Card Mage: Slumdog Deckbuilder, page 20
Avice was sitting with Emil on the stoop when I came around the corner into the alley.
“What’s up?” I said, rushing over to them, fearing the worst. “Why’re you out here? Where’s Da?”
“Shush,” Avice said, putting her finger to her lips, irritated. “He’s fast asleep inside. We wanted to give him some peace, get a good sleep. Emil and I are playing some games, aren’t we, Bro?”
“Da smells of wee,” Emil said, grinning at Avice, then turning back to the game of ‘match three’ he was playing on the ground with a piece of charcoal.
“Not quite wee,” Avice said, making an ‘x’ in a box on the ground, clearly letting her brother win. “But he doesn’t smell great, no.”
She looked up at me. “He was talking this evening, though. Asked about you, Hick.”
I nodded. “I’ll head in. You did good work, Avice. Great work, even. Here,” I said, reaching into my backpack, and pulling out the candied breadstick I’d grabbed from a vendor a few blocks back, and snapped it in half for them. “A small treat.”
Emil’s greedy eyes widened and he grabbed it from me straightaway, devouring the treat. Avice took it a bit more gingerly. “Can we afford this?” she asked.
“You earned it,” I said. “More than earned it - you’ve been amazing, Avice. I know it isn’t easy having to help out at your age. I remember what it was like, when Ma left. It feels unfair. It is. But you’ve been amazing.”
“Better than you were?”
The question caught me off guard. I thought she might be trying to wind me up, but she seemed genuinely curious.
“Actually, yes,” I told her. “I whined to Gunne like a spoiled brat all about it. Da had to send me out for jobs just to stop listening to me complaining. I still worked, of course. But I was a massive moan.”
Avice smiled. “Not me, though. I’m better.”
I nodded, not sure where she was going with this. “Sure you are. Sure. You okay for a few more minutes, while I check on Da?”
“’Course I am. Got to figure out how Emil keeps beating me at his favourite game, don’t I?” she said, earning a giggle from Emil.
Inside, it did indeed stink - more from the bitter tang of bile than of anything else. Da was in his bed, but he wasn’t sleeping soundly at all - he tossed and turned, his eyes closed, his brow beaded with sweat.
“Da?” I said, voice low, as I got closer. I wasn’t going to wake him if he was sleeping any sounder than that.
His eyes flicked open.
“Hick,” he said, trying to sit up, but clutching at his head and groaning when he tried to move quickly.
“Back down,” I said, putting my hand on his shoulders and lowering him to the pillow. “You’ve a day or two more before you’re going to be yourself again,” I told him. “Rest until then, or you’ll make more trouble for us than you already are.”
“No more cards, Hick,” he said, grabbing my wrist with surprising force as he did so. “I know you’ve chits saved, Boy. You can’t buy a card with it. I forbid it.”
“You’re in no position to forbid anything right now, old man,” I said, doing my best to keep my tone light.
“I mean it,” he said, trying to sit up again, to the same result as earlier. “Don’t waste your hard-earned chits on the game. It’ll only bring you grief.”
There was fresh water in a bowl by his bed; Avice was amazing. I soaked a cloth in it and wiped Da’s head. “The chits’re gone anyway, Da. Stolen.”
He didn’t speak for a while after that. Eventually, his grip on my arm loosened, and he let it fall back to his side. “I’m sorry, Boy. Sorry. But it’s for the best. All for the best.”
I didn’t know how to respond to that, so I didn’t.
“I’m sorry, Boy,” he said, this time speaking through gritted teeth. “You shouldn’t be having to look after me like this. None of you should. Things should be easier.”
I sniffed. “Things are never easy down here. But you don’t have to worry about it, and you don’t have to be sorry neither. I’m tough. Avice is tougher still - she’ll be brutal when she’s older. We’ll get through this, just like we always do, Da. You can knock us down, but there’s one good thing you can say about the Durchdenwalds - we just keep standing up to get punched down all over again.”
Chapter Sixteen
The Book of the Water, Chapter 27, verses 1-3
And finally, after days of pursuit, after the spending of countless lives, the Leviathan tired. Our Lord Lusiomancer, in his humble boat, came alongside the beast, and although it dwarfed him in size, in its exhaustion it could only watch as he commanded his golden chains to encircle the monster, binding it to him. Then, manning the vessel by himself, as his crew had long since abandoned him or fallen to the monster’s attacks, our Lord began the long journey home, dragging his foe behind him.
I could tell it was bad news as soon as I saw them.
There’d been no Ecclesiarchy interest in our deck or, more specifically, my goblet, but with Pep leaving us, our group was no longer watertight. We couldn’t trust Kartenbauer’s Arena as a safe place to meet, so instead, on the day of the game, Kartenbauer had arranged to see me and Gunne in The Blind Pig, a card players’ pub close to Batdorf’s, the arena our game was in.
I should have been excited about my first-ever match. Instead, I reckon I had lost more sleep last night than my sick da. The look on Gunne’s and Kartenbauer’s faces didn’t help matters.
“He hasn’t come back?” was the first thing I said, directed at Gunne.
Behind her mask, her face darkened, but she just shook her head. Pep had refused to speak to me at all when I’d tried to reason with him; I’d hoped his girlfriend would have had more luck.
“Look, it isn’t entirely unexpected for deck members to back out at the last minute,” Kartenbauer said. “One of the leaders? A bit more unusual, but it’s happened before. I told you I could fill in some gaps - I reckon I’ve got three new cards for you - I’ve managed to replace the Card Cavalier’s ghost with another. Also have a second gravetender, and some spirit armour. Not exact trades, but could have been a lot worse.”
I nodded, my mouth dry, trying to consider the changes in the deck, and what they would mean for the strategies Gunne, Pep and I had talked through, but my mind was blank. All I could see was this chance, the opportunity the lady in the Mire had given me, slipping through my fingers.
“Right, right,” I said, nodding, trying to convince the two of them that I was still feeling good about our chances. “Okay. What about the field? Kartenbauer, will you be our third, if the Card Cavalier doesn’t show?”
“He won’t show,” Gunne said, not attempting to hide the bitterness in her voice.
Kartenbauer, however, just shook her head. “I’ll stick my neck out far for you, Mysterious Stranger - already have. But taking to the field like that is just painting a good old target on my back. Already told you I’ll not be having any of that. I’ll thank you not to ask me again.”
I nodded, my lips tight. “Okay, then.” I looked up at Gunne. “It has to be him, then. It just has to. Let’s head over to his place. I’ll drag him here screaming, if I have to. Anything to get him onto the field.”
“No good. Even if I wanted him here - which I don’t - he’s one step ahead of us. Went to his place one last time this morning to get him to change his mind. His da was waiting for me. We’ve never seen eye-to-eye - you know that - and the old man had a few choice words of his own for me, but it comes down to this - the Card Cavalier swapped shifts with his older brother. He’s out in the bay right now, trawling for haddock. Zero chance of him or his cards this morning.”
“Damn,” I said. “Damn. That’s… that’s actually pretty smart.” I gave Gunne a weak grin. “Just the kind of gutsy thing we want in a team member, right?” She didn’t return the smile.
“Okay,” I continued. “Time to meet the gang. Let’s go check out how bad things have gotten.”
***
Batdorf’s was nothing special, as arenas went. Smack in the middle of the Slums, there were half a dozen other - better - grounds to play in, which meant Batdorf’s proprietors were willing to turn to underground matches to turn some kind of profit. The stadium was a basic dirt circle, with some amateurly built wooden stalls encircling the playing field.
As I walked over to Gunne, I eyed up a tall, primly dressed woman on the other side of the arena floor.
“I don’t suppose there’s any chance that’s not who we’re playing against?” I asked Gunne.
“That’s her alright,” Gunne said, wearing a scowl that told she was going to be a lot of fun to play a game with today. “That’s Bucha. Certainly looks like the kind of person who’ll take it easy on a bunch of newcomers, doesn’t she?”
Bucha wore a simple, almost businesslike high-collared black dress that was buckled down the front with silver spikes. Her hair was fastened in a tight bun, speared with what I could swear were twin daggers. She wore black lipstick; basically the whole ensemble screamed high-class contempt. Bucha glanced our way, and I swear her sneer was like someone looking at a dog shitting on the other side of the street.
Gunne was doing a head count, and she didn’t look happy. “Twenty-nine cards,” she said, almost spitting. “Your three newbies made up for Pep’s turncoat cards, but he wasn’t the only one - Judd isn’t here.”
I swore under my breath.
“Honestly, I expected worse,” Kartenbauer said, flicking through the deck Gunne had gathered from our team. “After the display you put on during the practice, the only reason most of them showed up is they know they’re protected.”
“Okay, okay. Good, good,” I said, pacing on the arena field. I turned to Kartenbauer. “What’re our options here?”
She raised an eyebrow at me. “Options? You forfeit, young man. You and your friends here fumbled the draw. You can’t play without a full deck. You don’t have one, so you forfeit the game.”
“But, I’ll lose my card.”
She opened her arms out wide. “And thus endith the career of yet another promising card player, before a match has even been played. A story writ time and time again upon the Domstadt streets. Must be a Games Night.”
“You’ve got to be able to do something!”
“Me? I think I’ve done everything I can for you. You already have my three cards in your deck. I found you three more gang members, to replace the ones you lost. Most of your deck is only here because I pointed them in your direction. I’ve stuck my neck out enough for you, young man. If you can’t pull yourself and your team together, why should I risk anything more?”
The staccato thud of my heart invaded my throat, and I could feel the blood begin to flush my face again.
“Outside. The crowd,” I said to her. “They’re getting ready for the game. There’ll be someone in that crowd you know, someone carrying a card.”
“I don’t doubt it,” Kartenbauer said. “But I’d be putting myself at plenty of risk going out there, getting my face in the public eye more than I’d wanted for this match.”
“But you could do it,” I said.
She didn’t reply, but stared right into my eyes, giving an expectant gaze.
“She wants chits,” Gunne said, after a few moments of me staring back at her.
“I think I deserve it,” Kartenbauer said.
“You’re already getting three portions of our winnings,” I retorted, trying to keep my tone measured.
“For my three cards,” Kartenbauer said. “No more than anyone else is getting, for what I’m bringing to the deck. But I’ve brought more than that already, with helping your organisation. Even with three shares of the winnings, that is nowhere near enough compensation for what you’re asking me to do.”
I narrowed my eyes. “You can have my share, if we win,” I said, choking the words out.
“Chance that,” Gunne said, stepping between us. “You need the chits to feed the kids. She’ll take my share of the winnings, and she’ll get us that thirtieth card quick.” Gunne held her hand up to Kartenbauer, and after a moment’s consideration, the arena master gave it a sharp shake, and turned towards the arena entrance.
“Gunne, you didn’t need to-” I began.
“Sure I did,” she said. “I’m not in this for the chits, Hick. Jurgen takes care of the family well enough. I’m here to win. I’m here to play with my kelpie, and get stronger with it, so I’ve got enough power to actually make a difference in the world. The chits are important to you - I can’t let Pep rob you of them. I’ll go check on Kartenbauer. The way our luck is going, I’m going to catch her out back selling us out to the Ecclesiarchy,” Gunne said, in the worst attempt at a joke I’d ever heard. She hopped off to follow Kartenbauer outside.
I took a deep breath and walked back towards our deck members, many of whom were craning their necks to get a better look at what was going on. I wasn’t sure if any of them were aware our deck was having issues, but I gave them all a look of reassurance anyway – luckily, they couldn’t see my stupid, unconvincing grin from under my mask.
Brimtoe, I saw, was now sitting with Annaleisa, Ludwig and Emmeline. Annaleisa actually sat with her arm looped around Brimtoe’s shoulders. She shot me a wink when she saw me looking her way, and I was surprised to find my face flush, not with anger, but with jealousy. Brimtoe, for his part, gave me a small wave, seemingly thrilled to be chatting with other card players his age.
Gunne came jogging back in, ahead of Kartenbauer. Even with the mask covering her face, her concern was clear.
“What’s up?” I asked. “Don’t tell me there were no card players there?”
She shook her head. “Oh, there was a player, alright. But, Hick - you aren’t going to like it.”
I craned my head to look at the two people walking behind Kartenbauer. “Why? Who in the… oh. Oh, no, Gunne,” I said, at the sight of Mama Hawk and Rolf Wolfram strolling into the arena.
“I tried to say, but there was no one else there, Hick. It’s them or forfeit.”
“Chance it. Did they recognise you under the mask?”
She shook her head, and then Kartenbauer was with us.
“Mr Mysterious Stranger, may I introduce your new deck member to you - Rolf, newest member of the Wolfram family, bringing his incubus into the fold.”
“Newest member of my little family, and third member of your field team,” Mama Hawk drawled.
I couldn’t hide the surprise from my reaction. “What?”
“Missus Kartenbauer here tells me you’re in something of a bind. Luckily enough, pretty ol’ Rolf’s more than willing to step in and make things right for you. But Mama Hawk’s favourite son don’t go filling up spots in random decks. No, pretty ol’ Rolf here’s a leader, and if you want his card, he gets a spot on the field beside whichever unfortunate souls you’ve got lined up to lead this sorry bunch.”
“That’d be me and, uh, the Red Rebel,” I said, my teeth clenched, indicating Gunne.
Mama Hawk sniffed. “Yeah,” she said, and chewed her lip, casting her eyes over us both. “Well, that can’t be helped. Least you got Rolf to pull you up.”
“I’ll go and introduce myself to the team,” Rolf said, striding over to the rest of the gang, with me and Gunne jogging after him to keep up.
“Least they didn’t ask for a bigger cut of the prize,” Gunne said, as we walked. “Mama Hawk must be hoping this guy gets to prove himself, get a bit of a name.”
“I hope he’s improved since our game on the docks.” I caught up with Rolf, showing him our deck, now full with his incubus within. “So, this isn’t ideal, but we’ve got a few minutes to go over strategies. Cards we’ve got, we’re going to want to use our buffs, build our monsters up and not selling them too early, so we thought we’d focus on spells for removal early game-”
Rolf raised a hand to shut me up, raised an eyebrow at me, and shot me a lazy grin. “Look, kid, it’ll be fine, right? Don’t get stressed out about these things - let’s just see what turns up in our hand, and take it from there, yeah? I’ve seen too many gangs spend hours planning, just for it to turn to chance after the second round. No point wasting time.”
“Oookay. But since there’s only two minutes, don’t you even want to see the deck?”
He rolled his eyes, and instead made his way to our people in the stalls, of course making a beeline straight for Annaleisa and her friends.
“Breathe,” Gunne said, putting her hand on my shoulder. “We’ll take the draws, we’ll make the plays - you’ll hardly know he’s there.”
***
The match began. We stood on the arena floor, across from our competitors. Bucha’s teammates stood on either side of her, but there was no doubt who was in charge. Bucha’s gangmates looked almost nervous, continually glancing at their leader to check they weren’t screwing something up somehow.
I looked over at Gunne. She was scanning the stalls, but I couldn’t tell who she was hoping to see. Her brother? Pep? We both knew there was no chance of him being there, but part of me wanted to see him, too.
“Let’s play some cards!” the announcer shouted, walking off from the centre of the arena floor.
Above, the mana fountain began to hum. In my pocket, I felt the deck box begin to vibrate. I stepped forward to the centre of the arena to meet Bucha. If I had been a dog taking a crap earlier, right now I was the turd itself; she looked down her nose to regard me. With the heavy makeup she was wearing, I struggled to tell if she was closer to my age, or my da’s. Her gear certainly gave the impression she came from money, but I guess you can’t really tell these things. Bucha’s prim outfit could just be her asserting her stage character.
