Bob wasn’t nearly as surprised as Koffurn had hoped. The Legate frowned and stopped drumming his fingers. The story’s grandeur was ruined, though a few embellishments would solve that issue when he told his side of the story. Koffurn had half a mind to sweep the cards off the table with his projection and end the game when Bob denied his cheating, but Koffurn decided not to. There were plenty of reasons to deny cheating. Bob could be ashamed or embarrassed. Those were two emotions Koffurn rarely felt but understood fairly well. He may deny cheating but perhaps he won’t cheat... Perhaps that is due to honor or fear, but regardless, it is better than complete deceit. Bob talked about playing to the best of his abilities. Abilities that Koffurn had no doubt were sleight of hand and trickery, but that didn’t matter. Bob’s skills would be very useful in a friend and his lie almost made Koffurn trust him more, if not in his person than in his abilities or usefulness. Koffurn got a twenty. He rejoiced a little. Bob would surely have a hard time matching that even if he cheated. He decided that drawing another card would be greedy and idiotic so he sat there and waited for his opponent. Bob went over and lost the game. Koffurn truly believed that the last hand had been done honestly and without the use of cheating. He could vouch for his side, and why would Bob lose? Bob decided to be good on his side of the bargain and offered himself up for questions, but Koffurn realized that he didn’t really want to know the questions just yet. If he learned every nitty-gritty aspect of Bob, there would be no adventure or mystery in their future interactions. He looked up at the ceiling and said, “I don’t know what I want to know, Ser Bob. Perhaps I would like to know if I could trust you know. Can I trust you? Allies are one of the most valuable things in Sunberth. I would think we both would benefit from a mutual friendship.” He thought for another minute. Technically, even though the first was a practice round, they had both won two rounds. Koffurn felt it a little unfair that they were sort of tied and he had won. Victory has never tasted so sour! He thought dramatically though he didn’t really mean it. The Legate decided that he could give Bob what he had wanted. Finding someone to wear or test his wares was difficult. If Bob wanted a Maledicted item, Koffurn would gladly oblige. He continued, “Let’s be honest Bob, this game was win win for both us. You may have lost and I will torment you about that for the rest of our days living, but I would still like to make you something. I wouldn’t want bitterness to be the soil in which our alliance is planted. Only backstabbing and death can result from such an unwholesome environment.” |