Anna swayed her hips and clapped along to the beat of drums as she watched several performers dancing. Qrixit tapped her on the shoulder and passed her a chunk of bloody meat with the bone still sticking out of one side when she turned to face him.

“Are you enjoying the show?” he asked.

“Yes!” she replied.

“That’s good,” he said.

“I didn’t think snake people would dance like this though,” she added.

“Snake people?” he asked.

“You know them,” she replied, gesturing to the serpent people that made up most of the trade city’s population.

“They are called Tukla. Don’t call them snake people. It offends them,” Qrixit said.

“Tukla,” she replied.

“Yes, that’s it,” Qrixit said.

She bit into the meat, blood dripping from the corners of her mouth as she did so. The meat was bland and chewy, though that wasn’t surprising considering it was uncooked, unseasoned, and had been part of a living creature a few minutes ago.

“Would you like to go and see the Tarrasque skull now? They usually decorate it during festivals,” Qrixit asked.

“Mumph…” she replied.

“Swallow before you speak!” Qrixit said.

She swallowed down her bite and then smiled.

“Let’s go!” she replied.

She followed him as he walked away from the dancers and through the crowded streets, heading towards the center of the city.

When they reached one of the main streets, the crowds grew so thick she had to grab ahold of Qrixit’s arm to keep from getting separated.

“STEP RIGHT UP AND WIN THIS PRIZE IF YOU CAN!!!” someone shouted.

A prize! I want a prize!

She let go of Qrixit’s arm and scurried away, heading towards the shout.

“ANNA, WAIT!” Qrixit shouted.

She ignored him and kept pushing through the crowd, forcing her way to the front of a group of people. Past the edge of the crowd was a cart with seven spikes sticking out of the top. Next to the cart stood a Tukla holding four colorful rings.

“I want the prize!” she said.

“Well, come over and try then,” the tukla replied.

She walked out of the crowd and over to the waiting tukla.

“So, what do I have to do?” she asked.

“Toss all of these rings on one of these poles, and if you get them all on the center pole, you get the grand prize!” the tukla replied.

“What is it?” she asked.

“A spirit stone!” he replied.

“I have no idea what that is,” she said.

“That’s not surprising. It is a rare and valuable jewel that can only be mined in the shattered lands,” he replied.

“Can I see it?” she asked.

“Of course,” he replied.

He waved one of his hands and another tukla slithered over with a small bone chest. The newcomer pulled open the lid, revealing a glittering gem that was about the size of her palm.

“Pretty!” she said.

“It is, isn’t it,” the tukla replied.

“Give me the rings!” she said.

“It’s four blue gems per try,” the tukla replied.

She pulled out the gems, handed them over, and the tukla passed her the rings.

“ANNA! IT’S A TRICK!” Qrixit shouted.

“IT’S FINE!” she replied.

She spun one of the rings around in her hand a few times and frowned.

This thing is all out of balance and warped. It’s like they don’t want anyone to...oh! This is like the men that play with loaded dice for coin at the taverns. Well, it’s time for that snake to learn the same lesson those men did.

She tossed the first ring. It sailed through the air and landed on the center pole. The crowd cheered behind her, and she tossed another ring, placing it on the center pole. She held the third ring up, and the crowd grew louder. With a flick of her wrist, she sent the ring off to join the others on the center pole. She glanced over at the tukla who, at least by her guess, looked nervous.

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Serves you right for being a cheat!

When she prepared to throw the last ring, the crowd grew quiet. She tossed the ring, and it glided through the air in a lazy fashion before landing perfectly on the center pole like the others had.

The crowd erupted into cheers, and she walked over to the tukla holding the box and took it from him. She opened the box to make sure the spirit gem was still inside before closing it back up.

“Thanks, that was fun,” she said.

She turned and walked back to Qrixit who was standing in the crowd with a shocked look on his face.

“So, about that skull?” she asked.

“Oh, right, uh, this way,” he replied.

They walked away from the game and back into the crowd.

“So, how did you do that?” Qrixit asked.

“Uh, what do you mean?” she asked.

“I mean I’ve never seen anyone win one of those games, so how’d you do it?” he asked.

“I’m not sure how to answer that,” she replied.

“Do you think you could do it again?” he asked.

“Yeah, but I don’t think he’d let me,” she replied.

“No, I meant other games. Do you think you could win other games like that?” he asked.

“Of course! I’ve never lost a game I didn’t want to,” she replied.

He grabbed her arm and pulled her off in another direction.

“Where are we going?” she asked.

“To find more games!” he replied.

“What about the skull?” she asked.

“It’s not going anywhere!” he replied.

“Oh right,” she said.

They walked down a few of the side streets until they reached a large open square filled with games.

“Let’s go and see what each one has for prizes,” Qrixit said.

“Okay,” she replied.

They walked around the square while Qrixit looked at each game and inspected the prizes. She watched people playing and noticed that while some were able to partially complete the game, no one was able to finish.

After making their rounds, Qrixit stopped in front of one of the games, and they waited in line. This game was unlike any she’d seen on the other side of the world. There was a large hide stretched over a frame that had four holes in it. Behind each hole was an animal bladder that was filled with air. The object of the game was to throw long bone darts through the holes and pop the bladders.

This would have been no issue for most people, so to make it more challenging, a crossbeam attached to an axle was placed in front of the hide which would be given a good spin before the game started and would block the holes. Lastly, there was a time limit, so no one simply waited for the crossbeam to stop spinning.

Given all these factors, she hadn’t seen a single person pop more than one of the bladders, and each of those times seemed to be more luck than skill. When it was her turn, Qrixit paid the gamemaster and she took the bone darts and stepped up to the line.

At least these darts are balanced, so they aren’t completely cheating like that first place.

The gamemaster gave the crossbeam a good yank and sent the crossbeam into motion. She watched it spin for a moment before throwing the darts in rapid succession. Each dart sailed through a hole and popped a bladder seemingly simultaneously to anyone but herself.

“Done!” she said.

The gamemaster stared at her in disbelief until Qrixit put his hand on his shoulder.

“I’ll take that prize now,” he said.

The gamemaster nodded slowly and then went to retrieve the huge white reptile hide that was on display nearby. He rolled it up and handed it to Qrixit who thanked him before they walked away.

“Now then, we should get the jar of oxnel honey,” Qrixit said.

“Okay,” Anna replied.

The next game they went to was a large number of flexible poles in a square with a solid pillar located on each side of the square. Clay jugs sat atop each pillar, and the goal of the game was to dash across the poles, starting in the center of the square, with a vessel filled with water and fill up each of the jugs. The difficulty was due to the flexibility of each pole and the weight and awkwardness of the water-filled vessel.

While they waited, she watched attempt after attempt with most failing before they reached the first pillar. When her turn arrived, she walked over to the center pole and picked the vessel up from beside the center pole.

“Hold on! I’ll pass it to you!” the gamemaster said.

She leapt up from the ground and landed on the center pole without spilling a single drop of water. The pole swayed back and forth under her foot while she contemplated which jug to fill first. After making a decision, she hopped from pole to pole, reaching the first jug which she quickly filled.

Once finished, she hopped to the next pillar and filled that jug, and then went to the next and filled that jug. When she reached the last jug, she filled it up, hopped back to the center pole, and dropped down next to the still-stunned gamemaster before placing the vessel next to him. He stared at her wide-eyed for a moment before Qrixit came over.

“We’ll be taking that honey now,” he said.

“Yes, uh, of course,” the gamemaster replied.

When they received the jar, they walked away from the pole game and headed to the center of the square.

“Think you can do the stone lift?” Qrixit asked.

“Oh yeah, no problem,” she replied.

They walked over to the stone lift game and watched as they waited. The stone lift was the simplest game so far. All one had to do was lift each of the five stones, one at a time, over their head and set them back down gently. The stones grew heavier as one progressed with the fifth stone being a massive boulder.

As the contestants in front of her took their turns, she noticed that none of them seemed to be able to get past the third stone. When she reached the front of the line, Qrixit leaned over next to her.

“I won’t blame you if you can’t pick up the fourth stone, so don’t hurt yourself trying,” he said.

“It’s not a problem,” she replied.

“Just be careful,” he added.

“I will,” she replied.

She walked up to the first stone, crouched down, took it with both hands and lifted it off the ground with ease. She held it over her head for a moment before gently placing it on the ground and moving to the next stone. She lifted that one as well, and then the next, and the next.

When she set the fourth stone down and moved on to the fifth, she placed her arms around the huge boulder and casually lifted it into the air. After holding it there like she had the other stones, she sat it back down and turned around. Qrixit walked over to the gamemaster with a smug look on his face.

“I’ll be taking those gems now,” he said.

“No, you won’t!” the gamemaster replied.

“Why not?” Anna asked.

“Because you cheated!” the gamemaster replied.

“I did not!” Anna said.

“There’s no way someone as scrawny as you lifted that stone without cheating, so get out of here!” the gamemaster replied.

“That’s a load of shit!” Anna said.

“Get moving!” a large tulka added.

“Fuck you!” Anna replied.

“What did you say you say to me?” the large tulka asked.

“I said fuck you!” she replied.

“Anna stop! Let’s just go!” Qrixit said, grabbing onto her arm.

She yanked her arm away.

“NO! I want my prize!” she replied.

“What’s going on here?!” someone behind her asked.

She turned to find several armored enforcers behind her.

“He won’t give me my prize!” she said.

“Is that so?” the lead enforcer asked.

“No sir! That thing cheated!” the gamemaster replied.

The enforcers slithered over, one grabbing her by the arm.

“We need to go and talk,” the enforcer said.

The gamemaster had a smug look on his face until another one of the enforcers slithered over to him and grabbed him by the arm.

“All of us,” the enforcer added.

The smug look fell from the gamemaster’s face and was replaced by one of terror.