Rise of the Godking

"Your chance. Roll."

The sound of the dice rolling around in the circular cup in his hands didn't go very far in the common room of the inn that was empty, for the most part, except for a few clustered around him, and his opponent.

As if he had done it a million times before, he shook the cup until he was satisfied, then spilled the contents on to a scooped out wooden bowl between them. As the dice came to rest at the bottom, where there was a flat surface, the one across Daneel clapped his hands and grinned.

"Five and six. I win!"

Surrounding the wooden bowl, on top, were coins of gold, silver, and bronze. Right now, a couple of the golden ones went to the side of his opponent, and even though he didn't really need to bother with it, Daneel sighed and looked as if he was as dejected as anyone else who had just lost their bet.

A single look around told him that no one was paying too much attention. This wasn't the first time he was doing this; the last two times, he had left when the system had told him that a few eyes were lingering on his back, but now, it looked like it was finally safe to gather the last of the information that he needed.

"My turn to bet. 12 below, 17 above. Five gold. Alright?"

The game was a simple one. Players could choose a range of numbers that their dies could show, added together. If they succeeded, their bet would double. If they didn't, they would lose whatever they had bet.

It was simple enough that one didn't really need to focus on it with all their mind, and this was exactly why Daneel loved it so much.

He took his time picking up the dice from the bowl. The man had relaxed, too, after winning back most of what he had just lost. This was the perfect moment that Daneel had chosen to strike in all such encounters so far: the moment when one felt relief surging through them as they were returned whatever they had thought had been separated from them forever.

His opponent's head was turned to the right, right now, showing a faint scar on his chin. He was searching for one of the maids so that he could get a drink for himself, so when Daneel's question reached his ears, he answered without thinking about it. 

"So… I heard that there was a battle last year? Did any of them get inside?"

"Yeah… the fools couldn't get much done, though. With our help, Captain Malik threw them out before they could kill anyone! That's the captain for you! His idea to drill us along with the soldiers was truly brilliant…you! Beer, over here!"

With a nod, Daneel set his eyes on the cup that was actually a coconut, dried and somehow solidified before having its outside stitched with leather. The sound of the dice rolling inside was pleasant to the ears, but something that sounded even better was heard in his mind.

[Outcome?]

"Negative."

[Affirmative.

Interpreting sound to calculate rolling of dies. Taking over control of host's body to make minute adjustments. Ready to roll. Deploying the roll.]

As soon as he heard the last word, the dice fell on the bowl, turning round and round in a precise manner while the man watched, trying to act casual but failing miserably due to the perspiration beading on his forehead.

They came to rest at the bottom, showing 13. The man's grin returned. And Daneel knew that this was another chance he could use.

"Damn… seems out of luck. Heh, just like those fools who tried to attack you. Say…did they try to infiltrate and attack you from the inside?"

The man was absorbed with pulling over the gold he had just won to his side, but Daneel patiently waited. The cup had to be passed on if the game was to continue, so because he was still holding it, the man looked up and answered in an offhand manner.

"Oh… they tried, but there are always a portion of the guards assigned to take care of internal affairs. They keep an eye on anyone causing trouble…so there is no chance of anything happening inside. You gonna leave? Or do you want to go again?"

The man was getting greedy. Daneel shrugged before passing him the cup. He only had one last question to ask, so after another roll that went badly for him once again, he said, "Yeah… After one last roll, I'm done for the day. I did hear that they made a last-ditch effort just like me…through the sewers, right? Whatever happened to them?"

"One last roll, it is! They were massacred by the guards always kept in reserve to protect our king…and in the same way, get ready to be massacred once again! Er, I mean…who knows? Your luck might just turn!"

Daneel almost chuckled due to the man's inept attempt to keep him in the game. With a shrug, he said "My Da' always said, 'in for a feather, in for the bird.' I'll bet everything you won from me and all of your money for this."

The man's eyes almost popped out of their sockets as he saw the stack of crimson processed crystals that Daneel took out of his pocket. He stared at it, greed glazing over his face, but with a shake of his head, he recovered and said, "You sure? They're definitely of more value, right?"

With a wry twist of his mouth, Daneel replied, "Yes…but how else would I get you to bet so much? This is all I have. If I lose it, I can quit gambling forever…and that's what I want to do. So… shall we roll? My turn to bet. Three under, eighteen above. If I'm gonna go, I'll go out with style!"

It was one of the toughest rolls, and one that no one seriously playing the game would bet on. The chances were very low as there were only a couple of possibilities…and his choice worked as intended as he gave the perfect impression of one truly looking to challenge the heavens for an excuse to quit a bad habit.

Hiding away the smile that came on his face, his opponent nodded and took out the money he had put back in his pockets. The rule was that anything being bet had to be out in the open; apparently, it had originated so that the loser wouldn't find it easy to run away without paying his due.

As Daneel shook the cup, the burly man's eyes fixed on to it as if he wanted look inside, and a second later, when the dice flew…he stood up, then cursed so loudly that the entire inn turned to look in his direction.

He clutched his head and fell to his knees, then, and using the chance he had been given, Daneel collected everything and set off to the door. No one was fast enough to catch up to him; by the time the man had recovered enough to run out and search, he was gone, not even leaving behind a shadow to give a hint regarding the direction he had gone.

Squeezing the fat pouch at his waist, he smiled to himself. He had been pleasantly surprised to find the gambling scene here, and of course, with the system at his disposal, it would have been dumb not to make use of the avarice of the depraved specific subset of mankind known as gamblers. The only sad part was that he could only gamble for the currency of the city, whose name no one used, simply calling the coins by what they were made of. If he wanted to exchange them for crystals, he would have to give more details that he was comfortable sharing with anyone who worked with the beggar king…so for now, he was both rich and poor.

All of his queries that needed answering had been answered, so all that was left was to flesh out the plan. It wasn't a very complex one, but he loved it all the same because it had a hint of the genius that had been his trademark on Angaria…and so, humming a merry tune that used to be common in the bars of his home island, he headed back to where they were staying.