It was funny, because Tay was fairly sure, calling upon his limited thief’s knowledge on the value of things, bronze was more valuable than iron. If he had two coins, and one was bronze while the other iron, a week ago, he’d rather keep the bronze over the iron.

But for the life of him, Tay couldn’t wait to exchange his bronze Ranking Card for an iron one. The actual value of the metal hardly mattered. What mattered was what it meant.

He’d already decided that as soon as he hit Iron, he’d challenge Rantho. Unquestionably. If Atro thought that Rantho was Iron, then when Tay could finally match him, he would. To get there, he’d have to win at least five local tournaments.

Which posed a problem in and of itself, because although he had a ticket to one, he had no way of going there without alerting Cari. And he couldn’t alert Cari.

Her eyes had been trained on him for the past few days like she was a hawk and he a mouse. The worst part was that Cari knew exactly when the tournament was being held too. So, of course, she was tending to and cleaning the front of the shop only hours before the start of the tournament. Tay was stuck behind the counter, fiddling with his unstamped bronze card and trying his best to answer every tedious question these children had about their choices in candy.

“Hey,” Cari said, calling out from across the shop as she worked her way over.

“Hmm?” Tay put his Ranking Card back into the front of his deck box, and bade the kid wanting to buy a pile of chocolate raisins a good late morning.

“I know you wanted to go to that tournament today,” Cari said.

“What? I mean, I prefer helping out around here, so don’t even think about it.”

Cari grimaced, creating wrinkles on her otherwise more-than-smooth face. She was wearing a tight cloth tunic and a set of thin velvet pants that hugged at her legs, and probably kept her as warm as she needed to be. Tay didn’t miss how her hands rested on her hips though, as if she was expecting something from him—maybe relief from the guilt of keeping him out of tournaments?

“You don’t have to go to tournaments to get better at Runicka, you know?” she said, coming around the counter.

“I know, I know,” Tay said. “I can play against you, Sally, and Mond.”

“Well, you’ll get better playing against two of us,” Cari said, smile returning. “But I mean, you can play people and get better, but you don’t have to do it via the Runic Council’s systems. The best way to master something is to simply do it. No need to get worked up chasing down metals and whatnot. Trust me.”

Tay found his finger itching to take out the bronze card so he could look over its shine one more time. “I’m not sure about that, Cari. I need to find people who can help me get better, and they’re going to be at these tournaments. Plus, I need to get better cards eventually, right? If I go up to Iron, Emandra said she could give me discounts that’ll help me get them.”

Cari looked as if she had a reply, but then shut her mouth and shook her head. Tay wanted to apologize for shooting down her suggestion to keep playing causally, but he said nothing too, and Cari returned to cleaning the front of the shop.

Both of them were quite startled not even ten minutes later, when Mond all but leapt down the staircase to shake the very foundations of the shop. His face was red, and even though his left arm was still bound in his sling, he was jumping up and down as he made a break for the door.

“Cari, I’m going to need you to watch the shop! Tay, you’re with me!” And Mond would’ve then burst out of the shop had Cari not slid her way into his path, arms out and blocking the shop’s only exit.

“Hold on,” Cari said. “Where are you going?”

She looked right over at Tay, and it was obvious that she suspected this was a ploy to get Tay to the tournament. But if it was, Tay was just in the dark about it as she was.

“Carinella, you’re not going to believe this, but I entirely forgot about a shipment of cane syrup that arrived down in Candlecorner last night. Quincy told me about it, and I meant to go in the morning, but I got caught up doing—well, I lost track of the time. You know how badly I’ve been wanting to finally try my hand at making my own batches of candy instead of being the middle man.”

Cari’s dark locks crested down, covering her face. Her amber eyes were still visible though, flickering up and down Mond, and over to Tay every once in a while. But even through her doubts, Tay could see real concern plainly written in the creases of her brow.

“So you’ll go down to Candlecorner and then come right back?” Cari asked.

Mond put a hand to his chest and said, “Cross my heart, Cari.”

“And you need Tay?”

Mond groaned. “I wouldn’t have if I still wasn’t wearing this sling. If you’d much rather me take it off, you’re the only reason I’m still wearing the darned thing.”

Tay thought Mond looked anything but fine, and apparently Cari shared his thoughts, because she said, “No, no, no. You keep that on, and if you even lift a finger to help Tay with that…” This time, her eyes lingered on him. “He’ll be answering to me.”

It was only after they’d cleared the street and gotten halfway out of Peace and Quiet that Mond broke the silence. “You got your cards?”

Tay gestured down to the deck box he had strapped to his belt, but he also furrowed his brow. “Won’t Cari kill me when we come back without the cane syrup?”

Mond waved his good hand. “Please. Quincy already went and got it for me this morning. You really think I’d leave a barrel of cane syrup and not claim it? No, Tay, the best lies are the ones that are true.”

But then that left the question, “If you’re not going down to Candlecorner, then are you going to stay and watch me compete in the tournament?”

This time it was Mond’s turn to reveal that he also had his deck box strapped to his belt, giving away what he’d probably spent a majority of the morning doing. And all at once, Tay was filled with both utter excitement and sheer dread. Despite everything that had happened between them, Tay had not yet had a chance to play Mond. But on the other side of that coin, by the Fourteen, he hoped his first time playing Mond wasn’t going to be in this tournament.

What would stop the former Runicka champion from destroying him?

All of his worries about being matched up against somehow as good as Mond were only amplified when Mond swept open the door only to reveal no more than a dozen people in various clusters around the shop. Fourteen Above, it was only mildly more crowded than it usually was.

Tay wasn’t sure what he’d been expecting, but he’d somehow imagined that this small tournament would at least attract at least a quarter of the volume that Mond’s game against Rantho had. But there were probably hundreds of small card shops all across Duskborough, and thus thousands of runekeepers spread out across the city. They weren’t all going to turn up for a small out-of-the-way tournament that no one of importance was competing in, just so they could get their shot at advancing to Iron.

Atro and Em were in the middle of a heated discussion, while some others around the shop were carrying a table over to the back corner to set it among the rest. Atro blanched when Mond came stomping up to the corner to stand next to him.

“Surprised you weren’t the first one here, Tay,” Em said, “with how often you’re over here. And, Mond, a pleasure as always.”

Mond leaned over the glass to give Em a smile, and Tay caught Atro just behind him, gritting his teeth and frantically pointing down at Mond in silence. He was quietly mouthing, “He’s not playing, is he?”

Tay gave a nod to that, and Atro threw up his arms and stormed away. Em rolled her eyes while Mond turned back, probably wondering what he’d missed. When he determined it was nothing, he placed his own registration ticket on the glass in front of him.

“I’m going to need your Ranking Cards too,” Em said, when Tay pulled out his registration ticket.

Tay fingered his Bronze card, but didn’t put it up on the glass counter. “Why do you need it?”

“Record-keeping. In the case of victory or loss, when you leave the shop, you’ll have a new stamp on your cards. Don’t want anyone lying about where they placed.”

When Mond placed his Ranking Card on the glass counter, Tay had to stifle a gasp. He hadn’t been expecting Mond to hold a bronze card, like himself. Mond was the former champion of all of Stormwall. And yet, even he had to start over at bronze?

Tay wasn’t sure if that was relieving or alarming.

When Em took his Ranking Card and stowed it in the back with the others, Tay felt a pang in the back of his head, though he really couldn’t be burdened to explain it. He supposed it was simply the feeling that when he got his card back, it would be different. It would be stamped. Whether it was a stamp that he wanted would be up to what happened in the next couple of hours.

At the moment, his Ranking Card was a perfect blank slate. And this tournament would be his first impression. He had to make it count.

“Alright, boys,” Em said. “List for the first round is posted up already, just over there. You’ll find your seat numbers on it to help you. Come back here when you’re done and then we’ll move onto the second. The quicker the better, right?”

Tay froze up as Em smiled and then moved to go and tend to one of the other runekeeper’s needs. He recognized most of the people here in the shop today as regulars—as people who all had more experience playing Runicka than he did. Like the orange sun setting over the trees surrounding Pyrewood, Tay could feel his hopes of turning this into a victory dwindling.

He followed Mond over to the other side of the shop in a daze, and glanced over the list until he found his own name and his table. He hardly knew any of the regulars by name aside from Atro and Em, so when he saw he was dueling someone named Purvon, he hadn’t a clue if he actually knew them or not. He just hoped they’d prove an inexperienced opponent.

Like himself.

A weight fell against his shoulder and turned him around. He found himself face-to-face with a hunched-over Mond, who then patted his back a few times. “You’re going to do great today, kid. This is what you’ve been playing for.”

Tay allowed himself to sigh, and then smile back. “I know. Just not sure what to expect.”

“You’ve already done more than this—don’t forget. Knock ‘em dead for me, would you?” Mond then took his leave to find his own table.

Even though there were only eight people competing this small tournament, and there really couldn’t have been more than fifteen people in the shop, the excitement of the tournament had everyone riled up. Atro was shouting something at somebody else as he took his seat. Two teenagers were quipping to each other as they negotiated some last minute trades before games started. Everything so was much livelier than it usually was.

Except for the back of the shop, where Tay found his seat. It was tucked in the furthest corner, with practically no light with which to see the table. His chair rested their empty, but his opponent’s was already taken.

A man sat there, in the darkness—Purvon, if he had the right table and Tay had the right name. He seemed, well, dour. Though his head was bald, it was hard to see his face from all the shadows around him and from his down-turned gaze. His collar was abnormally high, and he wore only the blackest of clothes. Tay most assuredly did not know this thug-seeming fellow.

When Tay seated himself, Purvon only slowly regarded him, remaining quiet all the while. He had a long black mustache, and was clearly blind in his left eye from how it had turned white compared to his other brown eye. He’d already started shuffling. His cards gave off the dark mist of Chaos cards too—all the more appropriate to be played in the dark.

“I take it you’re Purvon?” Tay asked, placing his own deck onto the table.

The man only grunted, but didn’t say anything. He gestured to Tay’s deck, which Tay took to mean that he ought to begin shuffling so they could begin. Even with all the din of the tournament, he could feel silence returning as he slid his cards over and between one another. When he finished shuffling, Tay placed his deck off to the side and prepared to draw his hand.

Purvon grunted again, and held out a gloved hand over the middle of the table. Tay tilted his head to the side, before realizing that the man wanted him to hand over his deck. Purvon presented him his own in his other hand.

After they had cut each other’s decks, Tay then took to drawing his opening hand… and he was admittedly pleased with it. Were it up to him, he would’ve preferred a couple more Chaos 1 cards in it, but he’d drawn a decent play for turn one.

The question was would it be good enough?

Purvon reached into one of his pockets and produced the shiniest copper coin that Tay had ever seen. Not a hint of grime showed on either of its faces. Purvon grunted, and then pointed at Tay, raising his brows all the while.

“You want me to pick a side?” Tay asked.

Purvon nodded, and so Tay said, “Tails then.”

The coin went up, sparkled in the darkness, and then came back down. Heads. Fourteen, it had to be heads. Tay pulled up his hand only to notice that his cards were wobbling, and for a second, he grew afraid that they’d begun to make themselves unknown to him once more. But then he realized it was only his grip, and a result of his arms trembling from his shaken nerves.

Tay lowered his hand, and then noticed that Purvon had extended his own arm. The man’s hand hovered just above the middle of the table. And Tay grew confused—what did the man want from him now?

Tay moved to go and fetch his deck again, but Purvon shook his hand. The man grunted, and then looked down at his hand.

“A man of few words, aren’t you?” Tay asked.

For a moment, Purvon didn’t respond. Then he tilted his head back, and used his other hand to pull down his tall collar, revealing a long scar that ran from the right side of his neck all the way to the left. Rough skin stretched out along the lump of his throat. It was an old wound, but obviously one from which there could be no recovery in terms of the man’s voice.

Tay then said, “Sorry. I didn’t realize.” He felt foolish. He’d assumed the reason the man had been quiet to him was because the man thought himself better, and Tay to be a waste of breath.

That was extremely foolish. Because Purvon smiled, and gave a wave of his hand, as if to say that he didn’t hold it against Tay for not noticing. After all, he probably wore that high collar to hide his scars.

Purvon’s smile also cleared up what he was meaning to do with his extended hand. He wasn’t asking for Tay to hand back his deck. It wasn’t some sort of awkward challenge for Tay to overcome. The man just wanted to shake hands before a friendly game of Runicka, and so Tay obliged him.

Purvon grunted to himself, and then tapped the left side of the table while meeting Tay’s eyes.

“Chaos 1?” Tay asked, assuming they were starting their game now.

Purvon nodded, and then placed down a bland-looking card onto the table before him, complete with art of a slumped over man whose hands had been clasped in chains. By the Fourteen, it seemed like someone had forgotten to write text on this card.

(5) Mourncrest Prisoner Stable Amplify < 0

But Tay wasn’t able to look at it for very long, because Purvon placed down another card just on top of it. This one seemed more up Tay’s alley, as it was a man standing next to and rubbing his hands over a pile of gold coins about half as tall as himself. Even as artwork, Tay wanted to drool at how much food he could buy with a pile of coins that large.

(25) Mourncrest Briber Surging Until the end of your next turn, align to Chaos 2. < 1

Purvon pointed at the revenant fusion and then motioned to Tay with two of his fingers raised up. It took Tay a moment, but he realized that the Prisoner was giving the Briber the Amplify aura.

“Oh, so it has a Power of 2?” Tay asked.

Purvon grunted, and then fished out two round, diamond-shaped dice from a bag at his side. He deftly spun them about until the numbers 7 and 0 were facing up, denoting a Life total of 70.

“You don’t get 10 Life back since you’re aligned to Chaos 2 now?”

Purvon shook his head, and then gestured at the empty table space directly in front of him, where other runekeepers would normally invest their cards. That did answer Tay’s question though, as he remembered to gain Life, one didn’t need to align. They needed to attune—which Purvon hadn’t done yet.

“Noted,” Tay said. Then he drew for his own turn.

He’d drawn Apprentice of the Warlock, and let out a bit of an exhale at the relief of getting a more solid turn one play. But he didn’t play it immediately. Even when he’d been dueling against Atro in no-stake duels, he’d been training himself to take turns slower. Atro’s words about there only ever being one right play echoed in his head.

This was a tournament where everything mattered. If he lost in five of these, he’d lose his Ranking Card and have to work all the harder to get his mother’s amulet back. He needed to scope out all plays he could make and ensure that the one he went with was the right one.

Purvon had a revenant with 2 Power, and as far as Tay could tell, it had no negative effects. But it had gotten Purvon to Chaos 2, temporarily. That meant next turn, Purvon could be putting down some nasty removal cards to deal with whatever Tay placed down.

Best to go with something that would get him the board, but would also stick around even in the case of Purvon having an answer for it. To win this game, he needed to remain three steps ahead of Purvon, at all times. No matter what. So, Tay declared his attunement to Chaos 1 and played his first card.

(15) Grimoire of the Warlock Stable Dormant: target foe revenant loses -3 Power until the end of the turn. Then, if its Power reaches 0 by this effect, it is obliterated. Echo < 0

Of all the cards in his new deck, this one was perhaps among the strangest, as it wasn’t even a creature at all, but more of a sentient book, with shadows leaking out from its pages and dark eyes printed right onto its leather covers. Whatever knowledge it had bound within it, it probably wasn’t anything Tay could ever wrap his mind around, no matter how curious he might’ve been about it.

Tay then followed up his play by fusing his Apprentice of the Warlock on top of the Grimoire.

(5) Apprentice of the Warlock Stable

Shout: reduce target foe revenant’s Power by half until the end of the turn (rounded down).

Uproar: add Warlock of Midnight Darkness from your deck or Oblivion to your hand.

< 2

The fusion itself triggered the Grimoire’s Dormant effect, sending the Briber and its Fusion Base to Oblivion. Then, as the Apprentice of the Warlock resolved, Tay got to take advantage of its Uproar effect, since it was entering the arena as a Fusion Addition.

No sooner had Tay picked up his deck, than the middle spilled out and right onto the table. Tay was at a loss for what to say. He looked up at Purvon, who hadn’t moved a muscle. And then he looked back down at the table, and how his deck now completely covered the board.

Tay could’ve moved to pick it up, but he didn’t. He just looked at it—at his deck, spread all across the table, with some of the tables having even tumbled down onto the floor. A mess. That’s what it was. It was all a mess.

And to that, Tay could only laugh. But when he finally reached to pick up one of his cards, his hand instead just froze up and trembled.