- second level of the labyrinth beneath the fortress -

a small room. in the middle a huge desk. paper scrolls, books, a chess-board, quills. a singular playing card lies in the middle of the desk. it's an ace. someone scribbled a note in minuscule letters on it:

"Some people see a magic trick and say, 'Impossible!' They clap their hands, turn over their money, and forget about it ten minutes later. Other people ask how it worked: They go home, get into bed, toss and turn, wondering how it was done. It takes them a good night's sleep to forget all about it. And then there are the ones who stay awake, running through the trick again and again, looking for that skip in perception, the crack in the illusion that will explain how their eyes got duped; they're the kind who won't rest until they've mastered that little bit of mystery for themselves. I'm that kind."

- Kaz in "Six of Crows"