Pob addressed the large group of Beli gathered in the Sect’s main hall. They were a ragtag mob—the poor, the desperate, and the angry.

  Many had come at the promise of warm food and a place to stay, while others had lost everything due to the actions of the Imperials: their livelihoods, their homes, and even loved ones. A select few came to fight back against the invaders.

  Pob did not care about their reasons for coming; all were welcome in the house of Bounty.

  “All of you know how to play Bounty,” he began, addressing the crowd that seemed to hang on every word he spoke.

  “What most of you do not know is that it was not born in Belona. The Compendium created the game, and different variations of it exist in many worlds. There is even one here on Earth called Poker, which shares almost the same cards but has different rules.”

  He extended his right hand, and a deck of cards materialized within it. The crowd gasped in amazement. “By the end of this day, all of you will be able to summon your own decks. Form groups of five around each table. There is a deck of regular Bounty cards on each table, ones you can buy in any shop. We will use these to call your Jokers.”

  He signaled to Sandy and her group, and the alchemist began lighting the incense sticks they had brought with them. The sweet-sour smell of alchemical incense filled the entire hall.

  Earth was not a closed system; experience continued to flow in. While many of them would eventually call their Golden Jokers by playing here in the Sect Hall, the incense would speed up the process.

  He breathed deeply, reveling in the smell. It was pure, undiluted experience filling his lungs, and this particular type of incense was known to enhance XP gained through gambling, or so he had been told.

  Incense was the most effective way to use Alchemy in large groups. It was not as potent as a medicinal pill, nor did it have the flexibility of an alchemical potion, which allowed the user to customize their doses to their needs.

  Still, it had a compounding effect when used on large groups in enclosed spaces, like the one they were in.

  He divided them into groups of five, and the game began.

  “Bounty is not about winning, it is about aligning your soul with the game,” Pob said in a loud voice, as he sauntered among the tables, advising anyone who asked it of him.

  Ten minutes later, there was a great commotion at one of the tables. A young girl, no older than sixteen, was holding a glowing card in her right hand, tears flowing down her face.

  “Congratulations, Beliza, you are the first one to get your Golden Joker. Show it to us,” Pob told her. The card was glowing, as if on fire, and it depicted Beliza, dressed as a Joker, throwing a couple of dice on the table with her eyes closed. There was an unreadable inscription on it.

  “Describe your play, what you did, what you felt, why you did it. Everything,” Pob instructed.

  “Well,” said Beliza shyly, aware everyone was looking at her. “I was almost sure Bak here had better cards than me, but I decided to play anyway.”

  “Can you read us the inscription on your card?” Pob asked.

  “Can’t you?” she asked, surprised. “It says the Joker comes when you take the initiative.”

  “That is your Call,” Pob explained. “It defines you as a person and will boost your magic. You will have a greater chance of getting more cards when playing that way.” Pob waited for a moment, trying to find the best way to say this.

  “Do not let it rule you. Bounty can be a cruel master. Taking every risk won't make you a better Player. It will make you a dead one. You must define Bounty, not let Bounty define you.”

  “The card is changing,” she exclaimed.

  “You are receiving your first Arcana. A Player's power is measured by the number of Arcana they possess. Whenever you draw a common Joker again, you can transform it into any of your Arcana. Show it to us,” Pob said.

  The girl held up the card in her hand, and only those nearest to her could see it clearly.

  “That card is a part of your soul. If you wish for it to grow in size, it will do so,” Pob instructed.

  Beliza concentrated for a moment, and to her surprise, the card floated into the air, expanding until it was as large as a poster.

  It depicted a man bowing to the ground, his face a mixture of surprise and joy, as though he had stumbled upon something precious.

  Two of Chance:

  Swords: Play this card to increase your chances of winning, provided the outcome depends solely on luck. Each Sword doubles your original chances.

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  Wands: Keep this card in your hand to add 25% to your original chances of achieving a luck-based win for each Wand you hold. After five minutes, the bonus increases to 50% per Wand, and after one hour, it rises to 75% per Wand.

  Coins: When swapping cards, each Coin you retain in your hand before the swap will grant you one additional choice for each card you swap.

  Cups: Fold. You will receive a 2% per Cup increase in your chances of achieving favorable results in events governed by chance until you decide to Fold again.

  “Simply by studying this card, you can learn all there is to know about Bounty,” Pob explained.

  “Two of Chance is the name of the Arcana. It clearly increases your chances of obtaining favourable results, but only if luck is the deciding factor. All of you are thinking of using it to play cards. Forget that. Think wider. Nearly everything that can help you when playing Bounty can help you in real life.”

  “By way of example: I want to have a good night of revelry with my friends, and I know there are ten possible inns in my town. I will pick one by chance. My chances of picking the best one using that method are only one in ten,” Pob explained to his spellbound audience.

  “I use this card before drawing a name out of a hat or whatever. If my hand had three swords in it, my chances of picking the right inn would be multiplied by 8.”

  An uproar started in the hall. They had started doing numbers and had arrived at the wrong conclusions, as all new Players did.

  Pob clarified, “This is not 80%; luck does not behave like that. It means I would achieve the same result I would get by drawing eight times and keeping the best. I could still lose, but my chances of getting a favourable result increase a lot.”

  “If I had three Wands, I could hold my Hand, not playing it. Just by not playing any more Bounty rounds, I would get a passive effect that would hold for as long as I wanted and would get stronger with time.”

  Pob showed his own Hand, the Three of Gates, with three Wands in it.

  “As long as I hold this Hand, I can use any door to teleport to another one if it is within three hundred feet. I will lose this power as soon as I call a new Joker or Fold and dismiss the old Hand.”

  “Swords and Wands are opposed by nature: the first thrive on opportunity, and Wands work best for tacticians and strategists.”

  “Coins are meta-cards. They influence how the game itself is played. If I had three coins in my hand and swapped three cards in it for three new ones, I could get my pick of three cards out of 12. Think of the possibilities. I would get a much higher chance of getting the Hand I need.”

  “Cups are a weaker but easier-to-use version of Wands. They grant a weaker passive effect, but do not stop you from playing Bounty and getting new Hands. They stop working only when you Fold again, returning all your cards to the game, including the Arcana.”

  “As you see, this Hand also has one Cup. When I Fold, or dismiss the whole Hand, including the Arcana, I will passively detect the presence of all doors within one hundred feet. I will keep this boon until I Fold again.”

  There was one last thing they needed to understand.

  “Finally, each Arcana you get will increase your Fortunes. Fortunes are passive blessings, tied to each of the basic suits.

  - Wand Fortunes control actions based on physical strength, resilience, and healing.

  - Sword Fortunes control physical actions based on coordination, grace, and precision.

  - Coin Fortunes govern intellectual actions and many arcane powers.

  - Cup Fortunes control social actions and some magical attacks.

  Each Arcana grants by default one point in each of the four fortunes, but there are exceptions. Many Players have one Auspicious Fortune and one Inauspicious one, or two from each. When the number of Arcana in a deck is a multiple of three, Auspicious Fortunes get two points and Inauspicious ones get none. They are equivalent to Dominant and Inferior stats for our Avatar friends.

  “Fortunes manifest through luck. A piece of advice: do not push your luck too far, or trust them always to work. That said, many Wand and Cup effects allow your Fortunes to manifest in more reliable ways.”

  “But it can’t be that powerful, can it?” asked Beliza. “I could just do the same trick, but instead of asking for an inn, I could ask for the best strategy to throw the invaders from Belona.”

  Pob nodded in approval. She was a smart one. “No, it's never that simple. When you are playing Bounty, you are always betting, even if you are not aware of it. And you bet your own luck. Try to win an enormous pot with a measly hand, and you will probably lose everything.” Suddenly, the crowd was not as cheery as it had been seconds before.

  “And life is never easy. Don’t you think those Imperials have their own powers, their evolved stats? They can use their magic to protect themselves from ours. Bounty is based on cunning and opportunity.”

  “We are not magical powerhouses. We are, much like our friends and protectors, cheaters—but we are bloody good at it.”

  “Bounty also has a great inborn weakness: secrecy. It is a system designed by and for gamblers, and gamblers never give away the secrets of their trade. Until now.” Suddenly, he had the crowd’s attention again.

  “Do you know why Vlas and I were so good at what we did? It was trust. We knew how the other’s magic worked, and we built a style around it.” A chorus of gasps sounded about the hall. That was not how the legends had told it.

  “And that is what we are going to do together now. We are going to trust each other. Each time someone receives their Joker, they will announce their Call to the rest of the room. We are going to build teams whose Calls complement each other. I want all of you to call your Golden Joker before the night is over. Tomorrow we are going to form teams and learn to work together.”

  Pob summoned his own Joker card and made it grow until everyone could see it. Then he made his Call visible to everyone.

  The Joker Comes When You Help Others You Care for.

  That gesture, and the nature of the Call itself, had gained him a lot of reputation in one single instant.

  “And remember, our greatest weapon is neither Alchemy nor Bounty. Our greatest weapon is trust.”