All Roads Lead to Rome - Home For Rats

“Squeak!” – One rat tells the other there's a new place in town. A place where all rats can go and live in harmony. There's a rat restaurant serving the finest cheese, a rat hotel with rooms for all the rats in Mydreign, and specialised rat milliners who make the finest custom-made hats for all the rats. It's a new town, only made possible thanks to the generous donations of Ragweed, mayor of Rome, the Rat Home.

“Squeak?!” – The other rat can't believe it, too long have rats been without a home. Forced to lives of thievery, piracy, or general mischief just to get by to their next nibble of cheese. Now that that those worries are all gone, they can finally dedicate themselves to their life's dream: eating cheese and wearing hats.

“Squeak.” – The first rat nods. Indeed, this foretells a golden age of rats.

Ratthew is the dealer at table five today. He's good at it too, flipping the cards in such a way the guests are always happy. There's three other rats playing rat blackjack at his table. It's like blackjack, but for rats. It's one of the most popular games in the rat casino, alongside Setting the Sun over the Shade (a game the rats picked up from Khashi Kno's Entertainment Complex). There's a lot to do in Rome, but the rat casino is always full. It's conveniently situated in a corner of KKEC anyway, that means that any critter beastkin is always welcome to join for a few games. If you follow the tunnel in the wall in the rat casino, you get straight back to central Rome. Every day, rats continue forming their own subterranean tunnel network in order to more efficiently transit between the major regions of Myddul. But the rats at table 5 aren't worrying about when the next connection is gonna be finalised; they're all in for this next hit to be a rat ace (it's like an ace, but for rats).

Ratthew pauses. He hovers his paw over the deck. This is the thrill of it for him. The complete uncertainty over what's coming next, but still knowing that you're in control. A rat ace would guarantee the jackpot for all of the other rats at the table, the stinkiest cheese in all of Rome that's been fermenting for weeks. On the other hand, a bust would send them packing, forcing them to be content with whatever delicious, mildly stinky cheddar is available at the rat hotel. Ratthew doesn't care which way it goes. All he cares about is watching the whims of the flip. He turns the card over. Jackpot.

“Sorry I stole your balls a while back, Funn… I was obsessed with stealing then. Even when I wasn't making money of it, I was enjoying it. I'm sorry, I hope you were able to get some more balls and start your game again,” Ragweed apologises to Funn, whilst walking towards Rome together.

“Ah, no worries. You know, a friend actually came along and helped me get even more balls, so now I've got even more than before you stole them. In fact, I've even managed to source a couple of prizes! Funn's Target Takedown is doing better than ever!” Funn replies with great jubilation.

“That's great to hear! Well, nonetheless, I figure I'd do something to say sorry.” Ragweed stops in front of a large hotel, built into the rock not too far away from Lux City. “Welcome to the Rat Hotel! We've prepared especially for your arrival. In particular, we've constructed a new penthouse suite especially for your arrival, to show that Rome is not just a rat home, but a friend home as well.”

Funn seems shocked at the sudden generosity, but follows Ragweed to the rat lift (it's a lift powered by employees running on a wheel in the rat hotel). The lift starts climbing, and it crosses so many floors Funn loses count of just which floor they're on now. The lift just seems to keep on going, being built into a rock truly hides the size of this place. Eventually, light pierces the glass lift and Ragweed and Funn find themselves above ground. The lift rises a bit more, before finally stopping at the penthouse suite. A glass room halfway up to Eagle Rock which looks out across the Sunshade. The room comes with privacy curtain which can span the entire wall.

“Based on your preference, you can leave the curtains as they are for maximum viewing, close them for darkness, or leave them somewhere in-between as suits your needs. I do hope you like the room.” Ragweed gives Funn a quick tour, showing off the fluffy bed and luxury ensuite. There's even a minifridge with complementary snacks (all cheese).

“Wow this is amazing… we're definitely even now, don't worry about those balls anymore!” Funn says as they excitedly run around the room, exploring everything the fancy new room has to offer.

“Excellent, I'll leave you to it then. Many more things to do to make Rome a rat home. See you.” Ragweed steps into the lift and begins the descent down. Meanwhile, Funn leaps into the bed and is immediately absorbed by its softness.

It's the one year anniversary of Rome. Everyone has gathered in the centre to sing the national anthem.

“Happy? I was happy once,
They sent me to Rome,
a rat home,
a rat home with rats,
and rats make me happy. ”

This verse repeats for about 5 minutes.