The God's Game

crew mates

Puzzeled as to how on earth he got himself up there, he looked around and noticed the crew climbing ratlines. He tried to imagine Aithan Alistair's prestigious figure crawling up them with a huge bow in hand.

He couldn't.

With new-found respect for the older man, he walked to the far end of the main deck. River was so distracted with everything around him and his thoughts about their future trip to the North that he stepped on something sharp.

Biting back a cry, he jumped away. The object that had caused him such agony was a small, worn-out black die.

"Ayy!"

He looked up to see a group of questionable-looking people sitting around in a tight circle on the floor. The one who called out to him was a woman dressed in a yellowing white dress with puffy sleeves. She had a mane of black hair, tied to a messy bun on top of her head.

"Bring over the fucking die," she hollered, waving at him.

River walked up to them, feeling rather awkward with all their intense gazes fixated on him. The group consisted of three men and one woman, each looking more intimidating than the last.

They glared up at him, displeasure and doubt etched on their faces. It was evident that they were not very welcoming of strangers.

"Ay ? Ya dumb?"" The woman snatched the die from his hand rudely and scowled. "Fuck off."

She had coffee-colored eyes. One of her brows was slit, and freckles dusted her sun-kissed face.

River turned around to leave when the woman called out to him again, stopping him in his tracks.

"Aaaaaaaaa," she said, scrutinizing his face, brows furrowed. "I know you!"

I don't, miss! Let me go!

This caught the attention of the other three men, and they too started eying him down.

"Who's she?" One of the men asked. He was bald, had a dark, thick mustache, and a lazy eye. Judging by his build, he could easily defeat a bear in a fight.

"Ay!" The woman broke into a very stupid grin. "The blue-eyed beauty!"

River had no clue how his having blue eyes related to anything at all, but the crowd lightened up at the drop of a hat. They all started laughing like they knew something he did not. All previous tension dissipated into the sea wind.

"Sista in law!" A scrawny boy sitting beside the woman called, smiling like he just saw a long-lost relative, "Come! come ! Sit with us, ay?"

He was given a brief introduction; the woman was Julie, and the possum boy was Chipper. The ginger-bearded man was Bones. The one with the lazy eye was very surprisingly named Lazy-Eyed Louie.

And he was their sister-in-law.

How did this relationship come to be? He had no idea. He was then given a speedy explanation of the rules of the game and was pulled into it.

They played another few rounds before River politely excused himself with the promise that he would certainly come by and play again. They looked very bummed out to see him go, but said their farewells.

*  *  * *

What is wrong with everyone today?

He had just returned from his weird encounter on the deck to find Wolfram pacing back and forth in the cabin with such vigor that the floor boards were wearing down beneath him. His face had gone pallid; all colors had drained away.

"Im doomed." He tugged at his hair and started laughing like he had gone mad. "I can't believe this is happening."

He snapped open his light pink fan, given to him earlier by Aithan Alistair, and furiously fanned himself in the face.