Honour Rae
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Chapter 33: A Rare Deal
🕑 Added 2022-08-04 04:54:54 +0000 UTCBy all rights, Arthur should have woken up at the morning bell dead with exhaustion.
Instead, it was as if his limbs were charged with bits of lightning. What he had seen last night — real demonstrations of what cards were capable of — had set his mind ablaze with possibilities.
He wanted a card that worked like that, but even more… He wanted to find out what his own card could be capable of. The wonders he’d seen came from Uncommon cards. He had a Legendary.
Would he be able to out-skill someone in the arena?
He would never find out if he didn’t push the limits.
So, even though Arthur disliked his Tidying skill, the moment he got up he started making his bed. He had advanced Tidying more or less accidentally up to the threshold between basic and apprentice. As a result, when he was finished, the blankets were tight on the frame, the pillow neatly placed without so much as a wrinkle. It was as if he hadn’t slept there at all.
Horatio still lay in his bed, looking like a wrung-out rag.
Arthur reached out to poke the other boy. "Come on, Theo. It's breakfast time."
Horatio cracked open one eye and scowled at him. "Don't call me Theo." With effort, he sat up. His dark hair was a mess and there were shadows under his eyes. Squinting, he looked at Arthur accusingly. "How are you so bright and cheery?”
Arthur flashed him a smile. "Because there are still two more days of the Harvest Festival."
He had gotten that factoid out of the other boy during their walk back to the orphanage last night. Harvest Festivals around the hives usually lasted three days in total. It was something to do with the full phase of the moon. "You're watching the duels with me tonight, right?"
"You're paying?"
"Yeah.” That was an easy promise to make. He had plans to make that money back.
Horatio instantly brightened.
That night, Arthur let Horatio claim seating in the arena’s stands. Arthur himself went by the betting booths to see what his gambling class could do for him.
A list of each of the upcoming duels on a painted board behind the booths. It listed the name of each of the competitors, a win/loss ratio, and the current odds.
The first duel was to be between two men with body enhancement cards:
Hammerhead Harry versus The Destroyer.
The Destroyer had won five of his last duels. Hammerhead Harry hadn't ever dueled before. So the officials had given The Destroyer a 3-to-1 odds to win.
Arthur bit his lip, considering.
The smart thing to do would be to place his hard-earned coppers on Destroyer. But he didn't like the minuscule payout.
Besides, Hammerhead was brand-new. That meant he was a complete wildcard. Plus, he had an intimidating name.
He hoped this was his gambler class whispering wisdom in his mind and not a moment of foolishness.
"Two coppers on Hammerhead," Arthur said, giving it to an official at the booth.
The man pocketed the coins and wrote the receipt on a slip of paper before stamping it and handing it back to Arthur. "Good luck, son."
Grinning, Arthur went to find Horatio who had gone off to find them seats.
"They actually let you bet?" Horatio asked. "Didn't give you any trouble over you being a kid?”
"I told you," Arthur said. "Coins talk."
Horatio rolled his eyes. "A decent city wouldn't allow it, but whatever. Are you going to buy us popcorn, or what?"
"Sorry," Arthur said, cheerily. "Those were my last two coppers. You'd better hope I win."
Moments later, the competitors were announced.
To Arthur's intense disappointment, Hammerhead Harry had a completely normal-looking head. He also came out looking like a farmer, overalls and all.
Horatio noticed, too. He whooped in laughter and elbowed Arthur on the side. "That's who you bet on, right? Is he your kin?”
"No. Shut up."
The Destroyer, in complete contrast, wore almost no clothing at all save for brilliant red shorts that seemed much too small. He was a mountain of a man with bulging muscles. Arthur had to admit to himself, that unfortunately, he looked exactly like a destroyer should.
Because this was a duel between two body enhancers, each competitor was given a bag of colored chalk dust, wrapped in a cheesecloth. Letting the bag drop from his hand would create a small cloud of chalk dust. That would mark the loser.
The moment the sign to begin was announced, the Destroyer charged at Hammerhead full speed.
Hammerhead put up an arm as if in surprise but did not attempt to dodge.
He was hit and was sent, literally rolling, across half the arena.
But Hammerhead kept his hold on the chalk dust bag. And, when he climbed to his feet, he only brushed himself off with his free hand. There wasn't a scratch on him.
With a roar, The Destroyer charged again.
That set the tone for the rest of the duel. The Destroyer batted Hammerhead twice around the arena, resorting to punches and kicks when full-body tackles proved to have no effect.
Hammerhead took every hit easily. Not once did it seem he was about to drop his bag.
Soon, the Destroyer was sweaty, red-faced, and looking winded.
"Do you think they're using mana?" Arthur asked.
"Dunno," Horatio said. "Usually body enhancement works on stamina – your own strength. Though Hammerhead might be." He squinted. "Maybe at the point when he gets hit?”
With a frustrated yell, The Destroyer ran at Hammerhead again.
For the first time, Hammerhead moved. He grabbed the tired man, stopping him in his tracks which was a surprise considering how big he was.
Then Hammerhead leaned back and head-butted the other man.
There was a crack of light as their foreheads connected.
The Destroyer fell like the strings had been cut from him. His chalk dust bag rolled free in a cloud of red.
Hammerhead had won.
"Now that was mana," Horatio yelled, over the cheers of the crowd.
Arthur was cheering, too. He had just turned his last two coppers into six.
"I'm going to place another bet," he told Horatio before the crowd had even settled.
They left the arena after the last match of the night.
Horatio gave Arthur a disgusted look. "I can't believe you turned two coppers into a whole silver. You must have the luck of a rare dragon."
"I didn't win all the bets," Arthur said, modestly.
Though he had won enough to come out substantially ahead. It had also given him the experience he needed to add a new skill.
New skill gained: Game proficiency: Duel Betting
Due to your card’s bonus traits, and your Gambler class bonus to skills with an arithmetic foundation, you automatically start this skill at level 8.
The card had also given him an option to add it to his gambler class, but Arthur had declined. His gambler class was made up of an average of all of those class skills, so he wanted to fatten Duel Betting up before he added it.
Still, he was riding high on his own success… Even though he was exhausted from two nights of lost sleep that it felt like bees were buzzing around in his brain.
He and Horatio were walking out with the bulk of the crowd when a strident, annoyed voice caught Arthur's attention.
"Marteen! Stop!”
Arthur turned on his heel, his stomach dropping down to his shoes.
Sure enough, Marteen the silver and her hapless rider were again searching the square.
Seeing them, Horatio chuckled. "Come on, if we don't get back soon, you’ll have to carry me the rest of the way."
But that direction, and the flow of the crowd, would take him past the silver.
Arthur stayed rooted in place. "Isn't there another way home?"
"What? Are you kidding? I'm dead on my feet. I'm not going the long way. Come on." He hooked Arthur under the arm and tugged him forward.
Arthur tried to bully his brain into making an excuse, but nothing came. Just the sound of bees. All that came out was, "I can't."
"Why not?" But Horatio was grumpy, not an idiot. He followed Arthur's gaze to the silver dragon who was sniffing hopefully at every passing person.
His eyes narrowed, and to Arthur's shock, he hauled Arthur across the crowd – away from Marteen, but to a dead end. They stopped in the shadow of some hastily erected stalls, now empty thanks to the late night.
Horatio looked him up and down. "You don't have a gambling card," he said flatly. "One of the official’s trap cards would have caught you cheating."
Arthur started to open his mouth to deny everything, but then he blinked. “They have those?”
Seemed like enhanced skills didn’t count as cheating. Though, it had been mostly luck that had helped him guess the winners. It wasn't like he had used mana to tilt the odds or see the future.
Horatio glared down at him. "You haven't said you don't have a card."
Well… Damn.
"Don't tell," Arthur said. "It's not like I don't want to be a dragon rider. I just…” He trailed off, unsure how to say it.
"Yeah," Horatio ran a hand back through his hair, glancing over his shoulder in disgust at the silver. "There's a difference between wanting that future, and being dragged into it."
Arthur looked at him in surprise. "Yeah. That's it. Exactly."
Horatio turned his scowl back on him. "Judging by the way that silver came back, you’ve got a high card."
Arthur didn't say anything, but the look on his face must have confirmed everything.
Horatio let out a long breath. “Of course the stupid kid has a high card,” he muttered under his breath.
Arthur flared up. "I’m not a kid. I'm older than you, I bet! I'm going to grow soon, just you watch. But I have to… I have to get a low card in me, because if someone finds out what I have… I have no parents to protect me.” His voice broke. He hadn't meant to say any of this, but it was as if telling Horatio just a little bit of the truth had cracked open a dam to all of his fears. "During the scourge-eruption, I saw a dragon rider die. I don't know if I want to be one of them."
"They die all the time,” Horatio said, his voice flat and dead. “Why do you think they’re always pushing kids at new hatchings?” He sighed. “Give me your silver coin.”
Arthur looked up at him, stunned. "Why?”
Horatio was going to rob him? Blackmail him for the knowledge?
Horatio rolled his eyes. "Hurry up. We need to get some scent on you before the crowd thins too much. I can walk past it — I never got my card," he added, sourly.
Arthur hesitated, but he didn't have much of a choice.
Taking the hard-won silver out of his pocket, he pressed it into Horatio's hand.
Horatio spun and without another word, marched down the block confidently past the silver. The young dragon didn't give him so much as a sniff.
Arthur stayed in place, pressing up against the side of the stall to stay in the shadows. What if Horatio didn't return?
But less than ten minutes later, he did, carrying a tin of something in his hands. He opened it and Arthur found paper-rolled cigarettes.
"Tobacco?”
"Yeah, and some matches. Here's your change." Horatio passed both items to him, as well as two coppers.
Sticking one of the rolled cigarettes in between his lips, Horatio showed him how smoking was done. Arthur coughed like his lungs were trying to jump out of his mouth. The smoke tasted disgusting, but the spicy, complicated scent of tobacco was soon thick in the air.
With Arthur still coughing, the two boys walked on the other side of the street from the silver. He didn't dare look at Marteen, but no one called after him.
After rounding the corner, Arthur threw his cigarette down. He felt nauseated but also exhilarated.
Horatio took a practiced drag of his cigarette and then tapped the ashes. "It's a bad habit, but there's something about tobacco that confuses magic."
“Thank you,” Arthur said.
"Don't thank me," Horatio said. "You owe me."
A cold feeling warmed its way into Arthur's gut. Owing Second had almost got him killed.
“What do you want?"
“You don't want anyone to know about your high card? Fine. On one condition."
Horatio gave a final drag to his cigarette and then threw it down and crushed it under his shoe. "I need a rare card of my own."
Comments
Smaug
Epub is far better option than just posting the chapter on on Patreon as the website is kinda laggy and not well formatted. For anyone needing a good epub reader, on Android ReadEra is a great one.
Starved Consumer
Yes it did. It's contrived and redundant, especially given the stakes it presents to the MC. It nearly broke my suspension of disbelief.
Saaski
Did it though? People are allowed to go to the same place twice in a row…
Honour Rae
Thanks for letting me know. There were a lot of unique situations for reading, including yours, and it seemed the PDF and ePub was only causing problems. As you said, it didn't stop them though I had to give it a try. I went ahead and uploaded the pure text for this chapter so you should be able to read it now.
Notcreepycreeper
Hey, im here to say that i actually really like the gambler/vices thing. Its been a staple of some of my favorite fantasy characters through the years. And it leaves a choice as the story goes on to keep the lighthearted version, withor make it a point of character development as this kid grows up and has to deal with the risks/consequences of easy money
Opnion: my opinion was written in google Translate so sorry for any grammar mistakes. I prefer to read the story on Patreon because I need to translate using the mobile browser. I can't do this in a pdf or epub. If a person wants to pirate your content, they will do it anyway. I don't know if you know a writer called IvanKal, he writes infinite realm on Royal Road, on Patreon he puts a link to his site with a password for the person to read the story, and still people pirate it. So in my opinion it won't change anything if the person wants to pirate your story. Thanks!
Joshua Flowers
So far the stakes have been so low that I think he's fine. I'd imagine any greater gambling halls or higher stake card sharks have much better anti cheats in place or are much better cheaters than Arthur.
Obran
Honestly I would kind of like it if he did go the hookers and blow route. I just don’t like wanna see him go the “I can solve all my problems with games of chance” especially when everyone knows even in this non magic world most games are rigged, and the house always wins. Can’t imagine how bad it would be where magic works.
Honour Rae
Yeah, where I grew up the whole leaf had mystical connections with nature. Not… like cigarettes you buy in a store, but adding the leaf to a campfire. But I can see it’s not working for people. It is what it is.
Honour Rae
Have to admit, even as a non-smoker I am a little surprised at the neg reaction to him smoking. But, as I’m shamelessly using you guys as a bellweather, I’m taking that into consideration. If it doesn’t work, it doesn’t work. I might change it to something else, like peppermint leaves in the ebook draft. Or just make up a plant. To answer your question, Arthur is not going to turn into a degenerate gambler with a life of hookers and blow. ;)
Honour Rae
Lol. I might have to change it to mint leaves or something in a future version based on the neg reaction to tobacco. Maybe peppermint leaves? Hmm. Coffee beans? The thing about alpha particles isn’t too far off from what I’m picturing. I grew up on in a place where tobacco (the whole leaf) was seen as something that enhanced the connection between the spiritual world and the regular world. It’s not my religion, not my culture, but I thought it would be cool to add as an anti-field. Basically, it doesn’t obscure so much as confuse the magic enough to make the Silver not understand where the ‘weight’ of the high value card is coming from.
Obran
At the very minimum, if you are going to go down this route introduce a rare anti cheating card, make it one of the most common rare cards around, and give it the ability to detect and prevent cheating from anyone using a rare card or less. Still not fond of the amount of gambling necessary to get someone up from a couple coppers to a rare card though.
Obran
Is this story going to turn into a story of a degenerate gambler trying to justify their addiction? Because if it is, let me know right now so I can cancel my subscription.
Alexander
You could also try html that tends to work better on the Patreon mobile app
Geoffrey Reed
The PDFs are fine on the iphone.
Pebble
I have been wondering about how that might work. Sure, covering cards with a stack of tobacco leaves to mask scent isn't that far fetched, but how does simply smoking it mask the scent on a Human? My current thinking is that cards give off something sort of like alpha radiation, except not really. The tobacco plants absorb the "particles" the cards give off. The Human body does as well, except when one exhales. The breath carries that "scent", and smoking tobacco maybe makes it bind with it, preventing it from traveling freely to be picked up by a Silver, for instance. It's a long shot, but I can't come up with anything else at the moment. Though if it's anywhere close to the mark, it would be interesting if holding one's breath could also work in a pinch. One thing I wonder about is if tobacco is the only one, or if it's simply the most efficient at masking the scent. Perhaps there are herbs that can be used as well? Maybe Arthur will go around chewing mint leaves?
HeartHawk
There are plenty of apps (at least on android) to read pdfs and epubs so i dont mind not having raw text uploads. (Kindle reader works but I use an app called ReadEra lots of customization if anyone wanted a rec)
Starved Consumer
Also explains why Second had that card set buried under a pile of tobacco leaves.
Alphafenrir401
Huh tobacco and magic not liking each other that's a new one on me but strangely seems fitting lol
Pebble
Horatio believes Arthur has only 1 card, and it's Rare. If Arthur were to give up that card, no matter what, Horatio would likely figure out that Arthur has another, which is also at least Rare. Giving his Rare card to Horatio would be a mistake. For now it seems Horatio is fine with working for a Rare of his own rather than taking Arthur's, and Arthur has told him he needs to get an Uncommon one, so they should be able to work together.
PuppyCrusher
PDF works fine for me. I would much rather you protect your work than save me a few clicks. Also, love the possibility of Theo getting that trap card. Seems like such a risky ability that could be discovered easy, let Theo deal with it.
Starved Consumer
The second encounter with the silver dragon at the exact same time in the exact same place felt forced. Would have rather just had the first one removed in the edited volume since it doesn't lead to anything meaningful.
seth dauer
I read on my phone and it's not a prob for me
