Scene 1: you don't get it!
King Carl led Jack into his laboratory.
"Welcome," King Carl said, "This is where the magic happens! No pun intended"
"This is incredible!" responded Jack. It was a complete alchemist's lab and, judging by the gold from which the equipment was made, a very successful one.
"This was where my kingship was built," King Carl continued. "When I was a clever young boy like you, I was 7th in line to the throne. I never dreamed of becoming king but I found my love here in the alchemy lab. Alchemy was considered at the time more of a hobby than a genuine profession. Before me, only a handful of wizards had turned lead to gold successfully and, even then, only a handful of times. I perfected the process and voila! Gold!"
"Wow," Jack whispered to himself turning over a gold coin in his hand.
"I would have liked to continue my studies but, turns out none of my older brothers and sisters wanted the throne. Neither did I really, it's a lot of paperwork. Anyway, when you're the youngest of 7, you don't always get to choose what you do."
"I understand, I have four older sisters. They all laugh at me and think my magic is stupid." Jack cringed as he said it, this place was known for magic. The thought of magic being stupid would be heresy!
"Stupid! What realm are you from where magic is considered stupid!"
"Earth," Jack said sullenly.
"Oh... That explains it, nothing good comes from Earth." King Carl said with a taste of bitterness, "Wait! if you came from Earth then how did you learn magic? Earth has no source to draw from."
His cover was blown. Jack had to make a choice, to stretch the lie or to come clean...
COME CLEAN
He decided to come clean but he would have to be careful about how he did it. He would have to play an element of flattery "Do you use The Source when you do Alchemy?"
"Of course not it's a chemical process!"
"I would still consider it magic though, wouldn't you. It is certainly equally impressive if not more!"
"Yes, I would consider it magic," King Carl responded
"Card tricks, like Alchemy, do not require a magical source, their magic is built on an order of operations. But rather than manipulate matter, they manipulate peoples' perceptions."
"Fascinating! you truly must show me how this works."
Jack let out a sigh of relief. He felt like he had just dodged a bullet. What trick should he show the king? It should be one that is complex enough that the king would be impressed with its cleverness but simple enough that the King wouldn't mess it up on his first attempt and feel like he had been made a fool of.
LIE ABOUT IT
He couldn't come clean, not in the presence of the king! He could be killed for treason or something. He could lie his way out, he was a performer after all. The question was what did he want to get out of it. Jack was hit by a sudden pang of homesickness. He knew what he wanted.
"Of course not! I would never have learned this if it did! The source itself is not powerful enough for such precision."
"Then how did you do it!" King Carl looked angry.
"A magician never shares his secrets," Jack said snobbily.
"You Nitwit! I could send you back to that magic forsaken planet with the snap of my fingers. You are in no position to barter with me boy." Steaming now, King Carl took a threatening step towards Jack.
Jack didn't flinch, that was the line he had been waiting for. With all the confidence of an elementary school taunt, he threw down the gauntlet.
"You couldn't if you tried!"
At that, the king snapped and Jack disappeared from sight.
POTENTIAL EDITS:
describe alchemy lab
let on that the king has a temper
"Welcome," King Carl said, "This is where the magic happens! No pun intended"
"This is incredible!" responded Jack. It was a complete alchemist's lab and, judging by the gold from which the equipment was made, a very successful one.
"This was where my kingship was built," King Carl continued. "When I was a clever young boy like you, I was 7th in line to the throne. I never dreamed of becoming king but I found my love here in the alchemy lab. Alchemy was considered at the time more of a hobby than a genuine profession. Before me, only a handful of wizards had turned lead to gold successfully and, even then, only a handful of times. I perfected the process and voila! Gold!"
"Wow," Jack whispered to himself turning over a gold coin in his hand.
"I would have liked to continue my studies but, turns out none of my older brothers and sisters wanted the throne. Neither did I really, it's a lot of paperwork. Anyway, when you're the youngest of 7, you don't always get to choose what you do."
"I understand, I have four older sisters. They all laugh at me and think my magic is stupid." Jack cringed as he said it, this place was known for magic. The thought of magic being stupid would be heresy!
"Stupid! What realm are you from where magic is considered stupid!"
"Earth," Jack said sullenly.
"Oh... That explains it, nothing good comes from Earth." King Carl said with a taste of bitterness, "Wait! if you came from Earth then how did you learn magic? Earth has no source to draw from."
His cover was blown. Jack had to make a choice, to stretch the lie or to come clean...
COME CLEAN
He decided to come clean but he would have to be careful about how he did it. He would have to play an element of flattery "Do you use The Source when you do Alchemy?"
"Of course not it's a chemical process!"
"I would still consider it magic though, wouldn't you. It is certainly equally impressive if not more!"
"Yes, I would consider it magic," King Carl responded
"Card tricks, like Alchemy, do not require a magical source, their magic is built on an order of operations. But rather than manipulate matter, they manipulate peoples' perceptions."
"Fascinating! you truly must show me how this works."
Jack let out a sigh of relief. He felt like he had just dodged a bullet. What trick should he show the king? It should be one that is complex enough that the king would be impressed with its cleverness but simple enough that the King wouldn't mess it up on his first attempt and feel like he had been made a fool of.
LIE ABOUT IT
He couldn't come clean, not in the presence of the king! He could be killed for treason or something. He could lie his way out, he was a performer after all. The question was what did he want to get out of it. Jack was hit by a sudden pang of homesickness. He knew what he wanted.
"Of course not! I would never have learned this if it did! The source itself is not powerful enough for such precision."
"Then how did you do it!" King Carl looked angry.
"A magician never shares his secrets," Jack said snobbily.
"You Nitwit! I could send you back to that magic forsaken planet with the snap of my fingers. You are in no position to barter with me boy." Steaming now, King Carl took a threatening step towards Jack.
Jack didn't flinch, that was the line he had been waiting for. With all the confidence of an elementary school taunt, he threw down the gauntlet.
"You couldn't if you tried!"
At that, the king snapped and Jack disappeared from sight.
POTENTIAL EDITS:
describe alchemy lab
let on that the king has a temper
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