Rug Rats

"If only I had a magic lamp, I'd wish for this job to be over!"

- Salim al-Kupar

"Rug Rats" was a job for Salim al-Kupar in "40 Thieves" of Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time.

Background
Salim must sneak inside a tower and climb to the top to rescue the Panther.

Synopsis
Bentley directs Salim to the tower ahead, stating that is where Miss Decibel has placed the Panther. He explains that navigating the palace itself would be impossible, but going through Honest Hassan's Carpet shop would save them some trouble. Before Salim tries to tell a story about how he and Honest Hassan used to run a flying carpet scam, Bentley cuts him off, saying they are pressed for time. He explains to him that the shop is connected to the tower. There is a vent system on one side of the building. Salim must crawl through it to get inside the shop.

Once inside, Salim must utilize his Climbing Cobra technique to reach high places. Once Salim reaches the top of the first room, he comes across a second room below him. Bentley informs him that this room does not match the one on his blueprints, and assumes it must have been renovated recently. Salim explains to him that rule #37 in the Thievius Raccoonus states "Expect the Unexpected, Foresee the Unforeseen, Predict the Unpredictable." Bentley's explains that his sonar readings show an old passageway through a cave system underneath the floor. In the right-hand corner above the floor is a pallet of carpets, which Salim must drop to break through the floor and get into the underground cavern. The cave is swarming with nasty diablo scorpions, which he must either avoid or clear out by smashing the nests.

Salim ventures through the cavern and once again utilizes his Climbing Cobra Technique to get inside the tower. Once there, he must activate a lever located in the center of the room, which will lift up a pole he can climb onto to help him climb the other objects in the tower. After doing some lots of climbing, he reaches the room with the Panther, who is being hypnotized by a sonic device. Before freeing him, Bentley will need to hack the device to shut it off, but he explains that they need to proceed carefully, or they risk turning the Panther's brain into jelly.

After Bentley finishes hacking, the device shuts down, and the Panther snaps out of his trance, with his head spinning. He then asks Salim where he's at. Salim explains to him that he has been captured, hypnotized and forced to make forgeries for Miss Decibel, but he came to rescue him with Bentley's assistance. Not caring much about that, the Panther asks him if he's brought any food such as scorpion tails and camel milk, despite all of the tiresome climbing Salim did to rescue him.

Trivia

 * While traveling through the caves below Honest Hassan's Carpets, there are piles of bones, some of which are human skulls.
 * When Salim first encounters the cobras, he exclaims "Snakes! Why did it have to be snakes?!?" This is a reference to the film Raiders of the Lost Ark, where Indiana Jones says this when he encounters a pit full of various snakes.
 * When Salim says that he would wish for the job to be over if he had a magic lamp, it could be a reference to the Middle Eastern folktale Aladdin.
 * Aladdin is also mentioned in the job.