Jacob and his grandfather had been given a spacious cabin onboard, with an elegant appearance that seemed out of place underwater. The walls were covered with a combination of stained hardwood and brass, while the floors were lightly carpeted in red. Each of the invite card holders had been given similar accommodations, which were larger than the entirety of Jacob’s apartment.
The accommodations consisted of a large circular living area, complete with two couches, a coffee table and a small bar filled refreshments. To the right of the entrance was a large bedroom with two king sized beds, along with cabinets filled with linens. Small machines sat in every corner, occasionally turning on to vacuum and clean the rooms. To the left of the entrance was a bathroom, with a large showering area. Directly across from the entrance hatch a large observation window covered the outermost wall of the living area, showing the ocean beyond. The submarine was slowly making its way through the open ocean, with the occasional school of fish swimming by. Once or twice Jacob saw a shark passing the observation window, as well as a school of whales.
While the world dissolving into madness had been horrible for humanity, it had been a blessing for the oceans. Less consumption meant less over-fishing, allowing the creatures of the sea to slowly rebuild their numbers. It was a population increase the United Nations had been striving to keep, in the hopes it would revitalize the ocean as a whole. The international organization had struggled to stay alive, but it still had some power of enforcement in international waters. A power that had increased since it had gained an exclusive use license over one of the European card machines.
Jacob and his grandfather were the last to be guided to their cabin. All of the lodgings were along a single corridor, running along the port side of the ship. Rama had guided each to their assigned lodgings, telling them to be ready to continue the tour at 0900 and wishing them a goodnight. With Jacob however she had given a different farewell address, walking him and his grandfather into the room personally to showcase it.
“You’ve heard me tell the others, but our adventure continues at 0900.” Rama said, looking out the window “I recommend you bring your deck box, I suspect it will be eventful.”
“Will I need to use it?” Jacob asked suspiciously.
“Your deck carries something special.” Rama turned to look at Jacob “A card that watches your every move. Tomorrow its eyes will have plenty to see.”
Rama began walking out of the room, moving to the entrance hatch. As she passed Jacob she paused, speaking so silently that only he could hear.
“Not all of us have forgotten the Gods.” she said, before moving again to leave. Rama shut the hatch behind her as she left, leaving Jacob and his grandfather alone. His grandfather raised an eyebrow.
“What did she say?” the old man asked.
“Honestly,” Jacob replied “I’m not sure. More mystical nonsense.”
"Sounds about right.” Jacob’s grandfather grunted, looking around the pace. The old man sat on one of the couches and stared out at the ocean, putting up his prosthetic leg. It looked lifelike to most, but Jacob could tell when it was getting sore. His grandfather was good at hiding it, but Jacob had spent enough time around the old man to know.
Jacob walked into the bathroom, and decided to shower. It had been a long time since he had been able to take one - he hadn’t had access since his academy days - and he relished not having to use a washbasin. He emerged from the shower to find his clothes gone, a soft and fluffy robe in its place. Jacob slipped into it, then grabbed a towel. He walked out of the bathroom into the main space, rubbing his hair to dry it off. The towel was incredibly soft and luxurious, like everything else in the space.
“Did you take my clothes?” Jacob asked his grandfather, who was still on the couch. The old man looked up, then gestured at the hatch.
“Laundry bot.” the old man said. He got up, and began limping slightly towards the bathroom “Alright, my turn.”
There was a knocking on the main hatch , and Jacob looked over at it. He waited a moment, suspecting it had been his imagination, before he heard it again. Suspicious, Jacob walked over. He paused, then slowly opened the hatch. Just outside of Stan standing nervously, holding the small deck Rama had given him. He was wearing Wonder Corp branded pajamas; Jacob suspected he had an identical set in the cabin’s main bedroom waiting for him.
“Uh, sure.” Jacob opened the door, and the actor walked inside. The actor made his way over to the cabin’s bar and grabbed a bottle of scotch. He pulled out a glass, and held a second one out while looking at Jacob. Jacob nodded, and Stan added the glass next to his own. He rooted around for a second until he found a bucket of ice, and added some to the glasses. He poured the Scotch, then grabbed the bottle and the glasses and walked to the couch. Jacob joined him, looking at the actor suspiciously. Stan took a large swig of his scotch as he handed Jacob a glass.
“How much do you know about cards?” Stan asked, setting down his scotch. Jacob noticed Stan’s small deck was also on the table, though when he had placed it there Jacob hadn’t seen.
“But they train you in cards for the agency, yes?”
“I don’t know anything.” Stan took another deep swig of his scotch, looking at the deck nervously “To be honest, I’ve never cast one.”
“My family grew up poor.” He said, pouring more scotch into his glass. The actor had already drained his glass without flinching “Our whole town was poor. The government didn’t have enough cards to go around, so my father was the only one to get an allotment. When we moved to California, we became even poorer.”
“I was afraid to.” Stan took another swig. One more and Jacob was going to take the glass from the man. “As an actor I’m surrounded by people. My image is what the audience buys. I didn’t want the embarrassment of having to explain. Almost everyone else in the industry comes from families with cards; I didn’t. I pretend to avoid the cards to keep my acting ‘pure’, but I wouldn’t know the right way to use them.”
“There’s no cameras on the tour.” Stan confirmed “I meant it earlier when I said I wanted to be allies. It’s not like Veronica would be willing to help out.”
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
Stan nodded in agreement. The two of them looked out at the ocean for a moment, before Stan picked up his deck. Jacob noticed it was in a small Wonder corp. branded deck box, made to the exact size of the cards he had been given.
“There was a box waiting for me when I got to my room.” Stan looked at it like he was holding a small bomb “Rama said we could look at these later”
Jacob sighed and reached for the box “May I?”
Stan handed it over, and picked up his scotch. The actor took a light sip, and held the glass in his lap as he watched Jacob. Jacob tapped the box, and it spat out the cards within. He placed the box on the table, and lightly fanned out the small deck to see what was inside. The small deck was surprisingly functional, and completely different from the one he had been given. The small deck had 10 creature cards, 5 snare cards, 8 spell cards, and most surprisingly 2 equip cards. The deck box must have been an all-purpose model, allowing for both types of cards to be included. Those models were rare amongst Cascadian Casters but were more common elsewhere.
Jacob began putting the cards on the table in piles, seperating them out by the four major card types. Stan leaned in as he did, looking at each card Jacob placed down.
“Alright.” Jacob said, looking at the piles in front of him “On their face the cards are pretty simple, where it gets complicated is in matches and strategy. Walk me through what you know, so I know where to begin.”
Stan took a light sip of his scotch, then pointed to the first pile of cards.
“Those are creature cards. They summon monsters. Some monsters do stuff and it’ll say what they do on the card. Also some monsters are stronger than others, and you can make them fight each other.” Stan pointed to the next pile of cards, repeating the movement with each type as he described them. “Those cards are spell cards. When you cast them, it casts a spell. The card says what the spell does. Those cards are snare cards, when you cast them they like, trap the opponent somehow? I don’t really know the difference between those and spell cards. And those cards are equip cards. I know they can be placed on the caster themselves, but I don’t get them at all.”
"You know some of the basics," Jacob replied “but not all of them. You’ve got the bare bones of Spell and Creature cards, so we’ll set those aside for a second.”
Jacob picked up the pile of snare cards and held it in front of Stan “These are snare cards, you got that part. You also got that they ensnare things when they are cast. What makes them different is their purpose. Spell cards are general magic. You cast them, they do a spell, that spell can be anything. Snare cards on the other hand are more narrow. In Cascadia we refer to most snares as deception cards. They’re designed to be sneakier and have more subtle effects. They entrap your opponents, and typically involve more strategy.”
Stan nodded, though Jacob could tell he didn’t fully understand.
“Typically when you draw a spell card, you’re looking to use it in the moment.” Jacob said. “ snare card though makes you think ahead. It’s sneaky. It responds more directly to your opponent if you have one, and is something you can use to trick someone else.”
“Alright.” Stan said, pointing at the equip cards “So what about those?”
“Equip cards.” Jacob put down the snares and grabbed the two equip cards. Both of them were defensive: one armor card, and one field card that boosted the caster’s creatures - regardless of type. “Some of the eggheads at the CEA think they’re a type of spell, but that’s not settled. These cards are like an overlay. They’re an avatar you can pick in an old SimGame. When you play an equip card, it doesn’t act on its own. It has to be attached to something else, and it changes something about it.”
Jacob held up the field card “This one for example is a field equip. When you cast one of these, it changes the environment around you to match the effect of the card. This specific one gives your creatures extra strength and attack, and makes the field look like a grassland. When you cast it, the space around you will look like a grassland, and all your creatures will be stronger.”
Jacob held up the armor equip in his other hand, drawing Jacob’s attention to it “This one on the other hand is an armor equip. It raises the strength of whatever it’s attached to. You can attach it to basically anything; your creatures, your friends, even yourself. That’s how a lot of casters use them in matches, they equip them to protect themselves from their enemies’ creatures. Kinda like a last line of defense.”
“Sounds useful.” Stan said “Why don’t competitive casters just use them all the time.”
“Creatures, spells, and snares can be cast as many times as you want. Both inside a match and outside of it.” Jacob replied “Equips cannot. A lot of equips have limits on how long they last, where and when they can be used, and almost every equip has a limit. A maximum amount of time they can be used before the card doesn’t work anymore. When you reach the limit, the card disintegrates. Government cards like Awaken and Patience disintegrate faster, usually after 3-5 uses. Corporate equips last longer, but eventually they run out.”
Stan nodded “Do shadow cards use the same types?”
Jacob raised an eyebrow, and placed the equips down on the table “For the most part. Why?”
“Curious.” Stan said, then smirked at Jacob “you would be shocked how many shadow equips are used in Hollywood, the industry basically runs on them.”
“That doesn’t surprise me.” Jacob looked down at the piles. “This isn’t a horrible mini-deck, and would probably help you defend yourself in a pinch. To be fully tournament legal a deck has to have 50 cards, and in most official matches sanctioned by internationals your equips are separate. You carry them in an equip deck. The rules of tournaments are kinda complicated, but all of those go out the window on the street. Street matches are messy, they're survival of the fittest.”
“Have you been in a lot of those?”
“Street matches?”
“Matches in general”
Jacob shook his head “Not really. We’re required in the academy to take a semester of card use, and do a few matches as a part of that. I’ve been in a street match for work, but it wasn’t against very strong opponents.”
“So how do you practice?”
“Non-casting matches, SimMatches, wandering into the wrong part of town and hoping you don’t bump into someone with a better deck than yours. Pick your poison.”
Stan finished off the rest of his scotch and placed it on the table. He got up silently and walked over to the window, looking out at the ocean.
“I don’t know whether to be amazed, terrified, or both.” Stan said softly.
“About what?” Jacob asked, getting up off the couch to join him.
“Everything.” Stan replied “All of it. The cards, the tour, this submarine, wherever we’re going, Rama.”
“Well that last one I can answer.” Jacob remarked dryly “Rama you should definitely be terrified of, I think she’s a madwoman.”
Stan chuckled.
“Look.” Jacob said “You probably won’t have to use the cards in a while. This is all just a tour. Rama likes to mess with us, but it hasn’t been anything dangerous. If you do though, draw your cards and trust your gut. It’s usually right.”
“And if it’s not?”
“Then draw another card and try again.” Jacob replied “That’s how most start. Most of the time that’s what I still do. The cards are random and wild.”
Stan nodded, then turned and walked back to the table. He carefully gathered up his cards, still handling them like they were deadly weapons.
“Thank you.” Stan said “You didn’t have to help me, I appreciate it.”
“Of course.” Jacob said “That’s what allies do.”
Stan nodded, then turned to leave “Seems like we have an early start tomorrow, I should head out.”
Jacob nodded back, and Stan left the cabin. He closed the hatch lightly behind him, and Jacob moved back to the couch. He picked up the bottle of scotch and looked at it. It was an expensive vintage, from a small distillery in the Islands off of Scotland. Jacob looked at it in approval a second time, then walked over to the bar. As he did the bathroom hatch opened. His grandfather stepped out of a massive cloud of steam, wearing an identical robe to Jacob and rubbing his face with a towel. The old man lowered the towel, and spotted the two glasses. He looked around the room and spotted Jacob at the bar, putting away the scotch.
“Did I miss something?”
showing the different card functions, but I saw an opportunity with the character of Stan to go into more detail. Stan originally started as a simplistic, overzealous himbo of a character; I love how he’s grown since.
trust in the cards…
What kind of card should be the first one that Stan casts?
