Ch 2.55: Fairness

“Okay,” Tira said, leaning up against one of the support beams holding up the workshop roof, “we have our entry fee sorted out thanks to generational wealth, but we still need to figure out what happens once we’re inside. Flora, what do you know?”

“Why don’t you start with what you know? You were supposed to be getting info too, you know,” Flora replied while sitting on one of the sawbenches.

“I really don’t think you should be up there,” Elaina said, glancing over from her sewing machine. “I don’t even know if you’re allowed in here at all. And shouldn’t we wait for Carly?”

“She said she’d be late, might not make it at all,” Flora said as she hopped down and started wandering around the shop. “Medicine’s a really intense course, apparently. Anyway, what do you know, Tira?”

Out the corner of her eye Elaina saw Tira blush and turn away. “I couldn’t find anything out. People wouldn’t talk to me, just thought I was trying to bust them or something…”

“Hmmph!,” Flora said as she hopped up onto one of the anvils a ways away. Elaina sighed, thanking chance that the shop happened to be empty now, and praying that Professor Sylvas wouldn’t come by to check things. “Guess it’s all up to me then.

“Twenty gold entry fee, unlimited entrants. You get a certain number of chips for entry, and pick a table to play at. A table’s game starts when there’s eight players, and then plays until there are only two people with chips left. Those two go on to the second round, and everyone else is eliminated.”

“And what’s the second round?” Tira asked.

Flora shrugged. “All hush-hush. People seem to think it’s still poker, but no ones sure what the rules are.”

“I don’t really know poker,” Elaina said, cursing her own lack of knowledge. She’d have to somehow learn the game in only four days, on top of making the dresses. At least the newfangled sewing machine was working well. Getting used to the hand-crank machine was taking some time, but she thought it would be beneficial for time overall.

“Doesn’t sound like you need to know it that much,” Tira said.

“Why?” Flora asked. “We’ll need as many chances to get into the second round as we can.”

“Nope. Not how this is gonna work,” Tira said as she started pacing around the area, driving Elaina’s anxiety to the max as she walked through all the machinery. “Eight player tables, and you choose which one you play at. Sound strange to you?”

Elaina stopped cranking the machine, wiping sweat from her brow and looking back up to Tira. “Not really, means we don’t have to go up against each other though. Sounds like we can just pick two tables, and try our best to win the two spots at each of them.”

“Yeah, that sure is what it sounds like. But that’s not how things are going to play out. We do that, and we guarantee none of us get in. We’re going to need to be at the same table, and two of us will need funnel our chips to the others to give them the best chance at winning.”

“Isn’t that cheating?” Elaina asked, turning to Flora. “Like, that’s against the rules, right?”

Flora pursed her lips, furrowing her brow in though. “No, the rules I said were supposed to be comprehensive, at least for the first round. There wasn’t anything about collusion.”

“And I’m not gonna be the only one with this idea,” Tira said. “It’s the logical result of the system. If eight people show up, they get two people guaranteed to make it to round two. But you don’t even need to go that far; a team of five can still easily win the table, and make sure the other three entrants at their table don’t have a chance.”

“So we lose automatically if we just show up in twos?” Elaina asked, trying to reconcile how the bizarre system would work. “Isn’t that completely unfair?”

“Yes,” Tira said. “But it’s going to make them a shit ton of money. People as rich as Flora and Carline are going to bankroll groups of friends to make it through to the second round, and the slightly less wealthy and shrewd will throw their money completely away trying to pull off some hero win.”

“Just another one of these fucking things,” Elaina murmured to herself.

“What’s that?” Tira said.

“Elaina!” a voice said as the door from inside flew open, revealing a panting Carly clutching a giant book to her chest. “Good there you are,” she said as she ran over, throwing the book down onto the desk next to the sewing machine.

“Carly, aren’t you supposed to be studying?”

“No time,” the girl said, opening her book and then shoving it under Elaina’s face. “You have to see this.”