Chapter 13: Playing the game

“What’s your poison today?” Moreag asked, switching on his professional mask.

“As it was my lovely date's suggestion, it’s only fair that she picks,” Koth said. Irin hated him at that moment. She hadn’t been to a casino before. She hardly knew what half of the games being played were.

“Krinos,” she said, thinking of the first game that popped into her mind.

“You have good taste,” the dwarf smiled and showed them to a table. In the middle, there was a plank with shallow pits. In the pits were white, gold and black marbles. The players had cards in their hands, which were played on the table. Seemingly randomly, a player would move the marbles.

“Do you know how to play this?” Koth asked in a whisper. Irin gave him a little nod. Krinos was loved by the nobles in her home region. The game had two different layers of strategy play: one involving the cards, the other involving the marbles. To be a good player, you had to be able to focus on both at the same time.

“Is it only the lady who will be playing?” Moreag asked.

“Yes, I enjoy looking at the lady more than I enjoy playing,” Koth said in a calm voice and pulled out a chair at the table for Irin. Irin tried not to blush, but she felt the heat rising on her cheeks.

“I don’t blame you,” the dwarf said. “Anything to drink?”

“Anrusian wine for both of us,” Koth told him as he staked an obscene amount of money on the table in front of Irin. The dwarf exchanged a couple more pleasantries with them and then walked away. Koth stood behind Irin’s chair, a hand on her shoulder. The dealer dealt cards, Irin looked down at her hand.

“Should I play to win or lose?” she whispered.

"It’s my brother’s money, so I don’t really care. But to suit our plan, I would suggest we start off winning and then let it go south,” Koth whispered. It took Irin a couple of hands to get back into the game; it had been years since she'd played. But after a slow start, she began winning regularly enough to watch the pile of money in front of her grow. She started relaxing and enjoying herself. A small group of musicians was sitting in a corner, playing lovely music. The people around them and the luxurious room created a fantastic backdrop to their plan. Koth was finishing glass after glass of wine, while Irin was still on her first.

“Sorry,” Koth said as he bumped into her chair, swaying slightly.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

“Fine, fine, continue to play.” Irin looked back at him; he looked drunk, and she frowned. To the side, she saw a dwarf standing, surrounded by two other dwarfs and a half-elf. That must be Mohind, she thought. Koth swayed a little more.

“My lady, what’s your next hand?” the dealer asked Irin.

“Sorry,” she mumbled and hurriedly threw down some cards. She lost the round, and quickly lost three more.

“I thought you knew how to play this,” Koth whispered, though it wasn’t quite a whisper, and Irin thought at least the people closest to the table had heard him.

“I do, now hush,” she told him. She continued to play and won the next hand, but then lost two more. By the time Koth stumbled into her chair for the third time, her pile of money had shrunk to about half.

“Are you drunk?” she half-whispered.

“Not really,” he told her, and then ordered another glass of wine. She shook her head and went back to playing. A few rounds later, she had lost almost all the money.

“Hey, why are you squandering my money?” Koth asked, not bothering to pretend to whisper.

“I thought it was your brother’s money,” Irin retorted, deciding if he wasn’t whispering, neither would she.

“Would that make a difference? Would it mean more to you if it were his?”

“I don’t know what you are insinuating, but you are starting to annoy me,” Irin said to Koth.

“Annoy you? I annoy you?” he asked.

“Yes, you do. It’s always the same with you: nag, nag, nag. When will I ever get to have fun?” Irin said. They had stopped trying to be discreet at this point, and Irin stood up, nudging the table.

“My lady, please be careful,” the dealer told her, raising his hand to steady her.

“Are you trying to grope my date?” Koth accused him, glaring daggers at the poor man.

“Koth! Are you insane? What has gotten into you? He was just concerned for my well-being,” Irin told Koth.

“You liked his attention, admit it. That’s why you wanted to play this game. I let you pick the game, and you had to pick this one.”

“It was the only one I knew how to play, you idiot.” They had now entered the realm of shouting.

“You could have fooled me, losing my brother’s money like it was pebbles,” he scoffed. That was it. Irin started crying, and for a moment, pure terror was visible on Koth’s face, before it turned to annoyance again.

“Sure, why not start crying as well? Embarrass me even more,” he exclaimed.

“I-I’m sorry,” Irin sobbed.

“Excuse me, Hoth, was it?” Both Irin and Koth looked to the side and saw Mohind standing there with his three bodyguards.

“Koth,” he corrected him.

“Ah, sorry, Koth. I think you need a little break. How about you go over to the bar? Your next drink is on the house,” the dwarf told him.

“Finally, a reasonable man,” Koth grumbled, and unsteadily walked over to the bar.

“I’m sorry we caused a scene,” Irin said in a broken voice.

“You have nothing to apologise for. I watched the whole thing, and you behaved admirably, like a true lady,” he told her.

“You are too kind. I feel I have made a fool of myself. I need to clean up a bit and then figure out how to get home.”

“No, no. Let me show you to my office. You can wash up there, and we can have a little talk. I would hate to see a beautiful woman like yourself leave this establishment in tears. My name is Mohind; this is my place,” he said to her with a bow.

“A pleasure to meet you. I’m Irin. Thank you for your offer. I fear it might be offensive to accept it, but I’m going to do it anyway.” Irin smiled at him and took the hand he reached towards her.

“Good, I’m happy to hear it,” he nodded and showed her the way to a door which led to the rest of the house. Within minutes, Irin was escorted into an office space. It was less decorated than the casino, but it still had an air of luxury. “I will get you some water to freshen up,” Mohind told her. Two of his men followed him, while the half-elf stayed behind to watch her. When Mohind came back, he had a washbasin and a towel with him.

“I don’t know how to thank you for this,” Irin said, splashing some water on her face, not bothering to wipe away the drops that ran down her neck. She took a towel and dabbed her face dry, then dabbed at the trail of moisture. She glanced at her host; he was giving her his full attention. That was good. It was easier to cast a sleep spell if someone was focused on you. She tried to summon the goddess, but it was as if a barrier had been placed between the divine magic and her. Irin began to panic.

“I hope you feel a little more relaxed here, away from that man,” Mohind said.

“Yes, definitely. I must say, I really like your home. It's a rare sight in this city,” she said, buying time to figure out what to do.

“Yes, my late father always said our home should be brightly coloured, an oasis in the middle of the dreary city. My father had some good ideas, but that was one of the few great ones,” he told her.

“I’m sure you’ve had a big hand in making it the success that it is,” she said. Irin wasn’t good at flirting, but she gave it her all and sent Mohind a flirtatious smile.

“That is true. But you know what they say about men with big hands,” he said, wiggling his eyebrows. Irin realised that a dwarf, with bushy eyebrows, shouldn’t use that gesture. It was far more comical than suggestive; it looked like two ferrets dancing. Irin did her best not to giggle. Instead, she looked down, trying to appear shy. He chuckled and moved closer to her; the half-elf cleared his throat.

“What is it, Leomin? Do you think this lovely woman is a danger to me? Can you think of a place where she could be hiding a weapon? You know magic won’t work. You should relax a bit, learn to enjoy life,” Mohind told the man.

“Yes, boss,” Leomin said with a sigh. Something told Irin this wasn’t the first time they had had this conversation. If everything went to plan, she wondered if Leomin would have the nerve to say ‘I told you so’ to his boss. Mohind turned his attention back to Irin.

“Don’t mind him,” he told her.

“Oh no, I get it. You’re such an important person, of course you have to have loyal people around you to protect you,” she said.

“You think I’m an important person?” he asked.

“Well, yes. All the people out there. They wouldn’t be here if you weren't important.” That made him chuckle.

“You didn’t get a proper look at the place, did you? How about we take the boys and go out there? You will be my guest,” he suggested.

“You mean I can spend more time with you?” Irin asked.