Published at 21st of June 2026 6:45 am

Chapter 158: Ser Terry's Game

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Ser Terry, I say with a polite, but strained smile. I didnt realize you played.

He returns the smile. I didnt until recently, but a mutual friend recommended the event and arranged the invite.

Adrian. It must have been them. Theyre the only one in our shared friend group that have the means to both know about my recent gambling stint, and to secure such an invitation.

I must say though, Malichi, he continues, I was surprised when I heard you took up gambling. It seems so impractical for you.

I shrug and smile confidently a mask for the other players. Its only impractical if you lose. Huh. When did the thrill of winning overcome the thrill of possibly losing? Probably because Ive never lost. At least, I never left a table with less coin than when I sat down.

The others at the table have all paused their conversations to watch ours. There was a wave of tension that went through them when I called Ser Terry by his knightly title. After all, Ive only encountered two other knights at these games so far, and they were both excellent players. It should be easy to get them to gang up and eliminate him quickly. Especially if what he said about only recently taking up the game is true. I would even guess he only started playing this week after Adrian suggested it to him.

Now that does sound like you. He laughs with a hint of nervousness.

But I should return the observation, I say, ignoring his quip with a mask of a smile thats so obvious that it might as well be an open scowl for those present. I never thought youd take up gambling. I always thought it would be too indirect, for you.

Youre saying that to me? He laughs, annoyingly genuinely. Malichi, youre one of the most direct people I know.

Im most certainly am not.

He laughs again, and I find myself blushing as I realize I just gave evidence to his claim. A few others chuckle under their breath. Am I losing prestige here? My image of a calm and inscrutable player being destroyed? Angry, I snap and cast mental whisper on him. The strain causes a bit of a headache with the other spells Im sustaining, but I need to know whats going on.

What are you doing here, Ser Terry You can respond by willing the intended message just, sort of focus on it with intent. I struggle to convey the concept to a non-mage.

Like this? he replies finally after a moment of fumbling, and I confirm he got it through. Interesting spell. I didnt know you had it.

I freeze as I realize I just revealed something I had intended to keep secret. How did he manage to irritate me so much that I would make such an error? Well I suppose that I havent revealed the quark of whispering in the targets own voice at lower power, which is really what I want to keep hidden.

Um yeah, its not something I like to show people. If you could not spread it, that would be great.

Youre sharing a secret with me then? He manages to project a smile through the link without moving his face. He seems genuinely pleased at the notion.

Never mind that, I mentally shake my head, just tell me why youre here. And dont bother with some excuse about gambling seeming interesting. You cant convince me that youre here to win coin.

Of course not, Malch. Im here because youve been avoiding me.

I flinch. I have not.

You have too. Oh, you might still be going to all the same things as always, but you always make sure to vanish before I can ask to talk privately. Very impressive that you can tell whenever Im about to suggest it. No wonder you do well in these games.

So what? You brought Adiran into this? I hiss through the link.

I didnt say that, he denies far too forcefully. Hes not used to communicating through this medium Well, neither am I, now that I think about it. Am I giving more away than I mean to?

I give him a withering mental look, making him flinch in the flesh.

That was a weird experience. How did you do that?

Mage stuff. Now answer the question. Are you denying that you went to Adrian about this and they suggested cornering me at this game?

He stiffens, embarrassed at being seen through, though he brushes it off quickly with a smile. I suppose I cant fool you. Not looking great for my ambitions of beating you at the game.

I sigh. Terry, you know where I live. You could have just come to visit.

You called me Terry without the Ser, he beams.

Ser Presley, focus! I shout through the link, making him flinch. Why didnt you just come visit me?

And get shot again? He scoffs.

Ive never aimed a crossbow at the door, I counter without missing a beat.

Er, well Wouldnt that just be too awkward? I mean, forcing myself on your living space when youve already made it clear that you dont want to talk?

He has a point, though I wont admit it. You could have sent a letter, asking to meet.

Which you would have found a reason to put off.

So you just cornered me here to embarrass me in front of my new peers?

He at least has the decency of looking chagrined. Well in my defence, it was Adrians suggestion. But peers, Malichi? Isnt that too sad? I was hoping youd at least make a few new friends from this new vice.

Its hard to make friends with people youre taking from. Harder to take from them, too.

Then youre doing it wrong. I assure you, Malichi, plenty of people make friends gambling. In fact, its one of the main benefits as an activity.

Whatever, I say, noting that the cards are in the process of being dealt. Just talk to me after the game. Secret communication is against the rules.

Since when did you care about rules? he scoffs.

Always, I glare. People scoffed at me in Caethlon for being such a strict follower of cell network rules when I got angry at the casual sharing of names or idle gossip but Im still alive and theyre not. I never try to break the rules. Its just that the rules tend not to be as well written as everyone else thinks.

Er, yeah, I can see that. Though you must I cut off the link, making him frown, though he quickly composes himself.

I start the game off aggressively, wanting to eliminate his distracting face from the table as quickly as possible. I try to enlist the others to help too, with not that subtle reminders of him being a knight, and thus the greatest threat. I get two to follow along, but the other two decide to turn on me instead. The result of my rapidly gained reputation at these games, I suppose. One legitimately thinks Im the bigger threat, while the other just thinks it would be funny to deny me my obvious goal.

That and their constantly entertaining themself by asking Ser Terry probing questions about me, designed to get me to lose focus. At one point, they just point-blank ask him what he did to make me so angry. Everyone else has the decency of looking embarrassed at the question, but they a youth only a few years older than us merely delights that much more for the reaction.

Fortunately, their lack of focus makes them the easiest mark, so I quickly change targets and eliminate the annoyance from the game. Their replacement is fortunately much more receptive to following my strategy of removing the knight first. Unfortunately, Ser Terry is much harder to remove than I hoped. Even when we shift tactics to remove his last ally first, and his replacement likewise targets him, Ser Terry manages to hold on one against five.

Hes losing, but slowly managing to always abandon hands right before the betting gets too dangerous. Im having a hard time reading him sometimes, too, but other times he seems an open book. But that may be an illusion, as those are the times he seems most able to avoid a trap.

Youre better at this than expected, I obsrve after he takes a hand. Maybe I should talk to Adrian, see what training they put you under to learn the game so quickly.

He laughs. I hardly know the game at all, Malichi. In fact, I can barely even read these other fine players theyre very good after all. But thats fine, because I know you. I Know when youre hiding away that faint trace of guilt for taking from me when you know Im not nearly as wealthy as you. So it doesnt matter that I cant read them, because you can, and I can read you.

The other players look between us askance, reassessing us. His words have the intended effect or maybe not intended. Optimal, at least, for three of the other four decide that hes more useful against me than as a threat on his own.

What guilt? I scoff, but nobody believes me.

After a few more rounds, the final player turns against me, and my lead begins to shrivel. Nearly back down to even, I lean back and sigh with a pinched nose and mutter, Enough of this, then fully power my boost spell.

Boost spells are not against the rules, no more than being a knight is. However, I always keep the spell at minimum power to keep it in reserve. At the same time, I stop using the breathing et. al. techniques Monroe taught me to reduce my effective enhancement, and even whisper (too quiet even for a knight to hear) the single word incantation to cancel my boon suppressions. All in all, my relevant abilities jump up by about half an intermediate boon, which is more than enough to sharply turn the tide.

I show no mercy, though I save Ser Terry for last. Ive already failed my initial goal, so I might as well take my time handing out reprisals. The next seven hands go by rapidly as I take three large pots and no major losses. Deciding that the traitors have been chastised enough, I move on to Ser Terry, who looks stunned as I trick him into losing more than half his stack of coins with one hand.

You didnt look guilty, he looks dismayed.

Why should I? I shrug, having mastered that tell when I resolved to beat him, but kept using it to fool him into thinking he could still read me. You sat down at the table, that means youre ready to be taken from.

Yeah I guess youre right, he says sadly as he stands from the table. Well, I dont think I can afford to lose any more. Ill hang around at the party though, so we can talk You wont run off, will you?

I breathe in sharply and say No, making the decision only once I say it.

Seeing no reason to restrain myself after already revealing my potential for increased focus, I scythe through the remaining players and their replacements, then do the same when the tables consolidate down to one. At the end of the day, I win over twenty large gold an amount that I dont even know what to do with at this point. Buy land, I suppose. Get more clients. Maybe equip the Mud Hares with some more magic gear. Probably not the last one, since it would attract attention, but something similar.

Monroe intercepts me on my way to find Ser Terry with a mask of a smile that I see through to the annoyance behind. Am I really that good right now that I can see through her, or is she letting me see?

Congratulations. Though it might be hard to find you more practice games if youre going to win that much.

Sorry, I say with a glance as I try to keep the interaction short. I guess I got flustered.

Its fine, she waves me off, though its clear I ruined some plan for her. I saw what was going on. I was hoping to move you into the real games with less of a reputation, but I suppose it doesnt matter as much if you can play that well.

Yes, well Im looking forward to it, but I must be going.

To meet with the knight boy, yes? Hes trouble, you know.

I no, but I have heard it before. Why do you say so?

She smirks. Oh, just a hunch. She obviously knows something more about him, but I doubt Ill be getting it out of her.

Well, Ill take your hunch under advisement then. I bow politely, then rush away.

I quickly divine down Ser Terrys location and find him on an isolated balcony overlooking a garden. Its nearing dark, and hes pacing as I arrive.

You came. He says, with a surprised and beaming smile.

Part of me relaxes at that smile while another tenses. Yeah, I say with a sigh. I guess I did.

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