Part 3: The Walrus and Carpenter Gambit"It seems a shame," the Walrus said "To play them such a trick;
After we've brought them out so far, and made them trot so quick!"
The Carpenter said nothing but "The butter's spread too thick." The second Magician card just lie there on the table; its penciled eyes glared accusingly at the four, demanding to know what blasphemer had put it in play.
The four stared back uncomprehendingly at first; this sight was not meant to be, for there could only be one Mage in any Diamondback deck.
"Don't look at me!" the Scarran cried out; "You just dealt that card to me. You all saw me flip it over right where you placed it." All eyes fell on the Serrean dealer, whose hand already had a Magician face-up.
"I just dealt the cards; you shuffled! And YOU cut the deck!" the dealer retorted, eyeing the other players as he spoke.
"Yeah, so why'd ya hide that one up your sleeve?" the third player, a stout dwarf of indeterminate clan interjected.
"I couldn't have... I don't have any sleeves!" Which was plain to see, as practicing Serreans were prohibited from clothing any part of their upper bodies anywhere but in the confines of their own homes.
"Well, I don't even have HANDS!" the serpentine Scarran answered; poking the offending card with the tip of his tail. "How would I hide it?"
"It is clear..." said the fourth player, a certain furry warlord wearing a Scarran-hide vest "...that you've been working together. Cerebus doesn't know for how long, but it looks like one of you just fouled up."
"Don't think I didn't notice what you're wearing..." hissed the Scarran, his eyes now thin slits as his tail wrapped around a heavy metal vessel from the table.
"Tarim, save us all from the slithery hordes..." the warlord snorted his derision, dodging the thrown goblet as it bounced off the Serrean's shaved head. "...was this your cousin?"
Even as he deftly avoids the attack, Cerebus calmly calculates just how much more he'll have to antagonize the others before an all-out brawl ensues. He gauges that the clash of swords and armor from the mercenary attack his personal guard are fending off outside will soon be loud enough inside the hall that even those without his acute sense of hearing will notice. It is time. Unseen, his tail darts out, crashing a chair into the dwarf.
Critical mass has been achieved, and chaos ensues. "I shall break thee in half!!!" the short, thick warrior shouts, lowering his helmed head and charging like a battering ram at the Serrean. The table flies in his wake, showering them all with spirits and playing chips as he does. The Scarran hisses; feeling around on the floor, he finds a chairleg to use as a club.
"I don't know what game you're playing... but I'll see you all hanged!" the bald courtisan screeches, waving frenetically to his countryman playing a couple tables over. Soon the fight is joined; just as the Scarran swings.
Cerebus slips away to speak with the Seargeant-at-Arms by the doorway, giving explicit instructions that he and his men should observe carefully but allow the brawl to continue, only interrupting where serious injury is imminent. He nods to the manager of the dining hall to engage full damage control mode before bolting down the hallway and outside to join the fray; he really needed to wrap it up before everyone in the dining hall notices...mnem
Yeah, yeah... I know.
End Part 3; Concluded Tomorrow with Part 3.1: You Don't Bring Me Flowers