Conquest

Chapter One

The sound of muffled voices and pounding music drifted from the shabby, old tavern known as The Sour Troll, the most popular tavern of all. Though the tavern was shabby and old, it had its charms since people wandered there every night just for a glimpse of the real world. The inside was always a different story, full of life and decorations both new and old. The tables were wooden and round, hand-crafted unlike the new ones that were crafted by machines and robots, something unknown in this part of town. The embellishments were swirly and curly, drifting across the table like a surfer would drift across the waves at high tide. Yet, these were also elegant, showing where a dancer would take their partner as they glided across the dance floor in calculated steps and moves. Tables like the oak ones that sat in the tavern didn't exist anymore, replaced by sleek aluminum tables that had no character or charm to them. Pity.

Though The Sour Troll was a promising place, always having some sort of high gambler at the table, it was often a place that drained you. That's because it did. The worries of the day, what you had to eat in the morning, and why you even went there in the first place was all wiped away, replaced by the need to gamble or buy a drink for the cute girl or boy that always seemed to be there every night. It was as if the whole thing was staged, just a game that you were a part of. Just a card game that you weren't worth much in. That's why gambling was never a good idea, Conquest was one of the hardest card games to play. Actually, it was the hardest game to play in general. It was almost like a regular card game, where a king and queen would earn you a certain amount of points, but except it's obviously much more different. Each card had a different value, much like certain kinds of creatures were valued above others. For instance, the red warlock was usually an instant win. Warlocks were the powerful kind these days, the overseers and the people who took over other kingdoms in their sleep just for the fun of it. However, a succulent parasite, as they were called, would get other people to snicker and laugh at you for your stupidity. Sadly, succulents weren't valued besides being a house plant that actually talked back instead of ignoring your monologues that you thought nobody could hear.

Nanthleene sighed as she sat at one of the tables, the same table she usually sat at every night. Mostly because she loved watching Kralin lose Conquest every night. He was old and wise, but he wasn't very good at card games. He always seemed to put down the wrong cards at the wrong moment, winning cards that meant nothing until the end of the deck. She eyed the stacks of coins. Debroux, the currency they used in their province. Of course, it wasn't the same anywhere else but... she hadn't visited anywhere else. She was, in fact, poor beyond a shadow of a doubt. Kralin sighed as he held a deck of cards in his hand, thinking thoughtfully as a small sprite with blue wings sat upon his wizard hat, which was a mockery nowadays. She shook her head and turned away before unpacking her case, which held a mandolin inside it. This was a family heirloom, the only thing she received under her family name. Which she knew nothing about. She let out another sigh and stared at the chandelier that hung above them. It was an old fashioned one, made with wood in the shape of a circle with wax candles all around it, attached by four chains long chains that were secured to the bland ceiling that was above everyone's heads.

"Red Warlock," Nanth informed as she raised her chin at the group of card players just as one of the Golems slapped down the card, declaring his immediate victory over the entire group. There was a unanimous groan as he collected the pile of Debroux in the middle of the table, smirking at the entire group. Everybody shook their heads in disbelief, looking at the card on top of all the others. It was a handsome warlock, one with long hair and curled horns like a goat's. The Golem uttered his gratitude as he swept it into his bag and went on his way, his only victory the greatest triumph of his night.

"I don't know why I every bother playing this silly game." Kralin muttered, scratching at his beard. "Nanth you should play for me, you seem to know which card is being played and when exactly it is being played." He raised an eyebrow and the entire table seemed to look at her as her fingers hovered over the worn strings of her Mandolin. Nobody had known about her ability to tell what card might be played in the next turn.

She shook her head in refusal, "You know I don't have much to my name Kralin. You know me better than anyone else. I would rather not gamble anything on a game I could be considered a cheater for my knowledge of probability." She bit her lip thoughtfully, hoping they couldn't see through her rash lie.

Kralin gave a loud sigh before shaking his head at her. "I know all too much about you girl, how you waste away your money on drinking and opiates. I know how you wish to escape the reality that you are alone, but that is all you ever will be if you don't take care of yourself." He almost spat at her with his harsh words, making her heart burn in response. He knew better than to mess around with her, especially since he knew of her ailment. Something that was known and obvious to everyone else in the room, as if she wore her heart on her sleeve, bleeding and vulnerable.

"Well maybe I shouldn't stick around since you seem to know all too much about me." She bared her teeth at him and packed her instrument before storming out of the tavern, the cold droplets of rain drenching her already as she stepped out into the narrow alleyway. She exhaled, her breath becoming fog in the cold air as she looked around, searching for a direction she could go. Anywhere that was warm. Anywhere that wasn't near an old man who didn't understand anything about her life at all. How convenient.

She froze as there was splashing sounds from footsteps upon the puddles of water that had formed. She turned to see a young man, taller than her, holding out a satchel. "Hey, I know Kralin can be a jerk sometimes, really I know. I am his apprentice, Nick. Well that's what I call myself, Kralin has a much more complicated name for me." He flashed a wolf-like grin before holding out a hand to her.

She was hesitant at first but shook it, giving him a smile in return, "Just call me Nanth. That's what most people prefer to call me anyways. But you don't have to apologize, he does. Honestly... what he said isn't true, just what I told him." She avoided eye contact with him, focusing on her reflection in the puddle below her worn sneakers, which had shoelaces that were frayed and worn from use. She had always wanted to get the new ones that she saw in the store windows, the ones that made you hover above the ground or glide across water with ease. "It was easier to say anyways, I think he would've laughed if I had told him the truth."

His black eyebrow went higher above his brown eyes in curiosity. "So, what is the truth then? If you'd like to tell me that is. We just met, I know, but at least you told someone the truth so they wouldn't judge you." He looked at her, nodding in encouragement so that she would spill the tail of her demise.

Nanth shook her head and sighed in defeat, "When they say you give your heart to the one they love... they mean it literally. You see, I was foolish and in love once. And being in love, we gave our hearts to each other. I had his, and he had mine. However, it wasn't all that he wanted I suppose. So, one night, he decided to play with my heart and cheat on me with someone... better. When you cheat on the person whose heart you have, it injures it. As if the heartbreak is already happening. Heartbreak is literal as well, if you didn't know. Well, it got to the point where he had to ask for his back, because my heart was insufficient and he wanted nothing to do with me anymore. So, they told me either I could let myself die or get treatment to see if my heart will heal. It isn't a hundred percent known if I can live to the full capacity that I was originally supposed to, but it's better than dying young without a legacy and anybody to mourn me. If anything, the ex would've mourned me just so he got my possessions. I wouldn't have had time to change my will and I left a lot to him, including my Mandolin which is worth more than he wished he was worth."

Nick was speechless and she got finicky as her heart raced, pounding againsther chest. Each increase caused her to flinch as she gasped for air, her lungsnever seeming to get enough. A panic attack, that's what this was. And it couldkill her very easily. Usually it was just a small sort of ailment but tonight...it seemed worse. As if it wanted to take everything she knew away. As if it hadgrown in power and strength overnight. She wasn't sure why it was happening, itdidn't make sense to her. Maybe it was because she told him the truth,something she usually wouldn't do because she wanted to protect herself. Ormaybe because she finally let someone in on a secret that she otherwise would'vekept hidden until her untimely death. Perhaps it was the Vortex who sat in thedark, someone who could suddenly conjure an ailment in another human being thatwas in the same room. All she saw was him reaching out for her with extendedarms as everything turned into darkness, the same darkness that she wasfamiliar with and had known for a very long time as the Vortex smiled anddisappeared into those shadows of her mind.