Isabella’s long-trusted attendant Alicia was deep in thought as she drew her seven cards. Several rules have been added, but the basics are still the same as standard rummy.
In rummy, efficiency and speed are king. It’s in the game’s nature that, no matter how skilled the player, they have to use the cards they draw to form melds of three or more cards; otherwise they can’t “go out” and reduce their enemies’ points. Furthermore, when another player goes out, the more cards remaining in one’s hand, the more damage they will take. In short, the faster a player reduces the number of cards in their hand, the better.
A rummy is worth three times the points under our rules, but aiming for it is a huge risk. For now, I should stick with the orthodox strategy and try to go out as fast as possible, Alicia thought.
Adek started the round. “Let’s see...” First, he drew a card. “Well, well! Luck seems to be on my side,” he said, placing a meld of three aces and a meld of three sixes on the table.
Drat! He already got rid of six cards, Alicia thought.
Adek then discarded one card, leaving him with one. He was already one step away from victory. Fortunately, the special “direct hit” rule they were using was only in effect when someone went out by making a meld of three or more cards, so there was no need to worry about triple damage at the moment. But the rest of the players would still lose points depending on the ranks of the remaining cards in their hands when someone went out. For that reason, they wanted to empty their hands quickly, even if they couldn’t go out.
Isabella only had 100 points. She couldn’t afford to let herself take a big hit.
It was Alicia’s turn next, so she drew her card. These are my cards, Mistress Isabella.
I hear you loud and clear.
Alicia was using popular telepathy magic with Isabella, which allowed the two of them to tell each other about their hands. Their enemies were likely doing the same. Alicia and the troll both had the goal of helping their own master win.
“Understood.” After learning Isabella’s cards, Alicia placed a meld of three jacks on the table. Then, she intentionally discarded one of her two sevens.
“I’ll be taking that,” Isabella said. As per rummy rules, she was allowed to pick up the card discarded by the previous player. She picked up the seven without delay and formed a meld out of the seven, eight, and nine of spades. She added another six to the meld of three sixes Adek had played to further decrease her cards. She finished her turn by discarding a king.
So far so good, Alicia thought.
Isabella now only had three cards left. Going out wasn’t exactly out of her reach, but her remaining cards had nothing in common. Unexpectedly, that wouldn’t be much of a problem. On the troll demon’s turn, it discarded a ten of spades. Instead of adding it to Isabella’s meld like someone trying to win would, it discarded it.
“I think I’ll take that card,” Adek said with a grin. He picked up the ten of spades and added it to Isabella’s meld of the seven, eight, and nine of spades, then discarded his final card. His face remained smug. “I’m going out.”
Dammit! Alicia silently cursed these absurd odds. He went out in only two turns. There was nothing they could’ve done.
Isabella had a two, four, and a queen left in her hand, meaning she would lose their sum of 16 points. The score became as follows:
Adek: 500 Points
Isabella: 84 Points
Isabella was already on the back foot.
But at least she avoided taking a big hit. Alicia was a little relieved.
If Isabella hadn’t gotten rid of as many cards as possible during her turn—for example, if she’d held her cards to aim for a rummy—she’d have lost an additional 30 points. Isabella already had a terrible gap between her points and Adek’s. Losing almost half her points in the first round would have been the nail in her coffin.
“Oh dear! You already lost points, didn’t you?” Adek said in a polite voice, laced with poison.
“Yes, I’m aware,” Isabella replied.
“I see, I see. Then are you also aware of what’s behind you?” As Adek closed his mouth, a grotesque transformation occurred behind Isabella. Her ordinary chair shifted into a snarling monster that was baring its large fangs at her.
“Mistress Isabella!”
The monster wrapped its limbs around Isabella. With a cacophonous growl, it sank its teeth into her shoulder.
“Ugh!” Isabella let out an uncharacteristic cry as her face distorted with pain.
“My, my, you’re showing impressive mental fortitude. That pain is so intense, some unlucky men die from the shock,” Adek said.
Bizarrely, while Isabella’s right shoulder had disappeared in the maw of the beast, from the elbow down, her remaining right arm still moved like normal.
“An ordinary game wouldn’t be entertaining enough. So, every time we lose points, a monster will devour part of our bodies and make them disappear. When someone loses all of their points,” Adek explained, a twisted grin warping his handsome face, “their body will be devoured until they fade into oblivion! Great, isn’t it?! Don’t you find it thrilling?! To experience an extravagant combination of dread and agony as your very existence disappears, piece by piece!”
“You have some sick tastes,” Isabella spat out.
“Ha, that may be so! But, please rest assured, my games are always fair. I have a monster too,” Adek said, gesturing behind himself. His own chair had transformed into a monster with a gaping mouth. However, his expression was fearless, as if the possibility of his defeat had never crossed his mind. “Let’s continue the game, shall we?”