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The three of us ate our rations of bread and aged cheese in silence, listening to the wind. I tossed my last bit of cheese to Kah and smiled when he snorted with delight. Though still massive and intimidating, the bear no longer frightened me. He was beginning to feel like a friend.
I noticed Jeddak watching me from the opposite side of the fire, the corner of his lip twitching in amusement. When I met his eye, his attention shifted back to what he’d been focused on.
“What are you doing?” I asked, peering at him curiously.
“Come here, I’ll show you.”
I moved around the fire to sit beside him. He tossed a stone toward a small circle he’d drawn in the dirt about two feet away. The stone bounced, coming to rest inside the boundary.
“It’s a game,” he explained, tossing another stone. “The poor man’s version of rune dice, I like to say.”
“How does it work?”
He placed five acorn-size rocks in my hand. “There are three rounds. The first round, you try to get all your stones inside the circle.”
That didn’t look too difficult. Three out of five of his stones had already hit their mark.
When I raised my hand to toss the first one, he stopped me. “Wait, hold on. First you have to place your bet.”
“What?”
“You know, make a wager. It’s more fun when there are stakes involved,” he said with a mischievous grin.
“All right, I’ll wager all the silver pieces I have,” I said in a serious tone that hid my budding smile.
Jeddak chuckled. “I would be a fool to take such a bet, knowing your pockets are quite empty.”
“Perhaps,” I said, my eyes sparkling. “But you’ll never know for sure if I win. What will you wager?”
He thought for a moment, then held out his hand. “If that’s how you want to play, I will wager the Sword of Invisibility, my most prized possession.”
I smirked, glancing down at his empty hand. “Let me guess, you’re holding it right now.”
“Why, yes, I am.”
“Can we play already?” I said in mock seriousness.
In response, Jeddak tossed his remaining two stones toward the circle one at a time. The first one landed inside, the second one went too far.
“Blazenhell,” he muttered, leaning forward to collect them. “All right, it’s your turn. You’ll have to get five out of five to win this round.”
Concentrating, I tossed the first stone. It bounced to the right, landing nowhere near the small circle. The other four had similar trajectories. “No!” I shouted at the stones in dismay. This game was not as easy as it looked.
“I’m kind of wishing you did have some silver now.”
“Shut up. I’m trying again,” I said, grabbing the wayward stones and giving it another attempt. This time, only one stone landed inside the circle.
Jeddak threw his head back and laughed. “You’re truly terrible at this.”
I punched him in the shoulder. That just made him laugh harder.
“We’re never going to get to the second round at this rate,” he chuckled.
“It’s a stupid game anyway,” I said, though I couldn’t help laughing along with him. This was the most fun I’d had since—well, since I could remember.
He held up his hands in surrender. “Don’t hate the game.”
“It’s not the game, it’s this tiny circle you made that’s the problem.” I took a stick and drew a large circle around all five of my scattered stones. “There. I win!” I exclaimed.
