"Special Rule Card?"
Shade looked at the man across the table in surprise.
"Of course I'm interested."
But he didn't think someone he had met at a dockside slum inn could casually produce a special card.
The man lowered his voice. He spoke with a peculiar intonation, always dropping the final syllable. He rubbed his scalp.
"I overheard your conversation with the owner just now, and I saw you patiently reading that notebook here for half an hour. I'd wager you're definitely a Rhodes Cards player, and an experienced one at that. You can't fake that sort of air. Interested in a game? We'll wager with special cards."
"Sorry, I don't have any special cards."
Shade shook his head, unwilling to create complications while conducting his investigation.
"That's fine. Then we'll wager something else. If you win, you can buy my card for the bargain price of twenty pounds. If I win, you give me twenty pounds directly."
That was no small sum. Shade wanted to refuse, but the man had already placed the card on the table. The corners of his mouth curled upward, and his eyes gleamed.
"Take a look at this."
Shade glanced down, and his expression changed.
Demon Thief Bishop, Moon 9.
When this card is drawn, if the opponent has not stopped drawing, they must draw two cards in the next round. If the two cards are of different suits, the opponent may choose to discard one. If they are of the same suit, the opponent must accept the values of both cards.
"This is... the Demon Series?"
Shade lowered his voice and braced a hand against the table. Even the Outlander was startled at that moment.
Rhodes Cards had flourished for several centuries. Apart from the Founding Series, the other five special cards in