The God's Game

crew mates

Remind me how I got here again.

River Verlice now sat on the wooden main deck, squished , between two men who were about three times his size.

The man on his left, whose name he caught to be Bones, swung an arm thicker than River's thigh around his shoulder.

"Sista ! Don't be shy, 'kay!?" He laughed, sounding like a braying donkey choking on water. "Haf more wine, good stuff!"

River politely pushed away the wooden tankard offered to him. He had already downed half a pint and was dangerously teetering on the verge of sobriety.

Bones had a thick ginger beard, bushy brows, and lively green eyes. Some of his teeth were missing from the bottom row, but that didn't stop him from smiling all the time. With his tan skin and muscular build,paired with a tattoo of a sparingly clothed woman over his bicep, he exuded the air of someone you really didn't want to pick a fight with.

"And I fucking win again, suckers!" Julie Jagger, as River remembered her name to be, slammed her palm on the floor board. Six cowrie shells at her crossed legs bounced on the impact.

"Eeee?!" the scrawny boy beside her whined,eying the shells suspiciously , "Ya cheatin'."

The boy was probably younger than River was, and quite honestly, he reminded him of a possum with his long, thin face and small,beady black eyes. His mop of dark brown, messy curls made River doubt if he had ever touched a hairbrush. He had a couple piercings and a painfully obvious crush on Julie Jagger.

This game, for some reason, was called "sea chicken," and the rules were shockingly simple. You bet which would have a higher number: the die or the shells. If you get it right, you win.

Chipper, the possum boy, handed three silver coins to Julie Jagger, who greedily pocketed them in her bossom.

"Sista ! Ya go next!" The girl handed the die to River. "Cow or die?"

River had no coins to bet on, so he was taking penalty shots out of Bones's tankard each time he lost. He thoughtfully shook the die in between his palms, not very eager to lose again.

"Die," River announced and rolled .

"Three!" Julie Jagger announced. "Sista might just fucking win this one!"

Miss, luck avoids me like it owes me money. What are you talking about?

River grimaced and scooped up the shells in his hands, gave them a light shake, and then threw them carelessly across the floorboard.

Everyone stared speechlessly at the single overturned cowrie shell in front of them.

"Ha ha ha, ya, such a sore loser." Bones handed the wooden mug to River. "Bottoms up!"

River took a cautious sip out of it, raking his brain for a way to get himself out of this stupid game that he was royally losing at.

Coming out of his embarassing crying session in front of the Southern King, River decided to look around the main deck.

It was his first time seeing a real-life ship, and it was quite enthralling. The canvas sails billowed and fluttered  in the wind over his head as he leaned against the railing. He gazed down at the waves crashing against the hull and breathed in. Salty air filled his lungs and he smelled mildew.

Except for a few soldiers keeping things in check on deck, it was mostly desolated. River shielded his eyes from the brutal sunrays and stared up at the main mast. The crow's nest was empty. That was where Aithan had been when he was shooting explosive arrows at the retriever.