Day 57

The Tale of Enan

It had been months since Enaerixer, Froadaelo and Roo had been taken. Enan sat in a gambling hall in the harbour district of one of the coastal towns. He was winning, as he always was. It didn't always appear that way; he would sometimes throw a game so that it did not seem as though he was a cheat, but he could always influence a game of skill to go however he desired.

This particular game was one of chance, named 'Bards and Bandits', in which the four players take turns to roll dice and move around a spiral so many places. The tile they land on is part of a strip, which they then own. Strips can be stolen by other players who land in them and whoever owns the most strips after twice the number of turns as there are tiles in a strip (so if there are four tiles in a strip, the game ends after eight turns) wins. If a player reaches the centre of the board before all their turns are up they move in the reverse direction for the remainder of their turns, similarly if they get back to the beginning before their turns are used up. In case of a tie, the tied players race to the centre of the board, having to land in it on the last move of their turn (so if a player was 4 tiles away and threw a 6, they would end their turn two tiles away from the centre. If they then threw a 2, they would win the game, provided no one else won between that player's turns of course).

By the eighth game with a dock worker, a regular patron of the gambling hall, Enan was beginning to get some information from him. He had been supplying the man with a steady supply of drink to loosen his tongue. The dock worker was telling Enan about mysterious shipments from far off lands. Crates that made strange noises and gave off strange, exotic smells. As Enan was about to ask if anyone had been taken ill after handling the crates (for he suspected that they might contain the poison used to kill the prince) a pirate ran into the room and started waving his scimitar about in a dangerous fashion. More pirates appeared, blocking the exits.

It made sense that they would hit the gambling hall. What better place is there to find lots of gold and be able to make a quick getaway by sea? On the other hand, the place was filled with drunken men not ready to have their gold taken from them by anyone other than the dealers and game masters.

Enan saw that this could turn ugly in a heartbeat and was quick to stand up and offer a deal. If the pirates could beat him in a game of Bards and Bandits, he would let them take his winnings and the winnings of everyone else who gave him their money in exchange for permission to leave immediately, before there was any violence. If Enan won, the pirates would leave with only Enan's gold.

The pirates did see that this course of action was sensible, at least for the moment. If they won they would take a tidy sum without incident. If they lost they could turn as violent as they had been expecting to be anyway.


Enan sat opposite the pirate and allowed him to have the first move on the 96 tile board. It was a large board for only two people to play, but Enan wanted it to take as long as possible. This game was entirely about the luck of the dice. No skills were called upon, so the pirate had just as much chance of winning as Enan.

As they got to the centre of the board, Enan had more strips than the pirate by far. In fact, with only one turn left each, and only the two players, it was impossible for Enan to lose. The other pirates readied their weapons...