That popped my bubble in a hurry. Aahz was right.
Clothes and the Ax aside, there was one thing I was going to have to face up to soon, and that was a showdown with the best dragon poker player in all the dimensions.
Chapter Fourteen:
“Sometimes luck isn’t enough.”
-L. LUCIANO
“OGRE’S high, Skeeve. Your bet.”
‘Oh! Umm… I’ll go ten.”
“Bump you ten.”
“Out.”
“Twenty to me? I’ll go twenty on top of that.”
“Call.”
By now, you should know that sound. That’s right. Dragon poker in full gallop. This time, however, it was a friendly game between Aahz, Tananda, Chumley, and me. Of course, I’m using the phrase “friendly” rather loosely here.
Aside from occasional shouting matches, I had never been in a fight with these three before. That is, when there had been trouble, we formed our circle with the horns out, not in. For the first time, I found myself on the opposite side of a conflict from my colleagues, and I wasn’t enjoying it at all. Realizing this was just a game, and a practice game at that, I was suddenly very glad I didn’t have too face any one of them in a real life-and-death situation.
The banter was still there, but there was an edge on it.
There was a cloud of tension over the table as the players focused on each other like circling predators. It had been there at the game at the Even-Odds, but then I was expecting it. One doesn’t expect support or sympathy from total strangers in a card game. The trouble was that these three who were my closest friends were turning out to be total strangers when the chips were down .. if you’ll pardon the expression.