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Shadow Card Guardian 1, Chapter 4
🕑 Added 2024-09-26 20:08:03 +0000 UTC[Again, please leave feedback!]
Chapter 4, Figuring It Out
Jacob "Jake" Kinley Status:
Level 3 Deckbearer (2 pending)
Deckbearer Perks:
Cycle of the Lost and the Lonely Start: +1 Companion Slot
Deckbearer Perk 1: Architect: +1 Building Slot, May buy building card slots for 4 pips per rather than five
Deckbearer Perk 2: Bastion of the Hidden: +2 Building Slots, but all perk gained building slots must have Shadow typing.
Deckbearer Flaw: Underdeveloped. -1 to attack and defense.
Deckbearer Stats:
Cards in Deck: 10
Cards in Hand: 3
Cards in Play: 2
Length of Play: 5 minutes
Specialty Cards: N/A
Type 1 and Power: 1 Shadow
Energy 1 and Power: 1 Death
Personal Perks:Flexible. Will gain new beneficial acquired perks at twice the rate.
Personal Stats:
Health: 20
Attack: 5
Magical Attack [None]: 0
Defense: 5
Magical Defense: 5
#
Jake card list
Companion: 1
Machairi
Mantle: 1
Nyx’s Mantle
Building: 1
Night Haven
Creatures: 5
Shadow-Tainted Goblin x2
Shadowling x2
Shadowling Amalgamation
Immediates: 2
Become Shadow x1
Word of Death x1
#
"You're level three?" Dania asked. "How…oh! The deckbearer."
Jake nodded. "I waited to level until I could talk to you," he said. "But Machairi and I have been talking, and I think I should buy another power. As it is, my mantle takes everything I have."
"Makes sense to me," Dania said. "I guess. I don't really know. I'm probably going to have to sit down and do some research…fuck! My computer's at the apartment, and I don't think we should go back there!"
"Machairi grabbed your backpack," Jake said, with a grin and a nod to his companion card. "It's got your tablet in it. Will that work?"
"Uh, yeah. It will. Thanks." Dania nodded at Machairi, who inclined his head and slow-blinked at her like some kind of spooky cat. She rolled her eyes in response and reached out her hand.
Jake put the bag in her hand, and she rifled through it, taking stock of what they'd brought with them. Her wallet, keys, and phone. Her tablet. Some paperwork from the hospital. The day's mail she'd picked up on the way into the building and…
"My narc kit! And my knife!"
"My deckbearer said they would be useful to you," Machairi said. "And I saw you use the knife to good effect already. I appreciate a good knife. It seemed a shameful waste to leave it."
"It would be," Dania said, smiling at Machairi for a second time. "Thanks again. You're more useful than I thought you'd be."
Machairi quirked the corner of his lip upward in a smile and opened his mouth to speak, but Berto called down the stairs, silencing him.
"Dani! Kid! Time to go! I just got a call that shit's going down in Noimoire tonight, and I don't think you two want to be around when it does!"
Dania met Jake's suddenly worried gaze.
"Spend your pips, kiddo," she said. "We might need it on the way out of town."
"Do it in the car," Berto urged, appearing at the top of the stairs. He clattered down to them and hustled up to Dania's IV, where he removed the catheter from her lock, then taped over the lock itself "We want to get out of town yesterday."
"What's happening?" Dania asked.
"Cobras are making a move against the Grimm family, and there’s teams out hunting baby deckbearers. Don't ask me how I know this, cause I'm not gonna tell you. On your feet, Ellis. We need to move."
Dania willed her cards away and noticed that Jake had done the same. She swung her feet to the floor and let Berto steady her as she stood up, hissing at the sudden pain that flared on the left side of her hip.
"Careful," Berto said. "Don't pop my stitch job."
"Stitches?"
"Just three, and only on your left. The right side wasn't as bad, so I just bandaged you up. Sorry I had to cut your leggings off, though. I brought a pair of cargo pants down earlier for you, if you want them."
Dania looked around, only to see Machairi, of all people, holding up a folded pair of black cargo pants with a belt coiled neatly on top. He also had her backpack slung over one shoulder.
Usefuller and usefuller…even though I'm pretty sure that's not a real word. Dania took the pants and stepped into them, reminding herself that thanks to a couple of shrapnel injuries she'd sustained back in the 'stan, it wasn't the first time Berto had seen her in her underwear.
The pants were too loose around the waist, but the wide utility belt fixed that problem, and she just tucked the long ends into the boots she typically wore at work.
"Where'd you get these?" she asked as she shoved her feet into them and zipped them closed.
"Grabbed 'em from your apartment. Figured you'd want footwear when you healed up," Berto said. "Ready? Let me get a sling on your arm and then we really need to move."
Berto folded a large scarf into a triangular shape and looped it around her neck to ease the weight of her broken arm. Then he took her hand and guided her carefully up the stairs as Jake and Machairi followed.
Within moments, they were ensconced in his car: a large blue SUV. Dania didn't know the make or model; she'd never been a car chick. As Berto pulled out of his garage and eased onto the street, she pressed her lips together and regretted the quick half-life of morphine. Her arm and sides were starting to throb.
"Want some percocet?" Berto asked quietly.
"No," Dania said, her voice firm. "I'll take ibuprofen, though, if you've got it."
"Sure thing," Berto said, reaching with one hand into his center console while he palmed the wheel into a turn with the other. He pulled out one of those paper packets that held two 200mg pills and tore it open with his teeth, then handed it to Dania.
She didn't have anything to drink, so she swallowed the pills dry and hoped she'd eaten enough ice cream earlier to keep them from upsetting her stomach. She leaned her head back against the headrest and closed her eyes
"Jake," she said in an attempt to distract herself. "Talk to me, kiddo. Let's get you leveled."
"Hang on," Jake said, his voice distant. "I'm looking at something—a strategy guide."
"What's it say?" Dania asked, grimacing as the SUV hit a bump in the road.
"Not much useful… but I think I'm going to have to start by purchasing another Shadow power. That will give me a total of three power, and let me play a creature in addition to my mantle, or a simple combination if I don't get my mantle in the first draw."
"Seems reasonable," Dania said.
"Yeah," Jake said. "I just wish I could afford another power right away…but I'll save up for it. My deck doesn't have much in the way of offensive heavy hitters, anyway. Except for Machairi. That's gonna be your job, Mama Bear."
"Always was, kiddo," Dani said. "So that's one pip, what about your other one? Are you going to hang on to it for more power?"
"I don't know…" Jake trailed off, his voice pensive. "Part of me says yes, but there are some benefits I can see from increasing some of these other stats. Like an extra five minutes of play for my cards: since I'm relying on my mantle a lot, it might be smart to extend the time I get to use it before it draws down."
"Wait." Dania opened her eyes and sat up, then slewed around in her seat to stare at Machairi sitting next to Jake like a demented best friend. "How come he hasn't returned to your deck yet?"
"Companions are not affected by time in play," Machairi said, his weirdly echoing tone just a bit smug. "For we are companions, not merely creatures."
"That made zero sense," Dania groused. "But whatever, dude. So is that what you're going to do, Jake? Increase your length of play?"
"Maybe…" Jake swiped a finger up the length of the tablet he held in his lap. Hers, Dania realized. Not that it mattered.
"What else are you thinking about?"
"Hand size. If I pull four cards instead of three every time I swipe my hand, I have a higher chance of getting my mantle the first time, or one of my stronger cards like Become Shadow, or Word of Death."
"Sounds like a solid play to me, kid," Berto put in from the driver's seat. Dania turned her body back to face front and hissed as it pulled at her injured side.
"What do you know about it, Berto?" Dania asked. "No offense, but you're not a deckbearer as far as I know."
"Nope, but I've played a lot of deckbuilding video games," he said, flashing her a grin that said he knew how ridiculous he sounded, but he meant every word. "And I can tell you that while your kid is right about both options being good, the number of cards in hand is more important at lower levels, especially when you really need one particular card. Or even a certain combo."
Dania opened her mouth to argue, but realized that she really didn't have much of a counter. She'd been a deckbearer for all of ten minutes, and so it wasn't like she had more experience than Berto. And whatever else they were, video games were simulations of a sort.
"Fair enough," she said. "It's not my decision anyway. Do whatever feels right in your gut, Jake. We'll figure it out either way."
"Okay. I think… I'm gonna go with hand size, and adding one shadow power."
Jake said the words with finality, but since Dania couldn't see his status sheet, she didn't notice any difference.
"Did it work?" she asked. In answer, Jake touched his chest and pulled his deck. Four cards appeared floating between the front and back seats. With a thought, Dania dismissed the "Deckbearer Jacob Kinley has pulled a deck" notification. Jake met her eyes and grinned.
"Good deal. Why don't you three boys discuss more strategy for awhile?" Dania said with a yawn. "I'm gonna try and sleep off some more of this pain. Wake me up when we get there, will ya, Berto?"
"You got it, Dani. It’ll be a couple of hours. Sleep well."
Comments
Kacey Ezell
Thank you for the compliment! I'm glad you liked it. You will definitely see more. I'm closing in on the last quarter of the full arc, and we're on track to start posting on Royal Road with early access for my website subscribers by the new year! As to your question, a God-gifted deckbearer will have an extra deckbearer perk that a non gifted deckbearer won't. That's a mistake I made early on with Dani's sheet. It will show up fixed when I post the chapters elsewhere. :) There may be other differences, but John will have to be the one to explain them.
Kcx1
This is pretty good. Hope to see more. Does anyone know what the difference is between God gifted and not?
Kacey Ezell
My name on RR will be Sevillalost. :) Expect it to hit there around the first of the year. I'll also be providing early access to my paid subscribers on my website if that's something you'll be interested in. John will have the deets when it's all set up. And thank you for the compliment! I'm sorry about the tease, but we had to do a little market research to make sure this was something y'all wanted. :)
thomas johnson
Wait. You released these excellent chapters, and now I have to wait. I am both impressed and furious. I cannot wait to see the chapter on RR. Is your name Sevillalost on RR or something else? I need to check my updates so I won't miss it.
Kacey Ezell
Andrew, thank you so much for your interest! Like John said, I am currently going hard in the paint (if you will forgive a basketball metaphor) to finish this story. The plan is to offer early release via my website subscription and post free chapters on Royal Road starting in the new year. But! If I can under promise and over deliver, I will! John's patrons have been so kind, so I will definitely be letting y'all know about any developments asap!
John stovall
With profuse apologies, you cannot currently. The author in question, @Sevillalost, has not finished the story. I believe she intends to release the entirety of book 1 to RR and her personal website sometime around the new year, but so far she has wildly exceeded the rate of writing she had once set, so maybe we'll all get lucky and see it a bit earlier :) . She released these four chapters to get a feel for people's opinion on the characters and deck builds. She may possibly release more here, but I truly do not know if she plans to do so at this time. Again, my apologies. I do believe some free version of it will be available in its entirety relatively soon.
Andrew Foster
Where can I continue to read this?
Kacey Ezell
Thanks for the feedback! I'm excited to continue his development as well!
Kacey Ezell
Thanks for the feedback! Yeah, Jake's just a kid and Dani is determined to raise him in a way that would make her sister proud, so murder hoboing is right out... ;)
Kacey Ezell
Thanks for the feedback!
Tauwetter
I like it so far, hooked me pretty fast. I hope Jake developes in a different direction than Wolfe or Noah, his perks have a lot of potential for a more organisation-building approach. Gotta fill the gaps Wolfe leaves in noimoires underworld :D
thisisniall
Very cool story intro. Curious as to which card is Jake's set card and it's (and the Set's) special effects - guessing Night Haven by his Perks? Looks like his deck is pointing him to an interesting Building-centric design - and that 'Flexible' Personal Perk might make him a long-term monster if he can make it. What I'm curious to be is how he's really going to progress as a deckbearer, as Jake/Dani don't seem to have the innate 'murderhobo' levels of someone like Wolfe, who is in more of a ... classic DnD progression loop.
thomas johnson
I prefer the Card Apocalypse, this story, and Demon Card Enforcer. I like each story, but the flavor of this story beats out Wolfe in a smidge. I also love buildings, so the many perks afforded by the main character are nice. Also, the fact that this coincides with Demon Card Enforcer is its joy.
Kacey Ezell
Thank you for the feedback!! That's an interesting idea. :)
NinjaChicken
I like the opportunity of expanding the story universe, and it might be a fun opportunity to do a collaboration and have them and Wolf meet at some point in the future.
Kacey Ezell
I'm so glad you're enjoying it! Thanks for the feedback!
Calvin Rutherford
Really enjoying it, I think the idea of them being able to be in the wilderness and potentially fight monsters and find dungeons really appeals. I also enjoy the characters and feel it sucks you in pretty well. It might be a bit of a challenge for someone new to the concepts and world to know what is going on, but I think everything feels understandable enough to not be a problem. One question, should Jake have 4 attack and defense with his flaw? I think from everything else I have seen that 5 of each is standard before buffs. Looking forward to more!
Kacey Ezell
you right. :) I got confused. Newb author mistake. My bad. ;)
Critical Hit
Huh, I guess I'm so used to nearly every other deckbearer we see having an additional type to start with it totally threw my that this guy didn't. Also, Death is a power energy, instead of a type. Though the nomenclature is very confusing.
Kacey Ezell
I'm so glad you liked it. I personally LOVE Card Apocalypse, but it's a very different feel than what I'm going for with this. Thank you so much for the Feedback!
Kacey Ezell
He does. He hasn't had time to really explore it yet, but his second power type is Death. You can see it reflected on his sheet. :) Oh! You said 3. He doesn't have a third type yet. That may come as he develops his deck. Thanks for the feedback!
Drakenclaw
Looks very interesting. Definitely grabbed me a lot more than the apocalypse story.
Critical Hit
Little confused why he doesn't have a second power type? I was under the distinct impression that literally every other deckbearer we've seen in any of these stories has 3 to start.
Kacey Ezell
Thank you! I can't wait to bring you more! ;)
vulcan211
All of these chapters look great to me can't wait to read more.
