Swamped

Your thoughts are interrupted by a loud ruckus. It sounds like some of the patrols are coming back. Maybe Squib Squad's among them. You duck out into the hall and see if you can spot your...

...well, "friends" is a strong word, here. You're really only on the squad because Ash thought they needed someone who could read. Sure, you were a troublemaker before, but you've felt more than once that you were getting in over your head. There's always been a certain distance between you and Squib.

It's not like when you were on Tom Third's squad. You were a couple of years behind most of them, but Tom thought you were smart enough to keep up. Or maybe he just wanted to keep an eye on you. Whichever it was, he made sure that you felt like you were on the team, not just the poor sap who had to clean up everyone else's messes.

Anyhow, you head to the front gate to see who's coming in. You ask the guards about your teammates specifically, but they haven't come back.

Maybe they will if you just wait a bit longer. The greatrat can't get in too much trouble, can it? Ash said those sedatives were strong.

You decide to talk to some of the other knights in the meantime. You might at least be able to find out where they're posted right now.

That's when you spot Lisa Black.

You remember Lisa, though if she remembers you it can't be fondly. You played cards with her once, and being the clever little troublemaker you always were, you tried to cheat.

She caught you just by looking at your face. She made it very clear to you what she thought of cheaters. She was so mad, you were worried Tom would kick you off the squad.

Perhaps the part that hurts the most is that you never got to find that out. Two days later, Tom Third was caught in the rain and never came back.

You've seen her at Third's memorial a few times, though you made sure to keep your distance. She's got the same sort of look now, but something's different about it.

And that's when you realize it. You've never seen her afraid before.

Well. You doubt she'll help, but you can worry about that later. Right now, you just want to know what the hell has knocked the Black Queen off her game. You approach carefully.

"Are you all right?" you ask. She glances at you, then gives you a glare.

"I remember you, cheater," she growls. "And given that you're on Squib Squad, I doubt you've changed your stripes. Leave me alone."

"I will, I will," you say. "I just... well... you look like you've got something going on. I know, I know, it's none of my business, but, um..." You rack your brains for an excuse. "I could fetch one of your friends. Someone you can talk to about it. Probably not good to keep these kinds of worries bottled up, you know?"

She gives you another look. Oh hells, she's trying to read your face. She must know you're hiding something, she's too good to let something like that slip past her even now.

"Tell you what," she says, pulling out a deck of cards. "If you're so interested in what's bothering me, we'll play a game of Swamprats over it. Winner learns the loser's secrets."

"But you always win," you protest.

"So they say! I've always wondered how true that is, myself." She smirks a little. "But even if the winner is already decided, I think there's a lot of interesting things that can happen in a game, wouldn't you say?"

You're not sure what to do here. She's read your face - maybe she wants to help? Or maybe she wants to find out what you're up to and report it, which can only be all sorts of trouble.

Should you accept the challenge or not?