About five years ago, one of the maids engaged in a gamble against Jasper.
I couldn't recall her name, but she was a new hire and, despite the warnings by the rest of the staff, had requested a game against Jasper. She was pretty famous in East Genise in the gaming circles and perhaps had some pride in her gambling skills.
She knew of Jasper and thought herself clever by using a set of loaded die. What she didn't account for was how useless such a trick was against him.
The game was simple. Each side would toss a die three times, and whoever had the highest number of total sides, won. She had her set of three, and Jasper was given his own by her.
When she tossed her loaded die, it somehow hit the ground at such an angle that a part of it chipped, causing it to flop unremarkably at a three. On the other hand, Jasper's chipped and landed a solid four.
They moved locations for the die toss to avoid more chips, but that didn't help her. She tossed her second die, and it managed to adhere to a rather stubborn crumb of sticky cheese. The die read an unfavorable two. Jasper's die also found some sticky residue but had landed a good five.
They moved yet again, this time tossing the die into a pot, thus avoiding any surprises. However, it appeared their die had switched, for she landed a one, while Jasper got a perfect six.
His luck in gambling could bend the very fabric of reality.
Or so was the saying. It wasn't until the Character Checker for him showed his Luck stat that I came to believe that to be a very literal case rather than just a saying.
I still remember the maid's expression when the third die fell. It was the same expression on Elian's face now.
"That isn't possible," Elian muttered.
He had been the first to reveal a card, and the card atop the deck was none other than the Fool.
"That isn't possible," Elian said again, his eyes turning to the dealer. The first utterance had been a gasp of disbelief, but the second was an assertion.
It was impossible to make out the dealer's expression, concealed behind the full-cover black mask. One could only imagine her internal turmoil, for she had shuffled the cards in a manner that should have guaranteed Elian's victory. Yet, with the very first card turned, he found himself facing the cruelest of defeats.
"Shall I do the cutting, or do you prefer it yourself?" Jasper asked. "It might prove too difficult to cut your own finger off."
"Wait, wait," Elian stammered. "I need to prepare—no, why would you want my finger? I can get you something more valuable, right? The original bet was 350 Phoenix eyes, so—"
"Oh? Is your finger worth just 350 Phoenix eyes?" Jasper exuded a bit of shock. "Are you saying that for the mere price of 3,500 Phoenix eyes, you'd sell all your fingers?"
"No–no, of course not," Elian said. "My fingers are worth much more than that."
He gazed down at his long fingers with their many colorful rings.
"How valuable is one finger to you?" I asked.
Elian's masked face turned toward me, his light gray eyes piercing through the white mask, locking onto mine. "What is it that you desire? My finger is a prized possession, but surely there's something of greater worth to you."
"The mage your father won at auction," I replied.
"HA!" Elian's mouth moved into a scowl, and he leaned away from the table. "I'm afraid that wouldn't be possible. My father has only just won that mage, and he wouldn't give him up for anything."
"Not even one of his son's precious fingers?" I asked.
"No," Elian replied. His voice was tinged with bitterness. "You have to ask for something else."
"Very well, in that case, how about just a meeting? I'd like to see the mage I lost up close, in private."
Elain's gray eyes blinked behind the white mask, and a broad smile extended over his face.
"That," he said. "I can arrange."
He extended his right hand out, and I accepted the handshake.
"This concludes the game," the dealer said. "A colleague of mine will attend to this table shortly if you wish for another game."
She was quick to leave, eager to avoid Elian's potential anger about the incorrectly shuffled Fool.
"Elian, I trust one of your healers can reattach these?" Lady Shuzen collected her severed fingers, enclosed in a green goop to prevent further bleeding. She wore a pained smile on her face.
"Ah, yes, they'll stitch them back in place. Just go to my quarters. There should be one on standby there," Elian waved her off.
"Please excuse me. I trust you'll enjoy the remaining festivities then," Lady Shuzen bowed toward us and walked away with a level of grace I don't think most could have exuded after having several of their fingers cut off.
Elian wore a smile on his face as her figure walked away. "She's truly remarkable. You know what, I've decided; I think I'll marry her."
If I had a drink in hand, I was confident I would have a coughing fit hearing this from him.
What a lunatic.
I watched Lady Shuzen's large feathered mask disappear into the crowds.
But the craziest part was that I suspected she would accept the proposal.
"From what I've heard, here's a couple of interesting rings coming up in the artifacts auction. Perhaps one would be a worthy gift for your future fiancé?" Jasper suggested.
"I was thinking the same," Elian said, caressing his chin.
He appeared to be in good spirits despite his loss to Jasper. Or, at the very least, he was in an upswing of his unexpected mood swings.
"The next auction will begin in an hour, but in the meantime, I can take you to meet that mage you lost to my father." Elian stood up from his seat and motioned for us to follow.
About five years ago, one of the maids engaged in a gamble against Jasper.
I couldn't recall her name, but she was a new hire and, despite the warnings by the rest of the staff, had requested a game against Jasper. She was pretty famous in East Genise in the gaming circles and perhaps had some pride in her gambling skills.
She knew of Jasper and thought herself clever by using a set of loaded die. What she didn't account for was how useless such a trick was against him.
The game was simple. Each side would toss a die three times, and whoever had the highest number of total sides, won. She had her set of three, and Jasper was given his own by her.
When she tossed her loaded die, it somehow hit the ground at such an angle that a part of it chipped, causing it to flop unremarkably at a three. On the other hand, Jasper's chipped and landed a solid four.
They moved locations for the die toss to avoid more chips, but that didn't help her. She tossed her second die, and it managed to adhere to a rather stubborn crumb of sticky cheese. The die read an unfavorable two. Jasper's die also found some sticky residue but had landed a good five.
They moved yet again, this time tossing the die into a pot, thus avoiding any surprises. However, it appeared their die had switched, for she landed a one, while Jasper got a perfect six.
His luck in gambling could bend the very fabric of reality.
Or so was the saying. It wasn't until the Character Checker for him showed his Luck stat that I came to believe that to be a very literal case rather than just a saying.
I still remember the maid's expression when the third die fell. It was the same expression on Elian's face now.
"That isn't possible," Elian muttered.
He had been the first to reveal a card, and the card atop the deck was none other than the Fool.
"That isn't possible," Elian said again, his eyes turning to the dealer. The first utterance had been a gasp of disbelief, but the second was an assertion.
It was impossible to make out the dealer's expression, concealed behind the full-cover black mask. One could only imagine her internal turmoil, for she had shuffled the cards in a manner that should have guaranteed Elian's victory. Yet, with the very first card turned, he found himself facing the cruelest of defeats.
"Shall I do the cutting, or do you prefer it yourself?" Jasper asked. "It might prove too difficult to cut your own finger off."
"Wait, wait," Elian stammered. "I need to prepare—no, why would you want my finger? I can get you something more valuable, right? The original bet was 350 Phoenix eyes, so—"
"Oh? Is your finger worth just 350 Phoenix eyes?" Jasper exuded a bit of shock. "Are you saying that for the mere price of 3,500 Phoenix eyes, you'd sell all your fingers?"
"No–no, of course not," Elian said. "My fingers are worth much more than that."
He gazed down at his long fingers with their many colorful rings.
"How valuable is one finger to you?" I asked.
Elian's masked face turned toward me, his light gray eyes piercing through the white mask, locking onto mine. "What is it that you desire? My finger is a prized possession, but surely there's something of greater worth to you."
"The mage your father won at auction," I replied.
"HA!" Elian's mouth moved into a scowl, and he leaned away from the table. "I'm afraid that wouldn't be possible. My father has only just won that mage, and he wouldn't give him up for anything."
"Not even one of his son's precious fingers?" I asked.
"No," Elian replied. His voice was tinged with bitterness. "You have to ask for something else."
"Very well, in that case, how about just a meeting? I'd like to see the mage I lost up close, in private."
Elain's gray eyes blinked behind the white mask, and a broad smile extended over his face.
"That," he said. "I can arrange."
He extended his right hand out, and I accepted the handshake.
"This concludes the game," the dealer said. "A colleague of mine will attend to this table shortly if you wish for another game."
She was quick to leave, eager to avoid Elian's potential anger about the incorrectly shuffled Fool.
"Elian, I trust one of your healers can reattach these?" Lady Shuzen collected her severed fingers, enclosed in a green goop to prevent further bleeding. She wore a pained smile on her face.
"Ah, yes, they'll stitch them back in place. Just go to my quarters. There should be one on standby there," Elian waved her off.
"Please excuse me. I trust you'll enjoy the remaining festivities then," Lady Shuzen bowed toward us and walked away with a level of grace I don't think most could have exuded after having several of their fingers cut off.
Elian wore a smile on his face as her figure walked away. "She's truly remarkable. You know what, I've decided; I think I'll marry her."
If I had a drink in hand, I was confident I would have a coughing fit hearing this from him.
What a lunatic.
I watched Lady Shuzen's large feathered mask disappear into the crowds.
But the craziest part was that I suspected she would accept the proposal.
"From what I've heard, here's a couple of interesting rings coming up in the artifacts auction. Perhaps one would be a worthy gift for your future fiancé?" Jasper suggested.
"I was thinking the same," Elian said, caressing his chin.
He appeared to be in good spirits despite his loss to Jasper. Or, at the very least, he was in an upswing of his unexpected mood swings.
"The next auction will begin in an hour, but in the meantime, I can take you to meet that mage you lost to my father." Elian stood up from his seat and motioned for us to follow.
