"I'm sorry," you say to the rat, holding up your map. "I just selected this location out of curiosity. I am afraid I don't have time to do any cleaning." The rat twitches its nose irritably.
"Ah, those maps. . . I really need to speak with the royal map maker to have them remove this destination. . . now that you are here, though, I suppose you want to see a magic trick? That was the main reason I allowed it in the first place. I used to have more time for magic. . ."
You agree to see the trick and the rat scrambles over to a nearby bucket, slips down, and pops back up with a deck of cards. It beckons for you to sit and starts to lay the cards slowly in front of you in a grid formation, five cards across and three cards high. The cards are face down but when the rat gently taps one with its paw, which it does to each in turn, it shimmers and reveals the face side for a moment. You try and remember where each card sits but after a bit you just enjoy watching the rat make the cards flicker from the plain blue backs to their face side and back again. Every so often it twitches its whiskers and glances at you disapprovingly, as if you are the one causing the cards to change.
The rat flicks the card closest to him with his tail and the cards all jump to attention, standing on end before shuffling themselves and forming a neat deck once more.
"Cut the deck please," the rat says. You reach forward to separate the cards, but the rat shakes its head and says, "No, no, no! Like this!" It pushes your hand aside, produces a cleaver from behind your ear, and dramatically chops the deck in two. There is a flash of light and the deck explodes into a rain of sparkling confetti. The rat grins from ear to ear. You applaud the trick. "I am glad you stopped by," the rat says. "Not many people choose this stop on their tour, and it is good to perform again. I hope the remainder of your time in our city is enjoyable.
You should consult your map now."
"Ah, those maps. . . I really need to speak with the royal map maker to have them remove this destination. . . now that you are here, though, I suppose you want to see a magic trick? That was the main reason I allowed it in the first place. I used to have more time for magic. . ."
You agree to see the trick and the rat scrambles over to a nearby bucket, slips down, and pops back up with a deck of cards. It beckons for you to sit and starts to lay the cards slowly in front of you in a grid formation, five cards across and three cards high. The cards are face down but when the rat gently taps one with its paw, which it does to each in turn, it shimmers and reveals the face side for a moment. You try and remember where each card sits but after a bit you just enjoy watching the rat make the cards flicker from the plain blue backs to their face side and back again. Every so often it twitches its whiskers and glances at you disapprovingly, as if you are the one causing the cards to change.
The rat flicks the card closest to him with his tail and the cards all jump to attention, standing on end before shuffling themselves and forming a neat deck once more.
"Cut the deck please," the rat says. You reach forward to separate the cards, but the rat shakes its head and says, "No, no, no! Like this!" It pushes your hand aside, produces a cleaver from behind your ear, and dramatically chops the deck in two. There is a flash of light and the deck explodes into a rain of sparkling confetti. The rat grins from ear to ear. You applaud the trick. "I am glad you stopped by," the rat says. "Not many people choose this stop on their tour, and it is good to perform again. I hope the remainder of your time in our city is enjoyable.
You should consult your map now."
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