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Book 2: Chapter : 25. The Third Choice

That was great and all, but it didn’t distract him from the fact that while his mind was suspended in timeless space, his body was under attack.

“Shit,” he muttered.

He began to pace the length of his Personal Space, from one end to another. He had all the time in the world to decide what to do, but only a fraction of a second in which to act out int he real world.

What skill could help him out?

Reluctantly, he decided that none linked to his Master of Skills card could help him. He had a Butchering skill and there had been a butter knife on the table within easy reach. However, it took a few moments to get into the right frame of mind.

He wasn’t sure he would even be able to activate Butcher on a human being.

That left his Master of Body Enhancement.

He could… grab the knife and use it to block Penn’s fork? There was a certain poetry in that, but Arthur didn’t think he had the time. The fork had been plunging down right at his face.

No. He couldn’t fight back, and he couldn’t reliably block the danger. That left escape.

Except… he got a sense from the two cards humming in his heart that ‘dodge’ or ‘escape’ would qualify as a combative skill. He wouldn\'t gain those unless he somehow found that card.

Okay, so he didn’t have to escape completely. He could dive off the side of his chair, land on the floor and try to roll away?

Surely one recruit attacking another out of the blue wouldn’t be tolerated. He was surrounded by people with Legendary cards.

Aside from perhaps his father, Arthur had never expected anyone to jump in and save him from danger. Not when he’d traveled in the trader’s caravan with Red, not when he lived in the orphanage, and not now.

No. His only true chance at escape would be to deactivate the Nullify on his Return to Start card. Penn was likely using his card’s power to attack. That would be enough to transport Arthur away…

… And he’d likely miss out on the rest of the night. His invitation had been locked into the table, and he doubted those vigilant guards would let him in again.

He might even lose a chance at the egg, if it was presented tonight.

That was unacceptable.

Suddenly, Arthur recalled that Prince Marion had a card which allowed him to see several seconds in the future.

Why hadn’t he warned Arthur he was about to be attacked? Had it been casual cruelty? Maybe he just wanted to see a show. Arthur had only just met the guy, but he didn’t think so.

What else, then?

A new idea struck him.

Fighting wasn’t an option. Escape was either risky or unpalatable.

But there was a third option.

For the first time, Arthur started to really consider Penn’s motivations. He’d assumed that it was just a moment of rage.

But what if Penn suspected Arthur had stolen his card — which was fair because he had — and fully expected Arthur to use it by reflex?

Marion had already seen the future. One which he hadn’t seen fit to warn Arthur about.

That left one choice: To do nothing at all.

Penn expected Arthur to use his Master of Body Enhancement card. So… he wouldn’t.

This was perhaps the riskiest choice of all. Still pacing, Arthur took one deep breath after another in an effort to calm his racing heart.

That was odd because his body wasn’t even here. Still, he worked on calming his mind, readying himself for what he knew would come next, and hoping that he wasn’t about to make a big mistake.

Penn hadn’t struck him as the type to casually murder someone. He hoped.

When he felt he was ready, he mentally stepped out of the space.

In the next instant, he found himself once again sitting in the chair.

He thought he would have to actively stop himself from reacting. The truth was, Penn was so fast the choice was taken away from him. He didn’t have time to flinch.

The fork stopped, a hair from his right eye.

For a frozen moment, Arthur looked past the fork to meet Penn’s eyes and found his cousin staring back, his own steely gaze already melting.

Chagrin flashed over Penn’s face.

“Penn,” Arthur croaked. “What are you doing?”

Abruptly, Penn smiled. “Easy to startle as ever, Kane,” he said letting the hand with the fork drop.

“Move aside, I can’t see.” Across the table, Marion shoved irritably at his two assistants. They had jumped in front of him — protecting their prince and letting Arthur fight on his own. He knew he couldn’t count on anyone to save him.

Arthur, meanwhile, leaned hard on his Acting skill. He whooped in a deep breath and raised his hand as if to check his face for a scratch. “You almost scared the piss out of me!” he complained as if thinking this was part of a joke.

Penn’s grin broadened. “Just checking your reflexes. I didn’t know you had a Legendary card.” He grabbed one of the nearby chairs and straddled it, sitting down at the table.

“Father’s been saving up.” Arthur added a sour edge to his voice, “He’ll probably rip it out of my heart again if I don’t link this dragon.”

Penn winced. Arthur doubted he wasn’t completely out of suspicion, but there was something obscene about the thought of taking a card out of a still living heart.

One of Marion’s assistants cleared his throat. “Your highness, I strongly advise you don’t allow this troublemaker a seat at your table.”

That drew Penn’s attention. He twisted in his seat, caught a look at Marion, and nodded. “Sorry for the scare, Prince Marion. I caught sight of my friend, here. Couldn’t help but rib him a little.” He slapped Arthur on the back. Hard.

Marion watched the two of them, eyebrows raised. He seemed to sense the energy but wasn’t sure to make of it. Still, he nodded. “Not at all. It was the most interesting thing I’ve seen all night.”

“Then I hope you don’t mind letting this troublemaker sit… oops.” Penn made a very bad show of fumbling his invitation just so that it fell onto the table. A moment later, his name was locked in right next to Arthur.

Arthur tried not to sigh in exasperation.

The next few minutes passed easily enough.

Penn and Marion seemed to know each other distantly, which wasn’t a big surprise considering Penn was a high noble’s son. The two spoke about places that they visited at one of the big cities — Amberlion, which was Marion’s last name.

“My father, Lional, was named for that city,” Penn said. “The story is, he was conceived there, and my grandparents were inspired.”

That startled a snort of laughter from Arthur.

Marion, however, looked like he was a few seconds away from picking up his book. Apparently, he was uninterested in small talk.

Penn turned back to Arthur.

“So, tell me about this new card of yours.”

Arthur stared. That was an incredibly rude question. “Excuse me?”

“I’ll show you mine if you show me yours.” Penn waggled his eyebrows. “Oh, come on, Kane. We all know the prince’s secrets—"

“Because he’s royalty! That’s public knowledge.” Arthur huffed. Inside, he was pleased. He just had to make sure Penn didn’t see it.

Arthur made a show of thinking about it, then looking around as if watching for spectators. No one paid attention. Not only was most of the room still gathered around the bearded prince, Penn’s stunt earlier had been so quick it hadn’t caused a stir.

Arthur leaned forward, conspiratorially. “You’ll tell me about yours? You swear?”

“Would I lie in front of the son of our sovereign?” Penn asked, gesturing dramatically at Marion who’d gone back to his book.

Arthur had the feeling the other boy was listening, though.

Again, Arthur hesitated. Then he nodded once. “It’s a little embarrassing, actually. You know my family’s… situation. I wasn’t kidding when I said we’d saved for this. We had to purchase the card for the rank, not for the ability.”

Penn leaned forward.

“Ultimate Crafting,” Arthur said. He wasn’t going to show Penn the card and would use the excuse of being in public in case he was questioned. He only hoped his sincerity won out.

“Crafting?” Penn repeated, expression inscrutable.

“It’s has skill-based advancement,” Arthur continued, “bonuses if, say, I learned tailoring or cooking. I would kill in a guild hall.”

“Your father expects you to link a dragon with that?” Marion demanded. He had set the book down and stared at Arthur with pity.

“Baron Kane’s never been known for his reasonable expectations.” This time Arthur didn’t have to fake his bitterness. “Besides, the hive just hatched—“

“What are the chances of two meta-pinks in a row?” Marion snorted. “Besides, Pinks are just as likely to have knowledge-based powers. Sorry ol’ chap, you’re screwed.”

Arthur barked a laugh and turned back to see Penn watching him carefully.

Abruptly, Penn rolled his shoulder in a shrug. “That’s hard luck. I’m afraid you’ll hate me when you hear of mine.”

“That bad?” Arthur asked, grinning. He tried not to show he was holding his breath. He fully expected Penn to either lie or weasel out of his agreement.

“Mine is called Master of Combat.”