037. Crucible - 14

Name:Godfather's System Author:
037. Crucible - 14

Once more, with the disappearance of the sun, came the night time to camp. Most people lacked the necessary perception to kill the beasts in the dark. They still attacked, of course, but the lack of movement meant much less intensity; especially with most of the attackers drawn to the huge bonfire.

As we moved, the camp was in chaos around us once more, with tents being erected, carts being repaired in a hurry, forges being set up to repair weapons A chaotic mess that made me glad that would take only a week to arrive at our destination.

"It was a good day," Jertann said, exuberant despite his exhaustion. "Now, let's go eat. I hope this new cook is as good as you say it is," he said.

"Not the best food I had eaten, but certainly better than the others in the camp," I answered and led them toward it. As I walked, I noticed many eyes on us, most of them focusing on me. I was getting famous in the camp, an inevitable consequence of my extended appearance.

Silas had separated from the group when we arrived at the Red section without saying a word, but since the others didn't react, I didn't question her, just led the others toward the other side of the camp, where Zolast was settling in.

Right on the edge, I noted, making it hard to defend once the gangs started their inevitable harassment, but since Zolast looked content about settling there, I wouldn't go poking. Especially since there were some advantages to his location, as shown by a small line of people with no armbands, waiting for their food.

"Smells nice," Terma said before dashing forward to join the line. "Youth," I muttered as I gestured for Karak and Jertann to follow me, ignoring the line. Seeing that we ignored the line, a few people that were on the line grumbled, but they were limited to that.

An inevitable consequence of the huge, bloodied hammer Jertann was carrying.

"Welcome, Euon," he said. "So, these are the ones that you talked about," he said even as he pushed me a plate piled with meat and vegetables, one that had been cooking in a separate container.

"Yes. Boys meet. Zolast, our exclusive cook until we arrive at our destination," I said before taking a bite, and a sharp yet delicious taste filled my mouth, the warmth of Vitality mixing with the spices he used. "Wow, much better than what I had before," I said.

"That's what happened I don't have to stir something in a few minutes, and can cook properly," he said, then glanced at his mobile kitchen. "Pity I don't have a proper kitchen, or I would have cooked properly," he said, his professional pride clear.

Seeing that we skipped, Terma got out of the line and rushed forward, his hand reaching to my plate. I chuckled as I let him take a piece of the meat, only for his eyes to widen as he took a bite. "Hot, hot, hot!" he gasped.

"That should teach you not to take other people's food, brother," Jertann said with a chuckle. "Especially since you can't handle spicy food."

"Like you are any better," Terma grumbled. "You can't handle it any more than I do."

"Of course, I can," Jertann answered in a matter-of-fact tone. "But I'm not savage enough not to wait for my turn."

Terma chuckled between his desperate breaths. "It sounds like you're afraid," he goaded.

I raised my plate toward him. "Feel free to take a piece," I said while chuckling, and noticed a slow hesitation in his hand. "Believe me, it's not a problem," I said.

"If you say so," Jertann muttered, clearly not happy about the prospect of spicy food, but too proud to change his mind in front of his brother. He took a bite, his lips twitching, and his eyes getting moist. Still, he chewed his food aggressively. "See," he said after finishing, his smile fragile.New novel chapters are published on

"Amazing cooking, Zolast," I said as I gave the plate back, and started walking away. "I'm going to find something better than these bloody rags."

"Have a nice0 shopping," Terma said cheekily.

I nodded and left them behind to bond while I walked toward the interior of the camp. Buying some new clothes didn't take long. I didn't bother bargaining, paying half a denica for leather pants and a fur tunic, another denica for solid-looking boots, the best in the display.

Good shoes were always a good investment.

I didn't bother haggling even as I realized they were fleecing me a bit. The reason, I didn't want to waste much time, was not when I could see people gathered around a fire, with occasional cheers and curses exploding, the intensity giving me a suggestion of what was going on even before I saw dice going back and forth.

Gambling.

An excellent way to boost my riches a bit while getting to know others as well. As I walked close, they fell silent. "Any place for a new player, Gert," I said with a chuckle as I called the only one that I knew.

"Of course, Euon, you're more than welcome," he said. "Silver is silver."

"Excellent," I said as I took a seat, taking note of the amount they were playing. "I'm not going to stay long, I still need to go buy some weapons," I said.

At first glance, I could see about five hundred denicas, spread around seven players. Not a bad amount, especially since I could see the tightness in their gaze. I watched them play a couple of hands, trying to get a sense of the mood as I accepted the offered drink, the bitter taste certainly unwelcome even with the buzz that was supposed to come along.

Instead, I watched to get the rules of the game as well as the intensity they were deploying. It was a simple game, with five dice, and making some guesses about the amount. A few hands were enough to show they were terribly mediocre, both in terms of making terrible bets in terms of probability.

And in terms of cheating. Two of the dice were weighed, distorting the probability significantly, but the thrower didn't use them in each attempt, and sometimes, he used a wrist trick to throw some tricky rolls.

His fingers were incredibly nimble, but he sufferedfrom the technique. It wasn't the telltale signs of skill usage, showing that at least for gambling they went through the effort of practicing, but that didn't work as well as I had hoped against some of the other concepts.

Free money.

"Let's start small," I said as I removed a piece of silver that weighed around a denica and a half, and threw it in the middle only to lose.

"Too bad," I said with a silent gasp, but that was the extent of my reaction, noticing that people were looking at me tensely. After all, I have already built a reputation about beating people up. Then, I smirked. "But that's normal, my hands are not hot Again," I said.

Yet, the fear of the people was useful, as no one noticed that, as I reached forward, my off-hand reached suspiciously close to one of the larger silver piles, the irregular nature of their silver making it very easy to swipe some.

Just like that, even as I lost the next bet of a denica, I was six denicas richer

It was going to be fun