The next morning, Ray, after finishing his daily training, made his way over to the castle.
After the usual hassle at the gate - solved quickly thanks to the familiar guard - he passed through the towering stone archway and into the castle's interior. The halls, despite being worn down by time and countless attacks, still held an air of authority. Faded banners hung loosely from broken pillars, and the flickering torchlight cast long, twisting shadows along the stone walls.
Ray barely acknowledged any of it. He had been here enough times that the once-impressive ruins had lost their novelty. He made his way through the corridors, down the stairs, and into the livelier parts of the castle - the underground halls where deals were made, debts were collected, and fortunes were lost.
The gambling den.
A mixture of smoke and stale air greeted him as he stepped inside. The place was as busy as ever, filled with the usual assortment of desperate scavengers, and the occasional member of the host looking to waste their earnings. The sound of clinking shards, murmured bets, and the occasional outburst of frustration blended together into a familiar symphony.
Ray's eyes scanned the room. It didn't take him long to spot Aiko.
She was sitting at one of the low, makeshift tables near the back. Aiko, the petite and sharp-eyed owner of this establishment, was easy to recognize - not just because of her size, but because of the effortless confidence with which she ran her business. Her short, dark hair framed her face as she leaned forward, idly shuffling a deck of worn, mismatched cards. A smirk tugged at her lips as she exchanged a few words with the other players at her table.
Ray spotted an empty seat and made his way over. He didn't ask, didn't hesitate. He simply sat down, setting his pouch of ten shards on the table.
Aiko glanced up, her smirk widening slightly. "Well, well. Thought you'd come crawling back sooner."
Ray exhaled, shaking his head. "Yeah, yeah. Let's just play."
The game was simple - Dead Man's Draw, a game of chance and risk, where players took turns drawing numbered tiles from a small bag. The goal was to get as close to twenty-one as possible without going over. Players could keep drawing as long as they wanted, but if they went over, they lost their bet. The trick was knowing when to stop.
Aiko shuffled the tiles in her bag and set it down. "Alright, high roller. Place your bets."
Ray tossed a shard into the pot. The game began.
Luck was on Ray's side that morning. He played carefully, letting the other players push their luck while he stayed just cautious enough to win. The first few rounds were slow, with small wins here and there. But then his luck turned truly absurd.
Round after round, he came out ahead. It wasn't even that he was being reckless - he was just making the right calls at the right time, again and again.
As his pile of shards grew, the atmosphere at the table began to shift.
The other players, once relaxed, were now tense. Frustration crept into their faces as Ray kept winning.
Aiko, to her credit, found the whole thing amusing. "Damn. You should play more often," she said, leaning back and watching him pull in another handful of shards. "Or maybe you just enjoy making enemies."
Ray smirked. "Not my fault I'm lucky today."
Aiko scoffed. "Luck? You sure you're not cheating?"
Ray chuckled, but before he could respond, she subtly nodded toward the other players.
He glanced up - and finally took a good look at them.
Two of them were wearing armor. Castle guards, most likely.
That explained the tension. These weren't just scavengers throwing away their last shards. These were men who actually had power here - at least within the walls of the castle. That's what they believed at least.
Ray had been too focused on the game to care before, but now? Now he could see the irritation simmering behind their eyes.
The armored men shared a look, muttered something under their breath, and suddenly stood up.
Ray's attention snapped to them.
They turned away from the table, moving toward the exit. But they didn't pay.
Ray's expression darkened.
He set down his cards, exhaled slowly, and pushed back his chair. "You forgot something," he said, loud enough for them to hear.
One of the guards paused mid-step. The other one - taller, broader - barely even turned his head. "No, we didn't," he muttered.
Ray's fingers twitched. He hated this kind of crap. People thinking they could just walk over others because they had some authority.
He stood up fully now, his posture relaxed but his voice sharp. "You lost. You pay."
Aiko, who had been watching quietly until now, exhaled through her nose and leaned back in her chair. Such things were not uncommon, but there was little she could do.
The taller guard finally turned, facing Ray fully. His expression was bored. "And what if we don't?"
Ray met his gaze evenly. His tone didn't change. "Then you'll regret it. Have you already forgotten that just mere days ago a pathfinder died because of this exact situation?"
Ray's words caused the face of the guard to change in irritation, and with a deep frown asked, "Are you threatening us right now bastard? You think you can just walk away after doing that? We are direct guards under our lieutenant, Tessai."
'Of course, they are just gonna throw around the name of their superior… what a drag,' thought Ray hearing the answer.
The next moment, Ray's expression also lost his more or less playful touch, turning more serious, with a slight smirk Ray replied, "Well, we can surely settle this elsewhere if you'd like, but you should know, if it comes down to that crap, then your great lieutenant can't save you. This whole situation happened outside of your work, didn't it? So, decide, either you're gonna pay the few shards you owe me, plus some extra to Aiko for causing trouble, or we can have a little… 'chat', upstairs. In both cases will I get what I want."
Both guards could feel the intensity that Ray exuded. The shorter guard leaned over to his comrade, whispering something in his ear that Ray couldn't quite hear. Whatever it was, it was something the taller one seemingly didn't want to hear, visible by the irritation on his face.
"Tsk, Fine," said the taller one through gritted teeth. "We're gonna get the rest of the shards."
After those words, both guards continued on their way to leave the gambling den, this time to get the needed shards. Normally they would have fought more, or at least argued, but this time the other person firstly had an armor memory, probably weapons as well, and they didn't know him. This meant that the other person, someone from outside the castle, is able to hunt and kill enough nightmare creatures to get himself equipped like that, showing his strength.
While waiting, Ray just casually chatted with Aiko, just playing for the fun of it.
In these talks Ray was also able to find out that Kai was seemingly on some kind of mission given to him by the host. Aiko recalled that he came by that morning, and just spent some time here, chatting and playing around. It's been a few days since then, so technically he should be back soon.
Regardless, about 30 minutes after the guard duo left, they returned. Both handed over the required shards and then excused themselves, nearly rushing out again.
Ray took the shards and gave Aiko a few as compensation for this whole circus. He technically didn't have to, but it felt right, as they had become something like friends, though, both would probably say that they were mere acquaintances sharing a common friend.
With the new stash of shards Ray's goal was fulfilled, so he took his leave as well and made his way out of the castle. On his way out he, like most times he was inside the castle till now, mostly ignored other people, merely giving some polite nods of acknowledgement to some.
Once outside he initially wanted to head over to his house immediately, but as he didn't know what would happen, chose to make some preparations, changing his direction towards the outer most parts of the slums.
Ray would need to make sure he would not be interrupted while experiencing whatever would happen, just to be sure. Therefore, some measures need to be taken.