Pirate Treasure

The ship docked in the town of Bluney.  This wasn't my favorite town, but it wasn't the worst. The people were smart.  It was harder to get things past them.  The upside was they had more money here.  Richer people means bigger prizes. You had to be careful here.  You can't trick the same man twice, even if they don't realize it the first time. It's dangerous and usually you'll get hurt.

I prefer my hometown Cinder.  The people aren't as smart.  You can play a pretty obvious game, win coins, then go back the next day and do it all over again.  You can even play some of the homeless for food.  I don't do that much, but it's a quick meal.  

I had to carry two chests of treasure through the streets.  I had tried to put all the doubloons into one, but they wouldn't fit. I didn't want to lose any of the one hundred, so I'm dealing with it.  I didn't bring a knife or any sharp object with me, so I had to be extra careful.  Bluney isn't the biggest place for muggers, but Cinder is.

What I had to do was find a place to sleep for tonight.  I wouldn't dare just sleep outside.  If someone saw two treasure chests, no matter how heavy, they'd go for it. I need an empty house.  Or at least a house with one person in it.  A little intimidation
and anyone can stay quiet.

By now, it was dark.  I was checking for houses without light.  Either they're sleeping or won't be in for the night.  A lot of the houses you could see had people currently in them, probably enjoying a late meal or just talking with family.  That's not what I need. If I do find a house, I need to hope it's one without good neighbors.  

After walking for what seemed like hours, I came upon two houses, both dark as the night. I decided to pick the one on the right. I pushed the door open and immediately set the two treasure chests down on the floor.  It felt good not to carry those around anymore.  

This was a two story house.  It wasn't that spectacular on the inside. Average is perfect for just one night. I moved the chests slowly with my feet and stopped them behind a chair. It wasn't the best hiding spot but I was too exhausted to care.

I safely assumed the bedroom would be on the second floor and started to make my way up the steps.  Every step would creak.  The first room didn't have a door, just an open space in the wall. I saw the bed and walked into the room. On the end table was a candle. It wouldn't be suspicious if it wasn't burning already.

A sharp object then appeared and was gently against my throat.  Most likely it was some type of knife.  I wasn't so sure how who ever was holding the knife snuck up behind me with all these load floorboards. They were pretty stealthy, I'll give them that.

"Who are you?" they said.  It was a woman.  She didn't sound sweet and innocent either.  Her tone sounded annoyed, like she gets random people breaking into her house all the time.

"What does it matter?" I said, trying to keep calm.

"Fine, I will ask you a better question. Why are you here?"

"Just looking for a place to sleep. I guess this house is occupied so I'll be on my way..." I tried to slip away but her knife was firmly pressed against my throat. It was uncomfortable, but at least I wasn't bleeding yet.

"I should kill you for trespassing."

"We don't have to go that far."

"No?" She paused to think, but still held the knife strong.  I could try to fight her but I would end up just getting myself cut.  "What do you do for fun?"

"Play cards," I said simply. It's what I do and lying wouldn't help me now.

"Ah, fine," she said in a lighter tone then her first threatening one.  She shoved me away but stood carefully with her knife in her hand so I couldn't escape.  "I'll play you for it." She quickly grabbed two chairs from a dark corner and set them at the end table.

"Play me for what?" I asked as she went back and looked for something in the same dark corner.  She produced a set of cards and smiled at me.

"Your life."

I couldn't help but smile back.  This was more like it. I took my seat at the end table and she sat across from me. She shuffled and handed me two cards then grabbed two for herself.

"How are we playing?" I asked.

"We both start with two cards. The dealer, me, will then put down one card, then another card, and then the last card on the table. It's more fun when you can bet doubloons between each card that's laid down."

"If it's for my life, there's always fingers and toes," I joked but she looked at me seriously.

"You want to play that way?"

"No."  Someone couldn't take a joke.  I took a look at my hand.  It was a pair of threes and not bad for a start. I looked up and nodded, signaling for the next card.  It was a three. Okay, three of a kind is better.  I nodded again and she put down the second card.  It was another three. Four of a kind? What luck I had tonight.  If only I could bet doubloons right now.

"Ready for the last one?" she said, looking at my face carefully.

"Of course."

She laid down the final card. It was a three. Five of a kind, I mean that's even- wait.  There are supposed to be four threes in a deck.  I scrunched my eyebrows together then quickly mentally slapped myself. That was my tell.

"Ha, good game, good game," she said and put her two cards on the table.  They were also threes.

"What's going on here?"

"This is a fake deck," she picked up the pile and showed me them. All the cards were threes.  "When you said you played cards, I thought I should teach myself how to know when you don't get the best hand. Smart, eh?"

I smiled again.  I was tricked, and tricked pretty well.  "Yeah, bloody smart."

"Don't worry about our little bet, I'm not going to kill you, but I'm not going to let you stay in my house either.  The one to the left doesn't have anyone in it right now."

I stood up from my chair. "Thanks for the tip."

"My name is Cassandra," she said and got up from her chair too.  I nodded and started to leave the room.  

"Hey, wait, where you headed then, after tonight?"

"Cinder," I said, already downstairs.  I picked up the two treasure chests I hid behind the chair.

"And your name-?" she started to ask, but I was already out the door.