Whispering Verse

When the poet finished singing this section, jumped down from the high stool and took off his hat to greet everyone around him, Shade, who was eating, touched his pocket, took out two one-shilling coins and tossed them over. With relatively superb power control and good luck, the two coins fell directly into the red soft hat held by the poet.

Two shillings was considered a very generous sum, and the poet immediately bowed to Shade.

Shade asked:

"I've heard too many legends and stories. Do you have any fresh lyrics?"

"What do you want to hear?"

the poet asked politely.

"Is there anything related to Rhodes cards?"

"Yes! The big city players in Tobesk ended last week. The much-talked-about final, as well as the controversial identities of both sides in the final, is the best choice of topic."

After saying that, without asking Shade for his opinion, he picked up his lute again, sat on the high stool, and started the prelude directly.

People in the Sikal Hotel were attracted by this fresh aria, and the atmosphere in the hotel was suddenly more lively than before. Only Xia De was a little uncomfortable with it. After all, although what the other party sang was true, the description method was too exaggerated.

Until Shade finished his meal, the poet's song about "Big City Player 1853" had not yet finished. Shade turned to look at the restaurant and saw two men wearing Royal Army lieutenant uniforms among the crowd, playing Rhodes cards at the table, so he stood up and walked over.

Ordinary soldiers are not allowed to walk around in military uniforms when on vacation. Only officers of lieutenant and above are allowed. At this time, there were two people playing Rhodes at the table. The rough-looking one was the captain, and the shorter but younger-looking one was the lieutenant.

Shadra opened his chair and sat at the table. The two people playing cards immediately stopped and looked at him.

"Do you mind if I play a game with you?"

Shade took out his deck of cards and wiped it on the table, spreading it into an arc.

Because of the conversation he had just had with the bard, this request was not particularly unexpected. The two officers looked at each other, and the older captain asked:

"How to bet?"

He meant gambling money.

"We play ten games, with a minimum of two and a maximum of four drawn in each game. A draw does not count. A game of half a shilling, even if we lose them all, is only the price of a pair of women's stockings, but it can provide us with Have some fun.”

His metaphor made both officers laugh. The rugged-looking captain stretched out his hand to Shade:

"Joel Joseph, Captain of the Royal Army of the Windy Trail."

"John Watson, a writer who comes to the local area to collect stories, and occasionally does detective work to run errands for others."

Shade also reached out and shook his hand.

With the lieutenant as the referee, they each checked the deck and then started playing cards. The captain's deck only had two cards with special faces, while Shade used a basic deck. Ten innings sounds like a lot, but it was over in just half an hour.

Not counting ties, Shade won eight of the games, while the Captain won two. This was a fair game, and the stakes were not very high, so Captain Joseph did not want to cheat.

He was about to pay the bet when Shade waved his hand to tell him not to be in such a hurry:

"Excuse me, do you know Captain Rades? I have heard about his deeds in Tobesk and want to talk to him."

Shade first asked about his friends.

"I know, this captain can be regarded as a local celebrity. He is in the Red Water Camp and will have vacation time next week. You can go into the mountains and look for him at the Traveler Camp next to the military camp. You can always find him."

The Fengqi Trail is the only way to walk through the Sikal Mountains, so the travelers spontaneously formed a relatively simple camp next to the military camp, which served as a transit point into the mountain and also did some commodity trading with the garrison on the Fengqi Trail.

Shade nodded, of course he would not go to Captain Rades, he just wanted to know that the captain had arrived here safely:

"Speaking of Camp Red Water, do you know Captain Ronald?"

Captain Joseph raised his eyebrows and stopped taking the money. He knew that the man in front of him who claimed to be a writer came to him not just to play cards:

"There is indeed a captain named Ronald, but this man has never done anything that ordinary citizens can know about. He is playing cards here and owes gold pounds?"

"No, no, I met a strange man a few days ago. He asked me to deliver this gun to Captain Ronald, and he gave me a pound for it."

Shade put the dead corporal's pistol on the table:

"I took other people's money, so naturally I had to do something."

"I don't know when Captain Ronald will take leave. Why don't I go find him and ask him to tell me the time of his leave, and then I'll tell you."

Captain Joseph asked, Shade shook his head:

"I'm just delivering something. There's no need to see the captain. Please help me give this gun to him. I don't want the 3 shillings I won just now. In addition, I can give you some money."

He took out some coins and pushed them to the other party, about 5 shillings or more. This was found from the body of the corporal who died in the "Gulf of Life and Death". Shade only kept two shillings as his reward, and took out the rest. As for the corporal’s body, Shade restored it from a toy state and buried it on Mount Sikal, where the scenery is very good:

"That way, my job is done."

Captain Joseph checked the gun and saw that Shade had no intention of prying into the secrets of the camp, so he was not so vigilant:

"It's simple, I guess. So, once this gun is delivered, do we need to have Captain Ronald write a receipt to prove the mission was completed?"

He seems to be a more responsible person.

"No need, I trust people in Royal Army uniforms."

Shade gave the other party a small compliment, and the captain couldn't help but smile:

"Of course, the Royal Army can be trusted."

The atmosphere suddenly became harmonious. Captain Joseph and his companion Lieutenant Hoyle had nothing to do in the afternoon, so they invited Shade to continue playing cards.

Shade had nothing to do in the afternoon. He and Priest August agreed to meet at four o'clock this afternoon, and it was only just one o'clock now. It seemed good to spend some time here.

So the three of them planned a three-person card game. When Shade checked Lieutenant Hoyle's deck, they listened to the sound of the bard's piano and talked about the players in the big city far away in Tobesk. Nearly a week has passed since Ayutthaya Player 1853 ended last Wednesday, but the story of that legendary game can still excite Rhodes players around the world.

"How to bet this time?"

Lieutenant Hoyle took the deck from Shade and asked. Seeing that none of them had special rules cards, Shade shook his head:

"Actually, I don't gamble under normal circumstances. How about we play a wine table game? The loser spends money to buy his own wine and drinks half a cup per game. We can get some low-alcohol and cheap fruit wine."

Shade suggested, but Captain Joseph shook his head in embarrassment:

"Although we are on vacation now, it's best not to drink too much. It's not that I don't have the confidence to beat you, but judging from the ten rounds just now, I'm afraid I'm not lucky this afternoon. I will definitely drink if I really want to play. most"

At this moment——

Bang~

The originally bustling hotel suddenly became quiet. Captain Joseph and Lieutenant Hoyle subconsciously touched the guns at their waists, while Shade, like most people on the first floor, looked above their heads.

It was gunfire, and the gunfire came from directly above the hotel.

PS: Let’s talk about the update plan for the Spring Festival. At least 2,000 words will be added on the first day of the new year. As for how many chapters it will be divided into, the author will think about it again.