Emissary by Uvatha the Horseman

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Silver Penny (rated M)

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"Urzahil, wait."

Urzahil was walking home from class when Tas caught up with him. It was a perfect day, still warm like the end of summer, but a chill in the shadows gave a hint that the weather was changing.

"Urzahil, what do you say to an evening of drinking, wenching, and gambling in a bad part of town? We're going to The Merchant's Last Coin to play the Silver Penny game," he said.

The game of Silver Penny was shrouded in mystery. Urzahil knew little about it, other than it was a drinking game based on dice and it was expensive to play. He had the sense there was something disreputable about it.

"I'm in," Urzahil told him.

Urzahil scraped together a handful of coppers, enough to buy several rounds of drinks. He took a silver penny from his savings, then on impulse, added two more.

The next day, Urzahil asked Mírdain, another classmate, if he was going. "No, I don't have a silver penny, but I've played before. I'd join you if I could afford it."

"Is Caldûr coming along?"

"Absolutely not. He's a responsible adult. If he knew we were going to the waterfront to play the silver penny game, he'd put a stop to it. He might even tell our parents." That made Urzahil want to go even more.

The sign of The Merchant's Last Coin marked the entrance to a large and noisy pub.

"Here we are," said Tas.

It was starting to get dark. This section of the waterfront could be dangerous, even in daylight. Men from the docks were hanging around for no apparent reason, watching them. Urzahil didn't think it was a good idea to be here in fine clothes with a purse full of money on his belt.

They pushed open the door and stepped into the common room. Smoke filled the air, either from the fire or the pipes of the patrons.

"You'll like this place," said Tas. He was in his element. Strongly built and taller than most men, Tas exuded self-confidence.

Urzahil stood near the door as his eyes adjusted. A toothless man at was trying to grab the barmaid's bottom, who twisted out of reach. Someone else overturned a small table, sending cards and money flying. Urzahil wanted to flee the shouting and fistfights, but it was already darker outside than when he'd arrived, and he didn't dare walk home by himself.

The landlord came over up to greet them. "Tas, it's good to see you again. And how is your older brother? Let me show you to the Merchant's room, your table is ready."

He led them to a private alcove on the far side of the room. It was quieter in here than in the main room. The woodwork smelled of honey and beeswax, and the tables had chairs rather than benches.

"They make it nice for customers like us, customers with wealthy parents and full purses. We have the most money to leave behind," Tas sat down at the table, and Urzahil sat down beside him.

A tall serving maid with yellow hair wiped down the table and draped it with a clean linen cloth. The maid, whose name was Arlis, took their orders and returned with a tray of wine cups. Tas settle the bill, and sent her for dice and dice cups.

Arlis came back with a dice cup and set it beside Tas. He spilled four dice into his palm. He rolled them from hand to hand as he explained the rules.

"Silver Penny is an ancient University tradition, played as long as there have been undergraduates. This is the first time we've played since last spring. Since then, my brother and his classmates have graduated, and a new batch of first-year students joined our ranks.

"For those of you who haven't played before, this is how it's done. First, we divide into two teams, one on each side of the table."

Those sitting at the end of the table moved their chairs to the sides, and the ones in the middle bunched together to make room for them. Urzahil counted five players on one side, six on the other.

"We alternate turns between the two teams. When it's your turn, you roll the dice. If you roll all-of-a-kind, you forfeit, and must drink a cup of wine. If you roll all sixes, there's a special forfeit, you must pay a silver penny," said Tas.

A silver penny was more than most working people earned in a week. This was a high stakes game.

"The actual price is far more than a Silver Penny. For convenience, we call it the Fate Worse Than Death. But don't worry, rolling four sixes is rare. During the course of the evening it might happen once, or not at all. And since there are eleven playing tonight, most of you won't be victims, regardless. I've played twice before, and I've never rolled four sixes. Most people never do."

Tas put the dice back in the cup, shook it, and spilled the dice on the table. 2, 2, 2, 1. He passed the cup across the table to one of the upperclassman, who shook it and rolled three, one, four, four. Marös had the next turn, 3, 5, 5, 2.

Twenty minutes later, the dice cup had been passed round the table at least ten times. No one had rolled a forfeit of any kind. It was a boring game.

Arlis wiped down the table next to theirs and spread a clean cloth over it.

"We have company. What if they know our parents? We can't get caught playing Silver Penny." Tas looked around the room as if scoping out the exits.

"Maybe they won't know what it is."

"Of course they'll know. They went to University, too," said Tas.

"Then we'll have to play ordinary dice. And no one can say one word about Silver Penny," said Marös.

"Here they come. Look innocent, everybody," said Tas.

The game seemed tame enough. What was the big deal? That it's a drinking game? That they risked a silver penny on a roll of the dice? A silver penny was a lot of money, but they could afford it, they had wealthy parents.

A dozen officers from a Corsair ship came in, with curved knives at their belts and covered with body art. They looked rich, but their wealth came from smuggling and piracy. Arlis set cups of wine in front of the Corsairs and brought them a dice cup. They heaped coins in the center of the table. The rattle of dice was accompanied by shouts and cursing.

"They're scary," said one of the younger students.

"At least they don't know our parents. That'd be scarier," said Tas.

The students ordered another round. A kitchen maid brought in a heavy tray and set a cup of wine in front of each of them. Her cap was crooked, and strands of dull blond hair hung in her face, but she had a sweet smile.

"What does it come to, Kyna my love?" asked Tas.

A look of fear crossed her face. "Eleven cups of wine at a copper and a half apiece comes to…half of eleven is four and a half so…no wait …"

Tas handed her two large coins. "It comes to sixteen and a half. Here's twenty, I don't need any change."

Relief washed over her plain features. She nodded and scurried off.

"That was a large tip for someone who's not at all pretty, and not very good at serving, either," said Urzahil.

"She's a nice girl. Not a good girl, but nice," said Tas.

Tas picked up the dice cup. "The danger's past. Let's get started again."

Urzahil was ready to play something else. "Is this game supposed to be slow? We've been playing for almost half an hour, and we haven't seen a single four-of-a-kind."

Marös took the cup from Tas and removed one of the dice. "Let's play with three dice. That ought to speed things up."

Tas shook the cup and rolled two, two, three.

A student across from him rolled next. They went around the table with no forfeits. The second round was the same.

When were almost finished with the third round, Marös rolled the dice and called out "Triple threes!"

"Forfeit, forfeit!" the other team shouted and pounded on the table.

Marös lifted his wine cup and drained it to the dregs, to loud applause. "That's more like it," he said, wiping his lips.

"It's a faster game with three dice. Usually it takes half an hour to reach the first forfeit, but that took less than five minutes," said Tas.

Several rounds later, Urzahil rolled triple ones and had to drink a forfeit. Every five minutes or so, someone on one team or the other had to drink a forfeit, although depending on the dice, sometimes there were two forfeits in the same round. Urzahil was beginning to feel it.

Half an hour into the accelerated version of the game, Tas took the dice cup from a player across the table, shook the cup, and rolled. His face froze.

"Triple six," said Marös.

Everyone on the other side of the table hooted, stomped their feet, and beat their cups against the table.

Tas arranged the dice in a line, eighteen spots showing all at once. He laid his silver penny beside them and sat back in his chair with his hands on the arms of the chair, very still.

"Now you must pay the forfeit." Marös leaned back in his chair and smirked.

He left the room and returned with Kyna, the untidy kitchen maid who'd served them earlier. Kyna looked at the row of dice and the coin. Then she looked at Tas, nodded, and pocketed the coin.

"All right, then," she said.

She took Tas by the hand and led him to the narrow stair by the kitchen. His face was white.

"What just happened?" asked Urzahil.

"The forfeit for rolling all sixes is the Fate Worse than Death. Under the rules of the game, the loser has to go upstairs with a girl and lie with her. Nothing unnatural, just like husband and wife," said Marös.

"He's not really going to…Melkor's chains! They barely know each other. Why would she agree to it?" said Urzahil.

"Because he paid her. The silver penny is her price. Some of the barmaids here make extra money by going upstairs with the customers. That's why we play the game here, rather than in a respectable tavern," said Marös.

"I didn't know a girl's favors could be bought," said Urzahil.

"They can, but it's expensive, and you only have ten minutes or so. You have to get in and out in a hurry, so to speak," said Marös.

Urzahil glanced at the narrow stair where Tas had gone with Kyna.

"Why did you bring him Kyna? Arlis is prettier." And cleaner, he didn't add.

"Arlis is a good girl. She won't do it, but Kyna will," said Marös.

Tas came downstairs whistling, his hair untidy and his collar open. He took his seat, arm draped an arm over the back of his chair, and legs stretched out in front of him.

"Someone looks happy," said Marös. Tas grinned.

One table over, Arlis was wiping down the polished surface of an empty table and spreading a clean white cloth over it.

"This is a first rate inn, there's new linen between every customer. That's true in the dining room as well."

"You don't mind if they give you a plate someone else has used?"

"I don't expect to be the first customer to use a plate in a tavern. As long as it's been washed in hot water and soap, I have no complaints."

Urzahil tipped his plate to catch the light. There were knife scratches on the shiny pewter surface, but it was perfectly clean.

"That's not what he was talking about, Urzahil," said Marös.

They resumed the game. Urzahil rattled the cup and rolled the dice. Two turned up six, and the third die sailed off the table and hit the floor with a clink. Several people got out of their chairs and crowded around to look. The die had fallen between two floor tiles and lay cocked at an angle. It could have been either a one or a three.

"Roll again," said Marös.

Urzahil scooped up the dice and put them back in the cup.

"Just roll the one that fell on the floor."

Reluctantly, Urzahil took out two dice and placed them on the table with the sixes facing up. He blew on the remaining die and whispered, "Anything but a six". He rattled the cup and cast. The ivory cube tumbled across the table.

"Triple six!" Marös cried.

Urzahil blanched. Six spots showed on the upward face. He leaned across the table for a closer look, but there was no mistake. He'd rolled three sixes.

He tossed a silver penny on the table. "Pass. I surrender the coin."

"You can't pass. Our team will get docked eighteen points," said Tas.

"Can I let give the honor to another?"

"No, you cannot," said Tas.

Kyna appeared with another round of drinks, tendrils of blond hair escaping from her cap.

"Kyna, my love, we have another victim, I mean admirer, who wishes to pay his respects." Tas put a hand on Urzahil's shoulder and shook him lightly.

She studied Urzahil for a moment, then scooped up the silver coin and dropped it in her pocket. Urzahil's mouth went dry. The girl took him by the hand and led him towards the stairs. She smelled of kitchen fires and soap.

"I'll show you what to do. It's not hard," she said.

"It will be, once she puts her hand on it," said Marös.

Urzahil allowed the plain-featured barmaid to lead him up the stairs. Ribald comments and laughter followed them. Urzahil's mouth was dry. He tried to swallow, but couldn't. The silence was oppressive.

"Why do you do this? Do you really need to buy baubles you can't afford on a kitchen maid's wages?"

"Six months ago, my dad was working on a boat when a surge in the harbor, the wake of a large ship, lifted the boat unexpectedly, and his leg was crushed between the deck and the underside of the pier. He was brought home with his leg shattered, blood everywhere. We had little money, but without the doctor, he'd have died. So that evening, when I was supposed to be waiting tables, I went upstairs with a man I didn't know. In fifteen minutes, I'd earned enough to pay the doctor's fee. There were more doctors' visits the weeks that followed, and each one meant another trip upstairs.

"His leg mended eventually, but the accident left him crippled. He couldn't work, and we couldn't pay our rent. The landlord said he would throw us out in the street, so Mum was going to pull the little ones out of school. There's always work at the rug weaving shops, especially for young eyes and tiny fingers. But since I'm doing this, we still have our cottage, and the little ones are still in school."

They reached a landing which opened onto what looked like a supply room. Barrels, small crates, and sacks of grain filled the unlit space. She held up her lantern, and something small and furry fled from the circle of light on the planks of the floor.

Another step led to a narrow passage, lined with doors, all shut. She stopped in front of the first store they came to and pushed it open. She stepped inside and hung the lantern from one of the sloping rafters. Yellow light revealed a room barely large enough to hold the narrow bedstead. The bed was made up with a bottom sheet and nothing else. Ropes supporting the straw mattress wove in and out through the side rails.

A three-legged stool beside the bed held a small sandglass. She turned it over. "We have as long as the sand is running." She faced him and smiled, then undid the pin at the neck of her dress.

His feet froze. He stood in the doorway of the room, unable to take another step.

She took his hand. "Come. I'll show you what to do."

-o-o-o-o-o-

They reached the base of the stairs. She went back to the kitchens, and Urzahil returned to the table feeling like the tomcat that rules the alley. He tossed his head and draped an arm over the back of his chair.

"That was thirsty work. Give me a wine cup." He drained it in one swallow.

"You need to replace what you've lost, but so much?" Tas said with mock incredulity. The others laughed.

They played for another hour. Urzahil hit more triples, a two, two, two on one turn and a one, one, one on the next. The rules required him to drink a forfeit for each one, and he was beginning to feel it.

"Triple sixes! We have another victim!" called out an upperclassman on the other team.

A fair-haired youth, a boy younger than Urzahil, stared white-faced at the three dice. "I can't, I didn't bring enough money," he said.

Urzahil tossed a silver penny on the table. "There you go." The boy went even paler, if that was possible.

"The rules are clear. You have to pay the forfeit," Urzahil commanded, his voice without mercy.

"Pay the forfeit, pay the forfeit," the others chanted. Kyna took him by the hand and led him away. The boy looked over his shoulder with an expression of fear and desperation.

-o-o-o-o-o-

At midnight, bells rang in towers around the city. It was time to begin the long hike from the harbor up to the walled city on its high crag of rock.

"Time, gentlemen. When we leave, we all need to leave together. This part of town is dangerous at night, and there are those who'd be more than happy to beat and rob a couple of drunken university students." Tas started herding them towards the door.

"I've arranged for some guards from our warehouse to walk us home. Their shift ends at midnight, they'll meet us here in ten minutes," said Marös.

"Can I give you something towards the cost?" Tas loosened the strings on his purse.

Marös waved him off. "Put that away, it's taken care of." Urzahil knew how wealthy Marös' family was. Whatever the bodyguards cost, Marös could afford it.

"Don't leave without me, I'll just be ten minutes." Urzahil got up and went to speak to one of the barmaids. "Is Kyna still working? I wish to speak with her."

The barmaid stuck her head in the kitchen. "Kyna, there's a gentleman who wants to see you."

Kyna came out of the kitchen, wiping soapsuds from her arms. Her sleeves were rolled up to the elbows, revealing arms that were chapped red. Urzahil gave her his last silver penny and followed her up the stairs.

-o-o-o-o-o-

The eleven of them stepped into the street, where the men from Marös' warehouse waited for them. The surface of the harbor was smooth and oily black. Lamplight from the quay reflected on its undulating surface. The tide must be low, the night air smelled of seaweed and fish.

Dark silhouettes of warehouses dominated the sky. Urzahil jumped when he heard footsteps in an alley, he imagined footpads and cutthroats concealed in the shadows. Urzahil had to walk briskly to keep up with Marös' guards, large, supremely self-confident men who carried their cudgels like they knew how to use them.

This must be what it felt like to be someone of high rank, with a personal guard to guarantee his personal security. With the guards around him, he had courage; he could walk past dangerous alleys without fear. If this is how high rank felt, he liked it very much, very much indeed.