The Game

[Call me J]

(solo. occurs before Time Enough)

The game of Khalikh was relatively popular among Salvar’s all too prominent class of wealthy ne’er-do-wells. Often played with sums of money that would have made any working person blush, it was an underground sensation that had begun to attract a select group of wanderers and adventure seekers who had come to Salvar for fortune. It was no surprise that adventure seekers loved the game, at times, it could be nearly as dangerous as attacking a Salvarian sea monster. There were few fatalities, but those that occurred happened in the most gruesome fashion. The Church of the Ethereal Sway had admonished the game, and some of the more god-fearing nobles had even gone so far as to ban it on their estates.

However, Jame had never understood why so many people would want to ban a simple game of tiles.

That was Khalikh at its essence, a game of tiles. There were two colors, numbers one through ten, and three different symbols that could appear a card. No two cards were alike, each combination of color, number, and symbol appeared on one card only. There were four wild cards, and that lead to the total of sixty-four. The goal of the game was to create chains. Each of four players would start with a tile, and then the first player was given a choice: either accept another tile, or stop at one.

No one ever stopped at one. The goal was to create a chain as long as possible. A player could create a chain as long as they could link all the tiles they had been dealt by common features. Reds could link to reds, a three to another three, a sword to a sword. Every tile meant twenty more pieces of gold into the pot. The longest chain ended up with the entire pot.

It was quite a difficult game, and for the most part, Khalikh was played by veterans of the sport. Newer players often found the game too expensive to learn. However, in the back of the Hotel Royale, Jame sat at a table along with three of Salvar’s most well known Khalikh players, despite having never played the game before.

It was questionable how Jame had gotten into the game. The most skilled players no longer played for the money, they had all grown adequately rich. Instead, they only bothered to play each other, so that through repeated games they could find out which one of them was truly the best.

Now, as the game began, they all eyed each other carefully. The tiles were shuffled, their identical backs the only parts visible to the four players. The three veterans remained motionless as the dealer handed out the first tile, though Jame sighed impatiently. One of the three other players, a dwarf with a long black beard, shot an angry look over to the callow youth, but Jame paid little attention as he was waiting for his first tile with bated breath.

Soon enough, the game was about to begin.

[Call me J]

The four players were not playing in isolation. Hotel Royale was more crowded than usual, even for a night during hunting season. The crowd was mostly as affluent as the players, and they watched the game from their barstools and tables with the ennui of spectators that wished to be seen more than see anything. Jame’s girlfriend Ashley was among them, and it was clear that she was less than happy.

“What the hell does Jame think he’s thinking?” she thought irritably. “If I actually had thought these people would let them play with them, I wouldn’t have let him play...” Ashely could already envision all the money Jame was going to lose. The half-dragon was well provided for by his unknown benefactor, but even so, Ashley doubted that Jame could stand to loose over two thousand gold pieces, the equivalent to a hundred tiles worth of play.

Nervously, she surveyed the rest of the players one last time, as if to see if they had any weaknesses she could tell Jame about. However, with the exception of her overly excited boyfriend, the players seemed to have a singular focus on the game. Ashley looked them over, the green skinned elf, the dark haired dwarf and the pale human and decided that none of them could be trusted. She knew that cheating was particularly rare in Khalikh, given that the punishment was death, but even so, Ashley couldn’t help but feel a bit suspicious. These were three of the best players on Althanas, there was little reason for them to want to play with Jame.

“I bet he hasn’t even thought if some kind of fix is in,” she thought ruefully. “He probably just went his happy way, sat down at the table, plopped down six months worth of his allowance and is prepared to waste it on something stupid again...”

The first set of tiles was dealt and one by one, they were folded over to reveal their character. Ashley watched intensely with bated breath, especially as Jame seemed to have an almost clueless expression on his face as he looked at his tile.

“He’s just lucky I love him,” she muttered out loud, paying little attention to who was noticing. “Otherwise, I’d have to kill him...”

[Call me J]

Jame’s luck didn’t just extend to Ashley. Now that he was dealt a first card, and it was a wild one. Now, no matter what he was to get as a second card, he would be able to make a link. He smiled, a bit too brashly for the liking of the rest of his table.

“Hrrrumph... ‘ginners luck,” the dwarf snorted. The green skinned elf nodded in agreement.

However, it was the human whose behavior seemed the most hostile. He was a particularly pale and spindly sort, had it not been for his clothes, Jame might have thought the man suffered from malnutrition. “The penalty for cheating is death...” he warned.

“I know,” Jame shot back. “I heard the rules.”

“Alright...” the pale man replied.

Missing the hostility, Jame asked for another card. It was three red axes. He smiled. “Link by number...” he said.

There was a murmur of acknowledgement from the table but nothing that resembled a complete sentence. A round of tiles went around. There were no eliminations. By now, the noise in the Hotel Royale had dimmed to a respectful buzz. There was limited talking, and all of it was focused on the game. Jame tried to glean some advice out of it, especially since he was unsure now that he’d moved past the first link.

“Gimme another tile...” he said nervously. The gravity of the game was sinking in, and while Jame still departed with his money without so much as an afterthought, he was worried about being embarrassed.

Soon enough he had another tile. “Bloody gin’ers luck!” the dwarf exclaimed as the dealer flipped over the tile. ”Three black swords.”

Jame smiled and tried to conceal his relief. “Link by number again.”

A polite round of applause escaped the room.

[Call me J]

As the first round progressed into its fourth and fifth round, Jame was surprised to find that it was only himself and the dwarf left. As the first recipient of a tile in every round this game, he couldn’t help but feel that he would be set up to fail. By now, the odds were against him. He had linked by number four straight times, each time getting a three. He’d seen the other two threes had already been put in to play. The only chances he had were links by color or by symbol.

Jame didn’t like his odds. He had a black three of swords, and there had been a good number of blacks played already. He wished for a moment that the dwarf went first, just so he could delay the decision. He didn’t want to go, but at the same time, Jame felt as though he would hate himself if he failed to make a move, especially if the dwarf won as a result.

“Of all of them, it has to be the damn dwarf,” Jame thought irritably. He chaffed under the injustice of fate. More than anyone, he had wanted to beat the dwarf with this first round. That way everyone watching and everyone at the table would know he knew what he was doing.

For a moment, he thought he should stay. It would have been a courageous decision, the kind that was likely to impress the audience and assure Ashley of his skill. However, Jame just couldn’t bear himself to do that. He looked at his last remaining opponent. Jame truly wanted to wipe the smirk off the jerk’s face. With a deep sigh, he looked at the dealer.

“Next tile,” he said.

It was six red axes. He had lost the round.

“Haha! Gotcha ‘dere laddy,” the dwarf cackled smugly as he reached into the centre of the table and gathered up his winnings.

Jame balled up his fists in frustration but said absolutely nothing. He looked over at the dwarf’s tiles. Had he passed and the dwarf played, Jame would have won the round.

[Call me J]

It was only by the fifth game that Jame had finally won, and that game had been a fluke. Everyone else had lost on their second tile. He was beginning to get quite frustrated, especially when he saw the big pile of winnings that the dwarf had, compared to his meager stash. It didn’t matter that the green elf had yet to win a round, Jame was beginning to feel as if he bit off a bit more than he could chew.

Looking for some support, Jame glanced back to Ashley, but she seemed far too concerned about his failures to be interested in offering any kind of support to him. The half dragon thus continued, his body posture drooping and his head cupped frustratedly in his hand. Jame closed his hand across his temple as he asked for another tile.

He suddenly felt that the room was too smoky and hot. He knew there was nothing he’d be able to do to leave, so he just fidgeted a bit in his chair as everyone went through and got another tile. Now, Jame looked at his three black spears. He hesitated a bit before making a decision.

“Ya ain’t got all day laddy…” the dwarf quipped snidely.

Jame wondered why he was taking so long. This shouldn’t have been a hard decision. With a second tile, there wasn’t all that much risk. Few tiles had been played, and more tiles than not would match up on one of the three categories. However, Jame still hesitated, simply because he hadn’t won enough.

“Gimme another,” he finally said.

Jame got a four red axes.

The dwarf grinned the kind of grin that almost made Jame want to leap across the table and throttle the diminutive player.

[Call me J]

As the four players progressed into their tenth game, Ashley wondered how much money Jame had lost. By now, every player had won more than once, with the exception of Jame. All of their winnings piles were big enough to be impressive, again with Jame as the only exception.

Ashley sighed and grabbed a drink for herself. If she was going to watch Jame make an idiot of himself, she decided that she wasn’t going to bear through it sober. She watched now as Jame lost yet another game when it was only him against the dwarf, and uttered out an audible sigh.

“He’s let that bastard into his head…” she thought pityingly. “Now I only hope the rest of them get bored before he runs out of money…”

She knew Jame wasn’t going to quit, even when he was losing that badly and looked like he was no longer enjoying himself. For all of his flaws, Ashley knew that Jame was a stubborn as a Salvarian mule, and that he wouldn’t ever give up when there was even the slightest chance of a reversal of fortune. Normally, Khalikh players wouldn’t last much longer, there was little reason to play beyond a certain number of games when a leader was already established for the day. Given the dwarf’s lead, it seemed likely that both the pale man and green skinned elf would consider packing it up and trying again later.

Ashley wondered just how transparent Jame’s behavior was to the rest of the table. She could see the way his feet tapped nervously at the floor, the way that his hands continuously fingered the thick oaken table, he was both scared and bored at the same time. He had simultaneously given up hope and still desperately wanted to win.

Now, it was Jame’s turn again. He had managed a string of three tiles, and the dwarf had been eliminated on his very first match. The only two that were left were the pale man and Jame.

“What do you want?” the dealer asked Jame.

Ashley looked over at her boyfriend’s tiles. He had gotten eight red spears in the first round, followed by a wild card in the next. His third card was one black sword.

“Give me another,” Jame said. Very few black cards had been dealt up to that point.

He got a match.

The pale man looked cautiously at Jame’s four tiles. It was his turn, and he already had four tiles. If he passed, he would force it back to Jame. The odds weren’t in the pale man’s favor. There had been far too many red cards drawn already, and color was the most likely of all matches.

“I’ll pass…” the pale man said, after limited deliberation.

Ashley shook her head ruefully. She could see the strategy, and she hated just how clever it was. With so few winnings, she knew Jame wouldn’t risk it all. He would accept the tie, and split the pot with the pale man. She didn’t want him to. The odds were in his favor. He had nine black spears. There were mostly black tiles left and his tile was the first spear to have been revealed that game.

“I’ll pass too…” Jame said.

Ashley sighed. Jame had become all too predictable.

[Call me J]

As the twenty first game began, Jame had lost over one thousand gold pieces. He wasn’t sure exactly how much he’d lost, but he could tell by the coins he had left that it was well over a thousand pieces. Outside of his meager winnings, he barely had a coin left to play. If he didn’t win this round, it would probably be his last. Jame wasn’t sure if he’d miss the game once he was done. It had been more stressfull than enjoyable, especially given how much he had lost.

It was Jame’s turn to go first again. On the first tile, he received seven red spears. He let out a deep exhale. His gold was visible to all the other players. Jame was well aware that they could all sense his desperation at this point, but the reactions from the three other players couldn’t have been more different. The dwarf sat smugly, as if somehow proud to have dealt Jame a meaningful comeuppance. The pale man seemed disinterested, more concerned with making up ground against the dwarf than whether Jame could continue playing. The green elf was the only one who seemed to have any compassion for the young half dragon, but his look was more one of pure pity than a desire to help.

Jame sighed. He took his second tile, seven black swords. It was a match on number. However, the two tiles next to each other couldn’t have looked more different. Despite himself, Jame gulped visibly. He realized just how little time he probably had left at the table.

By the end of the second round, the pale man had been eliminated but the other three players were still left. Jame knew he had to accept another tile, despite his reluctance. A match of two would never be enough to win, and he didn’t have enough coins to keep playing if he were to have lost the forty he had already thrown into the pot.

“Gimme another,” Jame said, preempting the dwarf from saying anything snide.

He received six red swords. This was the second six that he had received, and already, two other sixes had been put in to play. Matches by numbers were the least likely anyway, but Jame couldn’t help but feel nervous that one of his options had all but been eliminated.

However, Jame just sighed. At this point, there was no way out but through.

“I’ve never seen someone that disappointed after an actual match before…” the green skinned elf observed. It had been the first comment he had made for several games.

"It's cause the lad is a loser..." the dwarf chimed in, helpfully.

[Call me J]

As Jame accepted his fourth tile, the tension in the room seemed almost suffocating for him. It was as if the air itself was getting a little harder to breathe. Nervously, he pulled at the collar of his shirt as he received one red axe. It was a match on color, he was still very much alive.

With the pale man removed, the next tern went to the green skinned elf. Surprisingly, the green skinned elf passed.

“You sure?” the dealer asked, somewhat incredulously. Jame had already got a match of four tiles, and the green skinned elf only had three. By giving, up, the green skinned elf was conceding defeat.

Jame was stunned. He wasn’t sure if he was getting a favor, or what was at play. Perhaps the green skinned elf was just interested in eliminating him and figured that he’d be more likely to make a mistake if it were just him and the dwarf. Jame didn’t know, and the pure irrationality of the entire situation made him angry.

The dwarf seemed equally displeased. “You tryin’ ta throw one fer the lad?” he asked. “He don’t even deserve yer charity…”

“Perhaps I’m manipulating you…” the elf replied cryptically.

“Nipulatin’ me inta yer money…” the dwarf shot back snidely.

The dwarf took his next tile and got a wild one. Jame tried not to look too angry about it.

“Give me one...” Jame said.

It was six black axes. He was still in the game.

The dwarf received four red axes. He smirked at Jame. They were both aware that the deck was running out of axes.

Jame shuddered reflexively as he took his next tile. “The only way out of this is through,” he reminded himself. His figured chances of getting a card that worked for him were less than even odds, but the chances the dwarf getting a match were quite high. There were mostly red tiles left, and the dwarf had received the first four of the game. Even with the odds against him on the turn, they were even worse if he passed.

“Another…” Jame said.

It was eight black swords.

Jame smiled a smile of relief.

The crowd offered a light applause.

[Call me J]

Jame cringed. There was still one wild in the deck, but the chances of getting it were quite slim. The fact was he was going to need it. He glanced over to Ashley. She looked at him quite nervously, with her hands clutching each other. She leaned over towards him, as if praying that luck would finally find him after all the failures that he’d had so far.

“Gimme another,” Jame said, in open defiance of the dwarf. He practically cringed when the tile was placed upon the table, in dread for what it might reveal.

It was one red spear. Jame exhaled in relief. The dwarf was guaranteed a match with the wild card on top, but Jame was too relieved to care.

“Good game,” the green elf said, interrupting for a moment. “But if I may, I’d say some drinks are in order. What will you have? On me of course. I haven’t watched this impressive of a game in quite some time.”

The dwarf chuckled in a transparent show of bravado. “I never turn down free ale,” he said with a smile. “Get some’in soft fer the lad der, you know his mommy woulden wan’ him drinkin.”

Jame smiled tartly. “Just water please,” he replied. His eyes never left the dwarf. He figured the dwarf wanted his facilities compromised by the next round. Jame wasn’t going to give the dwarf the satisfaction.

“Figgers,” the dwarf shot back.

The elf nodded. “Very well then,” he said. He left to get the drinks.

“Now that’s done, I tell ye what laddie, give up and cut yerself a break, eh?” the dwarf said. “Ye got 22 straight tiles, there aint gonna be that many more. Ye aint got the money left ta play, save yerself the trouble and leave why dontcha?”

“You’d like that, wouldn’t you?” Jame shot back. As he spoke, the dwarf accepted his next tile. It was three black axes. “Tell you what… I’ll beat you by two!”

The dwarf chuckled. “Yeah sure there… ye do that an I’ll swap all my winnins with yers sonny…”
Suddenly, Jame felt a hand on his shoulder “Are you sure you want to do this,” the pale man asked him. Jame could tell from the pale man’s eyes that he was seriously concerned for his welfare.

Jame exhaled. He looked at Ashley. There weren’t going to be too many tiles left. Jame’s chances of winning were slim, especially since if he didn’t win by two tiles, it would mean that the dwarf would take the whole pot, instead of the tie that would normally happen if they ran out.

Ashley didn’t give Jame much of a symbol. He could tell she was only interested in seeing him not look foolish. For a moment, Jame thought about the odds. Then he thought about how embarrassing it would be for the dwarf if he defied those odds and won.

“Eh what the hell…” Jame said. “You have a deal!”

The dealer nodded. It’s official then.

“Give me a tile,” Jame insisted. It was two red spears. He grinned widely.

[Call me J]

The elf had returned with the drinks before the dwarf could react. He looked at Jame with a wicked smirk on his face. It was almost as if he had been manipulating the young half dragon the whole time. “I gess I’ll just fold now,” he said. “I got me enough tiles here to beat the lad.”

There was a collective gasp from the audience. The pressure was all back on Jame now. He could have forced the dwarf to go against the odds, but now Jame was going to have to get a second match straight, with precious little tiles left.

“Yer all out of reds der lad, ‘bout outta spears too…” the dwarf smirked. “I fancy ders only one two left too…”

Jame shook his head. He realized how easily he’d fallen into a trap by agreeing. The dwarf had been hoping he would get a tile impossible to match. It was only now that Jame realized he had only one last chance. There was one last wild tile in the bunch, and if Jame didn’t get it, he would lose. It didn’t matter that the dwarf would have had one less link than him.

Triumphantly, the dwarf downed the entirety of his ale in one drink. The green skinned elf nodded appreciatively. Everyone else was torn between applauding at the dwarf’s brilliance or chastising his deviousness.

Jame exhaled and threw up his hands. “Well,” he said. “Give me a tile. Not like I have a choice.”
The tile was laid down. Jame looked at it with a sense of fatalism. “Everything’s over,” he thought. “This is the game.”

It was the wild card. The audience applauded.

Overcome with relief, Jame laughed out loud. “Take that you bastard…” he said, his chest welling with bravado. “Thought you had me there, didn’t you? I’d like your winnings please. They’ll go great with all the rest of the money my rich fath-”

The dwarf didn’t let him finish. Angrily, he threw over the table. “Ye cheated lad,” he said, his eyes bulging in rage as he withdrew a dagger from its sheath. “I bloody know ye did!”

Suddenly, everyone in the room was silent. An accusation of cheating in Khalikh ended only one way- a fight to the death between the accuser and the accused. Jame didn’t even have the chance to reach for a weapon until the dwarf leapt out at him.

[Call me J]

The dwarf knocked Jame to the ground and the young half dragon could barely grab at the dwarf’s arm just to keep a dagger away from his throat. Jame looked on petrified. He could barely keep the stocky dwarf’s arm from plunging the weapon in to him, and the dwarf’s red eyes revealed their madness. The furious Khalikh player was so overcome with emotion that he was frothing at the mouth, and there was nothing that Jame could do.

Ashley, terrified for her boyfriend, moved towards him to help, but the green skinned elf held her back. “You can’t interfere,” he said. “This is part of the rules.”

“But… buh- buh…” she stammered.

“The rules,” the elf replied tartly. He seemed surprisingly calm given the situation.

Jame was considerably bigger than the dwarf, but the stocky features of the small assailant kept Jame from getting up. He was down on his back, the chair underneath him, legs pointed up to the sky. The dwarf was leaning upon his stomach. It was so much weight concentrated in one place that the young half dragon couldn’t turn over, or even breath deep enough to summon his firebreath.

“Give… give… give up lad…” the dwarf hissed, stammering angrily in his rage. Jame grunted, using whatever energy he could to push the dwarf’s arms away. He may have had the strength, but the dwarf’s mechanical advantage had pushed them into a stalemate. Jame didn’t’ know how much longer he could keep this up, it was his survival at stake, but his arms were beginning to feel weaker and weaker. His entire body was shaking, cold sweat was practically running down from every pore.

Jame gritted his teeth and tried to summon what strength he had left to push the dwarf off of him. The half dragon wished he could summon his legs for the task, but he pushed with his waist and hands, trying to knock the dwarf off. Jame’s eyes were practically closed, he grunted hard and tried to push as hard as he could. The dwarf didn’t move at all.

“Last bit!” Jame thought. He was going to have to use all his energy now. If he failed, the dagger would be in his throat, but now he prepared to take one arm away from the dwarf’s forearm to help him push better against the dwarf’s flank. “I’m sorry,” Jame mouthed to Ashley, even though he should have conserved his energy better. And with that, he began to push.

Suddenly, the dwarf began to gag. It was as if Jame’s hands were around his assailant’s neck. The dwarf’s eyes rolled into the back of his head, and after a few coughs, all the resistance from the dwarf disappeared. The dagger fell harmlessly to the side of Jame, straight out of the dwarf’s lifeless fingers.

Somehow, even though he couldn’t explain it, Jame had won.

[Call me J]

Eyes open wide, Jame moved away from the dead dwarf like he had seen a ghost. He could barely explain his luck and only grabbed his winnings reflexively when the pale man offered them to him.

“Thanks,” Jame said blankly. His gaze was still fixed on the dead dwarf, and he was utterly stupefied by his luck.

“It’s probably best you leave…” the green skinned elf said. He wrapped his arm around Jame’s shoulder and began to lead the young half dragon out of the room. “They’re going to want to clean this mess up soon. It’d be for the best if you weren’t here.”

Equally dumbfounded, Ashley followed after the Jame and the green elf.

They were out of earshot from the game by the time Jame regained some use of his faculties. “Wha- what happened there?” he managed. He didn’t think the elf would have an answer. He asked the question more to express his shock than in the hope of a genuine answer.

In a hushed tone, the green elf leaned in to Jame. “I poisoned him…” he said. “This whole thing, it was a test. I represent a group of people who are very interested in you…”

“Interested in me?” Jame asked. Only after his exclamation did the half dragon realized he’d spoke a bit too loudly. The normal patrons of the Hotel Royale, waitresses and bar staff now looked on the boy with a bit of surprise. They back room and Khalikh games were invitation only, and even some members of the hotel staff didn’t even know about the events.

“We’re the ones who have been paying for you…” the man continued. “Where do you think you get all those things…”

“B.. but why?” Jame asked. “Why’d you want to do that?”

“Let’s just say it has to do with your father…” the elf continued. “I’ll explain everything later, for now, get out of Salvar. There will be a civil war coming soon, and you won’t want any part in that…”

“Okay,” Jame said, still very much confused. By now, they were at the door of the hotel. Quietly, Jame slipped out the door, expecting the green skinned elf to follow him.

“Don’t come back here…” the elf continued. “When they find the poison, they might accuse you of murder.”

“But wait…” Jame continued. As he spoke, Ashley filed out the door as well.

The elf just shook his head. “All in good time,” he said. The door slammed gently in Jame’s face.

As if he wanted to free himself from the strange event, Jame shuddered reflexively. He looked at Ashley. “Let’s get out of here,” he said. “This place is seriously weird.”

Ashley, who had only caught bits of Jame’s conversation with the green elf, nodded.

The two walked off, with Jame wondering how much of the game had been rigged for him now. After all, it was very rare for a player to get 24 straight tiles in a game of Khalikh.

(I’d like however much gold the mod deems worthy as spoils. Consider it Jame’s winnings purse from the game)

[Mathias]

Quest Judgement
The Game

It was a quick, short soloquest that I found rather intriguing. Honestly, it reminded me of an Althanas version of the movie, "Rounders." I kind of want to make my own Khalikh set now.

STORY 19

Continuity ~ 6/10 I really don't have too much to offer here, as this has acquainted me with your character. I liked, and am now curious, in how the elf and his organization was the source of what he had thought to be his "allowance," and why they're so interested in him.

Setting ~ 6/10 It was in Salvar. It's in a hotel. It's kind of rich, kind of fancy, and it definitely attracts the underworld types. The Church has influence, all around, and things are starting to heat up alongside the FQ. I had an idea of the world and where this was taking place, but just an idea. Not too much else to go on. I still had questions about Khalikh, however, and how it was played, and as such, I had to ask you about it; I feel it could've been described a slight bit more coherently, which, had it been, would've netted you an extra point or two here.

Pacing ~ 7/10 I was genuinely intrigued to see the course of events play out, and I was fascinated by Khalikh as a game. I have an odd fetish for gambling stories, and it was properly paced as such.

CHARACTER 20

Dialogue ~ 6/10 There were nice exchanges between everyone, flowing and unforced. I just didn't really feel particularly engaged in any of the conversation, and there was nothing specifically out of the ordinary or superbly witty to grasp me.

Action ~ 7/10 I found it odd that I could be so intrigued by a game of tiles. As well, it was a small bit adventurous for you to center a story around it.

Persona ~ 7/10 For as much as I know about the character, being only his profile and this thread, you stuck to him, described him, and complemented him with the cast. Nothing felt forced, drawn out, or tedious, but at the same time, nobody was entrancing or remarkably interesting.

WRITING STYLE 17

Technique ~ 6/10 There was a bit of repitition riddled throughout some of the posts, the most noticeable being in the first post, where you used "Adventure seekers," twice in quick succession. Kind of felt less like a literary use of repitition, than one of those unsightly instances that stuck me. However, aside from that, it was solid, just somewhat mundane.

Mechanics ~ 6/10 There weren't any particularly glaring grammatical errors anywhere, or atleast, there weren't any that I caught. Again, though, while being good, it wasn't great. There wasn't any particular flourish or intriguing use of language that I found.

Clarity ~ 5/10 The quest was clear, concise, and was rather straight to the point - almost a little too much. A little bit more mistifying aspects could've been used to spruce up the dialogue, the characters and their surroundings, and the small (and understandably contained) plot itself. However, my biggest gripe was noted already; the confusion I had with Khalikh itself. As I said, it's an interesting game, it's just the rules needed better explained.

MISCELLANEOUS 7

Wild Card ~ 7/10 All in all, I liked the simplicity of the plot and I'm impressed by the thought put into Khalikh. As a matter of fact, I hope it would become a common staple of Althanians. (You might even catch me sneaking it into some of my threads) It was a good read, and I'm definitely going to be catching up on Time Enough.

TOTAL ~ 63/100

EXP Rewards
Call Me J receives 710 experience!

GP Rewards
He also receives 900 gold!

Other Rewards
He also receives a blank, brown Khalikh Tile with a black "W" on it.

[Karuka]

EXP/GP added!