Chapter 4: Shell Game
"Remember, you cannot reveal anything about me or changes I have gone through to outsiders, or else God will get angry with you."
The kids nodded their heads in unison and then followed Arrluk as they exited their dilapidated hut.
Usually, they would go to the food market or the row of pillow houses to find suitable targets to steal money or scavenge for food. Today Arrluk took them to the intersection of the food market and the street where wealthy merchants deal with laces, and silk, the expensive kind.
"Brother Arrluk, we cannot go to the rich merchants' market; that's someone else's turf." Ignis immediately said when Arrluk told them about their destination."
"Don't worry, we won't enter it, and nor would we do things like stealing traveler's pouches."
After reaching the intersection of the two markets, Arrluk searched for an empty spot where he can start his first business.
After finding a suitable place at the side of the street, he told Ignis, Tom, and the redneck to stand there while he went to bring some stuff necessary to make money. He first went to a carpenter's shop. There he bartered for a small second-hand table.
His only requirement was that the table's surface needed to be smooth. With Tom's money and his bartering skills, Arrluk managed to purchase a table and three wooden bowls cheaply. After that, he went to a fruit stall where he bought some small round berries.
Arrluk then brought a second-hand table, bowls, and berries to the place he selected for getting his first pot of money. He was going to start a shell game.
It's a street gambling game where he would shuffle the three bowls with one of them having a berry underneath it and let bypassers gamble on the right bowl.
After setting up everything, Arrluk explained to the kids their roles in what he was going to do next.
He had Tom and Ignis stand by his side as the three of them were the tallest in their group. He sent the others to keep a lookout for the magisters' patrolling soldiers and the thugs that plague this area.
Without wasting any more time, Arrluk started his little game to earn quick money.
"Tom, Ignis, start attracting our customers as I told you to," Arrluk said as he sat in front of the table.
"Come and play the shell game and get a chance to earn quick money. Try your luck, find out which bowl has the berry. The winners will get double the money. Come on; it's a fun game..." Ignis did as he was told. Tom stood by their side, and when finally a person came to their stall in curiosity, he started explaining about the game, and its rules that Arrluk had already explained to them before.
"What do you have, boys?" Said the man pulling a cart full of vegetables. He must be a transporter or a shop owner who was bringing his goods to sell in the market.
Tom explained to him about the game.
"You mean I can double my money if I won?" The man got hooked the moment they said about his money doubling. Looking at the simple game that was so easy to understand, the man thought of trying his luck.
"Alright, here, one copper lady," the man was cautious as he didn't put big money on the table.
Arrluk nodded. He showed the berry in his hand to the guy and the three empty bowls before placing the berry on the table.
"Watch closely, good sir." Arrluk smiled as he begins the shuffling. After he stooped, the guy thought for a moment before choosing the leftmost bowl.
When Arrluk lifted the bowl, the guy became happy to find the berry. He had won.
Arrluk smiled and said, "Goddess Luck is watching over you today, sir. Congratulation! Here, take these two copper ladies. Do you want to try again?"
"Yes, yes, here, take these three copper lady coins."
Arrluk started the game again. The man won again by choosing the right bowl.
Arrluk gave him his money back and three more copper lady coins. The man has won four copper coins.
"Do you want to give it another try?"
"Yes... um, this time I will bet two..."
"Deniro, what are doing here? Don't you want to open your shop today?"
"Oh, Larry, come here. This game is fun, you should try it too."
"I don't have time Deniro and you should better open your shop or else your wife would kill you if she finds you playing on the streets with some kids."
Deniro wanted to play another round but thinking of his wife that might be coming to the market to help him with the shop, he went on his way with Larry.
Arrluk smiled, seeing them going away.
"Arrluk, we lost four copper coins."
"Have patience, Tom; you have to lose little money if you want to earn big. I have thrown the bait; the right people would be coming to our stall."
By noon, Arrluk lost twenty-seven copper coins. Many people won quick money and went away to do their work.
Tom was getting nervous because the money they lost was his. His heart bled when he saw people taking away his hard-earned money.
He cursed Arrluk's eighteen generations until a group of five people arrived together at their stall. Tom was already very exhausted from all the explaining he did about the game today.
He was hungry, but Arrluk told them they would go to eat after playing for another two rounds.
The five men bet their money. Arrluk shuffled the bowl at a swift pace. It was difficult for Tom to keep his set on the right one. He didn't know how so many people could choose the right one most of the time.
"Right one!"
"I also choose the right one!"
"I think it's the middle one, and I will go with the middle one."
"You guys are dumb; I'm very sure the berry is in the left bowl. Hey Boy, can I increase my betting money now?"
"Yes, you can increase the amount of money, but you cannot decrease it."
"Alright, I bet another ten copper ladies, including four I had bet before. I bet on the left one."
"Um... I will also choose the left one." Said the last man after seeing his friend was so sure about his choice. After getting their choices, Arrluk lifted the three bowls.
The berry was in the rightmost one.
The first two guys hugged each other in joy since they have won. These five people were friends, and each one of them had bet four copper lady coins at first.
Only one of them had changed their betting money to fourteen copper coins. The betting pool amounted to thirty copper coins. Arrluk gave sixteen coins to the winners while keeping the rest of the fourteen copper coins with himself.
"I... will play one more time."
Arrluk nodded and Ignis wrote their bets. One of the five friends who had won declined in playing another round with them. The biggest loser of the previous match bet twenty copper coins while the rest bet five copper coins each. The betting pool amounted to thirty-five.
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