EMPRESS DECREES 'RAT PACK' EXILED AMIDST COURT CASE FIASCO
This evening everyone in Lampas gathered at the Heritage House for the court case of the Royal Navy vs. the Lampas Rats. Navy Admiral Pomodoro was representing the Navy and presented a long list of charges aimed at the Rats, including charity fraud, attempted murder, hit & run, obstructing justice, and attempted murder. Representing the rats was Pepper Jack fighting these claims on grounds of wrongful assaults on rat kind, discrimination against rats, and "lacking of major rizz."
Before Archduchess Elizabeth Montclair could review the witness statements, things took an unexpected turn when Navy Admiral Pomodoro announced he was dropping his case. The attention in the courtroom was turned towards Conrad Moneyhill. The admiral claimed that the merchant had been conspiring against the Empress and the people of Lampus by constructing a cheese factory on the edge of town. Several citizens were quoted talking about the conditions of the water around the factory—the waste spreading into the rivers nearby.
Before the charges against Moneyhill could be presented, a broadcast directly from the Empress was heard on the radio. The official decree stated that the members of the Rat Pack were to be exiled from Lampas. Shortly after this shocking news, Batala, the large glowing golem that recently arrived in Lampas, stormed into the court, assisting the rats in their escape. It's unknown why the empress would pass such a decree on short notice, but she's the greatest authority in the Elandrian Empire; her decree must be followed by all citizens of Lampas.