We each made our way following Lucas into the break room.
It was a modest space, with a worn-out sofa, a small table, and a few mismatched chairs.
Fleur sank into one of the chairs, her cup of coffee in hand, and let out another yawn.
"What are we playing," Jean said as he strolled in after us.
Lucas opened the pack of cards and discarded the packet to the side of the table. "Poker of course. It's a relatively popular card game in Goldeen and apparently, it was made up by a student at the academy. Come on, join us."
Jean shrugged and took a seat, eyeing the cards with mild curiosity.
"You two know how to play? My old man used to play with me so I can teach you guys the ropes," Lucas said, looking over at both Caius and I whilst he started shuffling the cards making a rifling sound.
Caius shook his head. "I might know, but explain the rules anyway, just in case.
I nodded in agreement. While I had a rough idea of the game, I had never actually played it myself.
Lucas smiled and began his explanation. "Alright, so poker is all about making the best hand possible. You get two cards each, and then five community cards are dealt face-up. You can use any combination of your cards and the community cards to make your hand."
He flipped through the deck, showing the different suits and ranks. "Your goal is to create the best group, set or run of cards without giving away what you have in your hands."
He laid out the cards, pointing to each one in turn. "These are the picture cards; The Emperor, The Lady, and The Guard. They're all depicted in an artistic style of Emperor Soren, Lady Seraphina, and Vo, the head of the Royal Guard from Goldeen. The rest are your standard numbered cards one through ten."
As Lucas finished shuffling, he began to deal the cards. Each of us received two, face down. I picked mine up, trying to keep a neutral expression, but I couldn't help but feel a little lost.
My cards were the Emperor of Knives and a Seven of Crosses.
"Alright, the betting starts now, but for this round, let's keep it simple and not bet any coins yet," Lucas said, his eyes glinting with mischief.
Fleur took a sip of her coffee and set the cup down with a sigh. "Fine by me. I need to wake up a bit more before I start playing seriously."
Jean looked at his cards, his expression unreadable. "I'm in," he said, his voice steady.
"I'll play along," Caius said with a hint of uncertainty.
"Same," I added.
Lucas then dealt the first three community cards: a Guard of Stars, a Nine of Knives, and a Seven of Hearts.
I glanced at my hand again, hiding my relief behind a mask of indifference.
The community cards gave me a pair of Sevens, which wasn't much, but it was something to build on.
Lucas then slowly revealed the fourth card, the Four of Hearts. My chances didn't improve much, but I kept my expression neutral.
Caius's face shifted uncomfortably which could indicate that he didn't like that card, but it still could be a bluff. Everyone else however kept a good poker face.
Finally, Lucas flipped over the fifth and final community card, revealing an Emperor of Hearts.
Perfect.
I now had two pairs; Emperors and Sevens. It still wasn't the strongest hand, but it was significantly better than before.
Keeping my face neutral, I glanced around the table. Caius still didn't look pleased, his earlier uncertainty deepening.
"Alright," Lucas said, leaning back in his chair. "Everyone, show your cards."
Caius sighed and revealed his pair of Threes—Knives and Stars. He looked dishevelled, already expecting to lose.
Jean laid down a Nine and a Lady, giving him a pair of Nines from the community cards.
It was my turn. I laid my cards on the table, feeling a sense of satisfaction as I revealed my Emperor of Swords and Seven of Crosses. "Two pairs," I said calmly.
Lucas smirked as he revealed his hand; an Ace of Hearts and a Five of Hearts. Along with the three heart cards from the community pile, he had a flush—quite a powerful hand.
"I guess that's not too bad," Fleur said without a hint of worry.
With a flourish, she flipped over her cards—a Ten of Swords and an Eight of Stars. It was a straight given the community cards, Seven through to Guard.
Fleur grinned, collecting the imaginary winnings. "Haha, you're lucky we weren't playing for real. Not bad for a warm-up thought, right?" she teased.
Lucas gathered the cards, shuffling them deftly. "Alright, another round? We can add those stakes now too if we want."
We each produced a handful of copper coins, placing them on the table to raise the stakes. The next round began, and the air was filled with the familiar sounds of shuffling, calling, and the occasional groan of defeat.
After a few more rounds, Jean leaned forward, curiosity evident in his eyes. "So, what did Darius call you and Caius into his office for earlier?"
Fleur perked up at the question, her curiosity clearly piqued.
"He told us we've got a new mission, but we don't have to worry about it at the moment. He's getting Felix and Mar to go scouting for someone today," Caius replied.
Fleur sighed. "Who knows when he would've told the rest of us? He probably would have forgotten to tell us anyway. It's like he's an old man, heh."
Lucas, shuffling the deck, nodded. "Yeah, I think he actually is. I once heard a rumour that he was in the Legion, the unit in the capital, back when I first started in The Huntsmen. And remembering what Pink said back at the estate, he hadn't seen him in thirty years. Darius has to be at least fifty, maybe sixty at this point. Yet he doesn't look a day over thirty."
I leaned forward, my curiosity piqued. "Talking about Darius, what's up with him? Is he even an Arcanist?"
On every mission we had been on, Darius brought along an artifact given to him by the church.
Shattered Sight: the broken spectacles that would temporarily freeze a moment in time, and whatever that coin he used was back as the estate.
Lucas shrugged while dishing out our cards for the next round. "He would have to be to use the artifacts provided by the church. Right?"
"But that's all he does," I replied.
Fleur sobered up at my question. "No, no, you're right," she said. "I've never actually seen him use any Arcanist-like abilities the entire time I've been here." She looked at Lucas.
He shook his head. "Me neither."
Despite this, it didn't rule out that there were other possibilities. He could just be from the mental or spiritual domains. Darius hadn't shown any physical attributes as of yet which indicated this.
If Darius had been in the Legion at some point in time, he must've been capable in some capacity, especially in a team of high-ranking Arcanists within the capital.
In silence, Lucas dealt out another hand, two cards to each of us.
My cards slid over to me and I placed my fingers on top of them.
Jean, Caius and Fleur all picked up their cards, but I didn't need to look at mine. I already knew what I was going to do.
"All in," I said without taking a look at my cards.
"All in? Really?" Lucas replied while peering over his hand. "You'd better be lucky."
I took a look over each of the other's faces to see their reaction, but their expressions didn't change from the usual poker face, except for Caius who still looked confused. "I'm just playing with the cards I've been dealt."
After a brief moment of silence, Fleur placed her cards face down and flicked one of the copper coins from her pile into the centre.
"You know what? I'm game. I'm all in too."
Throughout the games we had played, both Fleur and I were almost equal in winnings so far, though she still had a slight edge. Lucas was not too far behind along with Jean, and Caius was trailing in the pack with a few coins left.
With Fleur and I all in, the others didn't hesitate to fold, leaving us two to go head to head.
Lucas then started to deal out the community cards.
Ten of Knives, Six of Stars, and an Emperor of Hearts were drawn for the first three cards.
Another Six of Knives for the fourth.
And an Ace of Crosses for the fifth community card.
Each of us instinctively turned our heads over to Fleur to see what she had.
In silence, she turned over her cards. A set of two Emperor's, giving her a solid Full House, Emperors and Sixes from the community cards.
It was a very strong hand that would likely win most games.
"Eli?" Fleur said letting me know it was my turn.
Picking up my face-down cards, I flipped them over to reveal them to not only everyone else but to myself for the first time as well.
An Ace of Stars and a Six of Hearts, giving me a Full House as well. But I had the edge with my Ace giving me the win.
The room went quiet for a moment before Lucas let out a whistle.
"Well, I'll be damned," Jean muttered, leaning back in his chair.
Caius leaned forward, examining the cards on the table. "I don't get it. How did you know to go all in?"
"Gut feeling," I replied while raking in my winnings.
Fleur however didn't look surprised whilst staying silent, even though I beat her by a small margin with both of us having strong hands.
In actuality, I had been using my Fractured Sight abilities throughout the games which had been slightly enhanced after advancing to Tier 7: Visionary. I knew when exactly to fold, call and raise accordingly. But I didn't play perfectly or it would be too obvious, just letting myself gain an edge was enough.
This wasn't cheating, just a tactical advantage using the options at my disposal. If you weren't playing to win, what was the point? This wasn't a game; it was a competition.
As we finished up, gathering our belongings and preparing to leave, Fleur gave me a look, her lips curling into a smirk. "You know, Elias, I would've done the same in your position."
I returned her gaze as she then turned and left after the others out of the break room. Did she figure me out?
…
Later that afternoon when I had finished up at work, I took myself out into the cold town. The sun was already going down, causing a gradient of orange and navy hues across the sky.
Tiny specks of white were floating from the sky and crunching under my boots as I walked through the city centre.
And so were many others this Saturday evening. Enforcers with their navy garb and portable lampposts, the regular carriage workers with their horses, and townsfolk wearing their formal winter suits.
Most of them were headed in the direction of the Church of the Keeper of Time for the evening service which was held every Saturday at five.
Despite the enforcement of Arcanists and magic under the anti-arcanist law, regular people were still able and allowed to worship their religion of their god.
And because of the sensation that continued to wash over me every time I had taken time to pray at the church, I found myself walking in the same direction as the suits that were making their way to the service too.