Frederick looked around and noticed you sitting there with a terrified expression on
your face.
"Shall I fetch the guards to escort him out?" he asked.
"No," Spelstorm said in nonchalant way,"In fact, I find poker more interesting with a
group. Sir?" he asked you,"Would you care to join us, or would you prefer to sit in that
chair and stare at us all night?"
"Uh...okay," you reply, unsure if this is a trap. You wonder whether Jonathan or your
friends have met any of these ghouls yet, and if theirs were as nice.
"Right," the werewolf boy said,"My name is Maximillion Spelstorm, though you may call
me Max, and this is my butler, Frederick."
"Good evening," Frederick greeted with a nod.
"I am the owner of this mansion and all of its employees. And you are?"
"Ryan Ford," you answer.
"Well, Mr. Ford, I'll just deal you in then. Remember, deuces are wild." Max dealt you
five cards and opened a wooden box which contained wagering chips. "How much?"
"Uh, just twenty." That was all you had in your wallet.
"Very well." He tossed you twenty one-dollar chips. "Look at your cards, everyone."
Your cards were: the Ace of Spades, the King of Spades, the Jack of Spades, the Ten
of Spades, and the Queen of Hearts. A good hand if you got the right card. Since you
were clockwise from Max, you went first. You put your Queen of Hearts down and hit.
Your new card was unbelievably the Queen of Spades. Frederick put down two and
Max took three. Max started the betting, throwing a chip in to which both you and
Frederick followed. You were sure you were going to win, after all, you had a royal
flush. Max threw in another as his wager. You met his chip and raised him two.
"Quite confident," Frederick commented before seeing the three and raising it one.
"I'm out," sighed Max.
You, however, raised the bet by another two.
"Too steep for me," Frederick said and folded.
"Alright, what did you have?"
"A royal flush," you exclaimed, showing your hand.
"Unbelievable," Max complained.
"See, Master Spelstorm, just because you have bad luck doesn't make me a cheater!"