Dokeshi March: Chapter 48 (Patreon)

Chapter 48

By the time Grant made it back to the table, he was the last one to get seated.  They were down to the final four at his table, and somehow he wasn’t last.  The chip leader had been bouncing back and forth between the old woman and a middle-aged man dressed in the red colors of House Monday.  His clothes looked a little worn around the seams, and more than one place on his undershirt had been patched.  Overall, he came across as a Noble who had fallen on hard times.

The last person at the table was the one with the least number of chips.  It was a woman only a few years older than Grant, dressed in the chainmail of a professional warrior, but she carried no weapons to the table.  Grant wasn’t sure if she was a Wielder, Vassal, or just a regular cultivator.  Without the customary tabard with her house colors, it was impossible to tell.

“Blinds are now twenty five and fifty.  They will double every time we make a full rotation of the remaining players.”  The dealer uncovered their chips, which had somehow been replaced with larger clay disks that each represented twenty five.  “As you can see, your chips have been condensed to make counting easier.  In the event that you didn’t have enough chips to make a full twenty five, your chips were returned to the house.”  The warrior woman opened her mouth to argue but closed it when the dealer kept talking over her.  “These are the rules, as stated during the briefing.”

“Well, looks like I might as well go all in just to get it over with.”  The warrior tossed in her three remaining chips before the dealer could even pick up the deck of cards.  “Any one of you want to put me out of my misery?”

“Sure.”  Grant was already the big blind, so he just added another chip to match her.  He somehow had four chips after this, meaning he had won more than he first thought.  “I’ll try my luck.”

“Then I will fold.”  The old lady put in her single chip for the small blind, but never picked up her cards.  “I prefer to let the younger generations work things out on their own.”  The dealer passed around the cards, and the nobleman silently folded as well after glancing at his hand.

“Let’s turn ‘em over, and see what the Fates have decided.”  She had an Ace and a Queen, while Grant had a six and an eight.  “Ha!  It looks like they like me better!”

The dealer laid out the next five cards, none of which were an Ace or a Queen.  Grant took the pot with a pair of eights.  The warrior stared at the table open-mouthed, before squinting hard at Grant.

“I don’t know how you beat me, but I’ll take my defeat like a proper warrior.  I don’t need a license to hunt beasts, anyway.  I can still do it, even if it means I don’t get the weekly stipend from the Houses.”  The woman stood and walked off, headed for the bathrooms.  Grant most definitely didn’t see tears brimming in her eyes.

“Three players remain, with two and a half hours until the time ends.”  The dealer looked around the casino before starting to shuffle.  “Only two tables are still in play.  The other contestants have been decided.”

All that meant was there were more eyes on the remaining players than before, making it harder than ever to cheat.  Grant was perfectly happy about that.

“Blinds, please.”  Grant chipped in the small blind, and carefully counted his chips.  There were only thirty on the table in all, and somehow he was holding fourteen of them.  The old lady was winning with sixteen, and the nobleman had ten.  Unfortunately, it didn’t stay that way for long.

Before he could blink, another thirty minutes had gone by, and Grant was down to five chips.  The nobleman and old woman were mostly trading chips back and forth, with Grant losing his blinds each hand.  He was also dealing with a strong itching sensation under his chest armor, and it was impossible to reach without loosening the straps.

Finally, Grant got a good hand.  It was an Ace of spades with the Jack of hearts.  Grant had good luck last time with one, so he decided to meet the big blind after the other two checked.  They eyed each other, and Grant’s chest started itching like crazy when the woman tapped her cards with a ring on her left hand.

The flop came out with a Jack, ten, and four.  Grant did his best not to react, and waited for the other two to decide what they wanted to bet first.

“I’ll bet two chips.”  The old woman’s eyes flickered to the last two chips Grant had left.  “Oh, I’m sorry dear, that would put you all in, wouldn’t it?”

“It’s okay.  All in.”  Grant shoved his last two chips in the pile, as the nobleman folded.  “I think I have a good chance.”

“I’m sure you do, dear.”  The old lady’s smirk meant she was lying, but Grant was sure of himself.  If only his chest would stop itching.

“The next two cards are… another Jack… and an Ace.”  The dealer flipped over the last two cards, and Grant barely kept himself from doing a victory dance.  Grant immediately flipped over his cards, but he was shocked to see that the old lady was still smirking.  “The gentleman has a full house, Jacks over Aces.  And the lady…”

“As you can see, I have-”  Her eyes bulged, and she seemed to choke when a pair of Queens was shown.

“The lady had two pair, Queens and Jacks.  The winner is the gentleman.”  The dealer helped scoot the chip pile to Grant, who now had ten chips.  He was suddenly in second place, as the nobleman had thirteen, while the old woman had just seven chips left.

“But, but, that-”  The old lady took a deep breath and rubbed the ring on her finger again.  “Never mind.  Forgive an old woman her confusion.  I thought I had different cards.”

“That’s okay.”  Grant nodded at her sagely.  “I’m still confused as to why they call this ‘poker,’ when you don’t actually have to poke anything at all.  I mean, doesn’t it seem like we should be playing this game with some kind of stabbing implement?”

Her eyes goggled, and her already pale complexion got even worse.  The nobleman sitting across from Grant gave him a genuine smile.

“I don’t think anyone has shocked Lady Wednesday in a long time.”  He held his hand out for Grant to shake.  “I’m Lord Thursday.  It is a pleasure to meet you, Grant Monday.”

“Ah, I guess you already know who I am.”  Grant looked around and was surprised that almost all of the spectators were watching him.  “It looks like everyone knows who I am.”

“Yes, I’m afraid so.”  Lord Thursday tossed in the big blind, which was now four chips.  “Most everyone here would sell their own mother for a chance to capture you and your friend.”

“Well, they will just have to wait until after I win the tournament.”  Grant watched as Lady Wednesday put in the small blind.  “That’s the rules, after all.”

“Indeed they are, young Monday.”  He stopped talking while the dealer dealt the cards.  After looking at them, he glanced at Grant’s pile of chips.  “I have a proposition for you, Grant Monday.”  Grant checked his hand, and folded before the man could say anything else.  He didn’t want to bet on a three and four.  “In a hand or two.”

“Sure, I’m willing to listen at least.”  Grant sat back while the two nobles carefully tried to eek out as many chips as they could from one another.  The Lady ended up winning the pot, which totaled up to twelve chips after she went all in and the Lord backed out.  That made her the new chip leader.

Another three hands went past, with Grant winning only one of them.  He was holding steady in second place while the other two kept swapping chip leader.  Finally, the dealer collected up all of the cards and made an announcement.

“There is one hour remaining.  The blinds will now move to ten chips for the big blind, and five for the small.  Sir, you are big blind.”  The dealer indicated Grant, who had exactly ten chips remaining.

“Well, it all depends on this.”  Grant pushed in his stack of chips and wiped the cold sweat forming on his palms off on his pants.  “Hopefully, Lady Luck smiles on me.”

“I’m sure she will, Grant Monday.”  Lord Thursday leaned forward to speak with Grant.  “Which brings me to my proposition.”  Grant gave him a quick nod, curious about what this man could possibly want from him.  “The reward for your capture is quite substantial, and I would like to give you a chance to choose how that arrest is made.”

“What?”  Grant was genuinely surprised.  How could he choose how his arrest went down?  He wasn’t going to go quietly, if that is what this nobleman thought.

“How about I sweeten the pot for you?”  Lord Thursday pulled out a spell book and laid it on the table between them.  “If you agree to accompany me without a fight if you lose, this spell will be yours if you win.”

<I wouldn’t take it, Grant.  You are going to fight your way out of here no matter what, aren’t you?>  Grant thought it over for a second.  In the spirit of District March, the precise wording was that he would accompany the Lord without a fight, not that he would submit to arrest without a fight.  Grant smiled.

“You have yourself a deal.  I mean, I’m all in anyway.”  Grant leaned back in his chair, trying his best to exude confidence.  “I might as well get all I can if I win.”  He swallowed as the cards were dealt to each player.  “I mean, when I win.”

“Sure, when you win.”  The Lord gave him another smile, this time a lot less genuine.  “Are you staying in for this hand, Lady Wednesday?”

“You bet your shorthairs I am.”  She pushed in ten chips, leaving her with only one.  Lord Thursday pushed in his nine remaining chips alongside the spell book, which Grant noticed was labeled ‘Apprentice Repair.’  “Let’s see what these cards look like.”  She knocked her ring on the table again, and Grant scratched at his chest.

“Yes, I’m excited to see what happens.”  Lord Tuesday started rubbing a worn cufflink on his jacket, and Grant started itching even harder.

“Bets are placed.  The only chip not in the pot belongs to Lady Wednesday, who has one remaining.”  The dealer turned over the first three cards, a four, seven, and Ace.  Grant checked his cards.  He had a three and a six.  Not the best, but not the worst.  All he needed was a five, and he would have a straight.  “No further bets can be placed, so the next cards are… an Ace… and a five.”  Grant felt the tension in his shoulders leave in a rush.  He got the straight!

“Well, it looks like I’ll be taking this hand.”  Lady Wednesday turned over her cards, showing a three of a kind in Aces.

“Not so fast, my Lady!  I have a full house, fives over Aces!”  Lord Thursday was smiling broadly, and it only grew when he saw Grant’s face fall.  He knew that a full house beat a straight.  “Don’t worry son, I’m sure you can appeal to the mercy of Dokeshi March.  He even grants it sometimes!”

“We’ll see how far his mercy extends.”  Grant stood his hand on the hilt of February Twenty Nine.  He tossed his cards on top of the pile, and started looking around for Suki.  She wouldn’t know about his side bet, and he would need to warn her about the plan to fight once the man walked him to his supposed jailers.  Instead, Grant was shocked by the spectators absolutely losing their minds all at once.

“And the winner of the hand is Grant Monday, with a straight flush.”  He could hardly hear the dealer make the announcement over the roar of the crowd.  There were shouts and jeers in equal measure, but the combined volume caused the glasses and chips on the tables to rattle.

Grant could only plop back into his chair in shock.  Apparently, he had forgotten how important the suits of the cards could be.  Cards were weird.  In a daze, he collected his winnings, and put the spell book in his pack.

“There are two players remaining, with thirty minutes left on the timer.”  The dealer looked at the single chip remaining on the table in front of Lady Wednesday, who gave him a sour look.

“Fine.  Let the boy have his victory.”  She tossed her last chip onto his pile.  “I forfeit.”  As she stood up from the table, the crowd surged into the table area to congratulate him.

As he was lifted up on their shoulders and carried to the winner’s circle, Grant was filled with a sense of pride at the victory.  He had won, and done it without compromising his morals or values.  It felt good to win.