Jeremiah and Delilah set up their campsite near the anchors, away from most of the foot traffic. Allison soon joined them and tossed her bag amongst theirs. She didn`t mention her previous outburst, but there was an undeniable tension in the air as Delilah retied her sling.

　　Bruno reappeared once it was fully dark, practically vibrating with excitement. "Come on Jeremiah, we`re gonna play some cards!"

　　Delilah and Allison exchanged a look, but Jeremiah stood at once to join him. The thrill of cheating at cards with a bunch of cutthroats sounded like exactly what he needed. A bit of fun and mischief to lift his spirits would be a relief, and he was curious to see how they were going to cheat.

　　At the top of the stairs, Bruno handed him two silver coins. "This is the buy in. We`ll be betting mostly in coppers, though." Bruno showed him a small silver metal tin, similar to something that would hold makeup, and revealed a strange clear paste inside. "All I need you to do is play and, as you come across them, touch any aces, faces, or tens on the upper right corner with-" he took Jeremiah`s hand and lightly dipped a finger into the paste, "-this finger. If it`s a seven, eight, or nine, mark the upper left corner."

　　"That`s it?" Jeremiah asked. The sheen of the clear paste on the corners of cards would be pretty hard to spot.

　　"That`s it! Play conservatively at first, you need to encounter as many cards as possible to get the deck marked up properly. But if you`ve got a good hand, don`t be afraid to go for blood."

　　"Are you marking them too?"

　　Bruno shook his head. "Nah. They`d expect it from a guy like me, I`m gonna be watched like a hawk. But you? No offense, but you don`t exactly look like a card shark. Just someone trying to have a little fun."

　　"Any codewords we should use if something starts to go wrong?" Jeremiah asked. "I could still get caught."

　　Bruno considered him for a moment. "You don`t have to do this if you don`t want to. I hope you already know that. But if you start to think something bad is about to go down, I`ll be two steps ahead of you. If things start getting out of hand we leave our money and go. No need to spill blood over two silver. If things actually get violent, well, you know what to do."

　　Jeremiah nodded. "Raise zombies."

　　Bruno stared. "No. Don`t do that, just do the acid thing. That`ll be fine."

　　"Maybe. But if it comes to it, being revealed as a necromancer is still better than being dead."

　　Bruno groaned and rubbed a hand over his face. "Fine." He gestured toward the deck below. "Alright. Now you go and find a game, I`ll join up in a minute."

　　Once again Jeremiah descended the dark stairs. He navigated the crowded bowels of the ship, trying to act casual, until he spotted a group of nasty looking men and women around a makeshift card table in a small side room. A dwarf with thick iron piercings through the bridge of his nose nodded when Jeremiah flashed the silver coins Bruno had given him.

　　"You lookin` to play cards?" the dwarf growled. His dark grey beard was wet with the bottle of wine he was drinking, and Jeremiah noticed one of his eyes had been replaced with a sphere of gold metal.

　　"Yes indeed!" Jeremiah smiled broadly in what he hoped was a convincing fa鏰de of someone with more money than sense. "I love a good game of cards. Heard there was a two-silver game and had to come give my luck a go. Great way to pass the time."

　　The other players were all too ready to believe him. They included a brute of an orc with fully grown tusks jutting from his pronounced jaw, a gnome that kept packing more and more tobacco into his cheek, a human man with no teeth, and a human woman whose expression was a permanent sneer. They all had hard eyes and at least one obvious weapon. Jeremiah kept up his cheerful demeanor despite his nervousness. Only the orc and woman accepted an introductory handshake.

　　Jeremiah made small talk while they waited for any other takers. The orc`s name was Gagthu`k, and he was a mercenary who sent most of his money back home to his family in Invictus. The dwarf was Ballathu, he was partial owner of The Happy Hippo. The two humans and gnome weren`t very talkative.

　　Bruno sauntered up to the table, his hardened scowl making him indistinguishable from the other cutthroats. He threw down his coins without a word and scanned the table. He indicated no recognition of Jeremiah. Jeremiah kept up his side of the act by attempting small talk with Bruno and offering his hand, which Bruno refused.

　　Ballathu cleared his throat speaking with professionalism. "Ladies and gentlemen, I run a fast game. One copper minimum per hand. No hemmin or hawin. I deal the whole game. If you don` like it, you can leave." He placed a deck of thin wooden playing cards on the table. "Anyone who wants can inspect the deck now."

　　Bruno, Jeremiah, and the gnome all inspected the deck. Jeremiah commented on the impressive quality of the cards and meant it. Bruno tossed the cards back and forth, testing their weight. He smelled them and ran his fingers along their edges, he stared intently at their backs, searching for imperfections or markings, and finding none. But he did succeed in making everyone at the table suspicious of him and his apparent knowledge of card cheating techniques. All players satisfied, the first coppers were tossed to the middle and the game began.

　　As planned, Jeremiah played conservatively and marked as many cards as he could with the thin layer of paste on his finger. Even knowing exactly what to look for, he was unable to see the marks himself.

　　The human man and gnome were knocked out in two rounds after being goaded into all-or-nothing bets against Ballathu. After about seven hands, Jeremiah began to see the same cards again, and assumed that the deck was now fully marked. His task complete, Jeremiah`s role was to eventually be knocked out of the game by Bruno, who had all the information to win. But what was the harm in a little more fun?

　　Jeremiah started playing just aggressively enough to win a couple hands and stay above his two silver entry fee, taking his cues from Bruno`s bets. Soon the orc and the woman were knocked out, leaving Ballathu and Bruno far and away the coin leaders. Jeremiah managed to siphon off some of Bruno`s winnings, while Ballathu languished and bled coppers, much to his frustration. Eventually Bruno caught him out, and Ballathu was broke. To his credit, he accepted his loss peaceably and continued to deal.

　　Now that it was down to him and Bruno, Jeremiah enacted his plan. In the first round, he allowed his stoney face to slip and frowned, fiddling with his cards. His fidgeting marked them all on the upper right corner. He then folded. Over the next five hands, Jeremiah`s coins dwindled as he marked every single card as high and then folded.

　　"I`m not here for a fucking tea party," Bruno growled. "Bet or quit."

　　With his next hand, Jeremiah stacked his cards and viewed them by sliding them down, concealing the top corners from Bruno. Bruno didn`t seem to notice and started building the pot to force Jeremiah out of the game. After the third raise on Bruno`s part, the pot was substantial and Jeremiah had almost nothing left. Jeremiah casually flared his cards, exposing the marked corners, then raised the remainder of his coins. Bruno scowled and folded.Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

　　Jeremiah repeated the feat on the next round. His pile of coins had grown substantially. Near the end of the third round, he saw a flash of confusion in Bruno`s eyes, followed by insight.

　　Bruno laid his cards facedown on the table as if contemplating a bet, and his eyes flicked to the backs of his own cards. Then he glared daggers at Jeremiah, but only for a moment.

　　With a sickly sweet smile, Bruno leaned forward. "Look, I don`t have all night. How about this—you quit, and I`ll give you a silver for a good game."

　　Jeremiah adopted an air of bewilderment. "Why would I do that? I`m winning!" Bruno`s smile remained plastered on his face as he compared their piles and saw that Jeremiah was right, if only by a little. Jeremiah was nearly giddy with excitement. The seven silver and two copper on his side of the table was more money then he`d ever had.

　　"So you are," said Bruno. "Let`s fix that, shall we?"

　　The next few hands were an absolute massacre. Jeremiah couldn`t draw Bruno into anything that Bruno didn`t eventually win. Jeremiah excitement turned to cold sweat as his reserves dwindled; losing so much money so fast was fraying his nerves, even if he was in cahoots with his opponent.

　　As he circled the drain, Jeremiah noticed Bruno start to shift uncomfortably. His gaze kept returning to the door behind Jeremiah. Jeremiah turned without a hint of subtlety. The two humans and the gnome from before were blocking the door, arms crossed and staring Bruno down.

　　Ballathu noticed as well. "There a problem, gentlemen?" he asked as he stood from his chair. One of his hands rested on a small war hammer on his belt.

　　The human man spat on the floor. "These two know each other. My boy here saw em getting on together. They`re pretending like they don`t."

　　Ballathu shrugged. "Ain`t nothin` against the rules about that."

　　"They`re cheating!" said the man.

　　"I`ve been keeping an eye, and there`s been no cheatin. There`s nothin that would get past me, I know every trick there is and invented a few myself. Now quit bein` sore and get lost."

　　A ripple of indignation swept over the man`s face, but before he could answer Bruno stood, hands raised in a placating gesture.

　　"Relax, I don`t want any trouble. Here." He reached down and pulled six silver worth of copper and slid it across the table toward them.

　　The gnome and woman moved to grab the money, but the man stopped them.

　　"Sorry friend, but in the time you`ve been holding our money, it`s accrued interest. Skin interest."

　　At the words "skin interest", Jeremiah saw Bruno tense like a ballista ready to fire.

　　You`re going to make wonderful zombies, Jeremiah thought as he prepared to dive under the table.

　　The man drew a sharp curved knife and pointed it at Jeremiah. "I think I`ll take a lip from you." He pointed at Bruno. "And from you? Hmm& one of them tattoos would make a mighty fine patch."

　　A crowd had been gathering outside the door in anticipation of a fight. As the man spoke, however, the on-lookers seemed to evaporate. Behind the three aggressors, Jeremiah spotted Delilah in the doorway, brandishing the business end of her broken spear toward anyone who looked in.

　　The knife-wielding man finally realized something was wrong. He started to turn as Allison entered the room, her eyes steely and full of malice. Without taking even a second to analyze the situation, she punched the man in the kidney so hard he collapsed across the poker table.

　　Jeremiah ducked out of the way just in time, scurrying under the table to the opposite side. When he emerged, the man was lying face-up on the table as Allison straddled him and rained punches down on his face.

　　Coins rattled onto the floor with each blow. The man raised his knife, but Allison disarmed him and slammed it hilt-deep into his leg before returning to her reconstruction of his face. The man`s struggles got weaker and more defensive, and the eagerness of his comrades turned to dismay at the savagery.

　　Jeremiah climbed to his feet beside Bruno. Delilah held the crowd at bay with her spear. Ballathu, who had retreated into a corner, looked on in horror.

　　Allison`s face was red with effort, her hair whipping around her head. She let out a long warlike roar and shouted at the man while she bludgeoned him, every blow coming with a new accusation. "Bastard! Coward! Liar! Fucking monster!"

　　Allison`s fist came back with a fragment of tooth lodged in the knuckle. The sight seemed to break her berserker rage. She looked at the unconscious man beneath her, then directly at Jeremiah. But her face wasn`t the mask of rage he expected. Well, not just rage—he also saw hurt, sadness, and disappointment. Without another word, she rose to her feet and left.

　　The only sounds in the room were the gurgling wheezes of the beaten man, his face pummeled beyond recognition. As Jeremiah started to follow Allison, Bruno grabbed his shoulder, shaking his head in warning.

　　Jeremiah shrugged Bruno off and continued past Delilah and out the door. Allison had already vanished up the stairs to the top deck.

　　The chill of the night air was a relief. Stars twinkled between the clouds overhead as Jeremiah looked for Allison. He walked nearly the entire way around the deck before he spotted her.

　　She was slumped against the gunwale, looking out over the water, chin resting on her good hand. She seemed diminished. That attention-grabbing energy was nowhere to be found. Jeremiah realized he had no idea what he was going to say.

　　He leaned against the gunwale, leaving a fair amount of space between them for both of their benefits. Tears ran tracks down her face, but her expression was placid and disinterested.

　　"Please tell me one of them tried to stop you from coming up here," said Allison in a flat monotone.

　　"Bruno did, yeah," Jeremiah said.

　　Allison didn`t reply right away. Jeremiah gazed out over the water and wondered if coming up here had been a mistake.

　　"I`m tired," she finally said. "I`ve been so angry. I don`t think I have the energy to keep it up."

　　Jeremiah was tempted to reach over and touch her shoulder, but Allison probably didn`t need a lot of energy to break his hand. He tried to think of something comforting to say instead. "I`ll be out of your hair soon. Couple more days, then I`m gone."

　　More silence followed. After a minute or so, Allison asked, "That guy dead?"

　　"No. At least not yet."

　　"His friends cause any trouble?"

　　"Also not yet."

　　"If they didn`t yet, they won`t." Allison wiped her eyes on her sleeve.

　　She hadn`t lashed out at him yet. Jeremiah decided to take a chance and try a show of compassion. He reached out his hand and placed it on Allison`s shoulder.

　　"Ow," she said.

　　Jeremiah yanked his hand back, realizing he had touched her injured arm. "Oh gods! I`m so sorry!"

　　To his relief, she laughed a little. She sniffed and once more wiped her face on her sleeve.

　　"I`m sorry," she said, to Jeremiah`s astonishment. "I`ve been treating you like shit. If I`m not going to kill you, and apparently I`m not, I can at least be civil until you`re gone."

　　"I`d appreciate that," Jeremiah said.

　　Allison sighed, then straightened and faced him without any of the disgust or hatred that had been in her eyes. "Don`t get any ideas, I want you gone. I`m pretty sure what you do is evil, even if you might not be. But you can join us at Delilah`s place until we get your money sorted."

　　Jeremiah smiled. "Thanks."

　　"Can you go find Bruno and Delilah? We need to move our camp spot. Thanks to Bruno, we`ll be doing another round of double shifts and sleeping in armor."

　　Jeremiah nodded and left. The peace with Allison was as fragile as platinum filigree, and the longer he hung around, the greater the chance he`d destroy it by saying something stupid.

　　He ran into Bruno and Delilah hurrying up the stairs. "Oh, thank the gods you didn`t find her yet!" Delilah said, smiling with relief.

　　"I did actually," said Jeremiah. "I think maybe we`re going to be okay."

　　Bruno barked a laugh. "Who is this silver tongued devil that we`ve got following us?" He pulled Jeremiah into a headlock. "You thought you were so clever, didn`t you? Trying to pull one over on The Shadow of Dock Road Two! And now you`ve got the gall to talk to Allison and return without a single broken bone!"

　　Jeremiah laughed and slipped the headlock. "I almost had you! One or two more hands and I would have cleaned you out."

　　Bruno grinned. "Yeah, except you lick your lip if you`ve got something good, and you look at your hand twice as long if it`s a straight, cause you`re a typical double-checker."

　　"Were you looking for us?" Delilah asked.

　　"Oh yeah. Allison says to move camp, and that we`re doing double shifts in armor again because of what happened downstairs."

　　Bruno`s face fell. Delilah said, "You took care of the whole watch last night, I can cover you this one."

　　Bruno waved her off. "Nah, just lemme sleep til third shift and I`ll be ok. We`ll be home in a few days, I`ll live till then."

　　Jeremiah noticed the assumption that he still wasn`t allowed to pull any watches. Still not trustworthy, he thought.

　　Allison had already set up the campsite. Jeremiah bedded down and gazed at the stars as the others discussed the watch schedule, and despite his earlier misgivings he was grateful for a full night`s rest. It had been a long, long day.

　　As Jeremiah began drifting toward sleep, he heard a metallic clink. A silver coin had landed next to his bag.

　　"For a good game," came Bruno`s voice from the dark.