Crownsmith Chronicles

A bead of sweat ran down Key's face as he concentrated on his dice. He cast them over and over again until, finally, he rolled doubles. He yelled out, "Doubles!" and then ran to take the axe. It was his turn to chop wood while his opponent rolled the dice. The purpose of this game was to be the first to chop your log six ways. However, his opponent kept taking at least one extra swing each time Key rolled doubles, and all the extra swings started to add up.

He had accepted the fact that he would lose at Dice Logs. There was just nothing he could do to catch up. So, he decided to try to win on a technicality. But, before that, he needed to make sure everyone witnessed the technicality. Towards the end, he rolled doubles, but instead of calling it out, he waited for the perfect moment. Just before his opponent swung the axe for a final time, Key stood, held out the bowl showing two fives, and said, "It appears I have rolled a five and a five," in a very low, unexcited, and non-competitive voice. As expected, the axe readied itself and then swung down, splitting the final log even though it was Key's turn. He had even stood up and showed everyone his dice.

"Looks like I win," his opponent stated, victoriously holding the axe over his head.

Key took a deep breath and then prepared his next words: "It looked more like cheating to me."

His opponent dropped the axe and walked up so close that he was standing chest-to-chest with him. "Accuse me of cheating? Those are fighting words!"

"Stand down, men. I will hear this matter out and give a fair judgment," Steele announced, approaching with Dilly in tow. "What rule do you claim that Ruthford broke?"

"The games description," Key said before explaining. "The rule was that when a player rolls a double, he must switch with the person chopping the wood. I rolled a double, but Ruthford didn't switch. I even held the dice out for everyone to see. You all saw my dice."

"I saw that," Steele admitted, looking around at the others who saw it too. "I also saw that you weren't really trying to get Ruthford's attention, were you?"

"The rules never stated I had to get his attention, just that when I roll doubles, I say so, and then we switch. If he wanted it to be my job to get his attention, he should have made a rule about it. But he didn't, and he failed to switch with me after I rolled doubles, thus breaching the game's description." Key explained, fire seeping into his voice. "Plus, every time I did get his attention, he took two extra swings on my turn!"

"I only did that one time, and you know it!" Ruthford exclaimed, pointing his finger at Key.

"So you admit to cheating?"

The question hung in the air like a gallows noose. Silence fell over the crowd like a thick fog, cooling the flared tempers. Ruthford tried to double-back on his comment, but the damage had been done. Steele turned to Dilly and several others and began a huddled discussion. The whispering became louder with random outbursts of "That's what's supposed to happen!" and "Who's fault was that?"

Finally, Steele turned around, raised his hands, and solemnly addressed the crowd. "During these events, we like to play fair. We hold ourselves to a high standard. After all, we are the sergeants of His Majesty, the King. Every once in a while, someone is accused of cheating. I hold this...."

Steele stopped talking when the sound of hooves pierced through his speech. "Are we expecting visitors?"

There was a murmur of confusion as everyone looked around. A horse got closer until it came into view. A remarkably short man came riding in on a horse so big it made him look smaller. He had grey mutton chops, rosy cheeks, and a plump girth.

"Did I hear someone say they were having a party?" the man asked, dismounting his horse and approaching the assembled crowd. "What did I miss?"

"It's Briggs!" Someone shouted. Other people called out similarly, calling him the Thundergnome.

"What a welcome surprise! Does this mean you're coming out of retirement?" Steele asked, clasping hands with the short man.

"No, no, no," Briggs warded off the idea. "I heard you were gathering today, and since I needed to drop something off anyway, I thought I would collect a stamp from the new guy first. Where is he anyway?"

"He's over there," Steele pointed to Key. "However, you caught us in the middle of an interesting time. There has been a cheating accusation."

"Did he do it?" Briggs asked, looking concerned.

"Yes, unfortunately, he did," Steele said sadly.

"Then string him up and make him wear the pointy hat," Briggs suggested like it was the simplest thing in the world. "But first, let me play a round with him and give him the old Thundergnome special."

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"That's just the problem. It wasn't the new guy who was cheating."

Briggs grunted with understanding. "Just give him the pointy hat then; no need to string anyone up over a silly game."

"I suppose I'll have to. Excuse me while we finish the hearing." Steele approached the group again and raised his hands for everyone's attention. "As I was saying, we take the act of cheating very seriously here. Sometimes, we don't cheat on purpose and just get so caught up in the game that we lose focus. Unfortunately, whether Ruthford meant to or not, he must wear the cheater's hat for the rest of the evening or until another cheater is caught."

Ruthford argued a bit, but when they gave him the pointy hat with the words "I cheated" on it, he just put it on.

Key was a little upset to find out that he wouldn't be getting Rutherford's brand. Allister explained that you only collect brands from winning fairly. Losing, even if the other person cheated, did not earn you a victory. He hinted that cheating was an excellent way of getting out of losing a second time. Better to wear the pointy hat than to brand your arm.

"I challenge the new guy!" Briggs said with a loud voice. "Can I be next, please?"

Key looked around and then shrugged. "Sure, if you tell me why they call you the Thundergnome."

Briggs explained it was because "I'm very loud, and some people have wrongly assessed my height." So when Key drew the next game and read The Quiet Game, he couldn't help but smile. Half of the Thundergnome's advantages were instantly eliminated with the word quiet. Still, the short man seemed excited about the game anyway.

Key made up rules until Briggs stopped smiling. He made it so there was absolutely no way for one person to force the other to break their silence. It would just be two people not talking for the rest of the night. No more challenges, no more anything. Briggs resentfully agreed, and they began their game.

There was a tense moment when Key expected something else to happen, but nothing did. No loopholes, no surprises, and no immediate losses. Key stared at Briggs, Briggs stared at Key, and Ruthford glared at both of them.

"I'll give a mark to the first person to talk." Someone yelled.

"I'll give two marks," someone else added.

"I'll add five marks to the pile!" Allister called out.

"It looks like there is a combined value of eight marks to the first person who talks. Dilly, are you annotating all of this?" Steele asked, tapping on his ledger. "Eight marks, do I hear more?"

"I'll add a mark," the cheater said, still frowning.

Key was determined not to lose, no matter what. They could promise him countless marks or a vault of gold, but he would stand silently, stone-faced, staring ahead. It wasn't about the money or the game; his pride was priceless. He clenched his jaw tighter, knowing his pride was worth more than gold. He would have the Thundergnome's brand no matter the cost.

The bids kept coming in, and when the pot reached 22 marks, Briggs pulled a letter from his pocket. He pointed to it and then palmed his forehead, mimicking the action of forgetting something or being very stupid. He waved the letter up in the air as bids for the first person to talk kept coming in. He gave it to Steele, who held it limply in his hand as he continued ramping up the value of losing.

Briggs, unable to speak or warn everyone about the importance of the letter, kept trying to mimic for Key to say something because "Reading," "Very distraught," "Saluting," "Pointing to you," and "Pointing at the letter."

Apparently, he was trying to make whatever letter he gave to Steele seem very important. Whatever it was, Key wasn't falling for it. He crossed his arms, smiled, and shook his head no. Briggs then began trying to get Steele to open the letter himself. Steele held it up and asked if this was what he was talking about. Briggs agreed emphatically, motioning for him to open it up and read it.

"Who here wants me to read this letter, and who wants me to burn it?" Steele asked the crowd.

"Burn it, burn it!"

"And what does Key think? It has your Captain's seal on it... could be important."

Key leaned in and looked at the seal. Why would he have a letter from Castor? Steele held it out for everyone to see. He considered that it might be a loophole to win the quiet game, but how would he have known he would draw The Quiet Game from the hat?

Steele walked over to the fire and held the letter over the flames. "If one of you wants to say something, I'll read it. Otherwise, I don't see why I shouldn't just burn it."

Neither Key nor Briggs spoke as Steele brought the letter to the fire. He made one final move that meant, "Are you sure?" and then faked putting it in.

"I can't do it," Steele admitted, cracking the seal and unfolding the parchment. "My curiosity got the better of me. What does this say anyway? Ah, would you look at that? A matter of the highest importance...."

When Steele was finished reading, he passed the letter around for everyone else to read but instructed no one to show the two competitors.

"I'm afraid we're going to have to wrap things up, figuratively and literally," Steele announced. "The bidding has come to an end, and all funds expire in ten, nine, eight,...." When he got to one, he instructed someone to bring out the ropes.

"The letter explains everything, Key," Steele said, tying his hands together. All you have to do is say the word, and I'll let you read it."

Now Key knew the letter was fake. He didn't know how the newcomer had convinced Castor to give his seal, but he knew it was designed to make him break his silence. The fact that they were tying him up with ropes seemed like another part of the hazing process. He would have been surprised if they hadn't tied him up.

"Last chance to read the letter," Steele offered, but upon seeing his resolve, added, "Okay, don't say that I didn't warn you."

They lifted and carried him to the stagecoach he arrived in. Several others climbed in with him, and they started driving off.

"Wait!" Dilly yelled, stopping the coach. "You forgot to swear him in!"

"Do it then, but hurry!" Steele commanded.

"Do you solemnly swear not to mention the names, locations, or events of the ceremonies as long as you shall live?" Dilly asked.

Key wasn't a fool. There was no way he was going to lose the game over some ceremonial oath. Since his mouth remained shut and his hands were tied behind his back, he tried looking as resolute as possible.

"Just nod your head if you agree!" Shouted Steele from the back. "We have to hurry!"

Key nodded yes, and the door slammed shut after him.