This card represented possibilities, and that made me giddy.
The Card Trader was on the other side of town. I cut through the north side of town near my house and traveled past a row of tall wooden town houses and shops, including a barber and a cobbler, though both of those were currently unoccupied as the owners had died or left. During the walk, I only spied a few of my fellow Parroians out and about.
Until a bunch of hooligans sauntered out of the saloon to my left. The Angry Donkey was a dingy little joint that no self-respecting lady or gentleman would frequent, and most locals didn’t go there either, even if it was less crowded than the busy saloons near the train station. It was an unsavory place for unsavory types who passed through town a lot, and I didn’t want to go where they congregated.
That bunch fit the bill to a T. Except for one, whom they dragged out with them. The man was better dressed than the others and was clearly not a friend of theirs. The other four men were all dirtier and looked really drunk. They dragged the better-dressed man into the alley. It looked like they had roughed him up already. I could see that blood stained his face and his shirt as he pleaded for them to stop.
The man wasn’t familiar to me, but that didn’t mean I was going to ignore it. Since he wore a white shirt with a tight, pressed collar and a clerk’s vest, I wondered if he was a traveling salesman. His type passed through town a lot. He was a young man with soft features, a hairless face, and a small nose that was now red, bruised, and bleeding profusely. His glasses were already cracked, and one eye beneath was cut and bloodied.
I did, however, recognize some of his assailants. Two of the four were rough types that lived around Parroia: Elryck and Thoman. Both fatherless young drunks who liked to harass urchins, vagrants, and women when they could get away with it. They spent more than their fair share of nights in the clink, but for some reason, they weren’t kicked out of town or locked up for more than a night or two. Probably because they were often shanghaied into working the mines or manning the walls when there was a monster incursion from a nearby Fissure. It’s always good to have people who will do such things, but that also meant tolerating human scum like these two.
The other two men, I didn’t recognize. They were a few years older, but they had the same cruelty to their eyes. Maybe they were bandits or just drunks who liked to cause trouble. Why they were beating up this man, I couldn’t begin to guess, but I had a bad feeling that if I didn’t do something, the man was going to wind up dead.
I glanced about, but there was no one else around, which wasn’t too surprising. It was afternoon, and everyone was either taking their noon naps or busy working. This part of town was mostly storehouses or homes, so they didn’t get a lot of foot traffic during the day.
No one would be coming to help this man.
I looked at my card. I wished it was a [Strength] card, which would have imbued me with enhanced strength. Even a [Common] level [Strength] card could be an ace in the hole. Or a [Swordsmanship] or [Pugilist] card, like I had wanted. Unfortunately, all I had was a [Polearm and Staff Proficiency] skill card with no weapon. Even if I had a weapon, once I used a card and burned it into my flesh, it cost a whole lot to get it removed. If I used it, there would be no trading it in for what I wanted.
But if I did nothing . . . then I wouldn’t even deserve that stupid card. If I did nothing, how could I ever face my brother? How could I face my parents one day in the afterlife, or my uncle?
I wasn’t a coward. I wasn’t selfish. I had plenty of flaws, for sure, and I wasn’t perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but my uncle Deebo had raised me better. I stood up for what was right, and I tried my best to help people when I could. And I could not abide bullies. Hell no.
And then I saw it. As my eyes took in the men and the alley, I glimpsed a long metal pole leaning against the wooden wall, wedged between some boxes and old sacks of rotten food. I realized that it had to be one of the long iron rods they used to brace walls. They occasionally popped up around town because the walls needed reinforcing. It wasn’t exactly a polearm or staff, but it was close and I knew it would be far better than being unarmed. Why it was there, I will never know, but I chalked it up to some divine serendipity or another.
I had no other option other than to make the hard choice.
There would be another time for me to get the skills that I wanted, but right then, a man needed my help, and this was the hand I was dealt. So, I would play it.
I rolled up my sleeve to the elbow. Then, after a heavy gulp, I slapped the card to my skin and held it there.
The jolt was immediate. There was a searing pain like getting branded, but I’d have to guess not quite as painful. I was breathless for a moment as the shock tore through me, and the pain made my arm tingle, a lot like a regular tattoo. It was a pain I had experienced before—I had a rooster tattoo on my leg in remembrance of Uncle Deebo.
It felt hot and cold at once, and the shocking sensation made me vibrate with energy.
And then, just like that, the pain and the new sensation were gone. I looked at my hands as if they were brand-new. They didn’t look any different, nor did they feel any different, but I knew they were.
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
SKILL SYSTEM ACTIVATED: ASSESSING . . .
I couldn’t help but smile. I had waited my entire life for the message that came when you used your first card, unlocking the magic system that broadcast signals and information to card wielders. It was a valuable tool when fighting monsters—or people. It let you know basic details about visible card tattoos on people plus more detailed information on monsters. There were more benefits, as well, but I was pretty ignorant at that point, so I didn’t know what else exactly I was getting. It also gave all the information about your personal cards.
New Card Activated: Polearm and Staff Proficiency
Level: Common, Tier 1
Grants card holder basic proficiency with pole and staff weaponry such as spears, staffs, halberds, and poleaxes. Provides the additional benefit of enhanced reflexes.
Focus: Hands, Arms
Incompatibility: Feet, Legs
Synergy: Stacking.
Cards didn’t all convey the same uses and benefits, and those varied further by where they were placed. The skills they conveyed often corresponded with where they would be most useful. When put in the optimal spot, you got more of a boost with the skill. For instance, a [Hand-to-Hand Combat] card would obviously be most effective when placed on the hands. A [Speed] card was best placed on your legs or feet. There were also places you couldn’t put certain cards. A [Pugilism] card couldn’t be put on the legs, and [Speed] had to be on the lower body or the torso, not the arms or head. The farther you placed a card from its optimal placement, the less benefit you would get from it.
I’d have liked more time to analyze my new card. A part of me was so excited about this new feeling, even if there was another part still disappointed that I didn’t have [Pugilism] or [Swordsmanship] like I’d hoped but that was okay.
I had to deal with these goons first. My eyes flew to the one closest to me, Elryck. There was a bit of text over his head, and when I focused my gaze on it, the text appeared crystal clear and close in my vision.
Card Detected: Pugilism, Common, Tier 1
From these words, a silvery line of light pointed to the stylized inky tattoo of crossed fists on his right hand.
The card-scanning system inside me could see any visible active cards on a human opponent and assess them. I had to be able to see the tattoos, though, so if they were covered, I wouldn’t know about them. But if your card tattoos were uncovered, then your opponent could read you like a book. Hence why most people covered up.
Elryck had another card on his forearm, but it was a simple [Cooking] card. My eyes went to Thoman, but he and one of the nameless goons didn’t have any cards, or none that I could see. That wasn’t surprising. After all, cards weren’t cheap, and if you didn’t buy them with coins or get paid with cards or card fragments in compensation for jobs or services rendered, that meant you had to go and kill monsters to get them like I had. And obviously, that was a tall task when you didn’t have the aid of any cards.
Thoman, I thought probably made enough to afford a card when he was forced to work the mines or the walls, but again, he and Elryck were drunks, and they spent their hard-earned coins poorly.
The final man’s arms were bare, and there were three cards inked on them. On his right hand, a [Knife] proficiency card. On his left hand, a [Strength] card, which would be a problem added to the [Knife] card, though as of yet, he wasn’t wielding a knife, but I had no doubt he had one hidden on himself somewhere. The final card was on his right bicep, and it was a large, stylized hammer that went with the [Warhammer and Large Blunt Weapons] card. Unlike a knife that could be hidden, I was pretty sure he didn’t have a club or hammer.
This man pushed the clerk against the wall, who crumpled to the ground. Then he grabbed him by the collar and got in his face. He said something that I couldn’t hear, and then he produced a knife from his belt.
I cursed and took a step forward. No more delays. “Hey, leave ’em alone, you sorry sack of crap!”
That got all of their attention. They turned to look at me, and knife man dropped his arm and lowered his knife. I kept my eyes on all of them and the clerk, but I was aware of where the metal rod was. I had to get to it if I wanted a chance to win this.
Elryck squinted at me. Which I understood. They were in the shadows of the alley, and I was out in the sun, plus I wore my straw hat a bit low to ward off the harsh light, so my face wasn’t clearly visible. But he did recognize me.
“Hey, is that you, Griff? Piss off, lad. You don’t want this trouble, and we ain’t got a beef with you.”
“Oh, shut up, Elryck! You can’t go beating on strangers. Maybe it won’t be me, but the law will come for you too.”
Thoman stood straighter, though he swayed a bit. Definitely drunk. The goon without tattoos also swayed a bit. That was an advantage I couldn’t pass up because inebriation affected card powers just the same as it affected the body and mind. Four on one—I needed every bit of help I could get.
He brought out a baton that he had strapped to his belt. It was long and looked like polished wood, like he really took care of it, which surprised me. I hoped he didn’t have a proficiency card for it or a hidden [Strength] card, but even without those, he might be skilled with it on his own. I had to be weary.
The knife man grinned wickedly. He had a couple of gold teeth and a couple of missing ones, too, his mouth yellow and stained from too much tobacco and alcohol. He used the knife to part the curtain of filthy, stringy hair from his face, then he pointed it at me.
“We’re just havin’ ourselves a nice gentleman’s disagreement is all. Alright, lad? No need for you to get hurt, now.”
I crossed my arms. “You can be on your way, or I can get the sheriff and deputies and even one of the hunters. Choice is yours, partner.”
He sneered at me. “Or I can gut ya and throw you in the lake. Then no one will come looking for us. How’s that sound . . . partner?”
I looked between the four of them. All of them were keyed up, ready for a fight, though Elryck, who looked like the only one with some sense, hesitated. I hoped he’d try to talk his friends down.
I wasn’t a slouch even without a card. I’d gotten into my fair share of brawls and scraps, and I could hold my own, though I wasn’t an expert. More than that, I was well known and generally liked by people in town, even if I did get on folk’s nerves sometimes. They wouldn’t want to see me dead, and they’d notice if I was gone. Plus, there were people around, witnesses in the buildings and in the saloon. These men would be taking a risk trying to fight and kill me here.
Please see reason, I pleaded silently. I willed it, prayed for it, did my best to manifest it into existence. And for a moment, I thought it might come to pass.
And then the knife man spit on the ground, a glob of putrid black saliva that meant he must have some chew packed by his lips, then he let loose a string of unflattering curses my way.
“I’m sick of your words, lad. Come on, boys, let’s show ’im a real Badlands negotiation.”
Then he was running for me, knife at the ready, and the others followed. I was in for the fight of my life. But strangely, I didn’t feel any fear.
Instead, I was overcome with exhilaration. Exhilaration at the fact that I had a card, and I was about to use it to whoop some ass.