The small group of adventurers continued to travel on the road after they dropped off their prisoners, they hadn’t run into any other threats over the course of the last day and Abby mentioned being bored as Silvern and Doran enjoyed the silence. Cyrus, on the other hand, acknowledged the beast woman’s complaint and pulled out his deck of cards before offering to play a game. It sounded better than just sitting in the back of the wagon with nothing to do.

The white haired woman agreed to play a hand of cards with a grin, but their cart hit a pothole in the road and knocked the deck from the spear fighter’s hand before they could even start. The cards hit the cart floor and spread all over the place, Doran gave a small chuckle as he helped the pair pick up the deck in the impromptu game of fifty-two pickup.

“Here, don’t drop them again.” Abby said, handing the spearman his deck. “Unless you’re pissed about losing a hand to me.”

“Thanks, but I’m still missing three 4’s, a 7 and a joker.” He responded without looking through the deck. Doran didn’t pay Cyrus any mind as he looked under his seat before finding the mentioned cards, Abby on the other hand gave Cyrus a speculative look. She was curious how he knew exactly what he needed before flipping through what the trio had already picked up.

“We have a problem coming up,” Silvern said as his bicorn’s hooves clapped against the road and crunched the orange leaves. The dark elf pointed ahead and saw a small road block slowly coming into view, there was a rather large group of people camping around the area with many carts pulled to the side of the road. “That’s odd, there’s no reason for a gate to be set up here.”

The beast tamer pulled their own cart to the side after getting close to the blockade and told Becky to stay away from the campers, Cyrus looked around the area from his seat and saw that all the people who were camping were mostly peasants or traveling merchants. At the gate was a small group of knights wearing shining armor, a few sat at a table where several coins were piled while the rest stood guard. Silvern hopped off the driver’s seat and saw Carlyle’s shadow circle the wagon as he flew high in the air.

“I’ll go ask what’s happening. Abby, stay with the cart.” The elf said as Cyrus and Doran stepped off their transport, leaving their weapons behind.

“Right,” the beast woman responded as she looked at the banners that hung along the gate. They were decorated in green and gold colors with the image of a stag’s head acting as a noble family’s crest.

“I’ll speak with the knights, you two ask the campers what’s the hold up.” Cyrus and Doran nodded in agreement before the three men walked into the strange scene.

The spear fighter and swordsman passed several tents, some filled with many people while others only held a single individual. The cool autumn air blew through the area and caused several people to shiver, Cyrus included, many campers began to set up small fires in response to both the slowly setting sun and the cold air. As the pair continued to walk around, they saw many of the campers were either crying or dejected.

“Why do ya think they’re still sitting here?” Cyrus asked with a worried face.

“Not sure,” responded Doran, equally concerned. “There must be a good reason, this isn’t the only road to the next town.” Just before Doran could speculate, the pair heard a familiar voice call out to them.

“Oh, it’s you two,” Doran and Cyrus turned their heads to see the face of the traveler they had helped a few days ago. “Thank you again for helping me repair my wagon, though now I have a new problem.”

“We can see that,” Cyrus replied. The three gave proper introductions and the traveler had turned out to be a traveling merchant named Holt. “How’re your kids?”

“They’ve been better, come with me. They’ll be happy to see you again.” The trio passed by more campers, Doran noticed how many of them seemed to have been there for quite some time due to the state of their carts and tents. The travelers themselves seemed even worse for wear with whatever rations they had dwindling and looking even more tired.

When Holt brought Cyrus and Doran to his cart, the merchant’s children were playing with some sticks while sitting on the driver’s seat of their transport. Both looked rather bored until the daughter noticed her father and the adventurers.

“Hey, it’s the old guy with the cards!” The girl shouted happily, her brother looked up and smiled. Cyrus held back his hurt face, he wasn’t that old yet, and greeted the children while Holt scolded his daughter for insulting the spearman.

“He’s fine,” Doran responded. “He’s been called worse things, mostly by me. Like philistine, ignoramus, bullheaded…” The swordsman continued to rattle off his rather harsh names before Cyrus finally interjected.

“Alright, I’m not sure what half of those words are,” he replied with an unamused face. “But I know I should be insulted.” Doran ignored his friend’s comment and asked Holt what was happening with this peculiar checkpoint.

The merchant explained that he didn’t know much and that there shouldn’t have been such a block on this road. When he and his children arrived a day after parting the pair there was already a large camp of people at the gate. The toll for passing was five gold per adult and one hundred silver per child and anyone who tried to leave was threatened with detainment. Most people couldn’t pay such a toll and ended up making camp here, since many were merchants they might’ve been able to pay but wouldn’t be able to afford the aftermath of losing all their coin. Holt and his kids certainly couldn’t handle that tax, they needed as much money as they could to make it home.

Doran and Cyrus were both stunned by this news and looked at each other in understanding.

“Thanks for telling us all of this.” The swordsman said, turning his gaze to the knights at the gate. He saw Silvern talking to the pair standing guard, the elf held a face of disdain and seemed to be arguing with the knights. Doran also noticed that the design on their armor had a design reminiscent of seashells.

“We’ll sort this out,” Cyrus told the traveling family. The daughter looked up at the tanned skin man with a questionable gaze.

“Really, mister?” She asked. The spear fighter confirmed he and his friends would fix the mess they were in. The pair left the family with grins before making their way back to the cart to meet up with Silvern.

The four adventurers spoke next to their cart as the sky turned to a warm orange color with the setting sun, Abby heard Cyrus and Doran’s part of the story and looked like she was ready to murder someone.

“Are you kidding me?!” She roared. “No shit nobody would be able to pay that kind of tax! Silvern, what about the knights?” Abby began to grind her teeth with pure rage as she heard Silvern speak.

“The knights said that one of the controlling nobles in the area posted this,” Silvern said with a sigh. “The toll is supposedly to help pay the knights fight off the threat of a hoard of beasts. Anyone who attempts to flee from this place without paying will be deemed a criminal and will be detained.”

“This is completely irrational,” Doran replied as Cyrus played with his cards, the dark skinned man looked to be deep in thought. “There’s no reason for this, there hasn’t been any report of a beast hoard in the region. If there was then the church would’ve been called.”

The four sat there, deliberating what they should do. Silvern asked if Doran’s donation bag would help, Doran responded that the coins in that purse was for the church and not personal gain. Even if it wasn’t he wouldn’t have enough for everyone in front of the gate, Abby suggested breaking through with Silvern saying that would probably cause trouble for both the travelers and their guild. Cyrus looked over to the guard table and noticed that some of the guards were playing a game and exchanging the money that sat on it.

“Hey, Silvern,” the black haired adventurer asked casually. “Did you see what the knights were doing with the cash they had?”

“Uh, yeah?” Silvern answered with a confused frown. “From what I saw they were using the tax they gathered as bargaining chips in a few rounds of cards.” Abby and Doran both insulted the knights, calling them horrible names for using the civilian’s coin to personal pleasure such as gambling. “Why do you ask?”

“No reason,” Cyrus stood and jumped off the cart, taking his sad coin purse and cards with him. “Doran, follow me and bring your donation bag.” His swordsman friend held a confused face for a moment before understanding what he meant.

“I see, we’re that again?” Doran pulled out his donation bag and followed his friend. Abby and Silvern also joined in after giving Cyrus the same confused look.

“Hey there guys!” Cyrus called out cheerfully to the knights, the guards looked at the man with suspicion. “I hear you guys like to gamble?”

“We do,” the captain said with a smug look. “It’s the only fun thing to do here, aside from watch these people squirm.” Cyrus held his joyful face while Doran was calm, Abby and Silvern were quickly getting angry but listened to the conversation unfold.

“Well, I happen to love gambling too.” He held up his cards and coin purse. “Care for a game or two?” The guards all looked at each other with grins and agreed to his game. The guards were kind enough to give Cyrus a few silvers to make up for the fact he only had four coppers. The commotion had attracted some of the campers, Holt and his two children included.

“Hey, mister,” Holt’s daughter said to Cyrus as he let the knights shuffle the deck and pass out cards. “Are you sure about this, you really suck at cards.” Abby and Silvern looked at Cyrus in shock, they swore he was wasting time after hearing that statement.

“Trust me,” Cyrus said as he patted the girls head. “I have a feeling luck is on my side.”

“Don’t take too long, I’d rather get back on the road before too long.” Doran said as the first of many games started.

After twenty hands, Cyrus had wound up losing fourteen and had to fold on six. The two blue stars were holding faces of contempt and disappointment while Doran maintained his composure. Cyrus on the other hand kept a happy smirk on his face even when he lost. By the time he lost all his coin, he began to offer up parts of his gear or even Silvern’s cart to add to the pot. Silvern looked a little hurt at the risk of losing his cart, but at least it wasn’t anything important.

After losing the next hand, the spearman held a look of deep thought. “The dark, elf also has some rare animals that are worth a lot of money. I’ll throw them in.”

“I’ll fucking kill you!” Silvern tried to charge the seated man but was swiftly stopped by the calm swordsman, Doran almost laughed at how the short man was flailing his arms to get at the idiotic gambler.

“Relax Silvern, trust in the imbecile.” Doran said calmly, barely managing to calm the dark elf down. Each new hand that came to pass caused the crowd to grow more and more, Holt’s faith in Cyrus faded with each loss.

“Hoo boy,” Cyrus said with frustration, even after offering up Abby’s armor and hair ring he couldn’t pull a win. “You guys are really tough!” The knights all laughed and told the spearman to pay up what he owed, seeing as how he had nothing left for him to bargain with.

“Yeah, you lost my cart, my pets, my whip… everything I own!” Silvern growled.

“You realize I don’t have any clothes or weapons other than the crap I brought, right?!” Abby shouted, she cracked her knuckles as she prepared for the worst. It wouldn’t have been the first time she’d had to fight naked, but it would be the first time she’d be this pissed while doing so. Cyrus raised a hand to both keep his friends from panicking and to grab the attention of the knights.

“I do have one last thing to put up.” Cyrus gestured to Doran, who placed the donation bag onto the table. Cyrus opened up the bag to reveal its contents to which the knights all gasped and practically drooled over the mix of silver and gold coins. “This bag is worth more than everything we own put together. So, another hand?”

“So you won’t dip your hands into that for personal gain but you’ll let the moron gamble with it?” Abby glared at Doran, who was avoiding eye contact with the braided woman as well as the saddened crowd.

“The old guy is going to lose again.” Holt’s daughter added to the dismay.

Doran whispered to Abby with a small chuckle. “It’s only gambling if the odds are even.”

Suddenly things had turned, Cyrus began to win almost every single hand with no issue. Any time he didn’t win was when he folded to clearly keep the game going. The crowd looked on in awe, with Holt’s son shouting happily while Abby and Silvern’s jaws dropped. The knights didn’t know how the tables turned but kept playing. By the time another ten rounds had passed, Cyrus had won almost everything back and held a face of childish joy.

“Like I said, you’re all really good. Luck must be on my side right now.” Cyrus said as he shuffled the deck, the knights looked enraged by the man’s confidence and the captain spoke up.

“Just one moment! I don’t know how, but you’ve been cheating!” He cried out, shoving an accusatory finger into the tanned man’s face

“I have not, I promise.”

“Prove it!” The captain slammed down his own deck of cards. “One last hand, with my cards.”

“Sounds like fun,” Cyrus placed his deck on the edge of the table and watched the captain shuffle the new deck, his usual friendly smile still resting on his face. “In exchange, you put in all the money you took from any of the travelers. Winner takes all.” The captain agreed with a sneer as Abby mentioned her worries to Silvern.

“I know he has been cheating, his cards must be marked. It would explain how he knew what exact cards he needed in his deck back on the road.” Abby’s comment made sense to Silvern who was beginning to lose his calm again. Doran on the other hand was taking a closer look at the banners that hung on the gate’s walls, his face was still unconcerned even when he heard the new game’s ruling.

Cyrus put all the money he had and the donation bag in the center with the captain and his men putting all the toll they collected with it, the knights all looked at their hands and sneered in confidence. Cyrus humming a bit, unknowing or unconcerned with the men’s lack of poker faces. The knights wrote it off as false confidence as they watched the spear fighter flip through his cards and placed their hands on the table. The highest one was a flush, they were fully sure they won.

“Wow, bad luck.” Cyrus sighed with a frown and a look of disappointment. He showed his cards and the knights, the crowd, Abby, and Silvern all gasped in shock. “But I got a full house!” Cyrus’ smile returned and the crowd behind him cheered while the knights groaned in defeat as they looked at the winning hand.

Abby slapped Cyrus’ back and gave him words of compliment while Silvern began to cry in joy that his pets weren’t going to be taken away. The crowd all cheered and clapped at the little show they had seen, the show where the pompous knights got put in their place. Doran walked back to the table just as Cyrus began to scrape up his winnings but was interrupted by the knights.

“Now now then,” The captain said, his sneer suddenly returning. “If you take that you’d be stealing from the kingdom and we’d have to increase the toll on this road. You wouldn’t want to do that to these nice people, would you?” Cyrus’ response was clear, his smile gone and replaced with a nearly emotionless one.

“But you guys are the idiots stealing in front of people in a guild.” Everyone except Doran reacted in shock at Cyrus’ words. The captain tried to dispute Cyrus’ accusation when Doran chimed in.

“He’s correct. Your armor is that of the Rognar Region, we’re in the Emphyr Region. The banners are correct, though they are from the previous ruling noble. The current banner isn’t green and yellow, it’s green and brown to more accurately portray the earth and trees. But most importantly, tolls on any Emphyr road are only active when there is a war going on, not a monster hoard and it certainly wouldn’t be such a high price.” Everyone who heard Doran’s statement varied in reaction. Some were angered, others were surprised, but all that emotion was directed to the false knights.

The false knights acted in fear, they knew the angry crowd could rip them apart. The two Blue Stars were surprised at how much Doran knew about this whole ordeal. Cyrus said he’d be willing to overlook this whole ordeal if they turned themselves in, otherwise they’d just let the crowd deal with them. The knights agreed to Cyrus’ terms, seeing that the crowd was eager to probably kill them all.

“All right everyone!” Cyrus cried out to the crowd behind him. “Get back on the road, it’s all clear!” The crowd cheered as they all quickly gathered up their belongings while Holt’s daughter went up to Cyrus.

“I thought you were bad at cards mister?” She asked in confusion.

“I told you luck was on my side.” He smiled at her before sending her to her brother. Cyrus wondered what they should do with all the coin they had, Silvern wanted to keep it but Abby and Doran both shot that idea down. Holt came and said he’d be willing to deliver it to the merchant’s association, they’d be able to distribute it through their friends with the banks and other merchants. Seeing as how that was the best course of action, they handed over the sack of currency and went to return to their cart as Cyrus retrieved his deck and began to pick at the inside of his leather gauntlets.

“Wait, Cyrus, Doran.” Holt stopped them before holding up two bound packages. “I noticed Cyrus’ armor and Doran’s clothes needed repair but for what you did for us I say you deserve some new clothes.” Doran and Cyrus took the packages, Cyrus noted how his was firmer and was most likely new leather armor. “Don’t worry about price or if it’ll fit, I’ve got a perfect eye for my clients. That’s my pride as a clothing merchant.” Holt went back to his tent as the four adventurers left for their cart.

“Can we really trust those false knights will go to the authorities on their own?” Doran asked.

“I’m sending Carlyle with them,” Silvern replied. “I warned them he’s no ordinary bird and that they should do as they promised, worse case scenario they end up cooked.” Doran turned his head back and saw the fake knights cowering at the red bird.

“So, you really are lucky huh?” Abby said to Cyrus, who returned to picking at the inside of one of his bracers. “And here I thought you were cheating!” She gave a loud laugh as she slapped his back. The hard slap made the spear fighter pull his hands away from each other, causing something to fall out.

The four travelers looked down at the grassy ground to see it was six playing cards, All were low numbers and none matched. Abby and Silvern silently turned their heads to Cyrus.

“Oh I was,” Cyrus cheerfully said. “I was counting cards the whole time and roped them in. All that shuffling I did just before the last hand was to stuff the cards I needed into my gauntlet.” Cyrus began to laugh, his childish glee was apparent on his face. “Did you really think I lucked into a full house?! This isn’t the first time I’ve done this!” Abby and Silvern looked confused as Cyrus laughed, turning to Doran for answers.

“It’s true. Whenever we need funds he’ll find some unpleasant individuals and cheat them out of their coin. Although sometimes we get people who like to chase us out of anger.” Doran replied as he thought back to the large and thin men that attacked them in the tavern almost a week ago.

“What’s card counting?” Abby asked. Silvern explained that it was when someone counted what cards were most likely left in a deck or in a person’s hand. Abby looked at the man she was sure was a complete idiot and almost shouted her question. “In the few days I’ve known you, you’ve been about as smart as an ogre’s left asscheek. How do you know how to do smart people things Cyrus?”

Cyrus stopped in laughing and thought for a moment, he recalled a rather fond memory.

He saw a man with cat ears and a snaggle tooth holding up a hand of cards with a smirk, the memory Cyrus had shifted to that same man beating Cyrus and taking a small cake as a prize.

“Ah! No fair! How do you keep winning?!” A young Cyrus cried out in frustration.

“Sorry wee man,” the cat-eared individual snickered. “Now not only do ye lose the treat, now ye need to take an extra lesson.” The man’s accent was odd, but familiar to the boy.

“Oh, don’t rub your win in his face you daft cat.” A female voice said, they turned to see a slender woman with a single, large eye in the center of her head. “Little Cye tried his hardest, he just lost to a fucking cheat.” Her voice was sweet until she brought up the cheating. “Maybe you should teach him how to be respectable?”

“Dontcha have work to do?! I don’t need the resident one-eyed bird telling me wot to do!” The one eyed woman and cat-eared man both gave a friendly laugh before she walked away, reminding Cyrus to come see her later.

“Can you tell me how to do that?” The boy asked, the snaggle toothed man held a look of fear for an instant.

“Alright lad, I’ll teach ye me skills. Just don’t let Carla find out, right lad?” The last part of his memory was of the man explaining how Cyrus could do the same thing he just did…

“An old friend taught me.” Cyrus replied with a soft voice and fond smile, he threw his package into the back of the cart after picking up his cards. He suggested they should find a better place to make camp, the others looked up at the sky and saw the night sky quickly filling with stars. Before Silvern began to move the cart again, he poised a rather pertinent question.

“Hey, what if they weren’t fake knights?” Cyrus responded by saying that he would’ve just black mailed them into letting the crowd pass then, he answered with his usual grin. Silvern was stunned by how blunt and honest he was being about the rather evil plan and laughed as he whipped the bicorn into moving. Abby looked at Doran and smirked, she knew that knights of the church had to know a lot of information about the realms. But Doran proved to know more than she expected from one of Velina’s children.

“I think there’s a river nearby, Shorty. Let’s set up camp there.” Abby said, Silvern replied only by telling her to stop calling him “Shorty”.