the earth tremble but now reduced to playing petty political power games. Clearly, he was a force to be reckoned with. The Kitten, however, was not afraid, for she was a being spawned by the magic of one of the most vile of all the tribes of Hell. She was not afraid, but she would be cautious.

That night, the Kitten stalked off to the place where Tatterdemalion, the King of Cats, was said to dwell. It was an unassuming, dingy little rathole near the docks. After creeping through the opening, the Kitten found herself in a room covered with elaborate artwork and at the other end of which was a vast bookshelf. Just how a cat would be able to read books the Kitten didn't know, unless it was through his magic. In the center of the room sat Tatterdemalion, the King of Cats, upon a purple cushion. he was a grotesquely fat grey-and-black cat with beady yellow eyes, but after what she'd heard about him the Kitten knew better than to underestimate him. "What do you want?" he growled in the language of cats.

"I am raising up an army of cats to kill my creator, the--"

"What's your name?" interrupted Tatterdemalion.

"I don't need a name!" said the Kitten indignantly. "I am an elemental force of destruction born from the pit of Hell itself!"

"Well, I've got to call you something," said Tatterdemalion. "How about Mittens? That's a nice name..."

"Only if you want to die," said the Kitten indignantly.

"Did you come here for a reason, or merely to threaten me?"

"I was going to tell you. I am raising up an army of cats to kill my creator, the demonspawn Lord Frederigo D'Honaire. He dwells in the island of Irelas in the Southern Isles, not far from here." (The Kitten knew the exact location of Fred at any given time due to a magical bond.) "This island possesses many treasures and much hidden magical knowledge, and if you aid me in sacking it you can have it all. And the cats who work for you can have as much fish as they like." Tatterdemalion responded:

1. "Sounds intriguing,. How do you plan to go about doing this?"
2. "It will take more than that to convince me."
3. "Who are you to think you can barge in here and order me around?" His eyes began to glow red.

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