Online:The Rat

The Rat (lore page)
Location	Imperial City, Arena District
Race	Reachman	Gender	Male
Health	39,959
Reaction	Friendly
Other Information
Faction(s)	Blackdrake Clan

The Rat

The Rat is a Reachman found in the Imperial City. Rather than returning to the Reach after Emperor Leovic was deposed, he remained in the City and hid in the Imperial Sewers when the Daedra came. The experience has left him slightly deranged, but he possesses intimate knowledge of the City's hidden passages and will help you thwart Molag Bal's plans.

Related Quests

• The Watcher in the Walls: Turn the tables on the Daedra in the Imperial Arena.
• The Sublime Brazier: Put an end to Molag Bal's plot in the Imperial City.

Quest-Related Events

The Watcher in the Walls

At your Alliance Rally Point in the Arena District, you will find a Bloody Scroll penned by The Rat. He offers to reveal a secret about Molag Bal's plots if you put on a show for him in the Arena, which is currently being used by the invading Daedra under the command of Dredaza the Ringmaster.

The Rat in the Arena

After defeating all the Daedra in the Imperial City Arena, The Rat will invite you to his little hideaway in the Arena Storage Room.

The Rat: "Your delightful slaughter has impressed The Rat! Come, come! We have much to talk about!"

Speak with him.

'"The Rat was entertained! Oh, most entertained! The Daedra … not so much. No, they weren't entertained at all."

In your note, you claimed to have information about Molag Bal's plan for Imperial City. What is it?

"Yes, yes! The Rat has ears to the ground. Ears to the walls! My little friends are everywhere and they hear secrets whispered by Daedra big and small. Tasty secrets.
These Daedra plot and whisper, you see, and The Rat listens. He always listens."

That's great. So what has The Rat heard these Daedra say?

"They speak of the Dragonfires! They seek to snuff them out forever, oh yes. The Rat heard this quite clearly.
No Dragonfires ever again. No more Dragon-God promises. No more Eight-blessed emperors in shiny hats. Just death and slavery, forever!"

But the Dragonfires have already been extinguished.

"For now. Only for now! Don't you know the story? When Alessia's heirs wear the Amulet of Kings, the fires will burn again! Even a mighty Daedric Prince must hide from such a light!
Unless Molag Bal erases them, of course. Unless that happens."

How could Molag Bal "erase" the Dragonfires?

"You beg The Rat to share all his crumbs? No, no. The Rat has said enough!
You want more, greedy one? Find the Drake of Blades. She's close, very close. Down in the sewers. She would like to nibble on this crumb, oh yes. Tell her the Prince's plan!"

Fine. I'll speak to the Drake of Blades in the Imperial sewers.

You can speak to him again to learn about the mysterious mouse man:

"No, no. You've had your fill. No more secrets. Off! Of with you!"

Why do you call yourself "The Rat"?

"Oh, The Rat doesn't call himself "The Rat." The people call him that. I call him that too, but that's because I'm a person.
People get us confused sometimes. The Rat doesn't know why though … and frankly, neither do I."

Where did you come from?

"The sewers, of course. That's where most of the rats live. The Rat was tired of being down there though.
A long, long time ago, before he was The Rat, he remembers being up here, in the city. He even had a friend. He was a trusted advisor."

Advisor to whom?

Oh, Emperor Leovic. He was a sharp one, such a good sense of humor … until he died of course.
That's when his friends took him down to the sewers. The Emperor wasn't very fun anymore, but then the friend met The Rat. That made things better."

You took Emperor Leovic's corpse into the sewers?

"No, no—that wasn't me. That was someone else. I'm The Rat, you see? I didn't even know the Emperor before he died.
And now, well, The Rat and the Emperor don't really get along anymore."

The Sublime Brazier

At the beginning of this quest, you will be tasked by the Drake of Blades with locating a Marked Barrel in the Imperial Sewers where The Rat has left a Crumpled Letter. It can be found close to a District sewer grate in Irrigation Tunnels,  Lambent Passage, or  Harena Hypogeum.

Cut Content

The Rat had more dialogue before the Imperial City DLC was overhauled. He was also involved in several cut quests: Between Bouts, As Above, So Below, Lambs to the Slaughter, and The Rat's Bane.

"The Rat does not have time to talk to strangers all day! He has very important things to do, important people to talk to.
If you wish an audience with the Rat, you will have to come back another time."

"The Rat detects a familiar scent. Yes. This is the smell of a friend.
He's grateful that you're his friend and not to all these others. They may need help, but do they deserve it? The Rat thinks not."

"The Rat is flattered that you keep wanting to chat with him. Those others, they never talked to the Rat … that's why he doesn't care.
Even if they need help, it's not the Rat's problem."

"For a long, long time, the Rat never left the sewers. He likes the air better out here, but not the people … present company excepted, of course.
All these others, they're just self-centered bastards. They may need help, but the Rat doesn't care."

As Above, So Below

"Me, no, nothing wrong with me. It's good here, no screaming and only a little blood. It's worse down there, far worse. Never going back there again, not me. Unless they want me to. Who can refuse them?"

^{presumably asking where}

"The Bloodworks, of course! You haven't seen? You should, you should! It goes deep beneath the arena. Blessedly cool, wonderfully dark. Go and see for yourself. Perhaps free a poor soul or two.
And if they ask, tell them the Rat sent you."

Between Bouts

"The Rat hopes you find the arena fighters before the Daedra make them fight again.
They need poultices or the fights won't even be interesting to watch, and that's really what the Rat cares about."

Returning to him after delivering the poultices:

"The Rat heard the announcements for arena fights, and he thought he heard the name "Anthas."
Does that mean you were able to deliver the poultices?"

"The Rat hopes you find the arena fighters before the Daedra make them fight again.
They need poultices or the fights won't even be interesting to watch, and that's really what the Rat cares about."

Lambs to the Slaughter

Accepting the quest for the first time:

"New to the city, are you? Yes. The Rat can tell by your scent—clean with no fear. Everyone else here reeks of their own waste.
They made sport of the Rat, but now the Daedra make sport of them. Now they need help, and no one cares."

^(?)

"The sheep are all over the city, but they are all being herded to the Arena.
You don't need to save all of them from slaughter, just a few really. Enough so the Rat can watch them suffer and feel better about himself."

Returning to him after rescuing the civilians:

"The Rat's ears are keen. They have heard the bleating of the grateful little lambs.
In fact, the Rat thinks there was a little too much bleating. Perhaps you have saved too many. There may be an overpopulation issue now."

The Rat's Bane

"If the Rat were you, he would try not to let the fleshy mess get too close.
What if that condition is contagious?"

"Ew! You've got bits of that barrel-belly's fleshiness all over you. That makes even the Rat's stomach turn, and he eats in the sewers.
So you killed this barrel-belly yourself?"

Notes

• The Rat is featured in Mycaelis Julus Answers Your Questions, where he murders the sewer architect Mycaelis Julus and takes over the interview to answer lore questions.