M.Y.T.H. Inc In Action by Robert Asprin

“Can we have a table close to the window so’s there’s more light?” Nunzio sez, giving me a wink.

I know what he is thinkin’ and normally would approve. The proprietor is makin’ me feel a little uneasy, however. Despite his toothy smile, I have a strong feelin’ he can tell within a few pieces of small change how much money our crew is carryin’ … and is already tryin’ to figure how much of it he can glom onto before we escape. In short, I haven’t felt this sized up by a merchant since we left the Bazaar at Deva.

Despite my growin’ discomfort, I join the crew as the proprietor ushers us to a window table and distributes menus. Everybody gives their drink orders, then start porin’ over the menus with Spyder and Junebug servin’ as interpreters … everyone except Nunzio, that is.

Ignorin’ his menu completely, my cousin starts fishin’ around his belt pouch.

“While we’re here, anyone care for a couple quick hands of Dragon Poker?” he sez innocentlike, producin’ a deck of cards and a battered, dog-eared book.

The whole crew groans at this, a sure indication of their familiarity with the game, which is not surprisin’ as Nunzio and me have been takin’ great pains to teach it to ’em. Despite their apparent reluctance, however, I notice that their stakes money appears on the table in a quick ripple of movement, which is in itself a testimony to the addictin’ nature of this particular pastime. I can speak from my own experience in sayin’ that there is nothin’ like watchin’ a pot you’ve built on a nice hand disappear into someone else’s stack because of some obscure-type Conditional Modifier to convince a new player that it is definitely in his best interest to learn more about the game as it is his only chance of winnin’ some of his money back, much less show a profit. That is, you play your first game of Dragon Poker for the fun of it, and after that youse is playin’ for revenge.