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Earl Garner - roughly one day before Johnny's resurfacing

I step into the room of the long building through a door and a hallway with creaky wooden boards as floors, heart pounding and hands shaking as the threatening words leave my mouth at the top of my lungs. The bundle of dynamite in my hand is being waved as if I were a lunatic ready to meet the pale lady at any moment.

"I am covered in dynamite! Give me the girl, or we all die!"

All the attention in the room turns to me; I see Elizabeth and Primrose take steps away from me and a bit closer to Icarus, a gray-haired lady in her early twenties or so. In a single glance, my hyper-focused and anxious mind relays the entire situation to me.

The sun's rays shone through the broken window directly in front of me on the other side of the Hunters, illuminating the dust that filled the air, casting a dim light on broken furniture and debris in the room while at the same time highlighting each human in the room with a backlight.

Above is an arched ceiling; I glimpse cracks running along the length of it, almost as if the building is holding on by a thread. The corners are covered with cobwebs, further elucidating just how rundown the building is.

Below is broken glass scattered on the floor from the glass windows that had shattered from the years passing deep inside a city known for not having the best internal situation. Behind that are my explosives, just waiting for me to Reshuffle the pipe just enough to make it fall, fire the gun, and detonate the bombs. Below the shards of broken glass is a long crack that runs through the bottom of the church, making my plan for breaking through the foundation more and more possible.

The silence within the church was deafening for a full second after I screamed as if the very building was holding its breath along with the people in it.

Icarus, unconscious in the back right of the room on a ruined chair. Gray hair from stress? Stress definitely. Whip marks are along her arms and legs. Tied up with dark chains of steel that bite into her flesh like a thirsty rattlesnake.

Primrose and Elizabeth, to my far right and forward. Seems like she listened. Good. The closer they are to Icarus, the better.

Six people. Three men and three women. A tall man with a scar running along his forehead stands at the front, gun drawn but confused at my arrival. He's the leader, the 5th Sigil, for sure. Hazardous Klein. I can see green mist come from his hands as he turns to point the lever action in his hands at my head.

His followers all join him, but he yells at them to stop and pay attention to the other two.

"Stop! Don't move any further! Keep your guns on those two!"

I can see a bit of panic on his face as he looks at the bundle of dynamite with enough juice to blow this whole building to hell, and I press on it. My hand is shaky, but I have faith; no faith is for the unconfident. I have confidence in my plan. Some details might not have been thought through, but enough have. The margin of error is slight, and I have to eradicate it through perfect execution.

Taking another step and ignoring his warning, I threaten them again.

"I said give me the woman! I want the bounty!"

The leader yells back at me, iron sight aimed straight at my head, causing worry to rise that is quickly forced down.

"Are you insane?! Do you want to die?! Put the dynamite down! We can talk it through then, okay?"

I shake my head and walk closer, getting them closer to me and the dynamite while at the same time distracting them from Primrose and Elizabeth. I make up some lies on the spot, the years of watching my father bluff at a table giving me the knowledge of how to keep my face straight during a fable twisted with words.

"No can do. I'm as good as dead if I don't get this woman right here. You don't give her to me, and we all die! I'll start counting!"

I don't give him any time to think; that might let him realize something is up. "Press the panic, and don't let go." Words of wisdom from my father about gambling come up at this juncture. It is eerie to think just how much that son of a bitch knew. Both about life and the world.

"Wait! You move one more step, and I'll blow your damned head off!"

I stop moving, but I make myself trip on debris at my feet as I Reshuffle and Marionette my bundle of dynamite so that one of the sticks falls and lands on a nearby pillow without blowing up. Dynamite doesn't blow up like that; not that many know about it, though. It requires the blasting cap to explode, either through ignition or great, and I mean great, trauma like a high-powered bullet from a rifle. Anyway, these people don't seem to know that information as it rolling toward them draws their attention, several of the bounty hunters turning their eyes to the stick. And as they do, I use the misdirection to pull out an adapted pipe bomb from the middle of the bundle, sliding it behind my wrist and preparing to throw it.

Sleight of hand. It doesn't just apply to cards; it can apply to anything. Cardsharp is only a title, one that tells that I am a swindler of fate.

There is just one thing that I miscalculated about this plan that hinged a great deal on these people being distracted. It isn't them figuring out that Primrose and Elizabeth were in on this. It wasn't the leader shooting me, causing the dynamite to explode when I did as I said I would. It isn't me messing up, either. It is the simple fact that one of them in the group is either more attentive or more competent than I thought.

Their attention is not grabbed by the falling dynamite, and they keep their focus on Primrose and Elizabeth even as they say they do not know me and are only trying to get away.

"We don't know him! Just let us go!"

"Yeah! We can't win this fight, and this lunatic is going to get us all killed!"

Time to go for gold. Poker face, just like my father. Focus Earl. No twitch. No stutter. No odd word that's unneeded. Only the perfect sentence can leave your mouth. You already thought this through. Just. Don't. Mess. Up. Just get Icarus away from that back wall.

"If you give me the girl, I will give you the dynamite and leave!"

Just a bit stupid. But not too much. Full of nervousness but a bit of confidence at the same time. That one's not hard to fake. The plan is to get the leader to come close to you and get less around Icarus so that the two can get her.

The leader in front twists his head at me a little bit but nods and yells back, putting his rifle into the air.

"Okay. That works for me! Just throw your pistols on the ground!"

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Good. He thinks I'm dumb, not obviously making a trick. I reach one arm down and toss the pistol I got from the other Hunters to the side. He can't tell it's broken from over there. The leader starts taking slow steps toward me, his gun raised in an attempt to cease the conflict. He points at one of his people and then at Icarus as Those behind him still have weapons raised, but they are pointed at both me and the duo of Elizabeth and Primrose.

Primrose and Elizabeth look at me, concerned, but I ignore them. The plan will work. Confidence is just needed. Everything adds up perfectly, and I can see it. The second he gets close, I will hand him the bundle, and as he is distracted getting the pile, I will throw one pipe bomb behind him. But that one is only another misdirection. He will turn to it as I Reshuffle and detonate the other. Then, I will make the one in the floor detonate as he is distracted.

The man takes another few steps toward me, getting closer and closer. I take one toward him to meet him in the middle.

The bomb I have hidden will likely kill him as I will try and make it detonate after the one outside. If not, it will damage him enough that he is unable to harm me while at the same time blowing a hole into the crack I'm going to throw it into. As for me? I'm going to jump backward and dive for the floor. The man's body will hopefully take most of the shrapnel. The force of the explosion will also mostly be dispersed into the crack by how I'll throw it with Marionette.

We both take another step, approaching the trade-off that was made in a single sentence from both of us. My age is a boon here. They expect me to be naive and weak. Stupid and impulsive. Only one of those things is true for me, just as they are for Wyatt. Only our foils are different.

The first bomb, the one outside. It is a bit away from the back wall, but there is enough juice there to blow it to hell. The back wall will likely be destroyed and fall apart, sending debris everywhere, but that is a part of the plan. It will make the building that is on its last legs begin to collapse, giving us an opportunity to escape through the sewers that will be blown open by the second bomb. Only in this way will we escape any other pursuers that might come for us just as we have come for these people.

We meet, the final step getting us within arm's width. The man carrying Icarus is not yet here, walking further to the side. They don't seem willing to give me her, even after I give the dynamite away. That's fine. It works better if she's far away.

I reach out with my left hand and hand him the bundle of dynamite as I smile at him. At the same time, I go to throw the second pipe bomb, but he catches both of my arms with incredible swiftness.

"How about we do this without bombs, huh?"

He called my bluff. I wasn't good enough! What was wrong? What did I do wrong!? I panic as I didn't expect him to grab me while I'm still holding the dynamite, but I manage to twist my arm and throw the second pipe bomb out from my long sleeve.

The thing slams into the ground and rolls toward the crack as I curse inwardly. Not enough force to explode it. Probably good it didn't right now, though. It would've killed me. Don't panic, Earl! It'll get you killed!

Hazardous Klein turns to look at the object with surprise as the person holding Icarus does the same. I take the small opportunity to detonate the other bomb. I close my eyes and imagine the pipe just barely within the dirt and force my mind to Reshuffle it. It takes a few seconds, and I can feel the man's attention turn back to me before anything happens. But I press on. The bomb needs to go off. After another second of complete focus, I can feel something get pushed loose as a bullet goes off, slightly muffled by the building. And immediately after the bullet goes off, a massive explosion goes off.

The bomb going off shakes everyone within the building, causing the back wall to cave in as a shower of splinters covers the Hunters, eliciting several screams and grunts of pain. Not quite lethal because of the bomb's distance, but it did some good damage. The leader looks back at the explosion in surprise. I see Primrose dart in and head straight for Icarus with the chance. I leave that to her as I panic and Marionette the pipe bomb that is on the ground toward the crack. The skill sounded like it would only work on flying objects in The Cabin, but it also seems to work on rolling ones as they are also let loose and left to fate. Need to finish the plan first before anything else. If that bomb goes off without being suppressed, we'll all die near it.

It helps that I've reached the point where I can grasp onto three whole threads with Marionette. It allows me to move more than I thought possible. The bomb slides right into the crack as the leader turns back, raises a finger, and brings it toward my face while holding onto my arm. Green mist is wafting off of it in ominous amounts as my nose begins to burn and wrinkle. My eyes go back and forth in a panic as I struggle to get out of his grasp, but his hand is a vice, restricting me perfectly.

I just need to get my match! Or a firecracker! Anything to detonate the pipe bomb!

"Where are the rest of you? Where are the other bombers!"

The man must think I am not alone based on the explosion outside! This wasn't expected, but it doesn't hurt the plan. I just need to get out of his grasp!

Struggling, I see in the corner of my eye Elizabeth raising her shotgun to point at the man, but I yell at her to do something different as gunshots go off on the other side of the building. Only a few words come out of my mouth that are meant for her; however, the leader of the group places his finger against my head. His finger instantly makes me feel dizzy and makes my vision swim as I feel compelled to speak the truth. I use Reshuffle to try and keep the gas from my brain. He must have some kind of truth gas or something. Fuck!

"Elizabeth! The crack in–! The two over there!"

Reshuffle is doing all it can, but it is only a nudge, and I am forced to reveal that Primrose and Elizabeth are my partners, no one else. My pupils lock on to Elizabeth in the corner of my eyes as I see her panic for a second at my words, but she seems to understand the first part and get over the second fast. She raises her shotgun and points it at the crack behind the leader. I'm not even sure if Elizabeth can see the pipe bomb from where she is, but even if she doesn't, I see her pull the trigger.

Klein turns to her, dragging me a bit with him, but he's unable to move very much on my information before the lead comes out of her shotgun. This blast of lead slams right into the crack, sending a wave of force into the pipe bomb. And just as I would hope, it promptly detonates. Only, I didn't have the chance to get far away. Electricity sparks like a lightning bolt as a wave of shrapnel and heat crashes into the man holding onto me, sending us both flying backward. The man screams in pain as he lands atop me. The slam into the hardwood and glass cuts into my back while at the same time knocking all the wind out of me. I feel a wave of heat cover me and burn me a bit, but it seems as though Klein took the brunt of the explosion.

The man wasn't expecting the second explosion at all, let alone the first. I don't think anyone even saw it come out of my wrist and onto the floor. Is that the secret of sleight of hand? The answer?

The most powerful act of sleight of hand is manipulating the perceptions of others so wholly that it creates an illusion of reality. One where it fits their understanding. Using explosions, I made it seem as though there was a whole different group here, slowing the man's reaction to me and Elizabeth as he looked for more. I never thought of doing something like that before, actively manipulating perceptions. I only ever thought about the steps in my plan and how I will execute them.

The fast-paced sleight of hand of an actual cardsharp is entirely different from my Cardsharp. Mine has to be creative and prepared, not technical and malevolent. They do, however, both seem to focus on perceptions, that's for sure.

These thoughts run through my mind as I'm pinned to the ground by a dying man. I know he's dying because he is coughing up blood in massive amounts onto my chest. The panic fades as I am completely immobile from the gas that is now running through my system, trying to force me to speak truthfully. A bit of regret slides in to replace the panic. I just killed a man that only wanted to put me unconscious and find out what I was doing. Were these good people? Were they unlike the other Hunters we have come across hunting Icarus? Dammit!

Should we have tried to speak to them more? Was Primrose just doing a bad job? No. She already met them once and said they were unlikely to give Icarus up if they got her, which they did. The Hazards found her running away, and their leader, Klein, put her unconscious after a brief fight. Primrose said she was watching from the shadows and wanted to take advantage but that she saw other people nearby also waiting.

There was no good option. These people likely needed the reward badly. Bad enough to be unwilling to negotiate at all. Had we tried any longer, there would have been a chance more people could show up. Primrose is very fast, and I find it hard to believe anyone else could find these people as fast as her. Her Vaporize allows her to move incredibly quickly for short periods and slide through tiny spaces. It's one hell of a Sigil skill, that's for damn sure.

One of their members is also really good at removing tracks, from creating silence to straight-up making footsteps disappear in mud. This leads me to think that we were on a timer as the first ones here.

A gasp of fresh air takes me out of my immobilized thoughts as Elizabeth rolls Klein off of me and drags me to my feet. She holds my face to hers, which is covered in dirt and smoke, as loud sounds of the building cracking resound above us.

"Are you okay!?"

She is forced to scream over the collapsing building as a panel falls beside us alongside the bullets from Primrose fighting the other five. Taking the 5th Sigil for sure helped, but she needs to get out. Soon. That Vaporize of hers can only be used when she has lungs full of air and no debris are in them. I know this from messing with her with dust and smoke bombs. Debris in her lungs stops the skill from working. Not to mention what a bullet would do if it got lodged in her chest.

I hope she's doing fine and gets Icarus out, even if she's a bitch to deal with. I barely manage to croak out a few words as I spot the dead Klein beside me. I have my answer, why waste the chance? He might have something for me. Surely using my explosion counts as me partially getting the kill, right? Right? This part of Sigils is so confusing, after all. I personally think it only really matters for the first one, as you wouldn't have Ether of your own to suppress the previous owner's remnant will, but I'm no expert. It could also simply be a recommendation and not a requirement. Many of those things seem to exist, as not all are easily told to us by the strong.

Truth leaves my body as relief covers me from abiding by the gas, and I continue talking. The gas just makes it a momentous effort to get anything out of my mouth that isn't an answer to a question.

"Yes. B–ody. Th-en. Lea-ve."

Elizabeth looks back and forth before settling her eyes on the dead man. She leans down and brings my hand to the dead Klein, who has a giant hole in his back with his heart, a torn-up organ, visible to the eye.

I sense the inside of the man's body and search for his Sigil, finding it nestled within his forearm among the muscles that control his grip. His Sigil is a trio of sides, one of which being a Metamorphosed Sigil that appears to be a trail made of deep footprints, whatever that means. It feels tough, fast, and reliable, however. It might be made of something like Prowler, Trapper, or Solider. Paying close attention, the two that are lonesome seem to be a Shaman and Soldier, respectively.

The Shaman feels like a brisk scent of the forest and looks to be a growing seed. The Soldier, however, is a sword in front of a shield and simply feels tough. The choice is easy. I can always try to find something like Gambler again later, but it is simply too rare for me to kid myself into following it strictly. Shaman leans into what I'm good at already. I'll be able to do more with herbs, balms, and maybe even make my own tinctures or Concoctions once I figure out how they are made.

I reach forward with my mind and yank at Shaman, just as my mind is ripped away. At the same time, I feel a familiar mind also calls for the Sigil, only it pulls the Metamorphosed Sigil.

Is that Elizabeth?