The Uncrucified [ALPHA] - Ch.5 - Cynis Varia's Lucky Charm

RATING: PG
- Gambling

            Over the course of the next few months, Kalara found herself embroiled in a secret night life.  Varia encouraged Sana to be more active in her social circles and in promoting their bathhouse businesses.  He became intimately aware with her social calendar, slotting in secret gambling meetups on the nights she was away.  Thankfully for Kalara, Sana still preferred to take a Realm servant with her to her social outings, rather than a lowly Southern girl.  Sana would think Kalara was home helping to take on more of the duties of household maintenance when, in fact, she embarked with Varia on one adventure after another.

            Kalara was becoming more adept at signaling to Varia the longer the games went on.  Soon, she had invented a whole language to communicate with him, from which hand she led with to pour water, to whether she held the spout facing inwards or outwards when she was standing reticent awaiting his orders.

            The games held in sordid parlors gradually turned into more upscale and legitimate locations in the upper quarters.  Varia had finally won enough to be allowed into the high stakes games.  This time, they were to attend a game at the grandiose estate of an urban Delzhan, a lord by the name of Terash.  While he no longer wandered the dunes like his desert-dwelling ancestors, he had made a reputation for lavish parties with even more extravagant guests.  The best high stakes games in town happened at his massive estate by invitation only.  True to his warrior nomad heart, however, a night of partying wasn’t over until someone had been stabbed in a duel or first blood reaped by some exotic weapon he’d procured for his collection.

            For this particular night of games, Kalara had been instructed by Rij to don the garments left in her quarters.  The curious pile of gauze and shimmer was like nothing she had ever seen before.  She barely knew how to put it on and struggled longer than usual to make sense of it.  When she finally got the dress on, however, she was sure part of it was missing, for the dark gold dress hung low across the breasts and shoulders suspended only by delicate gold chain and gauze shoulder straps.  Gold sandals laced up to her knees matched the thematic color. 

Another one of the servants chided her playfully for her ignorance as she helped Kalara make up her hair.  A single carved jade hair stick with a gem on the end suspended her hair in a bun high on her head, with flyaway strands accenting her long bared neck.  A modest dusting of gold powder and kohl applied to her eyes and cheeks with a touch of rouge on her lips against her dark complexion completed the look. Any more adornment than that would be unseemly for a slave, minus one final touch of rose oil to her neck and wrists.

Rij nodded approval when he saw Kalara’s appearance and guided her to the carriage.  When she entered, still awkwardly trying to keep the dress in place over her nipples, Varia nearly choked on his pipe.

“By the gods, girl! You do shine up nice!” He seemed genuinely surprised at that and gestured to her, setting his pipe aside. “Yes, this is perfect for tonight.  Don’t you see?”  He grasped her hands, overjoyed with his own genius.  The gesture surprised Kalara, but she didn’t pull away.  For a second it almost felt like maybe he was talking to her like he actually cared about her as a person.

“You’ll be the perfect distraction for the dealers at the game. Yes, yes!”  Varia grasped her hands firmly in his excitement, moving them up and down with his.  “This will be the night!”

Kalara reflected his overjoyed grin with a smile of her own.  It felt good to be appreciated, no matter the dynamics behind it.  He finally released her hands and leaned back in his seat, so excited that he was humming and singing a tune the entire ride.

Once they were outside, Varia clapped his hands. “Oh! I almost forgot!”  Turning to Kalara, he removed a small velveteen box from his robe. From within it, he pulled a simple gold chain, making Kalara blush as he moved behind her and placed the cold metal on her skin, his breath on her neck.  The jade coin of Luraname fell into place just above her breasts.

“The perfect accoutrement for my Lucky Charm!” As Varia said ‘lucky charm’, he moved in front of her, grasping her chin affectionately in his fingers and smiling.  With that final detail in place, he moved onwards, making his way up the path to the venue with a swagger in his step.  Kalara fell in behind him as usual, marveling at his grand act.  If he won tonight, his debts would be paid and he’d have enough capitol to buy out his competition.  Maybe things would be better now?  Maybe if Varia approved of her, Sana might approve of her some day as well?  She had been loyal and resourceful and her master was finally a kind one when others had only tolerated her presence, if they acknowledged her at all.

            But now was no time to think of the future, the grand estate sprawled out in front of them, beckoning them inwards with the far-off laughter of the games.  A sprawling manmade moat filled with water lilies and floating candles surrounded the grounds, an amazing show of decadence for a desert city.  More lanterns and ribbons ran across the cypress trees leading to the heart of the estate.  Rose petals dotted the carpeted path laid out for important guests, such as Varia of House Cynis and his attendant.  Huge teak doors carved with rearing horses and great desert battles had been swung open wide, the light within beckoning them inwards.

            Once they passed the main entry, a servant immediately retrieved Varia’s traveling coat and pipe.  Other servants checked Kalara over briefly and handed her a pitcher of fine wine that had been chosen specifically to her master’s tastes.  Some guests milled about the main hall enjoying Terash’s grand collections.  Countless weapons displayed on ornate custom built racks lined the polished sandstone walls.  Kalara didn’t have time to gawk at them as she struggled to stay focused and keep pace with Varia.

If she thought the grand hall was amazing, the inner courtyard was another layer of wonders!  It opened to a sky full of stars and more tables overflowing with food and fresh flowers than Kalara had seen in one place.  The buffets lined the outer areas while guests mingled amongst rare flowers and hedges imported from every corner of Creation.  Irrigation connected from the moat in the outer walls brought water in to nourish the garden and fuel the large fountain in the center.  Placed strategically amongst the garden, illusionists cast glowing butterflies and birds that flitted amongst the guests.  Here and there, peacats wandered the garden delighting guests with their magnificent show of colors and extravagant tail feathers.  Again, Kalara found herself gawking and falling behind Varia a few steps more than she should have.

“Varia!”  A loud voice called from above drawing their attention to their gracious host. Terash al Zalan Rabayyan descended the stairs from the upper balcony with a confident stride. 

As was custom for Delzhan men, a veil made of gold links interspersed with crystals covered the lower half of Terash’s face, though it did nothing to suppress his loud, abundant laughter.  His striking amber eyes were made all the moreso by a thick line of khol that traced below his eyelids exaggerating his piercing stare.  A thin line of gold just near his eyes outlined the dark wings of khol below them. A fine white silk tunic layered with gilded embroidery adorned the rest of him, red sashes with the patterning of his clan bound the kaftan around his waist.  The ivory hilt of a saber carved in the shape of a horse’s head and accented with gold leaf hung at his side. 

Terash’s extravagance and expansive weapons collection earned him his popular sobriquet, The Prince of Boundless Blades, or the Decadent Dervish, as his detractors called him.  He had earned a large portion of his wealth from previous raids conducted by his ancestors, who were rumored to have hidden the treasure of one particular raid on a sorceror’s keep in a place only Terash knew of, or so the rumors said.  They also said the artifacts of that raid allowed him the garish wealth it took to keep an estate fountain running in a city parched by the desert. 

Terash, himself, had never been on a single raid, leaving such things to his country cousins that still roamed the deserts while he preferred to do business in the city.  Either way, he did nothing to dissuade the wild rumors, enjoying the mystery they assigned him.

True to Delzhan hospitality, Terash greeted Varia as if he was his best and dearest friend by embracing the Dynast in a heartfelt hug twice in a row, once for each shoulder.  “Varia!  So good to see you, my friend!”  Terash glanced over at Kalara, who, in sensing his gaze on her, bowed immediately out of respect, as was her place.  Unbeknownst to her, the motion of bowing showed off the ampleness beneath the dress and much more, which made the horse lord laugh.

“Hah!  And such a…lovely attendant, too.” Terash’s smile peeked out from between the crystals and chain of his veil.  He turned his gaze from Kalara and gave Varia a sidelong look.  “You wouldn’t be trying to distract my dealers, would you, Varia?”  Terash was no fool, it seemed.

Varia merely laughed in response, waving his hand in a dismissive motion.  “Don’t disparage a wise man his good taste in servants!”  He waved off the idea with casual expertise in deflection, even though it was plain to both men exactly what Varia was up to.

“I won’t begrudge the clever fox his advantages if he was smart enough to realize them.”  Terash quipped, matter-of-factly.  “Such distractions are not against the rules, the same rules which I expect all players to adhere to under my hospitality, lest they seek to be intimately introduced to my handsome collection of blades.” 

The not so veiled threat hung in the air for a moment before Terash gave Varia a clap on the back. “Come!  You must see my new acquisition from Gethamane!  It’s a wondrous piece with orichalcum inlay.  You really must see. Come, come!”  Varia found himself led by the shoulders towards the weapon hall whether he liked it or not.

Still unsure of what exactly spurred the sudden change of topic, Kalara hurried behind them.  The night had only just begun, the participants of the tournament encouraged to make merry and enjoy themselves before the games would officially begin.  Terash introduced Varia to one dazzling blade after another, while Kalara followed behind, pouring wine for both men as needed and silently observing their magnificent surroundings.  It took effort not to gape at such a wonderland of opulence she had never experienced before.

Eventually, Varia disappeared with an insistent Terash to the dance floor, where a circle of people had joined in a communal dance the Delzahn knew.  Varia was terrible at it, but it was fun to watch him try to pick up the steps.  Finally left on her own,  Kalara took the opportunity to rest her feet in a seat in a flowering alcove just far away enough that she could keep an eye on Varia, but still catch her breath.  She sighed deeply, still dazed by the surreal events of the night and happy for a quiet reprieve.

“My, my, but you do clean up nice, girl.”

A vaguely familiar voice snapped her attention to a shadowed figure that stepped into the light just behind her.  She might have known him from the opposing hemispheres of his red and black robes, except that tonight he wore much nicer fare trimmed with embroidery, his wild white hair had been tamed into a ponytail at the nape of his neck.

The Serene Viper smiled, his strange mismatched eyes regarding her in a way that sent chills up her spine.  Kalara clutched her pitcher of wine closer as he took a seat next to her, sipping his own glass casually.

“How is your mistress these days.  Doing well, I trust?”  He chatted as if he was a friend of the family.

Kalara crinkled her nose in disgust and kept her distance.  She wasn’t fond of Sana, but neither did she want to dignify this snake with a response.

“Aww, so cold, little canary.”  He remarked on her gold attire with the name.  “This is the deadline, after all.”

Kalara’s head whipped towards him as she tried to process what he meant.  But she held her tongue, too afraid to engage him directly by herself.  The snake grinned at her indecisiveness.

“I collect your master’s debt tonight.  Whether it be in gold…or flesh.”  He tilted his gaze towards her, smiling serenely, despite the grim nature of his words.  Kalara didn’t like the ambiguity in his usage of the word ‘flesh’.  Did he mean Varia’s or something else? 

“May Laruname be with us!”  He raised his glass in Kalara’s direction and took a long sip.  At that, the Viper rose, offering her an elegant bow, though his strange eyes remained fixed on her as he did so.  His mismatched stare chilled her to the bone, leaving her prickled with gooseflesh.  She was relieved when Varia came back to her, out of breath and laughing at his poor rhythm.

When Kalara looked around for the Serene Viper, he was nowhere to be found, as if he were just a nightmare that had stolen its way into this grand dream and disappeared, like an unremembered figment come the morn.