I walked to the indicated chair and grabbed it.

“I’m sure I will love it, but can you explain it really quick?”

“Yeah, no problem, kid. Take a seat and we’ll go over the rules.”

I nodded at Coopman in thanks, then swiveled my body around the chair to sit in it.

“Do you know what–”

Coopman’s words were cut off as my everything went away. I wasn’t shocked, I had dealt with the transition several times already. Still, the way his words were cut off, it made me wonder if this was normal. Even though I had nothing to base on, I had a feeling the time it took was longer than before.

“Well that was pretty rude,” said Coopman.

“Not like it’s the kid’s fault,” replied Selvaggi. “He’s here way too early as it is.”

“And that is why he is joining us for a casual game,” Branciforte said.

I blinked my eyes, slowly gaining my eyesight back. At first it was all a bright, blurry mess. After a few seconds, I could make out broad sprays of color. Blue skies, which was a good sign. Green-brown for the earth, also encouraging.

“I don’t even want to explain the rules anymore.” Coopman sounded miffed.

“Don’t take your frustration out on the kid,” Selvaggi said, once again defending me. It really surprised me. “It’s not his fault, this is all the system’s doing.”

“Yeah, but he sat down and locked up the game for over an hour.”

“Still, it is not his doing,” Branchiforte said.

I could finally see, and it was not encouraging. I stood on the top of a castle battlement. Below stretched a massive field, over a mile to a side. The sun was high overhead, baking the blood-stained grass and turning it a dark, muddy red. There were no corpses at the moment, but it was clear the the field had seen many battles. The grass grew tall and wild, obviously well fed by the dead. Directly across the field was another castle, identical to my own. I shouldn’t have been able to, but I could see Coopman angrily stomping around, head bobbing and beak snapping in irritation.

“I’m sorry,” I said aloud. It seemed to travel directly to Coopman, who jerked to a stop, then slumped.

“No, they’re right. It isn’t your fault. We just don’t get much down time after everything starts, and you’re here so early, interrupting our setup process.”

I shook my head. “I don’t know why.”

“He has been allowed here by the system,” Branciforte said in his slow voice.

I looked to the left and saw Branciforte sitting on the battlement. It was a hilarious sight, with him sitting as a proper gentleman on a plush chair, pipe in hand, and a new, crazy mustache on his upper lip. It was so out of place I couldn’t help but laugh.

“What are you laughing–” Selvaggi started to say, then went silent. He then broke into yipping laughter, not unlike the baying of his ancestors.

“What? What is it?” I could see Coopman looking at Selvaggi, then at me. Back and forth, totally lost. That is, until he looked at Branciforte. “Oh my god, not again.”

“I am a proud Italian,” Branciforte said huffily. “We are famed for our mustaches.”

I looked at the final castle, completing the square around the battlefield. Selvaggi was rolling on his battlement, legs kicking at the air. “You might be Italian, but you’re a frog! Frogs don’t grow mustaches!”

“That is specist and offensive. My cousin is a Leptobrachium!”

“Yeah, they do have mustaches,” Coopman said. “I mean, they look like spiny ridges, but close enough.”

Selvaggi continued howling with laughter for another solid minute. It was so ridiculous, Coopman started to chuckle, then I started to as well. That finally made Branciforte break, and we all had a good laugh for a long minute.

When we all finally calmed down, Selvaggi was first to speak.

“I’m sorry, that was rude. I was just caught off guard.”

I saw Branciforte wave him off. “Think nothing of it. Humor is finding the unexpected where it does not belong.” He smiled, wiggling his mustache. “I just happen to be the bit of unexpected today.”

“Alright! Alright,” Coopman said with characteristic sternness. “We need to explain the game to the kid so we can get started. I’m itching to beat the both of you–” he paused and looked at me. “The three of you like a rug at an Egyptian bazaar.”

“I don’t know if I like being included here,” I said with a laugh. The others laughed with me, but there was an edge to it.

“Do you know the game of five cards?” I looked over at Selvaggi, who had a wolfish grin on his long, very canine face.

“Uh, if you mean something like five card draw, like poker, then yeah.”

“Great,” said Coopman. “This is nothing like that.”

“What?” I looked back and forth between the two, who laughed yet again. They were obviously in good spirits. I had a growing sense of dread.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

“He’s right, and wrong,” Selvaggi said with a chuckle.

“That’s as clear as mud!” I flung my hands up in frustration.

“Mud is not clear,” Branciforte said. He sat up, giving me a bit of stink eye while puffing on his pipe.

“Duh,” I said as I slumped.

“Relax, kid,” Selvaggi patted the air. “It is similar in that you draw five cards. In fact, the hands even match what you know of poker. You get to discard and draw one time, and your final hand is what matters. That’s where this game differs from poker.”

I looked down at the bloodstained ground between our castles.

“Exactly, you’re getting the idea. You lock your hand in, and that generates your units. You select an opponent, then your units go to battle with the other forces. You get gold for each unit killed by your soldiers, which you can use for upgrades.”

“Enough talking, I want to fight,” Branciforte said.

“Finally!” Coopman jumped a bit, then sat in a chair that hadn’t been there when he started the motion. I looked over at Selvaggi to find him sitting as well. I looked behind me to find a matching plush seat. This close, I could tell it was very expensive. The red fabric looked soft yet sturdy. Dark wood made up the body and appeared quite heavy, giving it a weight that simply wasn’t there for cheaper wood. It had inlaid metalwork, which looked to be made from gold. It positively gleamed in the bright sunlight. I thought that odd, since real gold tarnishes over time, and this chair looked old. The velvet even looked a little faded, but from use instead of neglect.

I sat, enjoying the plush comfort for just a moment. It took a few seconds, but a message popped in my vision.

Terms set.

Winner take all.

Last castle standing.

Starting forces: 20 basic soldiers.

Starting wages: 10 gold.

Time limit: 5 minutes per round.

Do you agree to the starting terms?

I looked over what was stated. From what I had gathered, I would play a round of poker, which in turn would affect my units. I took a long moment, but I could feel the other three staring at me. It was obvious I was slowing the game down.

“Fine,” I said as I agreed. The window disappeared. I heard the clamor of men preparing for war below. I stood, then leaned forward to look down the wall. Giant wooden doors stood open just below, and twenty men with swords walked out. They had good unit cohesion, though the lack of armor was worrying. As I was watching the men walk out, another window popped up.

Sit down, fool.

I looked up, spotting Selvaggi staring at me with daggers. Delaying the game again.

“C’mon, man. This is cool. I’m just taking it in.”

I watched him mouth something at me. It took a long moment for me to realize that I couldn’t hear him anymore, even though I could see him. Whatever had allowed us to all chat freely was gone. I guessed it had something to do with the game starting. I sat, which prompted yet another window to pop up.

Available upgrades:

Soldier upgrades:

+1 cost per investment

Speed: 10

Health: 10

Damage: 10

Quantity: 10

Castle upgrades:

Health: 10

Repair (ability): 100

Repair: Cost dependent

Archers: 10

Unlocks:

Archers: 30

Mages: 80

Knights: 100

Bears: 100

Dwarves: 110

Griffons: 200

Dragon: 500

I checked my total, which was once again in the lower left of my vision. I had ten gold to spend. I could upgrade my units, my castle, or save and unlock a new unit type. Lots of decisions. I waffled for a bit, though I narrowed my choices down to either upgrading the speed or health of the soldiers.

“Wait,” I muttered. I could also upgrade the quantity of soldiers. A timer popped up in my vision. It was counting down from 30. It seemed the preparation stages also had a timer. It kept ticking while I tried to figure out what I wanted to do. Greater speed meant they could close on the others faster. More health, they can last longer. More men, better chance to overwhelm the opposing force.

“Uh,” I mumbled. Fifteen seconds left. “Craaaaaap.”

Ten.

“What if…” I started toward the speed.

Eight.

“But…”

Five.

I couldn’t choose.

Three.

“Gah!”

I poked the line for speed, watching my gold drain. The men gave a roar below. The timer expired.

Target randomly chosen.

“Crap,” I said again. “I forgot to choose an opponent.”

Coopman’s castle suddenly had a large arrow overhead, pointing straight down at him.

“Oh, guess that makes it easy to figure out which one I chose.”

The men all let out a battle cry, then rushed into battle. I watched them race down the hill. They moved so quickly I was worried they would be exhausted before they reached the other forces. One man had a banner, which I figured made him the standard bearer. Each unit had one. My standard looked to be a black tree on a white shield. It was a pretty damn cool symbol, and one I could easily recognize as my own, even having never seen it before. It spoke to me.

I checked out the other standards. Sure enough, Selvaggi’s had a stylized pit bull with a partial wreath below it. Coopman’s had an owl in flight, wings spread and talons outstretched for the attack. Branciforte’s surprised me, though. Instead of something like a roulette wheel, which would have matched his nickname like the other two, it was a pair of tumbling dice. They had the ones facing the front, though clearly still in motion.

My men raced for Coopman’s, who turned toward Branchiforte’s. They angled toward my men, as well as Selvaggi’s. It was one on one on one, but it was also two on one. My brain hurt.

“Forget all that,” I whispered. I didn’t know why, it just felt right. The tension was high.

My men were first to make contact. They got the first swing in against Coopman’s soldiers, and it was surprising. I could tell, just from a glance, that the numbers for all four units were the same. Branciforte’s men had small shields strapped to their left arms. That was the only difference I could see.

The clash was fast. My men swooped in, and even from over half a mile away, I could make out the screams of the dying. Fresh blood painted the grass. I wanted to turn away, but found I couldn’t tear my eyes from the brutal combat. I was invested.

By the time the other two teams had arrived, my soldiers had slaughtered Branciforte’s men. I saw five of my men go down, but the remaining fifteen had taken out all of their opponents. They turned in time to clash with the other two forces. To my surprise and delight, Selvaggi and Coopman soldiers fought each other as much as they fought my own men.

Before long, the first round finished. I had seven men remaining. They were all that stood. The speed boost had really paid off. I looked across the field at my men. They were stoic in the face of terrible victory. Each was filthy with mud and blood. I felt such sorrow I had sent them to their fate. And worse, I knew what was next. They started trudging toward Branciforte’s castle. One slow, reluctant step after another. There was no sign of their speed now. The first arrow flew when they were a hundred yards from the castle. It missed, but only just. The men did nothing to dodge or scramble around. They continued a straight line trek to the front gates.

Tears carved lines down my face as I watched them die, one by one. It was somehow so much worse than the battlefield. One archer defending a castle. Hardly any damage done. And I had to do it again. But I had no choice. And neither did the soldiers we used.