Ace Of Hearts

Chapter 4

Bilgewater--the damp and mysterious island inhabited by the most cunning and bizarre champions. On this particular night however something was different. A lone individual sat on a creaking wooden chair, cigar between his lips. The fireplace in front of him was lit and the flames danced and bounced calmly in the male's gaze. The aroma of tobacco filled the room as the lit cigar gave off a trail of smoke at its end. 

It wasn't a surprise to the male that the floorboards were creaking as usual and the room was dead silent. But what did come as a surprise was how often the floorboards creaked. In all his life of living in the same hideout in Bilgewater, he had memorized the pattern of the creaking floor. One, two, creak. One, two, three, creak. One, two, creak. 

Yet it was different tonight. Something in the pattern was off. That in itself could only mean one thing for the infamous outlaw known as Graves--there's a damn intruder. 

He quickly turned around, his arm raised and finger already at the trigger of his double barrel shotgun. Although he couldn't see the face of the shadowy figure standing before him, he knew for a fact it was a champion from the island. "Before I set your ass blazing, how about you tell me how you found this place?" Graves grunted as he spit out his cigar and narrowed his eyes. 

"Well its the only place you've ever really told me about, Malcolm. Do you honestly think anyone else could find this?" the cardmaster spoke as he revealed himself before his ex partner in crime. As if seeing a ghost, the bearded male lowered his shotgun and felt his jaw drop. "Tobias...? What in God's name are you doing here?"

"Well long story short, I need your help" Fate said in a voice that told Graves he truly was desperate. "Ya know when you say it like that it makes it sound like I was a last resort. But if this is another heist you need to--"

"It's not a heist," Tobias said shaking his head as he removed his hat. "Something happened and you're the only guy I know who I trust enough." For a moment, Graves stood in silence as though wondering whether or not this would be worth his time. After the brief pause however, the bearded man sighed and shook his head. "I really wish you'd tell me more about what this is about but knowing you, I doubt you'll say more. But just this once I guess I'll lend a hand. Where we headed and how much firepower do we need?"

Smirking, Fate tips his hat and turns on his heels as he begins walking off. "To the Shadow Isles...and bring all of it."

"To the Shadow--for fuck's sake Tobias what are you dragging me into?" Malcolm spat out as his jaw hung open. He'd only ever been to the Shadow Isles twice in his life and he could honestly say it was somewhere he'd rather not visit again. "You'll see soon enough," Fate replied as he twirled his deck of cards that were in his hands. "But first things first we need to head to Ionia."

To this, Graves furrowed his brows in puzzlement. "What business do you have over there? Honestly Fate you have a lot to answer for..."

"In time I'll explain everything to you. If I told you now you'd just keep asking questions" Twisted Fate told the male as they both began to walk side by side outside of the hideout. As they wandered the quiet and dangerous streets of Bilgewater, Fate couldn't help but sniff the air. He smiled to himself as the aroma of sea water and cool air filled his nostrils. It was the same as he had remembered it. In a way he was pleased to be returning to his birthplace to meet with his old friend but at the same time he felt conflicted. 

Lighting his cigar, Graves let out an approving grunt. "You haven't changed at all since we last talked. Although I'm assuming you haven't exactly done anything major since our last heist."

The cardmaster nodded, recalling the day that they had attempted their previous heist. It was the one thing he didn't particularly like to discuss considering it had ended in failure and left the friendship between the two men bitter. Yet here they were, talking plainly as though the day hadn't happened at all. "Nah I haven't really done anything at all. At least nothing big. A few tricks to fool some punks here and now but other than that I haven't done anything enough to catch the attention of the authorities" Fate replied as he glanced around his birth place, admiring the area a way a foreigner would.