Re: Battle Royale! Round 5: Monte Casino
01-27-2010, 02:20 AM
Originally posted on MSPA by Mystify.
Itzal mulled over the stains. Even though it would make teleportation harder, it could keep track of the cards easily. But so could Whit. Perhaps even better than it could. "I'm sorry, but I must insist we play with a new deck. And while we are at it, why not use a new deck for each hand."
The dealer shrugged. "Its an unusual request, but it is allowed. We have plenty of decks, and they can always be re-used later." A man came up to the table with a tray full of card decks. The dealer selected one, and dealt out the hands.
Whit silently fumed. This was no good. With this state of affairs he had no clue what cards were where, while Itzal was continuing to teleport. His life counter continued to drop. It was down to 50%, and Whit was worried. He was feeling weak, and his vision was beginning to blur. Itzal looked as strong as a horse, and seemed perfectly alert. Suddenly, Whit realized what he had to do. "Excuse me, but may I ask that my opponent here remove his hood? I contest that it gives him an unfair advantage."
The dealer called over a few other employees. They discussed for a bit, then returned to the table. "I'm sorry sir, but I'm going to have to ask you to remove your hood."
"Are you sure? I warn you, I wear this for a reason."
"Yes. Let us see your face."
"Very well." Itzal reached up and pulled down his hood.
Whit was taken aback by what he saw. He had been prepared for something hideous, maybe a face covered in scars, or some horrible disfigurement.
What was there was almost beyond comprehension. Only the previous round equipped Whit for what he saw.
Itzals eyes were endlessly receding, infinitely deep wells sunk into its face. Te surface of its skin seems to bubble impossibly, being neither positive nor negative space, both inside and outside at the same time. The structure of its face slowly shifted around, undulating in patterns that made no Euclidean sense. "You're not even close to human, are you?"
"I was. Long ago. I had reached the limits of my art, and sought deeper control. I discovered that reality as you know it is only a small facet of the universe. There are not merely 3 dimensions. There are millions. They are infinitely complex, and interact in a billion ways. They fold and twist into and around each other. Some of them are the same dimension viewed from another angle, while other exist only at a single point. This became my reality. Even I cannot comprehend it all." As it talked, the inside of its mouth seemed to be all encompassing, then suddenly inverted, extruding from its body, before suddenly inverting again. Whit could not tell if it was actually changing or if it was just an optical illusion.
This explained a lot. His complete mastery over the previous environment, his take on reality, it probably even explained its shape shifting and teleportation abilities. Whit had to force himself to tear his view away from its face and look at its hand. A flush. A good hand, but not great. Whit looked at his life counter. If it dropped any lower he wouldn't be able to concentrate anymore. This all depends on what Itzal had. Whit stared at its face again, trying to read it. It was hard, and he couldn't be sure he was interpreting it correctly. However, luck was on his side. "All in."
Itzal looked at its hand and smiled, the smiles warping across its face in odd and disturbing ways, and matched the bet. It lay down its hand. "Ace-high straight."
"Flush. I win." 50% flowed back into his life counter and he shot up, invigorated by the sudden rush of energy.
Itzal's features gave a visible lurch and it let out a cry of pain as its health dropped back to 100%. "So, we are back where we started."
Itzal mulled over the stains. Even though it would make teleportation harder, it could keep track of the cards easily. But so could Whit. Perhaps even better than it could. "I'm sorry, but I must insist we play with a new deck. And while we are at it, why not use a new deck for each hand."
The dealer shrugged. "Its an unusual request, but it is allowed. We have plenty of decks, and they can always be re-used later." A man came up to the table with a tray full of card decks. The dealer selected one, and dealt out the hands.
Whit silently fumed. This was no good. With this state of affairs he had no clue what cards were where, while Itzal was continuing to teleport. His life counter continued to drop. It was down to 50%, and Whit was worried. He was feeling weak, and his vision was beginning to blur. Itzal looked as strong as a horse, and seemed perfectly alert. Suddenly, Whit realized what he had to do. "Excuse me, but may I ask that my opponent here remove his hood? I contest that it gives him an unfair advantage."
The dealer called over a few other employees. They discussed for a bit, then returned to the table. "I'm sorry sir, but I'm going to have to ask you to remove your hood."
"Are you sure? I warn you, I wear this for a reason."
"Yes. Let us see your face."
"Very well." Itzal reached up and pulled down his hood.
Whit was taken aback by what he saw. He had been prepared for something hideous, maybe a face covered in scars, or some horrible disfigurement.
What was there was almost beyond comprehension. Only the previous round equipped Whit for what he saw.
Itzals eyes were endlessly receding, infinitely deep wells sunk into its face. Te surface of its skin seems to bubble impossibly, being neither positive nor negative space, both inside and outside at the same time. The structure of its face slowly shifted around, undulating in patterns that made no Euclidean sense. "You're not even close to human, are you?"
"I was. Long ago. I had reached the limits of my art, and sought deeper control. I discovered that reality as you know it is only a small facet of the universe. There are not merely 3 dimensions. There are millions. They are infinitely complex, and interact in a billion ways. They fold and twist into and around each other. Some of them are the same dimension viewed from another angle, while other exist only at a single point. This became my reality. Even I cannot comprehend it all." As it talked, the inside of its mouth seemed to be all encompassing, then suddenly inverted, extruding from its body, before suddenly inverting again. Whit could not tell if it was actually changing or if it was just an optical illusion.
This explained a lot. His complete mastery over the previous environment, his take on reality, it probably even explained its shape shifting and teleportation abilities. Whit had to force himself to tear his view away from its face and look at its hand. A flush. A good hand, but not great. Whit looked at his life counter. If it dropped any lower he wouldn't be able to concentrate anymore. This all depends on what Itzal had. Whit stared at its face again, trying to read it. It was hard, and he couldn't be sure he was interpreting it correctly. However, luck was on his side. "All in."
Itzal looked at its hand and smiled, the smiles warping across its face in odd and disturbing ways, and matched the bet. It lay down its hand. "Ace-high straight."
"Flush. I win." 50% flowed back into his life counter and he shot up, invigorated by the sudden rush of energy.
Itzal's features gave a visible lurch and it let out a cry of pain as its health dropped back to 100%. "So, we are back where we started."