An Unfair Card Game

"Let's make the stakes bigger. Flawed Sin cannot be used as chips. The minimum ante for each round is 1 dram of Ordinary Sin, and every draw must be accompanied by a raise. Winner takes all; the loser forfeits the chips they wagered."

This meant that neither winning too much nor losing too much would end well.

After speaking, the old man swept a hand across the table, and a deck of Rhodes Cards appeared on its surface. Shade and Mr. Bernhardt took out their own cards as well. Seeing that Sister Devlin had not prepared a deck, Shade took out his spare cards and slid them across the table to her. The nun quietly thanked him.

"The most ordinary rules. After each round, drawn cards may be returned to the deck. I acknowledge cards with special rules; they make the Game more interesting. But I also have special cards left behind by past outsiders."

As he spoke, the old man fished a rusty little black iron statue from beneath the table and placed it on the tabletop.

The spiritual light representing Blasphemy nearly forced all three of them to avert their eyes at once. Even Shade did not wish to stare at the statue for long. It was an evil god's statue, without question—an evil god's statue depicting a fat man with both arms raised, his fists clenched.

"My ante is 3 drams of Sloth contained within this statue of the Old God, Unfortunate Propagator [Father of Slumber]. This Great One governs the powers of sleep, idleness, laziness, misfortune, and poverty. If either of you wins these 3 drams of Sloth, they may be treated as 30 drams of Perfect Sin."

He pushed the evil god's statue slightly forward.

"This building contains far too much Sin, but Sin of