Twenty-first of Summer, 517 AV
Being as drunk as Theo was is like looking through the reverse side of a telescope at a picnic: All that is there is there but your eyes get caught on points and linger, and you’re so caught in an experience that new stimuli doesn’t register and you can’t keep the checks on yourself you would like to. All that was there to Theo was the candlelight, the cards, the spoons, and the men around him.
The passengers aboard The Veronica had spent twenty boring days on their way to Syka from Riverfall. Naturally to celebrate the occasion they had decided to get piss drunk, because there is no better way to greet a new land than with a hangover.
Theo had chosen to come to Syka because it was new. A freshly settled people had not the pretensions of an established folk. Even though they brought prejudices, there was no room to exert them with force among people from across the world. Everyone here, except for a founding party which was sure to garner some elite status, was equal. And this is what Theo needed: A fresh start with the chance to build himself into something. Riverfall and Syliras had established hierarchies, both impossible and extremely difficult to penetrate respectively. Theo could be a player in this new town, and with a sword on his back and the elements at his fingertips, Theo’s talents would be needed in this new and hostile world.
The added benefit of escaping those who trailed him further added to Theo’s motivation for the move. Theo didn’t know much, but he knew that he had history in Riverfall by way of some Akalak. The mysterious Adrasto didn’t show himself, and Theo grew increasingly paranoid as the days passed that he was being set up. He would be easier to spot in Syka, sure, but he was less likely to be known as his search continued. Theo had met one Akalak ready to kill him for something this “Revan” had done, who's to say there wasn’t more? There could be some hateful of him in Syka, but those were dice Theo was willing to roll.
Shouldered against the former squire were tradesmen and some off duty sailors. A mixed bunch, but alcohol and the solitude of the sea had the effect of bringing folks together. If anything, it was far more calm than his last time on the open water; if nuits were planning to board and possess The Veronica’s passengers, they were behind schedule. These men were a nice enough sort, Theo was so blitzed drunk he had forgotten their names already, but was anybody in a position to judge?
”Ya’ know, I’m supised’ they even trust us with a candle.” The men all cackled and bantered quickly before one asserted the next round be played.
The game was simple. Each player was given four cards at the start and there was four of the same card for every person in play. In the center of the table were spoons equivalent to the number of players minus one. Starting at the dealer and heading to the left, each player choose a card to pass off to their neighbour in lightning succession. Once someone had assembled four of the same card, they had permission to take a spoon. They could take the spoon in whichever way they wished, they could grab it quickly and deliberately, or they could be sneaky and try avoid the detection of the other players. What happened from there was essentially lawless: Players had to grab a spoon in anyway possible, the only rule being that once a spoon was had by someone no one else could contest it, but even the smallest grip meant that someone was in a fight for the spoon. Of course, you didn’t want to rock someone’s jaw for a game (unless you were trying to get tossed overboard), but it wasn’t unheard of. Everyone except the loser took a shot, and if someone lost three times they had to take all their lost shots in a row.
The sailor opposite Theo had just suffered that agonizing fate, and had to rush up onto the deck to hurl overboard. A man took his place and the dealer dealt the cards. Inside Theo’s hand: A four, a six, a two, and another four. The cards came quickly to him and he passed off his two to the left.
Word Count = 464+743=1207/50000
Your mother wouldn't approve of me.
