(Scars do not appear to be cause of death –shock ... - Bad Request

"When in Sigil-"
I gave the man's wares another look.
Each rat had been skinned and gutted, their feet and tails removed; they
dangled from the pole by hooks punched though their necks. As I examined
the various manners in which they've been prepared, I noticed their heads
were slightly misshapen -- a bulbous knot of bone protruded from each
cranium, covered in whorls that gave them the appearance of brain tissue.
"Those are strange-looking rats."
"Ah, ye've got a keen eye there, cutter! All I sell is brain vermin, I do... I'm
sure ye'll find they've got a much richer flavor than yer usual rat. Quite nice,
really!" He proffered them to me once more, waving the pole before my
face enticingly... the rats swayed to and fro, hooked like tiny sides of beef.
"Brain vermin?" Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all.
"Aye, cutter, brain vermin. Foul creatures, they are. Now, yer normal rats,
they just eat stored goods an' multiply, spread disease an' all that... a
nuisance, really, no more. Yer cranium rat, though -- brain vermin, wot I go
after -- they're just trouble. When ye get more than a 'andful a' the little
pikers together, they start to get smart on ye... sometimes real smart."
Those bony whorls caught my eye again, "They become more intelligent?"
"Sure as I'm standin' here before ye, they do! If I ran across any more than
two score of 'em, I'd flee for me case like that..." He snapped his fingers, to
emphasize the point. "...I would! Ye get that many of 'em in a pack, why...
why, they gets smart as a man, they do!"
He leaned in close, "Here's my best advice for ye, cutter... if ye're bent on
catchin' brain vermin, stick to small packs. A dozen or so, at most. But I'll tell
ye..." He stepped close, his breath fetid in my face, and spoke in a hushed
tone: "Ye run into more than that... more than a couple dozen... ye run like
ye're in the shadow of the Lady!" He backed away from me again.
I stepped away as well, "Why? What is there to fear?"
"Sorcery, cutter... sorcery! Ye gets enough of those lil' fiends in a space, they
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