[Now you are able to travel to and from Whistleblow’s Royal House into all of Eisenclad’s territories. Take a look at the desk to the right of your bed, it has paper and a pen]
Lucan traversed through the room to reach for the board. It wasn’t a luxurious room, but all elements were neatly arranged and the furniture was made of quality materials. It also had a refreshing window whose view led to the fountain, along with a background painted by the Queen’s castle with mountains on the far back. When he approached the desk a message popped up, holding only two options:
* [Find a match]
* [Explore]
By swaying his finger on any of the options it would grow and glister, shedding particles of green light.
[These are the two main features of the game. By choosing “Find a match” a window will pop up. In that window you can see information regarding your character, game modes and statistics, among other useful tools. There is a variety of game modes available, and you will unlock more as you go up in ranks]
[By choosing “Explore” you are able to enjoy the world we have set for you. You can chat with friends, play chess, go for a drink, indulge in quests, arrange unofficial duels, you name it. Nothing that happens in this mode will have a direct impact on your matches, so just have fun without worrying about anything.]
Looking around the room, there was also an old closet and a mirror. Whenever discovering a new thing, a very small window would pop up asking the player if he needed help. But those were pretty self-explanatory.
Lucan changed into a white tuxedo with a red rose up in the pocket. It had a resemblance with the kind of outfit he used during his sister’s marriage. He liked it enough to wear it on not so special occasions, like dozing off in the school yard. Some people got scared by his eerie atmosphere in the outfit, and his parents thought it was inconvenient to go around like this so he stopped using it. He didn’t wear it when he moved to the campus either, since it was pretty hot.
Nothing to stop him now.
Lucan got the pen and wrote explore on the paper. He heard shackles shattering magically and a swift wind opened the door for him. On the other side, the maid was waiting.
- I came to check on you, Mister Lucan. Are you fine in your lodgings?
- Yes, it’s comfortable.
- I see, if you need anything just go to the main hall – she replied coldly.
- Can you guide me to the exit? – he asked with the same unexpressive face.
- Yes, it’s precisely in the main hall. You can follow me there.
Walking down the stairs Lucan caught a glimpse of Whistleblow’s inner garden. There were many kinds of strange plants and carved stones, all beautifully arranged around a fountain – not as big as the one outside, but it was a marvel of craftsmanship, shaped like a carrousel with mythological creatures such as griffons and dragons each chasing at each other’s tails. If you looked at them for too long, you would start imagining them running while letting out ferocious shouts and firebreaths – as if they weren’t statuettes, but living creatures.
The water poured down from the eyes of a damsel in the middle of the theatre, crossing all the way to the beasts for the definitive fall. Although clearly made of marble, her sad face had such a strong expression it would melt someone’s heart and soul. She also kept something in her right hand, near the chest, as if holding to a really important memory.
It was tastelessly called Fountain of Tears originally, but the newest houselord had changed it to A Distant Dream, one of the most spiritual places in the manor.
Lucan didn’t understand how beautiful an artwork it represented, nor did he pay attention to the ladies and gentleman idly chatting by the garden, the only thing he felt was the good atmosphere and the pure air filling his lungs. Some plants glowed in the darkness, giving the place a natural illumination.
Plants, flowers and vegetation were some of the few things he loved.
He stopped following the maid to lie down on the grass in front of the damsel, droplets of water hitting his cheeks from time to time. She just took a quick glance and understood he had already found something to be occupied with.
Lucan stood there, taking slow breaths with his eyes closed. Sometimes a droplet of water would hit his eyelids, but it was so gentle it didn’t disturb him at all. There were people who found him to be a strange sight, others gave him an amused look, but the majority didn’t really care.
He didn’t move an inch, some started thinking he was dozing off. Another young man was near the fountain, wearing black suit that matched his dark mess of a hair. He watched Lucan in silence and, without knowing, started dozing off by himself.
Soon, a chain reaction occurred, and anyone enjoying the view would also feel the urge to sleep in that place.
Outside the garden the effect was the opposite, and they dreaded the view of so many people sleeping in that green cell, avoiding it like the plague. It was impossible to understand what went on that evening.
It took a whole 15 minutes before someone moved and it was Lucan, who wasn’t asleep to begin with. He got up, took a quick glance at his surroundings and, mildly confused with the current setting, went his own way.
- Hey, what’s happening in the garden? – approached him a woman amused.
It took him a while to respond, he was still processing the fact that everyone dozing off randomly qualified as a noteworthy event.
- Do you mean why everyone is asleep?
- Yeah, you were sleeping too, right? – she asked, getting more and more pumped for the mystery.
Lucan put his hand on his chin in deep thought, eyes slowly rolling past the floor as if trying to find a clue to it. After a few seconds of thinking, he lost interest and walked away with a “don’t know”.
All corridors led to the main hall, so it wasn’t difficult to find his way. Although carefree, he wasn’t the type to get lost – quite the opposite. During a school trip in elementary school, the teachers missed him on the checklist and everyone turned desperate trying to find him. Turns out they didn’t look in the most obvious place: inside the bus. He was sleeping soundless and couldn’t hear any of the high pitched shouts of his classmates, or the tearful screams of his teachers. In the end he still got scolded for not answering the call because, to begin with, everyone was told to stick together and not go off on their own.
Someone got a nasty headache in the following days and it sure wasn’t him…
The main hall had some really dark spaces as the lights were only turned at night, but the sun outside pierced each window with a lot of light. It was possible to see very small specks of dust floating by it; Lucan put his hand beside them, causing turbulence on their path upwards.
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The way outside was led by a deep brown carpet adorned with green strings, the colors of Whistleblow. At the end of it was a giant marble arch, resembling the gates of an ancient roman temple.
A butler sent him off when he passed by the arch. He looked a lot like the one he had to beat in order to pass the test, but acted completely different from the person who called Lucan a maggot with eyes filled with hatred. Was that really him?
Outside was more lively than the manor, and watching the strangers coming and going was his pastime for a while. He didn’t take the right glance at the people having fun playing games, chatting, buying things in the market, dueling, eating alone or with their friends, some even pulling off parkour, singing, dancing, lovely couples embracing each other at the parks and alleys, both townsfolk and royalty alike.
Everything, on Lucan’s point of view, felt like a strange painting that everyone says is a genius’s masterpiece of contemporary art, while you yourself don’t understand its greatness. That much activity felt bland and uncomfortable, he questioned himself if there even was a place for him in that crowd, but he didn’t bother finding it to begin with.
Near Lucas was a young boy dutifully searching with his jewel-like eyes for something or someone. When he put those eyes on Lucan, on his dull and expressionless face, he knew he’d found the right person. Soon after, he tugged on his shirt a few times until Lucan decided to do something.
- Hi – he said shortly.
- Hi Mister, my brother needs a partner to play cards. His friend quit not long ago and he needs someone to take over. I’m pretty bad at it so…
- Well, I’m fine with it – replied Lucan.
He couldn’t even guess the last time he played cards, probably years.
Pulling on his leg, the kid led him into a cheery bar out in the open. It was a normal bar, nothing flashy, and the NPCs were common people struggling for a living. The bar owner was a strong looking bald man, he seemed extremely pleased at the sight of Lucan and his little friend entering the bar – they were nobles, after all.
- Kid, this is the last time I tell ya, even if you’re a noble I can’t allow you to enter this place. Show yourself again when you’ve grown some hair down there! – he laughed, his colossal build casting a huge shadow over the two of them.
- Sigh… Fine.
The little one tried to make a puppy face and get into the owner’s good side, but it was no use – no was no. Dejected, he pointed Lucan towards his brother’s table and went to a nearby store.
- Oh, so the Mister is in company of these gentlemen right over there? Then excuse me, I’ll getcha one seat!
The man stomped his way to the balcony and wild opened a wooden door, disappearing from sight. Meanwhile, Lucan stole a glance at the group he was meant to meet.
On the far end of the hall, away from the commoners who cheered, singed and waged on drinking contests, stood a group of eleven people. Three of them were playing cards while the other eight watched in silence as the game progressed. All of them had a glass at their disposition, but only the cardplayers and a provocative woman wearing a fur pelt were drinking at the time.
They were a strange bunch, and each one had a distinguished feel. Dangerous, curious, laidback, smart, polished, foolish – they made for a well-mixed cocktail of appearances.
In the middle of the table were sacks overflowing with coin and jewel, five cards were arranged linearly besides them and two decks were laid on opposing sides.
The player with his back faced to Lucan had an imperious look, with shiny silver hair and black gloves. His shoulders and all of his clothes were adorned in gold, like a general or the Queen’s personal guard, intensifying his every move. It was him, the older brother.
A young woman plain of body but rich in her face features whispered into his ears and he immediately turned to face him. At that instant he knew Lucan was the one his little brother had fetched.
- Hey you! Yes, you! Come here!
Lucan approached them one step at a time and everyone turned to glance at him like the zoo’s newest attraction – everyone but the provocative woman, who would not get her eyes off the cards.
A mammoth’s paws could be felt from the trembling ground. The owner brought a distinguished chair and some good wine to the glass Lucan would never drink from, although he took the time to smell it and it was very fragrant.
- I hope you enjoy your stay! – he grinned.
- Well, sit up – ordered the silver haired mate – my brother sent you, right? Good, now we can resume the game.
Lucan sat on the chair and rested his head on the right palm. The woman shuffled the decks and cut them in two again, laying 5 cards face down on the table and giving 2 cards to each player.
The man on his right started by putting some money on the board, then the brother and the woman to his left, but when the time came he had nothing to put on the table. Then a window popped up.
[You are rewarded with coins and valuable objects for every day you log in. Just go to the option screen and drag your pouch from the inventory. If you want to expand your inventory space, you can buy items such as bags from tailors in the city]
He did as instructed and the small bag materialized in front of him. It was several times smaller than the other players’, but had more than enough to pay for the costs.
The game continued that way, with people raising values again and again, excusing themselves off the table and paying through the raises, glances sizzling back and forth. Lucan paid all the values being thrown until he didn’t have a penny on him. But by the end of each round, his bag was getting larger and larger.
Four of a kind, straight flush, full house, royal straight flush. He only dealt high hands that completely swept the money on the table, and people would look at him as some kind of demon whose face could not be read, an unpredictable player very skilled at the game. Those that were winning now turned on the flip side of the coin.
Initially, the duo played very aggressively and didn’t care for one or two rounds lost. When things grew suspicious, they played cautiously and tried to read the mood on the table. But ultimately they folded every time they didn’t have winning material on their hands – and when they did, Lucan had a higher hand. They even thought he was cheating, but the card dealer made sure that wasn’t the case.
Hell, they went as far as going for a body check, which he didn’t seem to mind.
When the game had finally ended, the group looked at him completely dumbstruck. He now had around thirty bags in his side, piled up in the floor. Taking note of the prolonged silence, Lucan started thinking he did something that upset them.
- Hmm, am I playing it wrong?
- Playing it… Wrong…? – reacted the man to his right, still struck with awe.
- You whipped them clean. Damn, you’re a beast! – said the older brother, now standing and scooping what he had lost, 20% of the winnings. Lucan was the only reason he didn’t get zeroed, he didn’t think it would be fair to get more than that.
Afterwards the group felt more eager to chat and drink, and they genuinely enjoyed acting as nobles of Eisenclad. However, the duo he faced was a little upset, not because of the amount they’ve lost, but because they had no clue as to which kind of opponent they faced – they couldn’t even fathom such absurd luck could possibly exist.
The game had been dealt with. Lucan got up, cleaned some dust off his shoulder and tried to walk away.
- Hey, where are you going? What about your winnings? – Shouted the silver haired man.
- Oh, I don’t need it – he replied after a short time. If someone had told him to gather his winnings he probably would do it, but wouldn’t care either way.
- What? Are you an arenaplayer?
Lucan stopped for a moment and looked back at him.
- What is an arenaplayer?
- Huh? You don’t even know that? Are you a beginner?
- Uh, yes.
The silver haired man looked at his friend’s table, making sure no one would hear his talk.
- Well, an arenaplayer is someone who plays almost exclusively PvP, but they are also referred to as rankers. On the other hand there is the roleplayer, who only plays free mode and takes joy in acting his role, just like my friends over there... I’m a normal player, but whenever I meet up with those guys I must roleplay or they will get upset.
- I see… Thanks for the insight, farewell – replied Lucan while averting his eyes from the man.
- Wait! – He shouted grabbing his shoulder – I mean, I just wanna say thanks. You really saved me back then, a moment later and I would’ve needed to sign for bankruptcy, haha.
The man laughed a little, his cheeks red with embarrassment, but Lucan still had the same expressionless face devoid of emotions. His laugh faded very quickly at seeing that face. “Damn, I’m embarrassing myself, he must think I’m a fool”.
- That’s it, I just wanted to say thanks and… Ah my bad, I didn’t even introduce myself did I? My name is Johan, my little brother’s is Zackary. What’s your name?
- I’m Lucan.
- Nice to meet you, Lucan. Hmm, I’ll you send you a friend invite, we good?
Lucan thought for a moment. He didn’t feel anything coming from that man, but it was clear he was trying to get closer to him. Natalie’s words flashed before his eyes as if written on a foggy glass window.
“There will never be silence unless you dodge everyone on purpose”
He listened to her voice still fresh, now perceiving a small bite of concern in her tone. It echoed multiple times inside his head, and every time it bounced its weigh would increase.
- Alright – he called.
Johan parted ways with his friends and joined him, suggesting they take a stroll to the house of Tidecaller which he was a member of. Since Lucan was a newbie, he also offered to take him to the pre-match lobby and introduce him to PvP.
- You know, you’re quite strange. But I think we’ll work well together – he smiled while shaking hands with him.