“Honestly, this is where you’re living?”

Tay raised his hands to show that he was being nothing but honest, but still took one hard look at the botanist’s shop to see if there was anything he’d missed previously. The shop had high windows, solid bricks, and fungi popping out of planters and pots on the other side of its wall-high windows. The place just oozed charm and brought life to the underground where there wouldn’t have been otherwise.

The botanist even had a corner of their shop dedicated to candle craft and incense burning, noted by the plumes of smoke making their way out of an iron chimney from the side of the building. A lot of places in Duskborough seemed like they drained the life out of a collective of neighborhoods that were barely getting by as it was. This place seemed to give a whole lot back, and reminded Tay of the candy shop they’d lost.

He couldn’t picture Mond, but he still held his not-memories of that man in the same regard. Mond must’ve been a person who’d taken pride in giving back to those that didn’t have a whole lot.

Amellia obviously thought otherwise, but she was the person who’d just sold out of prerelease packs, even after setting her prices to twice the rate of all the other vendors at the event. She’d manage to build up a wave from Tay’s success, and she told him that they were going to ride it for as long as they could. Which was why she’d demanded to be taken to his living situation. They weren’t ready to convene at her mansion apparently—plus, she had said it was too far anyway.

When Tay rapped his knuckles upstairs against the door to Quincy’s chambers, it was Sally who answered with a smile. When absolutely exploded with excitement when her eyes fell upon Amellia though. Tay grew nervous as Cari’s shadow came up as well.

“You’re—you’re the woman who runs the card shop,” Sally exclaimed. “You were there when—”

And Sally cut herself off, turning absolutely red in the cheeks. Cari leaned over her sister, took note of Atro, Amellia, and finally Tay, and then gave a small frown.

“You were there when what, Sally?” Cari asked.

“Oh,” Sally chuckled. “When Mond was in his heyday I’m guessing. She looks like a woman who would’ve been into Runicka back in the day.”

Tay watched as a shadow passed over Amellia’s face. As she bowed her head, it became impossible to see her expression underneath her wide-brimmed hat.

“Are you insinuating that I’m old, girl?” Amellia asked candidly.

“Heh,” Sally said, stepping back behind her sister. She gave a short chuckle.

Amellia burst out laughing. “By the Fourteen Above, I suppose you’re right. I am old. I was there when Mond hit it big time. Yes, by the Fourteen, I was his original sponsor.”

Cari looked dumbfoundedly at Amellia. “You were Mond’s original sponsor?” she asked.

Amellia howled with laughter. “Oh, yes I was. And when he left, I thought I was done sponsoring runekeepers, but your friend here has convinced me otherwise. Plenty of good business to be had in associating with runekeepers these days, it seems.”

Cari’s eyes slowly drifted over to Tay, her eye brows raising. Tay shrugged back at her and gave a slight grin.

Despite her obvious misgivings, Cari still invited them inside. Sally when right over to the table and pulled out chairs for their guests, while Cari insisted that they break some bread for both Atro and Amellia. They didn’t have a whole lot in the way of food, but that didn’t stop her from spreading a quarter of a stick of butter over some salted bread and passing it out amongst them.

Though Atro declined as long as he could until Cari won him over, Amellia said, “I’m actually quite hungry after a day like today,” Amellia said. “Thank you.”

While Amellia was gnawing away at her bread and Atro fingered the prelease pack Amellia had given to him and Tay for no charge, Cari pulled Tay to the side.

“Okay, who are these people?” Cari asked. “And why does my sister seem to know them?”

Tay winced and didn’t have a great answer for that. The real answer was that he’d competed in a tournament against her wishes and Sally had sneaked out as well.

But instead of saying that, Tay said, “Atro’s the runekeeper I’ve been training with at the Keepers of the Vulpine—the card shop I’ve been going to. He and I went to the prerelease event today for the newest Runicka set.”

“You said you were going to handle getting a sponsorship for topside tournaments?”

Tay scratched at the back of his head with his good hand and laughed. “I sort of did,” he said, looking at Amellia.

Cari followed his gaze and put a hand on his shoulder. “Who is she then, Tay? Her clothes aren’t like anything you could find down here bottomside.”

But before Tay could reply, Amellia finished her bread and then said, “Alright, should we talk business now?”

Tay shrugged to Cari and then they both joined Sally, Atro, and Amellia at the table. Amellia crossed her legs and straightened out her dress, making sure that all the crumbs from her bread were strictly strewn across their floor.

“I told you before that I don’t normally sponsor runekeepers,” Amellia said, looking at Tay. “But not since Mond have I really experienced the benefit of associating my product with someone who can rake in credibility amongst other runekeepers. I must say, Tay, well done today.”

“What is she saying, Tay?” Cari asked.

Amellia chuckled. “Well, sweetie, your friend here placed second in a tournament today and he put yours truly on the map of probably half of the runekeepers bottomside. I’ll be feeling that ripple for weeks now.

“You better believe I want to keep that ball rolling, Tay. So, if you’re willing to accept my terms, then I think we might be able to work something out. There could be a world out there where I do sponsor you.”

Tay crossed his arms. “So, would that world happen to be this one?” Tay asked.

Amellia shrugged. “Perhaps. Let me lay out what I’ve been thinking about.”

“Alright.”

Amellia straightened her wide hat, and it couldn’t have been a coincidence that she left it down and covering her eyes, so that Tay couldn’t quite meet her gaze as she spoke her terms. “Well, first and foremost, if I do sponsor you, you have to accept my patronage for a set period of my choosing. You can’t pull out of it if you find something better. I reserve the right to cast you aside if you don’t perform well in tournaments, of course, and withhold funds from you when you under-perform. But I forbid you from seeking out funding elsewhere should you find something else more attractive.”

“Forbid?” Cari asked.

“She said forbid,” Sally confirmed.

Amellia stretched as she continued. “Furthermore, I want a half cut of all your winnings, despite whatever it is that you win.”

“Half?” Atro asked, coughing a bit.

“Half.” Amellia finished her stretch and sat straight up, pushing back her hat and squinting at Tay.

“Alright,” Tay said. “And what do I exactly get out of this exchange?”

Amellia grinned. “Why, you get my patronage, of course? I’ll sponsor you in any topside tournaments that you wish to partake in. Plus, since you’re operating out of bottomside, I’ll scope out tournaments for you topside and let you pick and choose whichever ones you think will get you closer to that revenge you’ve been hinting at.”

Cari put a hand on Tay’s shoulder. No doubt she wanted to know how much of their recent history with the Polamunds Amellia knew about. If Rantho found out that Tay was still down here, and where, that could spell trouble. But the fact of the matter was that Amellia probably wanted the Polamunds just as dead or put out on the streets as they did. They were the ones that had stolen her prized runekeeper back in the day, after all.

“Not just me,” Tay said, and then he met Cari’s gaze. “You’ll sponsor both Cari and I.”

Amellia took one look at Cari and laughed with the back of her right hand covering her mouth. “I’m sorry to have to say this, but I’m not going to sponsor this girl just so you can win her sweet, sweet heart, Tay. You are a proven record—you’re placing well in tournaments and are a rising star when it comes to runekeepers.

“I don’t even know who she is.”

“But—”

“It’s fine, Tay,” Cari interjected. “She doesn’t need to sponsor me. Thank you for helping us out, my lady.” Cari fell into a short bow and Tay nearly choked. Cari had never been this formal in months. Where was this coming from?

“My my, with how much respect you have, maybe I made the wrong mistake and bought myself a wolf when instead I needed a hound. Very well then.” Amellia rose from her seat. “I’ve been out of the game for a while now, so you’ll have to give me a chance to uncover the tournament scene and which ones we can get you to compete in.”

“There’s also something else,” Tay said.

Amellia’s smile fell. “What? Now you want me to sponsor your other friends too?”

Tay shook his head. “I’m going to need an Iron Ranking Card for battle tournaments, right? And, thing is…”

“Fine,” Amellia said. “Buying you up to Iron won’t be an issue at all. With the skills you’ve shown in the melee today, you’ve more than earned it anyway. You went up against a Steel and didn’t get your body pounded into a pulp. At the very least you belong in Iron 5.

“I’ll return, with news on what tournaments you’re going to want to enter in and a new Ranking Card to denote your status.” Amellia held out her hand. “Congratulations on reaching Iron, Tay.”

~~~~~~~~~~

The second Amellia left, Atro and Sally were practically bouncing up and down around Tay.

“Iron 5?” Atro said. “I knew you were going to be a fast climber, but this is marvelous. I still can’t believe you climbed out into the arena like that, Tay. You were mad, I swear. Who would’ve thought that you’d be able to go toe-to-toe with Steels for as long as you did?”

Tay shrugged. “They’re your cards that I was using,” Tay said. And he hadn’t even used his most powerful card.

“My cards and your own guts,” Atro said. And to Cari, Atro turned and said, “Hello, I’m Atro by the way, I don’t think we’ve met before.”

It was when Cari tentatively reached out and shook Atro’s hand up and down once that Tay finally felt a twinge of panic. He’d known this wasn’t the best move. All it would take was a passing remark from Atro and Cari would know he was the reason Mond was dead. He wanted to be the one to tell her that himself—in his own time, once he’d been able to make up for all the damages he’d caused them.

So, to buy himself time, Tay said, “And you remember Sally, right? She’s come around the shop a few times while we were playing.”

Sally tensed up and looked up at her sister, and Atro nodded and said, “How could I forget about Sally? Precious as ever. You both should’ve seen Tay. Out of nowhere, while we were taking our seats for the melee, he just gets up and hops into the dueling arena, uncaring for his own safety.

“First he outwits another Bronze like himself. Then he goes up against an Iron and holds his own. It’s not until the very last Steel swoops in that he gets knocked down and the melee is called. I wouldn’t believe it myself, but I was the one who was there. And I’m glad that I was because now we have these.”

And Atro held up the unopened pack of Wrath of the Wyrm cards. On the face of the brown pack was a coiled serpent with horns atop its head and rainbow-colored eyes. It very much reminded Tay of Garudigas. There was golden lacing around the creature, and the edges of the pack itself sparkled in the candlelight.

“Well, Tay?” Atro said. “Are we going to open these or not?”

“I, uh,” Tay stumbled, looking to Cari. Was she suspicious at all?

“Go ahead,” Cari said. “I have to figure out what we’re going to be having for dinner anyway.”

“Can I watch?” Sally said. “Or maybe you could let me open yours, Tay?”

“How about we open it together, Sally?” Tay said.

Atro sat at the opposite side of Quincy’s table while Sally all but hopped up on it. Tay put his hands up on the table and pulled at both sides of the pack.

“Hold on, hold on,” Atro said. “Just what do you think you’re doing?”

“I’m, uh, opening my pack of cards?” Tay hazarded.

“Yes,” Atro said. “You’re opening a pack of cards. You’re going to damage them if you shred your pack apart like some kind of monster.”

Tay thought back to all the times he’d thrown his cards in water or across the ground. These cards dissolved into the very air itself and became creatures that could level buildings. He doubted they’d be damaged by his fiddling around with some packaging.

“Trust me,” Atro said. “If you manage to nick a corner while opening a pack, it’ll never come out, even when the card rematerializes.”

“Really?” Sally asked.

Atro shrugged. “Never been brave enough to try honestly. And there’s not a lot of point to it either. There’s a little notch already for you to cleanly tear the pack without damaging the cards, see?”

Atro held up his back and flicked at a piece of the cheap fabric packing where there was indeed a notch. Tay found a similar mark upon his pack, and a little leverage unsealed his cards which all glowed colorfully across the table.

Tay stared at the top card out of his small stack. It was a black Chaos card that plumed small tendrils of dark and smoky energy.

(15) Highwind Savant Unstable Uproar: add 1 Rune Wyrm from your deck to your hand. This revenant gains half its Power, rounded down. 2 >>

This card actually seemed pretty nice. It wasn’t the strongest card in the world, but if he used it to add Garudigas from his deck to his hand, it would easily turn into a turn-two creature with 5 Power, and that wasn’t something that Tay was about to pass up.

Tay was about to show his find to Atro when he noticed Atro finishing leafing through his entire stack of cards, only to turn them over face down onto the table and sigh.

“And here I thought they’d be kind enough to give us more than just crap,” Atro said.

“Why did you speed through the cards like that?” Tay asked.

Atro shrugged. “They’re prerelease packs, Tay. They have a smaller pool of cards than the actual set will contain when it comes out. Sometimes, they actually bother putting good cards in these, but most of the time, it’s just a waste. I mean, I can already tell you that neither of us are going to pull a Rune Wyrm from our packs.”

“Rune Wyrm?” Sally asked.

“They’re the new, highly rare type of revenant that’s releasing with the expansion,” Atro said. “They’re extremely powerful and just having one in your deck will enable all sorts of combos with other supporting cards in the set.”

Tay held up his Highwind Savant card. “Like this one, yeah?”

“Right,” Atro said. “That one allows you to get whatever Rune Wyrm you want to your hand. So, you’ll be able to start whatever win con you want to get rolling. Although, that specific card is probably too situational to be all that good. In the perfect conditions, yeah, you’ll play this down onto top of another revenant you control and get both a Rune Wyrm and a heavy beater. But how often are you just going to have a weak revenant lying around that your opponent didn’t take out?”

Tay supposed he saw Atro’s point. Even if he did manage to search out Garudigas too, it wasn’t like he always needed to the Rune Wyrm in every situation. And if he’d already drawn Garudigas, suddenly, this card was a whole lot worse. Just a 2 Power card that needed Chaos 2 to be summoned.

He didn’t leaf through his cards the same way Atro had, but maybe he should have because there wasn’t anything too stellar in these prerelease packs. Sally definitely got a kick out of them though, letting out gasps and shouts whenever she saw a card with cool artwork or Power more than 3. Tay told her that she could have as many cards they pulled as she would like and that was enough to get her off of his back for the rest of the night.

No sooner was he finished handing the last card off to Sally, than Cari gripped the back of Atro’s chair and leaned down over the table. Her face was passive and she stared directly ahead, right at Tay.

“Dinner’s almost ready. Do you mind showing your friend out, Tay? Please?”

Tay slowly nodded his head after sharing a look with Sally. “Uh, uh, sure, Cari,” Tay said. He rose from his chair and slid all of his cards over to Sally. She could have them.

“Come on, Atro,” Tay said. “I’ll show you downstairs.”

“They’ll be better cards in a week when they actually start selling the packs to the expansion,” Atro said, strolling across the street in the direction of Keepers of the Vulpine. Tay had to wonder if Atro didn’t just spend all his nights there sleeping under the shelves and cards. “Mark my words, Tay. We’ll put some coin to some packs and you and I will be the proud owners of Rune Wyrms before long. By the time you’re reaching Steel, I’ll be right there with you.”

Tay shouted for Atro to have a goodnight. The thing was that he was already a proud owner of a Rune Wyrm. Were all Rune Wyrms coming out going to be as deadly and ferocious as Garudigas though?

None are like me… A sharp cold punctured through both of his ears, and then was gone.

Tay would’ve paid it more mind, but as he climbed the steps back to Quincy’s place, Cari was stepping out of the door. Her black hair was slightly ruffled and she had a blank expression over her face, even as he approached her.

She closed the door behind her, hands then on her hips, and said, “We need take a bit of walk.”

“Okay,” Tay said.

Then, she added, “And, we need to talk about these tournaments.”

Tay’s heart stopped.