They departed Lamgard that very evening, riding three horses provided by Hershel. Into the night they sped, making all haste for Roespeye. They rested when needed, but otherwise, stuck to the Grand Highway at the fastest stride the animals could handle. Van and Valentine were excellent riders, and easily kept pace without complaint. Day and night they carried on, hastened by the urgency of their goal.

They cut the normal trip in half, and arrived a full week before the second season started. It was perfect timing, because Raven turned seventeen the day they reached the city. Though still cold, Roespeye began to show signs of a creeping summer, with grass bursting from snow patches here and there, and hardy flowers growing at windowsill pots.

No time was wasted. As night fell on the mountain, Raven and Van prepared for their trip back to Little Fastings. Van received confirmation Marcus Shrale would be there. Valentine decided not to join. She was not yet seventeen. And her father had given her Barkley’s sword to gift to Master Cooley, Barkley’s mentor, as a memento. She wanted to deliver it immediately, hoping she could deliver the news of his death before he heard about it elsewhere.

To reach the main entrance to Little Fastings required a jaunt through the city, turning north at the Windmill Keep and keeping to a stone path winding around the mountain, marked by red flags tattered by sleet and time. An unassuming cave entrance sat at the end, closed shut by two red doors bedecked with wolf silhouettes. Raven recognized the man standing at attention in front of them, holding a clipboard. It was the boathook they ran across the last time they snuck in.

“Osten,” Van greeted him with a nod.

“You two again?” he complained. “You guys are going to get me in trouble.”

“We’re both seventeen now.”

“Oh… really?” He seemed like he was going to ask for proof, but then thought better of it. “Okay, well then head on in, fellas. But uh… can you not make trouble?”

“No promises.”

With a sigh, Osten opened one of the doors to usher them in.

The casino wasn’t quite as lively as it had been opening night, but it was packed even so. And really, it felt like nothing had changed. Well-dressed patrons enjoyed their vices at every turn, noisy chatter filled their hearing, and Fanny was losing a game of Parchen at the main table, giving away her money by the fistful to delighted winners.

Raven and Van took two empty stools at the bar and scanned the crowds. It didn’t take long for them to spot their quarry. Marcus Shrale stood amongst those who were enjoying winning money at Fanny’s expense.

“Should I go see if I can pick his pocket?” Van asked quietly.

Raven looked around. Sonny Bumpkin was at the other end of the bar. Their eyes met, and they gave each other curt nods.

“No. Not while Sonny is here. Let’s be patient. But make no mistake. We are getting Valius Shrale’s ring tonight.”

“What on earth are you boys doing here?” a familiar voice asked.

They turned to find Fanny looking at them with a disapproving scowl.

“Are you taking a break from going broke?” Raven asked with a smirk.

“Don’t change the subject,” she replied. She sat in the empty stool next to Van and ordered an iced water. “Nine Star students are forbidden from coming here. You both know that.”

“What are they gonna do?” Van asked. “Expel us?”

She frowned. “Well at least Valentine had the sense not to join. Although I would imagine… levity would be difficult for her right now.”

“So, you heard about Barkley,” Raven said.

She nodded. “News just broke today about the attack. Were you there?”

“Yes.”

“You saw the Titan?”

“Yes.”

Her eyes widened. She looked from Raven to Van and back again. “I’m sorry, boys.”

“We’re not here for levity, either, Master Fyre,” Van said.

Fyre nodded in understanding and gave them her full attention. “Talk to me.”

Raven nodded in Marcus Shrale’s direction. “What do you know about him? The hobo with the pandora eye.”

“Marcus? He’s harmless.”

“Is he really Valius Shrale’s descendant?” Van asked.

“Yes. And he has the heirlooms to prove it.”

“We need one of them. An insignia ring.”

“Good luck with that. He treats them like they’re his children.”

“Fanny…” Raven said. She looked at him. “We need it.”

She again looked back and forth between them, trying to decipher without asking questions. Finally, she seemed to resolve herself.

“Wait here.”

“Are you—”

She held up a hand. “I said wait. Let me work.”

And so, they waited. Fanny returned to the Parchen tables and was immediately granted access to the same table again. And she proceeded to lose. Over and over. Raven grew a tad impatient as an hour passed, and then two. But the irritation was dimmed by his fascination with Fanny’s actions. She lost boatloads of money with each loss, and she lost so many times that eventually her opponents would exhaust themselves and new challengers would step in to play. But she never stopped playing, she never stopped betting on herself, and she didn’t win a single game.

As it reached the third hour, Fanny’s latest opponent decided he’d done enough damage, having won a dozen games or so. Raven’s attention perked when Marcus Shrale stepped up to the Parchen table in his stead.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

“Ready to lose, Marcus?” Fanny asked imperiously, as if she had the shortest memory in the world.

“I suppose it’s my turn to keep this party going,” he replied. His face was like that of a parent looking amusingly on his ridiculous child.

They picked their move cards and commenced the game. Marcus played a simple move “Warden +3 Forward or Back” and moved his piece the corresponding direction and then discarded.

The dealer sitting beside the table wrote on his ledger. Then he called out: “Favorite: Marcus. One to Two Odds.”

And as per usual, the interested bettors squeezed around the table made the maximum bets allowed, and Fanny accepted them all. The game commenced as Raven was used to seeing. Fanny flubbed her way through her moves, and Marcus prevailed quickly. Raven had seen this show before. Fanny was flustered and dumbfounded, looking at her dead hand of cards as if wishing they would tell her what she was doing wrong. She was so bad at Parchen, that even after all the watching he did, Raven was still not entirely familiar with the game. She lost so quickly, nuance was lost.

Several more games passed, and Fanny was now becoming truly frustrated, disheveled and making more mistakes than ever. Finally, during their fifth game, Marcus played a move while shaking his head.

“Fanny, why do you do this to yourself?” Marcus asked.

“My time is coming,” Fanny replied, red-faced. “I’ve just had a bad night.”

As he played the winning move to renewed praise from the victors, he looked up at her. “I shouldn’t say this, because we’re all having so much fun, but you really should just stop. It’s unbecoming.”

Those surrounding the table hissed at him playfully.

“If you think you’re so great, raise the stakes then,” Fanny chided, folding her arms in anger.

“I have no problem with that. How much do you want to wager?”

She harrumphed. “I’ll bet anything you like that I win this next game!”

Marcus’s pandora eye danced about the card with interest. “Anything?”

“You heard me.”

“Then I want it back.”

There was a silence at the table when he said that, and Raven’s interest piqued.

Fanny regarded him coolly, but didn’t reply.

“Do you still have it?” Marcus continued.

“Yes,” she replied.

“I’ll wager all my winnings tonight against it.”

She laughed in shock. “I beat you fair and square that night. And I know what it’s worth. There’s isn’t enough money in this casino to pry it away from me!”

Marcus frowned miserably.

“Of course…”

He perked up in surprise.

“I’d be willing to wager it… against something of similar value,” she said. “Like the ring of Valius Shrale.”

Anger and distrust filled Marcus’s demeanor. Raven knew the look well.

“No way!” he snarled.

“Fine by me! I love looking at the prize I won from you, a reminder that I can beat you in Parchen any day. And that goes for everyone here!”

Laughs went up as the merriment around the table returned, but Marcus stood glaring at Fanny, deep in obvious inner turmoil over Fanny’s offer. She possessed something he once had owned. Another treasure?

“Fine,” he said quietly. Sweat now poured from his brow.

“What was that?” she asked.

“I accept your terms. One game. I am Valius’s true heir. Me. Do you understand?”

“Okay then. Let’s play Parchen.”

Raven couldn’t believe it. Fanny just got Marcus to willingly wager the ring they were so eager to possess. Now she just had to actually win a game…

The match started the same as usual. Fanny and Marcus picked their move cards, and then their special move cards. Fanny started confidently, but as she picked more cards and built her available pool, confusion and frustration replaced the initial demeanor. She finished picking long after Marcus was done. Once her deck was down, they began, with Fanny to move first.

She played a “Goblin +2 any” card and moved the black game piece forward two spaces before discarding the move. It was Fanny’s most common first move. The dealer sitting beside the table quickly scribbled in his ledger and declared Marcus the favorite. After bets were offered and taken only by Fanny, it was Marcus’s turn.

“I’m going to use a special move,” Marcus declared.

By now, Raven knew this was very early, as they only had five each.

“Prince’s Charge,” he said. He took his Prince piece, and replaced Fanny’s corner Lancer Knight with it. The powerful white piece was now deep behind Fanny’s frontline. Raven remembered this move. The person everyone called Bear had performed this same opening when Raven first watched Fanny play. But she appeared equally flummoxed by the move, as if she’d never seen it done before.

“Favorite: Marcus!” the dealer announced. “One to Three Odds.”

There were no bets. The bettors had already gotten their best odds.

The turn came back to Fanny. She stood still, looking through her cards nervously. Her lips undulated as she thought furiously. Raven’s small hope died by the second.

But suddenly, as if a light came on, her eyebrows rose in wonder.

“Oh!” she exclaimed. “I think I can do this?”

She played one of her own special move cards. “Night and Day. If an opponent moves more than 5 spaces to take one of my pieces, and my pieces are in position to perform the exact same move, I can do so and take the original opponent piece as well.”

She looked at the oddsmaker, unsure if what she did was allowed. Those surrounding the table were aghast as they all leaned in closer to confirm it was a legal move. Marcus’s jaw hung agape. When no one said anything, Fanny smiled. She took Marcus’s Prince, and then used her own Prince to take Marcus’s Lancer Knight.

The Oddsmaker took his time to peruse the board. All were still quiet. It was like they were waiting for him to change what had happened. But after he scribbled in his journal, he declared: “Favorite: Fanny. One to Two Odds.”

The effect was profound. Those watching exploded in anger. Anger at the Oddsmaker, at Marcus, at Fanny, and at each other. It was a small pandemonium. Fanny wiped the sweat off her brow and seemed rejuvenated, while Marcus had turned white as a sheet. His shaking hands looked through his available cards, searching for an answer. Finally, he played a card, making a defensive move.

And then, something wondrous happened. Fanny continued to play well. Some cards she only played after asking for clarification on what the card she wanted to play could even do. Other times she played cards illegally and was forced to take them back to play something else, only to make a better play. All through the game, Marcus had no response, and piece after piece was taken, growing into a large pile beside Fanny. It was a miraculous turn of events at the perfect moment. Almost as if…

And then it struck Raven. It had been a long time since he felt so foolish. Why didn’t he see it before?

This was all an act.

Fanny Fyre, the mathematics professor. Fanny Fyre, the holder of treasures so valuable, she had no concern over money. Fanny Fyre, a person who played and studied and loved games so much, they riddled her home and filled her pockets.

She wasn’t a gaming novice. She was a gaming monster.

With the patience to rival a monk, she played the part of a buffoon over and over. Giving away money she didn’t need and building the reputation of a loser. But she was a shark. Waiting for something far more valuable to come along. The ring she was about to win was worth a lifetime of money.

“Ho-ly wild,” Van said. He understood as well.

In that moment, Fanny glanced at Raven and Van. And the sly smile that flashed briefly across her face made Raven shudder. Cold, calculating, and full of devious charm. If he wasn’t already spoken for, he was sure he’d have fallen in love.

Fanny waited eagerly to finish Marcus off. He was shaking, and sweat severely dampened his raggedy clothes. Tears began to stream from his good eye.

“I can’t… this can’t be happening… not again… I…”

“I win, Marcus,” she said, playing her last card to take his king. “Pay up!”

Deep groans surrounded the table as they all began to tally their losses. But Marcus looked ready to explode, red-faced and holding his head in his hands. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the ring, looking on the silver piece as if it was reprimanding him. His shaking hand finally dropped it onto the game board. He fled, wailing in frantic sorrow.

Fanny picked it up along with her winnings. “I think I’ll take that as a sign to be done for the night, everyone.”

She stepped away from the table and approached Raven and Van. She tossed the ring at Raven, who caught it.

“That’s a loan, boys,” she said.

She walked on by, high-fived Sonny as she went, and left the casino, smiling the whole way.

They watched her go in silence, still stunned by what they witnessed.

“Uh, I hate to be a downer…because I know we just got the ring and all,” Van finally said, scratching his face. “But isn’t Fanny’s challenge that you have to beat her in a game of Parchen?”

Raven looked up at him. “I have to learn how to play Parchen.”

“Yeah.”