Chapter
1 – A Game of Death and Riches
There’s a legend that’s existed
since the time of the Egyptians. The last Pharaoh, King Ammon, was able to obtain
the rarest riches in the world at the time because of his wisdom, beneficence,
and skill as a ruler. When he died, he buried his riches with him, but he
allowed people to inherit his treasures if they complete a series of seven
games. If you lose, your soul is trapped with his in his tomb. Thousands of
people have played this game throughout the centuries, but no one has heard of
anyone winning.
Bernardo Briscola is an archeologist
and gambler who is trying his hand in this game. Because of King Ammon, the country
of Africa is a country of games with multiple cities and towns that center
around gambling and games. He is going through Egypt that is a city much like
Vegas. It is filled with bright lights, casinos, arcades, and sports stadiums. The
only people that live here are ones that live to play. King Ammon’s tomb is
here, however, its location is a secret that’s revealed only to those who go
far in the King’s Game. The first place Jonas stops at is a museum that doubles
as a place where people go to play all kinds of card games.
As Jonas searches for clues to the
location of the tomb, a man with facial tattoos and an outfit that suggests he’s
a researcher approaches him.
He says, “I know you, Bernardo. You
couldn’t resist the challenge of the King’s Game, could you?”
“You must know a lot about me if
you know what tempts me most. Who are you?”
“My name is Nicholas Rummy. I am a
fellow researcher just like you. I’ve trained myself in all kinds of games in
order to win the King’s Game.”
“Oh? Have you now?”
“I have. Do you know that the
people who play the King’s Game start the game once they set their heart on
winning it? These players of the game are bound by the game to meet up and
challenge each other’s skill.”
“Are you suggesting we play a
friendly game to test each other’s skill? There are a lot of places here to do
that.”
“No, this is part of the King’s
Game. This is the real deal. We play a game now and either your or my soul will
be trapped in King Ammon’s tomb. I’m sorry to spring this on you, but this is
how the game works.”
“There’s no need to apologize. The
only thing I was worried about was playing a boring game. I came here to risk
my life for the most valuable treasures in the world. This is what I wanted to
happen.”
“That’s great because I’m here for
the same reason.”
“What game are we going to play to
decide the fate of our souls?”
“Cards of Fortune. Do you know how
to play it?”
“I’ve heard of it, but can you give
me a refresher on the rules?”
“Of course. You’ve seen those new games
where people are put in a glass box as money flies around them and they’re
supposed to catch as much as they can, right? Well, that’s how this game is
played. We’re going into a box where dozens of cards will fly around us. We
will then pull out five cards in ten seconds. All these cards have value with
the number cards having their obvious value then the jack is eleven, a queen is
twelve, a king is thirteen, the ace is fourteen, and the joker is fifteen. Whoever
has the highest number at the end wins. Simple, is it not?”
“I get it. Let us play for the fate
of our souls.”
“That’s what players of the King’s
Game say. I’m glad you know it.”
“I have to know it in order to participate
in the game. Is there anything I should know about you? I’d hate to think of my
competitor as just an opponent.”
“Aren’t you thoughtful? I come from
a long line of researchers and gamblers. None of which have attempted the King’s
Game because we’ve been finding the best way to win it. I am going to fulfill
my family’s dream by winning this game. I’m sorry that your soul will have to
suffer in that Pharaoh’s tomb, but it will be for a short while because I will
win the game this day.”
“I’m happy you’re being thoughtful
of my soul. I was starting to think that you were just some selfish gambler.”
“Do I really give that as my first
impression? I do apologize.”
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll be sure
to make the time you spend in the tomb short too. It’s part of my goal to free
the souls from King Ammon’s tomb.”
“Then I’m glad to be battling against
a true man of honor.”
The two men smile and nod at each
other before entering the box full of flying cards. After ten seconds, they
bring their five cards out.
Nicholas is satisfied with what he
has while Bernardo is calm.
“Let us see what cards we pulled
out,” Nicholas says, “We’ll be showing each other the cards we have one at a
time. I’ll go first. Three.”
“Two.”
“Five.”
“Seven.”
“Oh. You got the perfect number. I
might be in trouble. Ten.”
“Queen.”
“Ace. Now, we’re heating things up
with the bigger numbers.”
“King.”
“Joker. This is the rarest card to
get and there’s only one when the cards fly. You need an Ace to win and those
are rare to get as well. It was a pleasure playing with you. Show me what your
final card is.”
Bernardo smirks then shows his
final card.
“It just so happens to be a card
named after one of my favorite songs. It’s the Ace of Spades. I win.”
Nicholas is shocked but happy at
the same time. His body begins to turn into sand and fly out of the building.
“You won fair and square, Bernardo.
Seeing the narrow margin that you won, you must be the one destined to win.
It was an honor playing with you.”
Nicholas bows to Bernardo before
completely disappearing. The people around Bernardo clap and cheer for his
victory before going back to their games. Players who contend in the King’s
Game in public is a normal occurrence in Egypt. Bernardo makes the sign of the
cross then picks up Nicholas’ cards and returns them to the Cards of Fortune
vendor. The vendor looks at the cards and gives Bernardo back the Ace of Spades.
“I think you’d want to keep this,
my friend. It’s your winning card after all and I think it will help you in
your journey.”
Bernardo looks at the card and
turns it around to see the name of a bar and its location. He thanks the vendor
then makes his way to the bar written on his card. This bar is a place where drinking
games are primarily played along with pool, darts, and other normal games found
in a bar. Bernardo sits at the counter and orders a glass of Italian red wine.
He keeps looking at his card while
thinking in his head, “There’s no going back now. I told Nicholas I will win
and that’s exactly what I’m going to do.”
A woman in a half dress sits at the counter next to Bernardo then says, “I see you like a gentleman’s drink.”
“Excuse me, waiter-”
“It’s kind of you to think of me,
but no thank you. I don’t want a drink. I want to play a game. My name is Amanda
Smith and I play for the fate of my soul.”
“My name is Bernardo Briscola What
game do you want to play here? I must warn you. I’m a champion in pool, darts,
and drinking.”
“This is nothing you can practice
and become a champion in. We are going to play a game much like Russian Roulette.
We stab a knife in increasingly fast sets of three until we make a visible mark
on the table we are stabbing. Once that happens, you pick up a revolver and if
it shoots out a pellet, you lose. Of course, these pellets might as well be
bullets in our case.”
“It sounds like an interesting game.
I accept, but before we play, may I know more about you?”
“You might as well since we have
all the time in the world to complete this game. I’m looking to win this game
because I knew so many people who competed in it and were never heard from
again. I’m completing this game, not for the riches, but to free their
souls. The riches can be dust for all I care.”
“How noble of you. I’m in this game
to free the souls from the Pharaoh’s tomb as well.”
“But I’m going to be the one who’s
going to win. Let’s go to the room next door to play.”
Bernardo follows Amanda to a room
next to the bar that has people playing the game Amanda described. They sit
down to play then get started.
While Bernardo tries not to make a
mark on the table he’s stabbing, he says, “I see that you’ve chosen an appropriate dress that can distract lesser men in losing this game.”
“I need every advantage I can get
to win. This means more to me than you think. If you were a real gentleman,
then you would make me win.”
“I don’t think so, my lady. I think
I have a better chance of winning than you do.”
As Bernardo says what he said,
Amanda makes a mark on the table.
“You distracted me!”
“I didn’t do anything,” Bernardo
says with a smug look on his face, “This may be what I wanted to happen, but I assure
you, I’m not looking to play dirty.”
Amanda puts her revolver to her
head and the gun clicks.
“You’re lucky I didn’t get an easy
victory.”
“Shut up,” Amanda says as the game continues,
“What makes you think you can do better than me?”
“It’s just confidence in my
abilities. I have won dozens of games without any quirks aiding me unlike you,
which is how I’m guessing you win most games.”
“What makes you think that?”
“Your dress first of all. The second
thing is that you must’ve known I was a competitor in the King’s Game when I walked
into the bar. You let me have my glass of alcohol, which could impair my
ability to play especially in a game like this. Another thing is that you chose
this game of chance that doesn’t require that much skill.”
“You may have me figured out, but
I’m doing this for a good cause, so there’s nothing wrong in what I’m doing.”
“The way to Hell is paved with good
intentions.”
Amanda marks the table again. She
picks up the revolver again, but it doesn’t go off.
“You’re something else, Bernardo. You
say that you’re not looking to play dirty, but you’ve been distracting me you
hypocrite.”
“It takes one to know one. I say I want
to help people and be an honest man but the games that I play put people at disadvantages
and require a certain level of deception. I guess that’s just the nature of
games at the end of the day. You play to make someone else lose.”
“Speaking about losing…”
Bernardo marks the table with his
knife.
“This was eventually going to happen
because of the nature of the game,” Bernardo says, “I either mark the table or
cut one of my fingers. It’s what makes a game like this more about chance than
skill.”
“Yeah, yeah just pull the trigger.”
Bernardo takes his revolver and it
shoots out confetti.
Amanda laughs then says, “Confetti
means that you’re almost to the pellet most of the time. Think of it as a way
to celebrate my victory.”
“That’s if I mark the table again
and if the pellet is in the next chamber.”
“Stop talking and concentrate on
the game. How are you able to move the knife at that speed without marking the
table or cutting yourself?”
“I’m calm, confident, and
collected. The wine helped me a bit as well. You might as well call me Bishop
because of how good I am at this game.”
“You seem to be as cold as an android.”
“I promise you that I’m going to
win and free the souls of everyone in the Pharaoh’s tomb. You can count on me.”
Amanda cuts the table again.
“You’re not going to win! I have to
win for everyone I lost!”
Amanda begins to tear up as she
gets the revolver and pulls the trigger. A pellet shoots through her head that begins
to turn into sand and blow away. Her shocked expression stays on her face as
tears fall down her face.
“It’s okay, Amanda,” Bernardo says
as she holds her fading hand, “You won’t have to worry for long.”
“You’re right…because I’m going to
be with my friends and family…”
The sand Amanda fades into flies
out of the windows of the bar. The people in the room cheer for Bernardo’s
victory before going back to their games. Bernardo isn’t that happy about winning.
Nevertheless, he gets up from the table, but something on the table catches his
attention. The scratches the two made on the table have spelled out the next
place that Bernardo has to do to. Another thing that’s spelled out is a message
that seems to be from Amanda. It says, “Win for the people trapped by this
cursed game”.
“I will, Amanda,” Bernardo says aloud. He then makes the sign of the cross before exiting the bar to go to the location of the next game.
