Two hours later, Erec found himself seated at a green felt table. He had to admit, even though he was in the Kingdom, it sure felt like he’d been teleported back to Vega—the room was lit only by neon lights. Or LEDs made to look like the bright neon lights he’d grown accustomed to in that otherworld. That, the table, the cards, and the chatter of people gambling around him made for a surreal experience, considering he knew he was nowhere near that place now.
No, he was with his friends in the middle of the Kingdom of Cindrus.
Garin leaned next to him, his head cupped in his hands. On the other side was Enide, and facing her directly was Olivia, opposing ends of the same table.
Directly opposite Erec was a maid, maybe around sixteen. She patiently waited for them to place their bets before she dealt more cards or slipped.
This wasn’t blackjack. It was Poker—Vega Hold’em—Enide picked this game and challenged them to a small pot. Not that money was the aim. They were playing for ‘bragging rights’ and to spend time unwinding after the announcement and even more dreaded mingling.
Erec had given that his best bet for the night. But it became apparent quickly that most of the nobility had shifted gears after the announcement. They swarmed to their allies to plan and weren’t as open to seeking new ‘friends’ like him. Sure, the odd one came up and had tried to curry favor, but most, if any, that talked to him was fishing for information. Often, they only had a couple of questions to ask him—the first always was, “Sir Erec, will you be competing in the tournament?”
What could he say but yes?
He didn’t have the same social navigation skills as Garin, but he was aware that with his reputation, he was, in a way, forced to compete. But forced was the wrong word. Since he looked forward to it, he couldn’t imagine a world where he wouldn’t compete.
But it wasn’t only his place in the competition he was interested in.
“You joining the tournament?” Erec asked Garin. Both of them had been knocked out of the game already. Neither was good at bluffing. A must-have skill for Vega Hold’em. Compared to the two girls at the table, they might have been children telling fibs for how easily they saw through the hands. Now, though, those same girls were eying one another the way two generals might glare at one another on a battlefield.
“Me?” Garin raised an eyebrow.
“Not sure why you’re surprised I’m asking.”
“Because why would I? Of course, I’m not going to compete. Even in our bracket, in the initiates, there is you, Bedwyr, Lyotte—not to mention Prince Soren. Goddess knows what Knight Errants I might have to compete against. Even Colin would be a hell of a fight with his advances in Mysticism. Don’t know how that’ll play out in a tournament, but I’m sure he’d figure something out. Think about it, Erec. Do I stand a chance? No. There’s no point. Maybe I’ll join some of the side games they mentioned, but I’m not someone who belongs in the spotlight of competition like that.”
There was a careless edge to those words, as if Garin were waving around a knife with abandon; casual surrender in a battle before it started was unacceptable. It made Erec’s blood boil.
“Poor excuses. They do not befit you.”
“Excuses? They’re facts, man. If something is pointless, why subject yourself to effort and pain? Especially when your time is better spent pursuing what you’re good at. Instead of wasting my time joining a tournament I stand no chance of winning, I can spend it connecting with people in the crowd. Talking to those on the sidelines who came to our Kingdom to spectate.”
A pretty excuse. And it was just that. Garin added another layer to defend his choices and hide behind the confrontation these battles could bring. Maybe his friend didn’t have a strong chance of winning the tournament—but that wasn’t the point. He wasn’t weak. Garin had seen plenty of conflict during their expedition and the hunt for the White Stag. And his friend had grown in his own ways.
What frustrated Erec was this. He shied away when testing his limits to seek greater heights. Garin had Talent and training. Once, Erec might have let this excuse slip. Still, now that he’d begun to walk into the world that his friend was most comfortable in, that of other people and the horrendous realm of social obligations, he saw this additional defensive excuse for what it was.
“No,” Erec responded dryly, “Even if you competed, you’d still have enough time to do that. You’re doing it again, exactly what you did with your Divine Talent. Trying to hide behind what you’re comfortable with instead of pushing yourself to grow in areas you could fail. But I’m not going to let you this time. You’re better than this. We’ve been through too much together.”
“I don’t know what you mean.” Garin didn’t meet his eyes. Instead, he watched Olivia consider her cards. The girl looked up, then tossed two black and white striped chips into the pot. To which Enide grinned and threw four chips in. Raising the bet and tossing the challenge back at the maid. From what Erec learned of this game, shortly before losing all of his chips, these betting rounds lasted until one side ‘called’ and moved the game forward.
“Garin. Be honest with yourself. If it’s not failing that you’re afraid of, I can’t imagine what it is. We’ve been beyond the walls. Fought battles that I didn’t think we’d walk away from. Even now, this Kingdom is teetering on an edge and might fall into an abyss. Who knows if this tournament will even happen? But if it does, then it’s an opportunity. A chance to train and grow stronger. That kind of change is the type that might make all the difference the next time our lives are at stake.”
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
“Connections are important; it’s not that I’m afraid to fail. I’m just best utilizing my skills.” Garin insisted.
“I didn’t say they weren’t. If anything, I’ve been learning more daily how important they are and that the information they bring is another tool to use. But they aren’t the only tool. It would be best if you had more than that. When things are catching fire around you, the streets burn, and monsters flood outward from every building—your friends and allies can only do so much. To protect them and to protect yourself. You need strength. So let me ask you, if you aren’t afraid of failure, then what are you afraid of here?” Erec said.
Garin shot him a sour look. Turning his attention fully from the poker game, which had only heated up further. Four cards were shown on the table. Yet Enide and Olivia were still going back and forth with their bets. Doubling one another with slight pauses between both, eavesdrop on Garin and Erec to feel out if their opponent was bluffing.
“I’m not afraid.” Garin once more stubbornly insisted.
Maybe the night had worn Erec out. All of that damn socializing. But his patience was as thin as a sheet of paper—but this problem had existed almost the entire time Erec knew Garin. The Academy only really highlighted it for him. And the most perplexing part about it was that he knew he could rely on Garin in the field. His friend would always fight by his side. Garin was never afraid of the monsters and shedding blood. But when it came to things like this, he choked up.
Erec needed him to be stronger and wanted to support him in growing and becoming that.
Deep in the dark insides of the Vortex Industries, facing off against MOLLY, Erec came face to face with the fact that while Fury gave him power, that power wasn’t one that protected. Even if he could fight the monsters and tear them to shreds, it didn’t let him look after the people around him.
The best way to protect those people was to help them grow stronger so that they might protect themselves. Things would get dangerous in the Kingdom, and they needed to be prepared. If only Garin would accept—would join the tournament—then maybe he’d train for it. Whether or not the King’s plan came to fruition and they actually fought, that training might make all the difference when the trouble that lurked under the surface exploded outward.
Erec kept staring at his friend, his jaw locked.
Garin finally broke. “Alright, damn, Maybe I am afraid.”
Olivia frowned and moved to join their conversation, but she was quickly shushed by Enide, who shook her head and pointed at the pot in the middle. “Focus on me, then you can cheer your guy up after this. While I walk away and celebrate with mine,” she shot the other girl a wink, but… Enide had successfully diverted Olivia back to their game. She knew this was a critical moment, that Garin had to face this on his own.
Thanks. Erec tried to say to Enide with a quick nod, then returned to address Garin. The two girls went right back at it, going through the last couple of bets they could make before they were all in.
“The way I see it is that there’s not much to lose.” Erec said, “And that you’re far stronger than you give yourself credit for, I think you’d benefit far more by focusing on training for the battlefield on occasion, then assigning yourself to the background like you’re trying to do now. We’ve been outside the walls together long enough to know that sometimes you’ll run across a situation where you need your own Strength to let you survive through it.”
He tried to keep his tone neutral but could already feel the heat rising. In the back of his head, that information, the knowledge that the priests belonged to some other entity than the Goddess—that at any moment, the Kingdom was prone to exploding if that secret got out… It was like a ticking clock on an explosive down below to clear out rubble.
“I’ll consider that,” Garin promised, and Erec heard in his voice that he meant it. “Oh… They’re about to flip.”
Erec wanted to say more, but sure enough, as his gaze slid away from his friend trying to worm out of the conversation back to the two girls at the table…
All the chips they were playing with were in the pot—this would be the last hand. It was past time—the night was starting to draw towards a close, and after all of the day's events, Erec felt ready to get back to their dorm and finally shut his weary eyes.
“Flip,” Enide said, tugging at the corner of her card, eager to flip it. There were no more bets to place. All that was left for the two girls who’d been playing a game of bluffs to show their cards and put it all on the table. In the middle were two queens, a king, a jack, and a seven. When they first started playing the game Vega Hold’em, Enide went over the ‘hands’ you could build. If he understood right, based on the two cards in the middle showing, they had at least a pair.
But the two cards in their hands would change everything.
“You first,” Olivia said, giving a polite smile.
Enide shrugged and flipped her cards with the barest bit of a show. Two kings. “Full house.”
The smile on Enide’s face could’ve killed a woman—specifically, Olivia. Though the two had been making amends, Erec could tell that Olivia, standing on equal footing to her in gambling, a domain in which Enide thought she had the edge, had gotten under his girlfriend’s skin.
“Damn good full house too. Bet you didn’t think I’d have pocket kings. Go ahead. Flip your three-of-a-kind with that queen you got. Or maybe you have a full house too—can’t be higher than mine.”
“Appearances can be deceptive,” Olivia said, then also flipped.
Two queens.
She had a four-of-a-kind.
“…Is that better?” Garin asked, squinting.
Enide released a soft curse as Oliva pulled in the rest of the chips—which translated to all the money.
Seeing his distraught girlfriend, Erec threw an arm over Enid’s shoulder and gave her a squeeze. This wasn’t going to be an easy thing for her to forget. The Pendragons had a distilled sense of pride that only paled when compared to the nobles of the Kingdom. And losing to Olivia… Even if things were improving, the tension was under the surface. Enide didn’t like to lose. Not somewhere she saw as her domain.
“Good game, guys; we should get going, though. Starting to get late. People are getting really drunk now; there’s not much left for us here.” Erec began to say until he was interrupted by a loud and horribly familiar voice.
“I don’t care whose son you are; apologize to my betrothed this instant!” Colin shrieked.
Hardly a second later, a voice Erec hadn’t heard in a while carried over. It was lower than Colin’s, another horribly familiar voice. A voice Erec hadn’t heard in quite some time. “I told her to leave me be; I did not insult her further than what it took to reinforce that message.”
It was Soren.
One of the fucking princes with a Kingdom, and Colin was picking a fight with him.