The Loaded Deck
Cards: A game for gentlemen and rogues, both end up cheating as much as each other. Loaded decks are not an uncommon thing, tricks like marking cards, weighting cards to disrupt a shuffle and so on are relatively common place. There is one deck however which is said to be loaded with more than “luck”.
The story goes that a fallen noble, giving up his buisness and title, fell into a lifestyle of gambling. After several fights concerning cheating in a local tavern, the noble decided to protect himself against these brawls.
He approached a local gnomish weaponsmith, known for his bouts of insanity when it concerned the creation of weapons. So impressed with the monks idea was the gnome that all though the noble offered all his winnings for previous nights, the gnome took on the project for free. His only request was that his name should be stamped on his creation.
A few short weeks passed, with the nobles luck on the up he returned to the gnome. There on the table lay a stunning deck of cards. Made of silver, the cards were wafer thin, beautifully crafted to resemble a normal deck to the unexpecting eye. The final trick however came when the cards were contorted a certain way, the corners folding out forming a shuriken stamped with the name of the gnome.
Happy with his new deck, the young man returned to tavern for another evening of poker. With all weapons left at the door, the poker game began. The evening progressed and it became apparent that one member of the group’s luck seemed to be in far more than others. The noble suggested a change of deck, trying to avoid the immenent punch up. Things rapidly went from bad to worse as the lucky man rose from his chair, a good 5 feet of the floor for that matter.
His glowing hands struck at two of the men as they fled in fear, burning great frozen marks into their backs. A third stood and swung his chair at the mage, only to be frozen in mid swing. The noble panicked, quickly flicking out one of his new cards. With a lucky shot, the first luck he had seen all night as it was, he planted the shuriken between the eyes of the mage. Gathering his winning, he fled the town.
Upon day break the four were found slain, three by cold burns, one with a silver star in his forehead. The only clue found was a name, stamped on the rear of the star. The gnome was quickly found and executed.
The cards however seem to show up across mistone from time to time, identifiable only by the name Jan Tong, embossed on the back.
