“How is that fair to me? I already turned down selling her for that bag of gold. Now you want me to flay my own skin for it? Furthermore, I’ve never played that game. But everyone knows it’s a kindred game. So you want me to play YOUR rigged game? For all I know your people don’t even feel pain when your skin is torn off. No, I would only play your game if the stakes were much much higher. You’d have to put up an equally painful to lose bounty. See I own next to nothing except for this slave. You’re asking a man to put up everything he owns on a suspicious game. The only way the wagers could be equal is if you put up your slave there that sister you mentioned and your mother and father if you have one still breathing, for stakes in this bet.” He made the demanded stakes as high and absurd as possible rather than outright rejecting it for fear the mother would simply kill him.

His heart sunk when he saw the look on the young man’s face. “Mother, sister and my slave plus this gold? Bold. But now we’re talking.”

Jace couldn’t believe his ears and looked at the mother, who seemed completely happy with the fact that negotiations were progressing. He started to realize that these kindred were simply not logical creatures as he knew of it.

“Wait, before you say yes, I need guarantees. If I made this bet with another human I wouldn’t trust him to keep his word. What says you and your mother or sister or slave just kill me if I win? How would I control the kindred slaves, they’d be my property, but I have no guarantee they’d do anything I want.” He was speaking rapidly hoping his additional concerns were insulting enough to shatter the negotiations that suddenly started.

The mother actually looked insulted at the suggestion that they’re renege on the bet. Either they were one hundred percent certain they’d win or they were an insane people.

The young man then spoke “A dragon never goes back on his word.”

“Yes but humans do all the time. And, honestly, you’re half human too.” They looked disgusted at what he just said. Even the group standing to the side.

“No kindred would break his word.” The man Telani spoke up.

Seeing nothing but a tragic end for him and Sam, he knew he probably had dug his own grave on this one. Because even if he lost the game, he had no intention to give her up and watch her die in front of him. He’d never forgive himself. Had he lost to Teral in that prior contest he planned on killing the man regardless of the consequences. He never had the intention to bet another human life on a stupid torture game.

The young man suddenly smiled a wicked smile and said “I accept, though only for my slave and mother. My sister is not mine to give. She’s married. When I said before I’d sell her for these coins it was hypothetical, ‘if I had ownership I would.’ Type of thing. Good?”

Jace stared at the horrible young man and sighed, knowing he was looking at an open grave. He looked at the young man and spoke quietly, aiming for one last attempt to shatter negotiations. “Plus your sword and armor. Since you cannot bet your sister, your armor and sword will do.”

“DEAL!”

Jace simply couldn’t look at the young man and looked sadly at Sam a long moment. She had sort of a hopeless look on her face, she probably was thinking about this as a ‘bad’ end as well.

Then he looked back at the young man. “Well where do you want to do it. I’d rather not sit in a pool of blood smelling corpses while we flay our flesh. Since you’re the challenger in this one you go first correct?”

The young man nodded and said in a patronizing tone “My name is Varngus. Show me what a human is worth”

“Jace”

Surprisingly, despite Meri’ack being a Kindred game, the other kindred didn’t seem to be interested in it. Unlike the humans of this world, the Kindred seemed to find the game to be something other than entertainment. They moved 20 yards off the road, the surviving humans followed to watch. Likely because they were afraid to do anything that might upset the Kindred around them.

Varngus suddenly started the game, pulling out a shining silver blade and flaying a thin strip of skin from his chest. Being the challenger, Varngus got to choose where the skin came from and how much was peeled. But of course he had to go first too.

Jace decided to see if Varngus would suffer similarly to a human if he waited and simply sat there and watched him bleed. Time passed and to his horror he realized he could see the skin knitting closed after a while. Yes, Kindred would never lose this game. Varngus only watched him with an amused expression on his face. Yes, Kindred would never lose this game.

Jace felt dead inside. It was like he was drowning in the dark and couldn’t tell the direction the surface was in. He could see no possible course of victory for him. He had no confidence he could flay his own skin without making a noise of pain. He was no superhero, or fictional film hero. When he was cut, it hurt. With no other options before him but to try, fail and die, he really wanted to just launch himself at Varngus’s throat and get cut down by one of the kindred, or Varngus himself.