Mythos: Last Stand

  Chapter 16 — The One Where Jackie Plays Poker

  by Caide Fullerton

  Jackie: “So, what’s up with this war, anyway?” They asked, studying the four cards on the table. “I check, by the way.”

  Viz: “You’re a real nutjob, y’know? No sane person would ask a soldier somethin’ like that so casually.” She chuckled, watching as Delia across from her dealt a fifth card. “Been a little over a month now. Only one big battle, but I’m sure you’ve seen how that went.”

  The four of them sat around a table in the shade of the pub, two cards in each of their hands. Across from Jackie sat Raffica, who was happily sipping a tankard of some sort of fruit juice between rounds. Jackie had been given some sort of alcohol, and they were unwilling to admit that it tasted terrible.

  Jackie: “Why’re you at war with Evendel, anyway? Who started it?”

  Delia: “They did, but they’d have you believe otherwise. Check.”

  Raffica: “Check!”

  Viz: “Raise it two chips.” She flicked two small, white circles of molded clay to the center of the table with a talon. “‘Bout a month ago they suddenly put up a blockade, started claiming we attacked one of their ports. Bullshit, obviously, but they don’t care.”

  Jackie: “They just made up an excuse? Raise it two more.”

  Delia: “I fold.” She sighed, lying her cards face-down. “Turns out their city really did get attacked, and they took some prisoners claiming to be from Avek Tirion. Wasn’t on the Admiral’s orders, though.”

  Raffica narrowed her eyes at the cards at the center of the table before taking a sip of her juice. “I fold, too.”

  Viz: “I’m sure they ain’t interested in the truth. To call our prior relationship ‘shaky’ would be generous; I’m sure the King’s aides appreciate the excuse to bully some dumb pirates.”

  Clutching her cards between two talons, she used a third to slide two more chips to the center, then dropped her cards with a smirk. “Straight.”

  Jackie tossed their cards to the center, matching her smile. “Flush.”

  Viz clicked her tongue. “Lucky-ass Human.”

  Jackie hummed as they collected the chips from the center, sorting them into orderly stacks. Theirs was the second-largest at the table, after Viz’s. Raffica, who was much better at this than Jackie had expected, was only losing to them by a small margin. Delia had the fewest chips by a sound margin; she was working very hard to hide her frustration at unexpectedly being the worst player at the table.

  Jackie: “Y’know, I keep hearing the name ‘Evendel’, but nobody’s said what this nation is called yet.” They spoke as the deck was passed to Raffica and she began to deal out the next set of cards.

  Delia: “We don’t exactly have a proper name. Avek Tirion is basically a city state, but we lay claim to this half of the island. Until recently, Evendel didn’t care to contest it; I’m sure they were happy to let someone else handle this half of the border with the Heap.”

  Viz: “Some assholes started callin’ us the Scurvysands as an insult, and it sorta stuck. Makes us sound like badass evil pirates.”

  Delia: “You’re spreading anti-us propaganda.” She glared at Viz from across the table; Jackie surmised that this was a recurring argument.

  Viz: “So? I’m badass. And evil. And a pirate.”

  Delia: “You are only one of those things.”

  Viz: “Aww, you think I’m evil?”

  Delia: “I will if you don’t take your turn already.”

  The four of them slid their blinds to the center of the table and Viz opened the round with a “Check.” Jackie considered their new information along with their hand.

  None of the terms Viz or Delia provided had been the same as the nation Lii had mentioned before—Elysium, she’d called it. Had it disappeared, or perhaps become one of the two warring nations that now occupied the land?

  Well, these two had been forthcoming so far. Might as well just ask.

  Jackie: “You three ever heard of a place called Elysium?” A moment later they added, “Check.”

  Delia and Viz cast puzzled gazes at Jackie while Raffica cocked her head.

  Viz: “Uh, in history books, sure.”

  Delia: “You read?”

  Viz: “‘Course not, but I know basic history.”

  Jackie: “Would you mind educating the person who doesn’t know basic history?” Or people, they thought, watching Raffica glance between the other two.

  Delia: “It was a huge empire. Used to own this entire island, for one—before the Heap even existed.”

  Jackie: “Keyword was?”

  Viz: “The High Elves went the way of the Human, uh… around the same time as you did, actually.” She tapped a talon against the table, “There weren’t any in the Heap, were there?”

  Jackie: “I don’t think so?”

  Delia: “To be precise, Elysium dissolved a little over four hundred years ago with the end of the Great War. Your kind went ‘extinct’ shortly after, as did the High Elves who ruled Elysium.” She gave a matter-of-fact explanation with a finger raised, then pushed a red chip to the center.

  Viz: “Ho?~ Got somethin’ good?”

  Delia: “Three of a kind.”

  Viz: “Bullshit.”

  Jackie: “Am I correct to assume my people were involved in this “Great War?”” They paid the humorous interaction no mind, staying focused on their inquiries.

  Viz: “Aye. You guys led the charge against Elysium, or somethin’ like that.”

  Jackie’s eyes lit up. This was exactly what they’d been looking for—real info about their race and what happened to it. “Do you have any books or anything about the Great War? Or about Humans in general?”

  Delia scratched her leafy head. “About Humans, maybe. The Great War? There’s not much to know.”

  They narrowed their red eyes. “What does that mean?”

  Viz: “‘Xactly what it sounds like. The war started five hundred years ago between the Humans an’ High Elves, then they killed each other off and were both extinct a century later. That’s all anyone knows about the Great War.”

  Delia nodded grimly. “There are no surviving documents or anything from that time period. All anyone can do is guess about what happened.”

  Jackie was utterly stunned. A hundred years of history completely missing? It was just their luck that it happened to be the one century they really cared about.

  They shook their head. No, something like that couldn’t be luck. Something had made that history disappear; there’s no way it had happened on its own. Had the High Elves or Humans purposely hidden the truth of their war? How had they managed it? How had that war led to Humans living in the Forgotten Heap?

  By the time they returned to reality, the other two had turned their attention to Raffica.

  Viz: “Oi, you’ve been thinking for a long while there. What’s it gonna be?”

  Raffica sighed dramatically, collapsing against the table with her head in her hands. “I fold…”

  Viz: “No luck, huh?” She chuckled as Raffica dealt the next card to the center, then she flicked a red token after it. “Check.”

  Jackie took one look at their hand before sighing as well. “I’ll fold.”

  Delia glanced back to them. “I’d like to know how you heard the name ‘Elysium’ while living in the Heap. Or did you just pick it up today?”

  They shook their head. “Lii, she…” They trailed off, their eyes sliding over to Viz. They jabbed their shoulder at her in a ‘does she know’ motion.

  Delia nodded. “Your being Humans isn’t common knowledge, but everyone in camp is very aware that there is an allegedly-friendly Mimic in our ranks.”

  Viz: “You could call it a major source of contention, even. Lotta folks here would rather just kill her off than take the risk. Sure it’s been a real headache for Sils.”

  They were only feeling more and more sorry for the fairy—and thankful that she’d decided to take them all in, Mimic included. In retrospect, it was pretty shocking that Lii hadn’t been brought up at all during their meeting last night. Perhaps she was just confident that her forces could handle a wounded Mimic?

  Jackie: “Mind if I ask where you stand on that?”

  Viz: “Wouldja be offended if I said I’d rather put her out of her misery?”

  Jackie shrugged. “A little, but I can see where you’re coming from. We were just as shocked that she’s friendly, and you’ve got a lot of people to protect.” They looked to Delia, “And you?”

  Delia: “...If she really is good—and that’s a very big if—I don’t mind. But if she tries anything—“

  Viz: “If she does anything, my axe will get to her first, ‘cause I’m faster than you.”

  The two exchanged grim gazes, and after a moment Delia muttered out a “Check.” Looking between the other three, Raffica put on a bright smile as she dealt the next card,

  Raffica: “I think she seemed nice.”

  Jackie: “Did you even get to talk to her?”

  Raffica: “No, but she seems like a good person. And you’re a good person, so I’m sure she must be, too.”

  Jackie: “Ehh, you sure? I might secretly be e~vil.” They smirked, wiggling their fingers in a grabby motion.

  Raffica simply shook her head. “Nope! You’re good.”

  Viz gave the girl a meaningful look before finally flicking a red token to the center. “Well, Raffica’s usually a pretty good judge of character. I’ll trust it for now.”

  Delia narrowed her eyes at the raised bet, then glanced back to Jackie, “So, back on track. Elysium?”

  Jackie: “Right. I heard the name from Lii. She seemed to think it still existed, but…” They paused, considering yet another thing Lii had said, “She thought she’d only been hibernating for twenty years at most, but clearly not.”

  Viz: “You’re tellin’ me she’s four hundred years old?”

  Jackie: “Apparently. Maybe older. Guess I’ll have to ask her. I’m sure she’s hungry, so maybe I’ll do it when I wake her up for lunch.” Viz narrowed her eyes at that, but Jackie gave a glare in return, “She’s vegetarian.”

  Viz: “Pfft, seriously? A vegetarian Mimic?”

  Jackie: “Yes, seriously.”

  They spoke sternly, and Viz raised her wings in surrender with an “Okay, okay.” Then, turning her attention back to Delia, she smirked,

  Viz: “What’re you stalling for? I’ve only got a two pair, go ahead and take the bet.”

  Delia: “You aren’t that nice. I fold.”

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  Viz: “Hehe, should’ve known better than to bluff against me. Like hell you had three.”

  She gloated, dropping her cards—which, in fact, only made a single pair—and scooping up all of the chips from the center with a curve of her talons. The deck was passed to her, and she dealt the next set of cards with incredible dexterity. Jackie kept getting more and more surprised by how well she could use her talons in place of hands. They couldn’t help but wonder whether that skill was unique to her or if all of her kind could move that way.

  They glanced over their cards; pretty weak, unless some lucky pairs appeared. “History aside, do you guys have many books here? I want to learn about the world and the nations and cultures and about all the races and stuff. Uh, check.”

  Viz: “That’s a lot of things.”

  Jackie: “I have a lot to catch up on. I couldn’t exactly learn any of that in the Heap. Little kids probably know more than I do, which really doesn’t sit right with me.”

  Delia: “I’ll see if I can find some, I’m sure there’s a few around camp.” She said, then added a “Check” a moment later.

  Raffica pushed a white token in. “I’ll help, too! I think I have a few books you can borrow.”

  Jackie: “I appreciate it.” They watched Viz add a token, and they did so as well.

  Delia huffed, dropping her cards on the table. “I fold. Shit hand.”

  Viz: “E~h, over just one token?”

  Delia: “I don’t have many left. No thanks to you.”

  Viz let out an evil cackle as she finally dealt the first two cards to the table. “Y’know, Jackie, if you’re here anyway, why not join the force?”

  Jackie raised an eyebrow. “As in, work for Sils?” They’d been so caught up in learning about the world and meeting people, they hadn’t even considered that as an option.

  Viz: “Yeah. If you can get your powers working on a few of us, it’d be pretty damn handy to have you around. Check.”

  So she knew about Humans’ mental powers, as well. Was this common knowledge, despite their kind being extinct for so long?

  Jackie: “Check. To be honest, I don’t even know how to use them. I only learned they existed yesterday.”

  Delia: “Seriously? You’ve never used them at all?”

  They shook their head.

  Viz: “Interesting. You don’t know how to use your own racial magic, huh?” She tapped the clawed digit of one wing against her chin, expression shifting in thought. “It comes intuitively to most people. From childhood we just sorta know what our abilities are and how to use them.”

  Delia: “But you didn’t even know you had an ability? Did you even know about the concept of magic?”

  Jackie: “Vaguely. At least that a lot of things in the Heap other than us could use various magical abilities.”

  That knowledge had been passed down through the generations without error. They understood that ‘magic’ referred to the ability of various creatures to perform things that were otherwise impossible, though the finer details of the process eluded them. Sometimes that came in the form of a spell, a means of manipulating the world around you—Liches came to mind, with their twisted corruption and acid. More often, however, magic was more mundane, something inherent to a creature’s body. A Kumori’s skeletal arms or a Kritta’s poisonous barbs were parts of their physical body, but magic served to fill in the gaps between those abilities and what was possible for evolution alone to achieve. Then there were abilities that landed somewhere in-between—Kuzumade and Basilisks clearly had physical body parts responsible for producing their acidic spit and petrifying beams, but the effects themselves were also undeniably magical.

  Raffica: “Oh, Kirra told me about this!” She spoke up with excitement, raising her hand.

  This was now the second time Jackie had heard that name, Kirra. Was it another person here at camp, or perhaps a common friend of Raffica and Sils? In any case, Raffica continued,

  Raffica: “Using magic is kinda like stretching a muscle that isn’t really there. Well, sometimes it is there, but yours isn’t.”

  Jackie: “Out of curiosity, what are all of your abilities?”

  Viz raised one of her wings. It shook briefly, a metallic sheen coating her feathers, and then she lowered it down against the table. Several feathers clanked against the wood with metallic sounds to match their new texture.

  Viz: “I can harden my wings. Spriggans like Delia stretch. And Alphiccae like Raffica can fly.”

  Jackie raised an eyebrow at the red-haired girl. “You can fly?” She had fallen from the sky when she first appeared.

  Raffica: “Ya-huh! I use my jets.”

  She lifted an arm and pointed to the chitinous red armor that covered the forearm—to be precise, she pointed to its very end, just before her wrist, where there was a small hole. She then pointed that arm down and shot a quick burst of air out from that hole in the armor, in the process launching a white chip to the center of the table.

  Viz flicked another token to the center; Jackie folded, closing their eyes to focus instead. How exactly were they meant to flex a muscle that wasn’t there?

  Viz had said most people understood how to use their abilities intuitively. Why didn’t they, or their companions? Had the Human race as a whole simply forgotten that they even had powers, much less how to use them?

  If magic was like a muscle, they must be able to feel that muscle, even if it wasn’t something that existed physically. They’d never even known that they possessed magic, but perhaps the feeling of it had been present all along, simply resting there, untapped?

  So, they just had to feel a feeling they had never felt before. Easy. That aside, how did one even begin to attempt to use something like telepathy? They had to pick someone to contact, for one. If they needed a close bond in order to use it, it would have to be one of their companions, obviously; would it even work if the target was still asleep? Beyond that, they also had to figure out what to say.

  The entire ordeal gave them a headache.

  ? ? ?

  Sam awoke feeling oddly refreshed. He’d been so exhausted that he’d expected to wake up feeling terrible; instead, it seemed his body was rewarding him for finally giving it some rest.

  He found himself in a small tent, lying on an old, tattered cloth. He hadn’t bothered to find a blanket; even at night it was warm enough here not to need one. He was flanked on one side by a sleeping Strade, the other an empty cot.

  He blinked around at the strange tent for a few moments before his memories finally caught up to him. He and his companions had arrived at a place called Heapwatch—a place outside of the Forgotten Heap, populated by real people. He’d shared this tent with Strade and Helena, while Jackie had stayed in a neighboring tent to watch over Lii.

  Where was Helena?

  He scrambled to his feet in a fit of panic, darting outside only to be met with the blinding light of the midday sun. That helped to explain why he felt so refreshed; he’d slept much more than just the night away.

  Shielding his eyes, he glanced around and was relieved to find Helena sitting beside the tent entrance. She offered him a concerned gaze.

  Helena: “You good?”

  Sam: “Uh, yeah. Sorry.” He took a moment to gather himself, calming his breathing. “How long have you been up?”

  She shrugged. “An hour? Something like that.”

  Sam: “Right. Thanks for keeping watch.” He looked to the tent beside them, where Jackie and Lii were resting, “How’re they doing?”

  Helena: “Jackie went off to do their own thing. Lii seems fine, though. She’s still sleeping.”

  He raised an eyebrow. “Jackie just left her alone?”

  Helena: “With their ridiculous perception, I’m sure they knew I was up, too. They’re gathering info around camp, I think. Someone oughta do it; I’m sure they’re enjoying themself, so it might as well be them. They went and saw Makala, too, so that’s taken care of.”

  Sam nodded along, looking out at the camp and the people occasionally passing by. “I expected it to hit me a lot harder. Being outside, I mean.”

  Helena: “Really hasn’t sunk in, huh?” She chuckled, clearly having the same feeling. Then, her tone shifting to be more serious, she took Sam’s arm and looked up at him, “Sam, I’m… I’m sorry for being so high-strung all the time.”

  Sam: “Eh? Where’s this coming from?”

  Helena: “I’ve been thinking. About that argument I had with Jackie, among other things.” Lowering her arm, she looked at the palms of her hands, opening and closing them. “Like, what am I meant to do now? How am I meant to act now?”

  Sam: “I don’t think you need to change just because we escaped.”

  Helena: “But I want to change.” She sighed, “I let myself become so cynical and paranoid. In there, it was practical, but… I don’t think I need to be that person anymore. But I’m also not sure how to stop being that way, or what I’m even meant to become now.”

  Sam gazed down at her for a moment before sitting down beside her. “You don’t have to force it. If you really want to change, it’ll happen naturally now that our circumstances are different.”

  Helena: “Think so?” She leaned back on her hands, looking up at the sky. “It’s just weird. Are we really safe here? It’s that simple? What am I meant to do all day now that I don’t have to fight for survival?”

  Sam: “Go socialize like Jackie is?” He joked.

  Helena: “And get all these heavily-armed, highly-trained guys to hate me?”

  Sam: “They won’t hate you! You’re very pleasant.”

  She snickered. “Really?”

  Jackie: “I think so, at least.”

  Helena: “I bet you’re a lot nicer than these people,” she said, then shook her head a moment later, “No, that’s wrong. Your standards are just lower.”

  Sam: “They are not!”

  Helena: “You’ve known, like…” She paused to count in her head, “Seven people, total, before we got out here. These guys have all met dozens, probably hundreds of other people. They have way more to choose from. They wouldn’t have to settle for me.”

  Sam: “That’s not—“

  Helena: “I wouldn’t be surprised if Jackie ditches us for some more interesting people here in camp.”

  Sam’s eyes widened. “Th-they wouldn’t do that..!” He couldn’t muster any confidence in his voice. Would they really leave them?

  The idea upset him more than he’d expected. He shook his head,

  Sam: “No, they wouldn’t do that. They’re our friend.”

  Helena glanced his way, then returned her gaze to the sky. “I hope so.”

  The two sat in silence for a while, Sam’s thoughts in disarray. So much had happened that he’d forgotten he’d only known Jackie and Lii for a few days now. It felt like it was much longer than that—like it should have been much longer than that.

  He really didn’t know much about either of them. He had a decent grasp of their personalities, and they’d told him about their pasts a few nights ago after killing the Kumori, but that was about it. What did they really want out of life? What did they think about him, or about Helena, or about this whole situation?

  Jackie had mentioned when they first met him that they’d always dreamed of meeting people and making friends. Being surrounded by so many people no doubt had them ecstatic. Was he really at risk of getting left behind in favor of other, better friends?

  He shook his head again, forcing those thoughts down. He’d gain nothing by thinking that way. He looked to Helena, eager to change the subject, when—

  Jackie: [Oi, Sam, can you hear me? Hello~o? Sa~m?]

  Jackie’s voice rang out in his head.

  Sam: “What.”

  Helena looked over. “Hm? What’s up?”

  Sam: “Uh, did you hear that?”

  Helena: “Hear what?”

  Jackie: [Guess not, huh? Damn…]

  Sam shot to his feet and looked around. “Hello? Jackie?” He called out, but no response came.

  Helena followed him with her eyes, perturbed. “Sam, what’s going on?”

  Sam: “I’m… hearing things, I think? I just heard Jackie’s voice, but…”

  Helena stood and looked around as well. “What’d they say?”

  Sam: “Uh, they were asking if I could hear them. And they seemed to think I couldn’t.” He scratched his head, furrowing his brow as he now circled the tent for any sign of Jackie.

  Was he going insane? Why would his insanity be narrated by Jackie, though? No, that was a huge leap; there had to be a more logical explanation.

  Helena: “They were talking into your head?” She scratched her chin, pondering the strange occurrence. “Sils mentioned something yesterday about Humans having ‘mental powers’. Maybe Jackie figured them out?”

  Sam: “So, what, they’re talking into my mind? How do I respond?”

  She shrugged. “Think really hard about it?”

  And so, Sam shut his eyes tight and tried to focus on Jackie while formulating a message. [Uh, Jackie? I can hear you.]

  There was a moment of silence. Had he done it wrong? Or was that not what had happened in the first place?

  Jackie: [Woah, that feels weird. But it worked? We’re actually speaking?]

  Sam’s eyes shot wide, and Helena cocked her head at him. “Did that actually work?”

  Sam: “Uh, yeah, it did. I’m talking to them right now.” [I think so. Where are you?]

  Jackie: [There’s a pub near the center of camp. I’m playing a neat game called poker.]

  Sam: [With who?]

  Jackie: [Raffica. And that tree lady who was with Jahd before. And a hot bird lady.]

  Sam: [Uh-huh. How did that lead to this?]

  Jackie: [We sorta just started talking about magic. Is anyone else awake?]

  Sam: [Just me and Helena.] He looked over to her and cocked his head, “Wanna try?”

  Helena: “I’ve been trying to beam increasingly-crude messages into your brain for a good minute, actually.”

  Sam: “Wow. Rude.” He focused back on Jackie, [She’s trying to message me, but it isn’t working.]

  Jackie: [Maybe it’s easier if someone who already can contacts her first? Kinda jump-starts the magic muscle, if that makes sense?]

  Sam: [I don’t know the first thing about magic, but that sounds like it’s worth a try?]

  He focused back on Helena. Nothing happened for a while, leading him to worry that it hadn’t worked, but he was able to make out the exact moment that Jackie’s message got through. Helena’s eyes went wide, her usual stoicism dropping.

  Helena: “Woah. That feels weird.”

  Sam: “Right? Try now, let them know you heard them.”

  She nodded, closing her eyes as she focused. “This seems… really useful.”

  Sam: “Yeah. We’ll have to make sure Strade learns how, too. And figure out more about how it works, the limitations and stuff.”

  Helena: “I’m sure Jackie’s already working on that.”

  That was probably true. Sam returned to his thoughts, [Jackie, what should we—]

  Jackie: [Sorry, hold a second. Something’s happening.]

  Sam knit his eyebrows, making a very Helena-like expression of concern. [What? What’s happening?]

  A long moment passed before he received a response. [Someone from camp is in trouble, apparently. I’m gonna go help.]

  Chapter Glossary:

  Great War - A huge conflict forgotten by history. Started about five hundred years ago and ended a century later with the disappearance of both Humans and High Elves and the fall of the Elysium empire.

  The Scurvysands - A pejorative name for the nation that Heapwatch and Avek Tirion belong to. It stuck and became surprisingly popular among its residents.

  | Elysium - Once a massive empire ruled by the High Elves; fell four hundred years ago after the Great War.

  High Elf - A race of elves that once ruled the empire of Elysium. They went extinct around the same time as Humans, just after the end of the Great War.

  | Spriggan - A race of plantkin demihumans whose bodies appear to be carved of wood, like living puppets. Their spring-like limbs can stretch to impressive lengths.