xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Near Shirotsume Town, 2:40 p.m. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Alfana stepped inside her caravan followed by Warwick and then the group of Psycho Circus wizards and the Celestial Spirit duo. Inside, much larger than it appeared on the outside, was a big room that was lit with purple candles with black curtains propped up to give the room an ominous vibe with a table at the far end of the room with a lone crystal ball on top.
"This room is giving me a bit of a familiar feeling." Camilla commented as she looked around.
"That familiar feeling is my husband's handiwork." Alfana said as she put out some of the candles before walking over to one of the curtains, pulling it to the side.
Behind the black curtains was plain white walls that appeared similar to the walls in Bernard and Camilla's tent near the guildhall. Warwick, helping the fortune teller, proceeded to clean up the room by moving the curtains as well, the room now appearing more presentable with the reveal of a bed, a kitchen space, a door marked "bathroom" and a room that read "Warwick's Palace" on it.
'"Gross."' Bernard, Camilla, Marlene, Anatoli, Pietro and Corvus all muttered upon spotting the room with Warwick's name on it.
"Don't be a hater." Warwick said in response to everyone's negative opinions. "That's the place where I get my "real magic" going... You ladies want to see?" He continued before making a lascivious expression towards Marlene and Camilla, the pair of girls looking at him with disgust.
'"No."' Marlene and Camilla said bluntly as they backed away towards where Bernard and his pets were, hiding behind him.
"Warwick, behave." Alfana said towards the midget swordsman as he put his hands up with a smirk. "As I was going to say, Barnum outfitted the inner lining of this caravan with some of his tent cloth to give me more room. Plus, it helps my fortune seeking clients get this feeling of being "mystified" as they walk in." She explained towards Pietro.
"Fascinating." Pietro replied as Anatoli walked over to the kitchen space with Corvus flying over to where he was, opening up the fridge.
"Anything good?" Corvus asked.
"Nah, just piles of jars of red pickled beets." Anatoli said with disappointment as he closed the fridge door.
"Do not mock the beets!" Alfana exclaimed in annoyance in the direction of the crow Celestial Spirit and shirtless wizard. "They're very good with alleviating fatigue!" She shouted.
"Could you please not shout?" Bernard said with a tired expression on his face as Vulp looked at him with confusion.
'"...You're one to talk..."' Everyone besides Warwick and Alfana thought while looking at the beanie sporting young man.
"Mom, can you-" Bernard said, speaking up before Alfana cut him off.
"Bernard, I'm still talking, don't be rude." Alfana said with a stern tone towards her son as Bernard bit his lip.
"Guuuuuhhhh!" Bernard screamed mentally.
"The curtains were all set up for my clients if they had an appointment set for today." Alfana explained as she walked over to the table where the crystal ball was, sitting down on the chair closest to the orb with an ornate decorative backrest.
"Did we interrupt?" Pietro questioned.
"No. Thankfully today was a slow day. Before you guys arrived, I was doing something else." Alfana replied.
"Conceptualizing?" Marlene asked as Alfana nodded.
"Indeed." Alfana said with a smile as Corvus, Vulp and the other Psycho Circus wizards glanced at Bernard.
"...Wha-what?" Bernard said. "Why's everyone looking at me?" He thought, confused.
"She spends her free time coming up with ideas." Anatoli thought.
"Shouts randomly." Marlene thought.
"Messy hairstyle." Pietro thought.
"Minus the future sight..." Camilla thought.
"Definitely your mother." Corvus thought.
"What?!" Bernard exclaimed, not sure why everyone was looking at him.
"Bernard! No shouting in my home!" Alfana said, scolding her son once again as he looked at her with a shocked face and everyone began to smirk from the humorous reaction. "So anyway, you guys wanted to see where the money went, yeah?" She asked as everyone nodded.
"Finally..." Bernard muttered as Alfana looked at her son with half-closed eyes.
"Warwick, if you would be so kind as to get my project." Alfana said with a confident expression on her face as Warwick rolled his eyes.
"...Where'd you leave the dumb thing?" Warwick replied as Alfana's face turned into one of frustration.
"It's in the chest on the other side of the- you know what, fine! Forget it!" Alfana said as she got out of her chair. "Have to do everything myself..." She said as she walked over to a corner of the room where the aforementioned chest was. "And it's not dumb!" Alfana exclaimed as she turned back to look at Warwick.
"It's probably something that's going to give me a migraine..." Bernard thought as he folded his arms, wondering what his mother was grabbing.
"What do you think she's grabbing?" Camilla whispered towards Bernard, who only shrugged in anticipation.
Turning around, Alfana was holding a box in both hands that was covered in a black tarp that completely concealed it from everyone's view. Walking back over to the table and placing down the box, she looked around at everyone with a smile.
"Get excited, ladies and gentlemen." Alfana said with a sure tone. "Behold!" She shouted as she threw the tarp off of the box.
Looking on with surprise and confusion, the group stared at what was on the table and collectively tried to fathom what they were looking at. In front of them was a dark green and blue board game box with an image of a crystal ball and a series of tablet-like cards with numbers and animals on the box. In big bold letters of a lime green color was the words "Barendkoff: Fate Makers" on it.
'"...Huh?"' Bernard and everyone besides Warwick muttered.
'"Barendkoff: Fate Makers!"' Alfana said, reading off the words on the box as everyone moved around the table with Corvus landing on it.
"...What am I looking at?" Bernard said.
"It looks like a board game..." Camilla said with a raised eyebrow.
"It is a board game." Warwick said as he walked over.
"Indeed!" Alfana said as she pointed at Warwick. "With the money I received from my husband, Barnum, I finally got the opportunity to bring to life an idea I had for such a long time. A special one that-" She continued until getting cut off.
"What in the green hell is this?!" Bernard said as he slammed his hands down on the table. "You wasted four hundred thousand Jewels on a shitty board game!?" He questioned with a hostile tone as his mother's eye twitched.
'"Shitty?"' Alfana reiterated as the Psycho Circus wizards and Celestial Spirits made concerned faces.
"Oh no..." Camilla thought as she shook her head, expecting the worst.
"Whoa, easy there buddy." Anatoli said as he put a hand on Bernard's shoulder.
"Calm... Calm..." Marlene said as she did the same.
"...Alright... Gonna have to show him how it works... But first." Alfana thought as she looked at her agitated son before shifting her eyes towards Camilla, Pietro and then over at Warwick. "Actually, before I talk anymore about my super awesome game, I think there's a more pressing matter." She said while folding her arms.
"Yeah, like why the hell did you spend so much on a stupid board game!" Bernard exclaimed as Corvus and Vulp looked at their owner.
"Kid, seriously. Calm your butt." Corvus said, putting his wings up to try and calm him.
"No, it's about you, you, you and you." Alfana said as she pointed at Bernard and then at Camilla, Pietro and Warwick in that order. "A little discussion needs to be held about the next guild master." She said as Bernard's eyes widened with Camilla and Pietro's eyebrows raised.
"Now we're getting off topic about that again?!" Bernard thought with annoyance as Marlene and Anatoli looked at him.
"As you're all well aware, in most guilds, the guild master position is a very important job but the people in the running for it are under very specific circumstances." Alfana explained. "Typically, the choices range from members with the most tenure such as Pietro. Members who have reached the much sought after "S-class" position such as Camilla or Warwick." She continued as she looked at Pietro, Camilla and then Warwick. "Or they're direct family members of the previous guild master." Alfana said as Bernard turned his head away from everyone.
"We know about that already. Is there a reason you're bringing this up, Alfana?" Pietro asked.
"Pietro, do you have any desire to take over as guild master?" Alfana questioned as she looked at the mustachioed strongman, Bernard turning his head to look with intrigue.
"At one point in my life, I would have considered the job." Pietro said, voicing his opinion. "However, taking into account my age, I feel I'm more useful in an advisory role so if I'm being asked, I'd humbly decline the responsibility as guild master." He said as he shifted his eyes towards Bernard. "And there's someone here more qualified to handle our kind of guild." Pietro thought.
"Guh..." Bernard mentally grunted as he looked at the bald man, the group shifting their eyes towards Bernard now with judgmental expressions forming.
"Camilla?" Alfana said, catching the brunette's attention.
"Huh? Oh, uh... Nah. It's not for me either." Camilla said, waving her hands back and forth to signify a negative response. "I have enough on my plate already with the bar and the security work, I don't think I could handle that much more stress." She said while looking at Bernard. "I don't want to be the guild master... Just accept the job, your life ain't changing that much!" She thought whilst looking at the beanie sporting young man.
"Rgmmmm..." Bernard mentally grumbled once more as his eye twitched.
"Don't look at me like that... You get yourself bent out of shape..." Camilla thought while glaring at her boyfriend.
"I literally just said I'm willing to help you with the non-performing workload... Take this as a sign that your reluctance is misplaced." Pietro thought as he looked at Bernard, still making a bothered expression by the conversation happening.
"Is it seriously that hard to not ask for help when it's readily available?" Marlene thought as she stared at Bernard.
"You're giving off serious "douchebag" vibes right now, Bernie..." Anatoli thought, noticing Bernard's lack of verbal responses.
'"And don't you have an assistant now too?"' Camilla, Pietro, Anatoli and Marlene all thought simultaneously.
"Yo, what are we? Chopped liver?" Corvus said, catching Bernard's attention as he and Vulp looked at him, his face now turning red with annoyance and frustration.
"How about you?" Alfana said towards Warwick as the midget swordsman looked at her.
"I'll do it." Warwick said with a shrug and a nonchalant tone.
"That-... Wait..." Bernard said until cutting himself off. "Huh?" He mumbled with everyone except for Alfana turning to look at Warwick with surprised faces.
"Excuse me?" Pietro questioned.
"You..." Anatoli said.
"You want to be guild master of Psycho Circus?" Camilla said while pointing at the notably perverted S-class wizard.
"Believe it or not, me and old Barney fought to become the official first guild master of Psycho Circus when it got settled down in Hemlock all those years ago." Warwick said with a smirk as he looked directly at Camilla's chest, prompting her to cover herself.
"My face is up here, you dick!" Camilla exclaimed in rage.
"They had a fair one-on-one fight to decide the first guild master. My husband won." Alfana said, remembering the event. "Whomever takes over becomes the second guild master." She said.
"Which, given my level of importance in helping to name our guild, my overwhelmingly proven power as an S-rank wizard and my history of battling the previous master. I deserve the right to go up to bat next." Warwick said with a cocky tone.
"Yo, Bernie. Time to step up here!" Anatoli said towards Bernard with mounting concern.
"Huh?" Bernard replied in confusion.
"Throw your hat in to the conversation, please!" Marlene said with worry.
"What?" Bernard muttered.
"Say something." Pietro said with a serious tone towards the young man.
"..."Something?"' Bernard stupidly replied, unsure of what to say.
"No! Not that!" Camilla shouted. "Aren't you going to say something against this?!" She said as she got closer to Bernard's face.
"Why do I have to say anything about this?!" Bernard thought with sweat dripping down his face.
"Well... Then it appears we have a bit of an issue." Alfana said to catch everyone's attention. "Warwick seems to want the job. How about you, Bernard? Do you wish to be the guild master?" She said towards her son as the other wizards looked at him, expecting a specific answer.
"I... Uh..." Bernard said with a blue face of nervousness. "What the hell is even going on right now?! Weren't we supposed to be talking about a board game?!" He thought as he repeatedly turned his head to look at everyone.
"Not sure how the hell I'm supposed to help the kid in a situation like this." Corvus thought as he and Vulp could only look on at their owners struggling.
"Well... Uhhh..." Bernard said, beating around the bush as he twiddled his fingers.
"Hmmmm..." Alfana mumbled as she looked at her son before glancing over at Warwick, the midget swordsman noticing her looking at him.
"Kinda want to get back to Hemlock eventually." Warwick said as everyone turned to look at him.
"You're not allowed back in the town!" Marlene shouted.
"Only because of that deal made by Barnum and the town council to keep me out." Warwick said as he looked at Marlene's chest, causing her to cover herself just like Camilla did earlier in disgust.
"Realistically, if Warwick becomes guild master, he could renegotiate to come back." Alfana commented as she looked at everyone. "Ultimate Carnival drums up a lot of business for the town so the scale typically weighs in Psycho Circus' favor, if you know what I mean." She said with a casual smile.
"Huh?!" Bernard exclaimed.
"No!" Camilla shouted.
"You can't honestly be okay with this!" Pietro said loudly towards Alfana.
"I'm not in the running for the position, I have no weight to throw." Alfana said with a shrug as she looked at Warwick and then at Bernard.
"No, no and no!" Anatoli said while moving his arms left and right.
"Not like I haven't thought too much about it." Warwick said, speaking up to catch everyone's attention with a smug attitude. "I've had ideas for some change's I'd make." He said as everyone except for Bernard and his pets made worried expressions.
"...What?" Bernard said as he looked at the midget swordsman.
"You have ideas for the guild?" Corvus asked.
"Just some... Minor changes." Warwick said as he moved his eyes over towards Camilla and Marlenes exposed legs, prompting the two girls to turn towards Bernard and tightly grab his arms with their hands. "First thing I'd like to do is give the women in the guild some skintight uniforms to "accentuate certain physical assets." Sure to improve morale." He said as the girls trembled in fear.
'"Do. Something."' Camilla and Marlene thought simultaneously with furrowed brows and sweat dripping down their faces as they looked at him.
"Ow! Ow!" Bernard muttered as they tightly squeezed his arms with their bare hands.
"Then, I'd probably drop the Ultimate Carnival thing." Warwick said as everyone fell silent.
"Here we go..." Alfana thought with an eyeroll.
"In the time I've spent with Alfana travelling, I've gone to bars and the occasional bordello and asked if anyone knows about our guild." Warwick said as he put his hands behind his head in a casual manner. "Most people think our guild is just a performing troupe. I've always been privy to the idea that we should steer more towards adhering to general "wizard" stuff than circus stuff. Just so people can get the right message." He said while smirking at Bernard as the beanie sporting young man's face was twitching in slowly rising anger.
"You... You-" Bernard said, preparing to scream until getting cut off.
'"We're not dropping the show!"' Camilla, Anatoli, Marlene and Pietro shouted in opposition.
"Uh?" Bernard muttered, surprised by everyone's reaction.
"Whoa." Corvus mumbled in similar surprise as Vulp turned his head around at everyone.
"We've been practicing routines for years!" Marlene angrily said towards Warwick.
"That's the best way we make any Jewels in the guild!" Anatoli screamed.
"You can't just decide to cut the show from Psycho Circus!" Camilla exclaimed as Pietro reached behind himself and took out his magic wrestling belt.
"Uh, guys, I think-" Corvus said, trying to speak up before getting cut off.
'"Shut up!"' Camilla, Marlene and Anatoli exclaimed as Bernard looked on in bewilderment as Corvus put his wings up in a defensive manner.
"...Shouldn't I be the one acting like this?" Bernard thought as Anatoli started to glow from his magic and begun to crack his knuckles.
"Yo, shortie!" Anatoli said with an angry tone, catching Warwick's attention. "Reason I came out here was to kick your ass so I can become S-class. Fight me!" He shouted as he walked over to confront Warwick as Pietro put a hand on Anatoli's shoulder from behind. "Pietro, do not talk me out of-" Anatoli said as he turned back until noticing Pietro's serious expression with his magic belt on his shoulder.
"I'm not stopping you; I'm going to help." Pietro said with an angry tone. "I have enough problems with him making a comment about my sister... But him wanting to shut down the magic show is something I'm not standing for." He continued.
"Whoa, hold on, I can't become S-class if you help me fight the guy!" Anatoli said with a defiant tone as Alfana scratched her chin.
"Two-on-one's with three dudes aren't my kind of thing either." Warwick said with an annoyed voice as Marlene moved forward, holding a corked glass vial in her hand with a mysterious blue fluid in it.
"I'm not much of a fighter... But I want this jerk to just die so I'll help too!" Marlene screamed with a malicious look on her face and her forked tongue sticking out of her mouth, tightly clutching the vial in her hand.
"Oooohh... Nice face you got there." Warwick said as he looked at the reptilian-like young woman while grabbing the short sword handle on his back and removing it from the sheathe, revealing its dark green blade that appeared to be made from a different material than metal or steel. "Now we have a real party." He said, now showing more interest in engaging in combat.
"Hold on a minute!" Alfana said as she stood up from her chair. "I don't want a brawl breaking out in my home so if you want to fight, take it outside." She said as she pointed at the exit of her caravan. "Also... Camilla." Alfana continued.
"Hmmm?" Camilla muttered in response.
"I'll allow the S-rank trial against Warwick between these three. If all three of them can beat him, they all will become S-rank wizards of Psycho Circus." Alfana said with a calm expression to the surprise of everyone. "But I'd also like it if you could make a nice soundproof box outside to keep things quiet." She said as Camilla raised an eyebrow.
"...Why do you want me to do that?" Camilla questioned.
"Put it around the caravan to keep things in here safe. You're also welcome to help your friends fight Warwick." Alfana said as she looked at the S-class swordsman as everyone's eyes widened.
"Giving me a handicap now too?" Warwick questioned with a bothered expression on his face.
"Consider it a punishment for ogling Marlene and Camilla so much in my home." Alfana said with a critical tone.
"O-okay then." Camilla said, surprised by Alfana's request. "...Not sure how to feel about the rules being stretched when I had to work so hard to beat Warwick on my own... Then again, I'm not going to let him beat up Marlene, Anatoli and Pietro after what he said he wanted to do to the guild." She thought before shifting her attention to Warwick, glaring at him.
"Yo, can we get in on this?" Corvus said as he and Vulp looked at Warwick with confrontational expressions.
"That technically means I have to fight too." Bernard said until Alfana turned her head towards her son.
"Wait." Alfana said, catching everyone's attention. "I'd like it if Bernard and his little companions were to stay in here. I want to have a discussion with him." She said as Bernard raised an eyebrow.
"Greaaat- wait... No wait, this works out. I needed to ask her some things... And maybe figure out why the hell there's a super expensive board game on the table." Bernard thought.
"Well, let's make this quick. I want to get into town and see some pole dancers." Warwick said as he casually spun his short sword around as he walked out of the caravan.
"So gross..." Camilla said to herself.
"Let's go!" Anatoli said with a sense of passion, wanting to battle.
"Right." Pietro said as he began to put his belt around his waist as Marlene and Camilla followed behind the boys until Bernard reached his hand out and grabbed Camilla's wrist.
"...You think the guys are going to be okay out there?" Bernard asked as Camilla turned to look at him.
"I'll do everything I can make sure Warwick doesn't win." Camilla said with a slightly confident tone as she left, leaving Bernard with just his mother and the Celestial Spirits.
"So... Something you want to say to me?" Alfana said with her arms folded as Bernard sighed as he stood on the opposite end of the table.
"As if I had to ask." Bernard said with a disgruntled tone as he looked at the exit and felt the presence of one of Camilla's barrier boxes encasing the caravan. "You wasted a lot of money on a stupid board game! What is wrong with you?!" He asked in frustration.
"It's not stupid, it's incredible." Alfana said in response to her son's question.
"Incredibly stupid!" Bernard shouted.
"Once again, do not shout in my home, show some respect for your mother!" Alfana said as she sat back down. "Now sit." She said as she pointed at the chair next to Bernard, sighing in annoyance before complying.
"You said you wanted to talk to me about something..." Bernard said as Corvus perched on the backrest behind Bernard and Vulp hopped up onto Bernard's lap.
"Your father gives me regular updates on things at the guild and one of the things he told me about was your plan to make an animal show of sorts with the creatures you have been collecting." Alfana said with a patient tone.
"...Damn bowling pin sneaking peeks at my idea book." Bernard thought, mentally badmouthing his father.
"Mind telling me what you have thus far?" Alfana asked as Bernard raised an eyebrow.
"Well, the kid has me and Vulp. He also has a big lizard made of rocks, a freaky deer that likes murder, some stupid tiger who needs to take showers, a big mass of slime with spikes and a couple mindless homunculi things that some big boobed four eyes made." Corvus said, explaining Bernard's pet collection so far.
"What a way to describe everything..." Bernard said with half-closed eyes towards the crow.
"Am I wrong?" Corvus said towards the beanie sporting young man.
"I see." Alfana said with a calm tone. "So... If I'm correct, you not only came out here to ask about the money but something specific to that, right?" She said as Bernard winced, realizing that his mother understood why he was there.
"Oh yeah, you said something about that earlier." Corvus said.
"My son would like me to read his future." Alfana said as Corvus and Vulp looked at her before looking at Bernard.
"...Being up on the mountain and finding nothing to bring back made me realize that if I want to have a diverse array of creatures to entertain a crowd, I need to know what exactly I should get." Bernard explained as he looked at the pair.
"And he would like me to tell his future and tell him exactly where he can find them." Alfana said while folding her arms and closing her eyes.
"Huh... Smart idea actually if you know someone who can see the future." Corvus thought as he looked at Bernard's relatively serious face.
"Can you give me a palm read or a tarot session and then tell me what I want to know?" Bernard asked towards Alfana.
"...What's the magic word?" Alfana said, demanding respect from her son.
"...Please, mom?" Bernard said as he held his head down in shame, Vulp stretching his prehensile tail behind him on Bernards lap to comfort his owner from the embarrassment by rubbing his lower back. "Thanks for the rub but it's not helping..." He thought as he looked away from everyone.
"Pfff..." Corvus sputtered in laughter as Bernard turned back to glare at him.
"No." Alfana said bluntly as Bernard and Celestial Spirits looked at her.
"What?!" Bernard angrily replied as he sat up slightly.
"I'm not going to read your future." Alfana said with a calm voice.
"Oh come on!" Bernard shouted angrily as Alfana glared at him.
"Hey! Hey! Hey!" Corvus said towards Bernard to keep him from acting up. "Pretty mom of the kid, can I ask you something?" The crow said as Alfana raised an eyebrow. "Why won't you read his future? It'd help us all out if you did." Corvus said as Bernard nodded repeatedly while still looking at his mother in annoyance.
"Me and Barnum have an agreement never to take the excitement of the unknown out of our son's hands." Alfana said while looking at Bernard, whose eyes widened in response.
"What the hell does that even mean!?" Bernard exclaimed.
"I have no intention of ever reading your future. Me and your father believe that it'd be cruel to give you the exact specifics of how your life is going to turn out and rob you of that feeling of accomplishment when you do succeed." Alfana explained.
"You're a fortune teller! Your whole job is spoiling things!" Bernard replied in a critical tone.
"Yes... For complete strangers I meet only once or twice and take money from. Or from members of our guild who are aware of what I can do... But you are a completely different case and I object to the notion of reading your immediate future and as your mother, I wish you would show some respect to that." Alfana said with a serious voice.
"You got to be frigging kidding me! I came out here to figure out where that money went and to get my fortune told to help out the guild. Now I am being told I can't get my palms read and the money was wasted on a board game!" Bernard said as he slumped back in his chair, looking up at Corvus on the backrest.
"...Always unable to see the forest through the trees..." Alfana scoffed, causing the trio to look at her as she stood up.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Corvus questioned as Alfana walked over to where Bernard was sitting.
"The reason I asked for everyone to leave the caravan to fight outside and keep the sound down was because I know you came for your fortune to be told." Alfana said with a serious tone as she looked down at her son. "I made it perfectly clear I am not going to tell you your future... That doesn't mean I'm not going to help find your future." She said as she reached over towards the box on the table as Corvus and Vulp looked at each other with confusion.
Opening the box of "Barendkoff: Fate Makers," Bernard looked inside to find several stacks of card-like tablets, all facing down and one very large and round Lacrima orb on a small stand. Confused, Bernard watched as his mother took out the Lacrima orb and placed it in front of Bernard.
"What is this?" Bernard asked.
"This is "Barendkoff: Fate Makers."' Alfana said with a smile forming on her face. "My fortune creating board game." She explained.
'"Creating?"' Corvus reiterated.
"Correct." Alfana replied. "For years, I've had the ability to see the future and the past of others just by using the basics of magical readings. Most people think fate is set in stone and events in the future are going to happen regardless of whether one knows it or not." She continued as Bernard raised an eyebrow. "But that's not entirely the case." Alfana said.
"What do you mean?" Bernard said. "I've never asked my mother about how her talent works... I always assumed it was pretty simple." He thought as he looked at her.
"The future is a malleable concept, able to alter at a single slap of the jelly that keeps it together. Much like the magical Ethernano that's all around us. Magic can be affected by time, but time can also be affected by magic. Believing your future is going to happen in a very specific way is a poor man's view of the concept of fate." Alfana said with a "know-it-all" tone. "With this game, fortune is created by the hands of the player, not the person reading it such as myself." She continued.
"I'm... Getting kinda lost here..." Corvus said quietly towards Bernard and Vulp, who both nodded in agreement.
"Barendkoff is a magic board game. It's not a game of divination, it's a game that forms the fate of the player." Alfana said with a smile on her face as Bernard looked down at the game box and the Lacrima.
"The game... Makes fate?" Bernard thought as he and the Celestial Spirits stared at the box, attempting to fathom what Alfana said.
"So, I won't be reading your potential future. Instead, you and I will play a round of Barendkoff." Alfana said as Bernard looked at his mom with his jaw dropping.
"Wait, but how does this work though?!" Corvus exclaimed, not sure what she meant.
"Barendkoff doesn't predict the future. It forms it. The player, in this case, my son, will play a full round with me and when it's over, the events of the game will reveal details of what will happen to him in his future by altering the chains of fate to make it so." Alfana said as she walked over to the kitchen and reached into a drawer, pulling out a box of matches.
"Whoa! Whoa! Hold on!" Bernard said as Vulp hopped off his lap as he stood up from the chair. "I don't even know the rules to this thing! This seems pretty risky to just make my fate occur based on random odds in a magical board game!" He shouted as Alfana lit a few matches and started walking over to the purple flamed candles that were put out earlier.
"I'll explain the rules when we play, for now, help me set up the room. Go pull the curtains over." Alfana said, requesting her son help her.
"Why?" Bernard questioned.
"What board game isn't more fun with the right atmosphere?" Alfana said with a tone that made what she said sound obvious. "Aren't you a concept creator for circus shows? Surely you have the same viewpoint?" She said, criticizing her son who was once again twitching in annoyance before walking over to one of the black curtains to help set up the room.
"Grrrr..." Bernard grumbled.
"There's a fight going on outside we can't hear and we're inside playing a reality warping boardgame... What even is today?" Corvus thought as he looked at the members of the O'Halloran family setting up the inside of the caravan to play Barendkoff.
It's "Barendkoff: Fate Makers!" The hit new board game that's sweeping the nation- and I've just received a cease and desist because the rules of how the game will be played will be revealed next time... Well okay then. Entering Alfana's home, Alfana has revealed she spent the lump sum of Bernard's loan on the development of a mysterious board game of a magical nature. With the issue of the successorship of the guild sparking a war between the potential next guild master, Warwick, and the opposing side of... Everyone. The group heads outside to fight Warwick while Bernard and his pets stay inside to play a round of Barendkoff with his mother. She won't read his future to help him find the monsters he will obtain but instead will leave it up to Barendkoff. Will the rules be sensible!? Will it be sold in my local mega store?! Can I buy a copy so I can find out if I will ever lose all this weight that I've been amassing from the holiday season?! Find out next time on Menagerie II!
Author's Note: (The name "Barendkoff" is a completely made-up word that doesn't exist. I'll be explaining the rules in the next chapter and no, there's no d20.)