Coye 6.13

As promised, back to it. The chapter title will be a joke later, as during the foreplay chapters we'll have Playing with Coye.

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Chapter 13 - Playing With Dorothy

A Peasant's Story; this was not.

Even with a big-brain teacher like Dorothy to guide him along the way, learning the rules of RealMonster made Coye feel like Byng must've felt a few nights ago. He was expecting a simple game for children. Instead, he found a complex battle of interlocking systems between two players that simulated an all-out war.

Each player controlled a deck of fifty cards, of which they would each draw five on their first turn. The way things worked was that both of the players started with a regenerating pool of four mana, and with every passing turn, that mana counter would grow until reaching a total of twelve. Using the mana allotted to them, players could summon monsters, cast spells, or use artifacts, all in a bid to drag down the opposing player's heart points from thirty to zero.

Coye understood that much. The cards all had their basic information displayed clearly enough. Mana cost at the top right corner, health and attack points at the bottom, but what tripped him up was when you started getting into the individual effects of cards. Every card in the game did something unique or belonged to an archetype of cards that did something similar.

There were cards that searched the deck, cards that destroyed cards in the opposing player's hand before they could be played, cards that jumped in front of the way when you tried attacking their allies, cards that weakened their opponent when they were on the opposite row, cards that metamorphized and swelled in strength, and so, so much more. Trying to learn the basic effects made Coye's eyes spin like they would fall out of his head. Dorothy tried assuring him that he would pick up these sorts of things the more he played and learned about specific card effects, but at the moment, it came off as informational overload, leaving his poor simpleton brain fried.

On the other hand, Shayla was drastically reconsidering her previously held thoughts on RealMonster. Before, she pretended she was only mildly interested, saying she only liked the art. Now, though? Now, this was starting to seem like something that was much more up her alley.

Shayla could tell that RealMonster was a game centered around bluffing, trickery, strategic counterplays, and deceit. She had to try for it herself one of these days, but for now, Shayla was content with letting Coye enjoy Dorothy acting absurdly cute as she rambled on and on about the things she liked.

"So now that we've just about covered the basics..." Dorothy got up from the couch and sat at her desk, pulling open one of its drawers and withdrawing a small box. Upon opening that one, she pulled out two smaller boxes with RealMonster packaging. "I don't know if you've seen any of these at Suzette's shop, but these are structure decks. I bought both of them a while back but haven't ever opened them because-"

"No one to play with?"

"Don't make me keep saying it..." Dorothy sighed.

"No worries. As long as I have anything to say about it, we'll be playing together a lot from now on." Following her off the couch, Coye sat opposite Dorothy on one of the chairs on the opposing side of her desk.

Dorothy was nearly trembling with excitement. "Really, Coye? I... well, I know by now I really shouldn't be surprised at this point that you actually want to spend time with me and do things with me, but... gods, my self-esteem is low..." she laughed pitifully.

"Let's hope it doesn't get even lower after I beat you," Coye teased, managing to get a smile out of her.

"I guess we'll just have to see about that," Dorothy said. "Now, then... I have two decks for you to choose from. First off is Roaring Dragons-" with great emphasis, she positioned the box for him to see.

It had the RealMonster branding and the deck's name, but the packaging caught Coye's attention and refused to let it go. Front and center was an illustration of a colossal red dragon with curled black horns sweeping down on a field of farmers. Searing flames burst from its knife-toothed jaws, burning men, women, and children to cinders. Though only a drawing, it captured the subject matter to a terrifying degree, making the deck's contents seem much more powerful.

"And then there's Fanciful Fairies," Dorothy sat down the second box beside the first, where it heavily contrasted with its neighbor.

This deck advertised itself with a drawing of a beautiful, busty fairy with rainbow butterfly wings, shimmering eyes, a stark, glittery violet dress, and a silvery, jeweled crown on her head. Long strands of moonlight-colored hair fell down her back and on the throne she sat. The elegant woman smiled at the viewer while sipping from a chalice of golden nectar. Around her, small, glowing orbs with fluttering wings flocked to her like moths to a flame.

Coye stared at the illustration for quite a while, and Shayla was just as captivated by what she saw. 'Huh. Is that supposed to be Queen Titania?' She hazarded a guess.

'You tell me.'

'Not like I've ever met her,' Shayla shrugged. 'Still, the fairy-themed deck is a little on the nose. You gonna go with it?'

'Might as well,' Coye said as he reached for Fanciful Fairies and took the box.

"I'll go with this one."

"Oh," Dorothy remarked. "Are you, ah... absolutely certain about that?"

"Why, did you want this one?" Coye turned the box over and pointed it back towards her.

"No, no, that's alright-" she quickly turned him down. "It's just that I've read some unflattering things about the deck in a hobby magazine..."

"How bad could it be?" Coye asked as he opened up the deck. Before Dorothy could answer, an eruption of fireworks nearly identical to the ones Shayla was constantly making exploded out of the box.

It differed from the usual minor enchantments when opening a pack of RealMonster cards. Instead of epic dwarven chanting, there was a choir of silky-voiced maidens singing in a pretty language Coye didn't recognize. At first, he thought it was Elvish, but it seemed too... efficient for that to be the case. Just as pretty, though. Context made it clear that it was most likely Sylvan, which Shayla didn't speak a word of since pixies were far removed from their kin living in the magical realm of Tirlindi.

This singing and light show went on to the point where it started to feel gratuitous and then a little past that point. When it was over, Dorothy finally commented, "Roaring Dragons is an actual deck that you can play straight out of the box. Fanciful Fairies is more of an item to help out collectors..."

"How so?"

"Well, it comes with many cards that are hard to find, but... well, it'd be easier to explain if you had a look for yourself."

"Sure," he went along with it, and after unsealing the packaging, he emptied the box's contents into his hand. Alongside the expected deck were five of the flat chroma crystal chips, which Coye thought was a rather stingy amount for buying a whole deck of cards. He undid the seal that the cards came in, and at Shayla's behest, he ran through the contents slowly so that they could both take in all of the art.

There were a bunch of common fairy cards he'd never seen before, and much to her excitement, the deck came with three pixie cards. Though they were the same card regarding effect, stats, and cost, the art on each was different, yet they formed a triptych when placed together. It showed three pixies working their way through a crowd of people, playing pranks as they soared through the skies. Shayla approved wholeheartedly.

There were different spells meant to support fairy-type cards in numerous ways, some fairy-themed artifacts, and various other low and mid-level fairies, but the selling point was undoubtedly all of the high-level cards included. Aside from the star of the deck, Titania, Seelie Queen of Tirlindi, there were an additional seven shiny cards, each belonging to a single archetype- the Unseelie Lords.

Each looked majestic and powerful enough that they could've been the centerpiece on the front of the box. They had names such as Moira, Unseelie Lady of Death, or Casidhe, Unseelie Lord of Mischief, but apart from that, they seemed to have nothing in common. Each had drastically different aesthetics alongside convoluted abilities that sometimes conflicted. From that alone, Coye figured these cards didn't share anything in common beyond their 'Unseelie' title.

'Holy shit-'

'What's up?'

'You don't have any idea who these guys even are, do you?'

'Not in the slightest. Cool pictures, though.' Coye said, ogling the exposed breasts of Sheridan, Unseelie Lady of Beasts, depicted as a wild, naked, tomboyish woman holding a lance while riding atop an armored corgi. There wasn't a single thing about the illustration that Coye didn't love.

Shayla rolled her eyes at his horniness, then elaborated for him. 'The Unseelie Lords are like... the baddest of the bad when it comes to fairies. Each one committed some kind of huge sin that pissed off Titania and got them kicked out of Tirlindi thousands of years ago if the stories I was told have any truth. Now they each live in a different part of Karnalle.'

Coye appreciated the additional lore, then circled back to Casidhe momentarily. He noticed something unconsciously while flipping through them beforehand and wanted to double-check. This androgynous, smarmy-looking fairy had the same teal hair color and pink-and-blue eyes as Shayla but also dressed somewhat like her, showing off his immaculate body via booty shorts and a crop top. Aside from his much fancier wings and the fact that he was adorned in enough jewelry to make a nobleman blush, the resemblance was uncanny.

'Where does this one live?' He asked.

'...Arrark. I know where you're going with this, but no.' Shayla laughed. 'If there's any relation, it's not a meaningful one. Again, if those old-ass stories are to be believed, Casidhe was the first pixie, and I'm distantly descended from him. Besides, it's just an artist's interpretation of him. Wouldn't be surprised if whoever drew it just modeled the art off of a standard pixie, y'know?'

'Yeah, that makes sense...' Coye frowned. For a moment, he dared to dream that Shayla was the progeny of some all-powerful evil fairy king, but she'd told him of her family before and knew it was a long shot.

Dorothy had given Coye plenty of time to check over his deck and kept silent, not wanting to ruin things by giving him detailed breakdowns of every last card even though she very well could've. Given how long he was staring at the Unseelie Lords, Dorothy assumed Coye had figured out the problem with Fanciful Fairies.

"Well? Do you understand what I meant?"

"I think so," Coye nodded. "These cards barely have anything to do with each other at best, and at worst, they work against each other. Like this Riordan guy gets stronger the more cards are in your hand, while Tristana's effects activate by discarding crap from your handle..."

"Precisely. Fanciful Fairies is just a big excuse to get all of the Unseelie Lords and Titania at once so that you can build decks around each one. It's not really meant to be played as is."

"Speaking of," Coye flipped back to the main star, Titania, "It says her abilities don't activate unless Oberon something or other is on the field, and the deck doesn't even have him in it."

"They're releasing a similar deck with Oberon and the seven supposed commanders of the Wild Hunt separately at some point in the future," she sighed, well-versed with Wizards of the Workshop's anti-consumer business strategies. Plenty of people couldn't wait to play a popular archetype like fairies, so if you give them Titania without Oberon or any of the Unseelie Lords without their support, they would likely buy additional packs in the hopes of getting what they needed a little sooner.

Coye raised an eyebrow at her words, but it wasn't at the cards themselves. "The Wild Hunt? I think my dad actually told me about that before, but I don't remember what he said..."

'I'd tell you that you could ask me for a fairy lore dump anytime you want, but...' Shayla briefly looked at Dorothy, who was itching at the excuse to exercise her knowledge at Coye's prompt. 'Someone else seems like they might be able to do a better job.'

"It would be stranger if you hadn't heard of them," Dorothy nodded along to her own comment. "They're fairly infamous- the stuff of nightmares, really. Winged knights clad in horrific armor, riding atop spectral steeds with burning hooves... it's no wonder they're a popular bogeyman across Karnalle. Unfortunately, there's too much credible documentation to ignore their existence. Aside from that, though, scholars can't seem to agree on anything about them. All we know is that they appear throughout the realm occasionally, always under cover of moonlight, but who they are and what they're after is beyond our current understanding."

'Does that check out to you?' Coye asked.

'Yeah, actually. I thought Dorothy would've known more than me, but apparently not...' Shayla sounded somewhat pleased with herself. 'They're pretty mysterious, to say the least. Even to other fairies like me.'

Coye found that interesting, but what surprised him more was Dorothy's knowledge of the topic. "I guess I should've figured, but you sure know a lot about fairies."

Blushing and smiling softly at the compliment, Dorothy lowered her head and held the Roaring Dragons box with both hands. "The Gnarled Woods are filled with fairies of all sorts, meaning I have to keep up with the subject as much as possible. However, even if my job didn't require it, it'd still be one of my favorite subjects. It's not just big scaly beasts that catch my interest," Dorothy glanced at the lindwurm scale acting as a paperweight on the corner of her desk. "No. I have great interest in all sorts of 'monsters', failing a better catch-all term, and fairies are... well, they're something I've always had a fondness for..."

"You don't say?" Coye noted, thanking the goddess above for such delicious irony.

"Oh, yes. I've read so many books on the matter, and I could go on for hours and hours about all the different species and subspecies of Fae..." her smile became dreamier and nostalgic. "When I was a little girl, I would even pretend my dolls were fairies. I'd sit with them in the garden, and they'd tell me secrets in exchange for little cakes I'd make out of dirt, ahaha... ah, I'm sorry, I just couldn't help remembering-"

"You're fine," Coye assured her. He was grateful for the adorable anecdote, even if it embarrassed her after the fact.

Shayla was keeping quiet, as Dorothy wasn't the only one embarrassed. This was another reason why she should have trusted Dorothy sooner, and at this point, it was like rubbing salt in the wound. Being casually interested in fairies wasn't enough for her, was it? She had to go and be the person most open to meeting a fairy in all of Cransmere, didn't she? It took a lot of effort for Shayla not to sigh at her stupidity, but if nothing else, it told her things would be fine when the secret was out.

"You know, I'd actually like to ask you some questions about fairies sometime. I'm interested in the subject, too... but for now..." Coye scooped up his deck, straightened it all in order, and then shuffled it. "We have a game to play, don't we?"

"Of course! As long as you still want to, that is..."

"What do you think?"

"Ahaha, silly question, I suppose..." with great excitement, she opened the Roaring Dragons box and familiarized herself with its contents. She barely paid attention to the thundering drums and dragon roars coming from the box. Her focus was on the cards themselves and she trailed through them one by one, reading their effects and committing any new findings to her memory.

When she was done, Dorothy took a large playing mat from one of her desk drawers and spread it on the table before her. Coye thought it was pretty cool. It had outlines for where the cards were supposed to go, and on its surface, a big battle featuring monsters from all across known realmspace was depicted. He followed her lead and placed his deck at the appropriate zone, and once Dorothy ran through the fundamentals of the game again to confirm Coye understood the basics, they began.

It only took a couple of turns for Coye to understand the vast difference in their decks. He was barely able to counter Dorothy's dragons, thanks in no small part to their inherent synergy with each other. Whereas his fairies had contradictory effects and spells that were all over the place, Dorothy's cards knew precisely what they were out to achieve. She would start by summoning low-level dragon eggs, protecting them long enough with spells and artifacts for their [Hatch] effect to trigger. Once it did, she got to search her deck for a Baby Dragon card of her choosing and place it on top of the egg. Depending on the dragon type, these cards had their own abilities on top of [Growth].

Stopping her growing swarm was simple- they needed to be defeated while still eggs or babies. If too long passed, they would snowball into juveniles and, after that, fully matured dragons. The only problem was that Coye's fairies seemed utterly uninterested in possessing anything resembling a practical effect. His cards were more interested in bullshit like coin tosses, randomly swapping cards from each other's hands, placing his cards at the bottom of his deck, and other unhelpful things.

Maybe all of these random hodgepodge keywords would've worked better if the deck had been built explicitly around one gimmick instead of a hundred, but that wasn't the case. It didn't help that his deck was overstuffed with boss monsters, and he kept drawing them at inopportune times.

Still, Coye was doing much worse than Shayla figured he should've been. Even to a beginner like herself, she noticed him making startling misplays to the point where she assumed he might've been letting Dorothy win on purpose. As for why that might be the case, it might've been because she was acting adorable and exposing her sillier side during the match. Dorothy would make roaring sounds whenever she played one of her dragons, pretend to breathe fire when attacking, and add a bunch of other sound effects wherever she saw fit.

Shayla didn't think Dorothy even noticed she was doing it, and Coye didn't call her out on it because he was worried it would stop if he did. But was that really the reason why he was playing so bad? Maybe, yet Shayla suspected that Coye was up to something.

Ultimately, Dorothy defeated Coye, and it wasn't even close. She tried to accept her victory gracefully but couldn't hold back the happiness she felt over winning her first game of RealMonster. "I can't believe it. That was so much more fun than I thought it would be...!" She sighed dreamily, only to realize she was essentially rubbing in her victory. "Oh, ah, I'm sorry... I hope it was fun for you, too, Coye..."

"Sure was," Coye was all smiles as he picked up his cards and shuffled them back in his deck. "I have to say, though. You got pretty into it there for a while, huh?"

Dorothy tilted her head, totally unawares. "What do you mean? I didn't... oh, no, my imagination didn't get the best of me, did it? Coye, you really should've said something if that was the case...!" She blushed bright red, hoping whatever she mumbled during the match wasn't too embarrassing.

"Why would I do that?" Coye asked. "Shouldn't you know by now you don't have to worry about holding back around me? Play the game however you want to play it. As for me, I'll just sit here and smile, happy that I get a chance to spend time with you."

"Ah... ahahaha..." Dorothy stared at the playing mat, admiring the illustration mainly because she couldn't bear to look Coye in the eyes after he said that.

She was wearing a crooked, nervous smile, and her palms were sweating all over her new deck. If they did this more often, Dorothy would have to invest in some of those transparent playing sleeves she'd seen in her magazines... especially if Coye kept teasing her. Following his cue, she gathered up her deck and shuffled it, assuming they were playing a second round.

When both of them put their decks down, Shayla teased, 'Good luck, baby... maybe try a little harder this time?' There was an accusatory lilt in her voice, suggesting she knew his intentions, but Coye only smiled and drew his five cards.

During the second match, Shayla paid even closer attention to his hand and mapped out all the options he had available. Even if Coye didn't understand the game very well, she noticed he was more knowledgeable than he was letting on. She saw his hand hovering over what would've been the 'optimal' move on many occasions before purposefully picking out a worse one. Despite knowing for sure, Shayla kept her mouth shut until the game ended like the first match did- with Coye facing down a whole field of high-level dragons until he had zero heart points.

Once again pleased with her win but wracked with guilt, Dorothy didn't know how to express her sympathy. It wasn't her fault that Coye's deck was unplayable, but she felt like it all the same. "I'm sorry, I really should've picked up another option as far as structure decks go... If you'd still like to play, perhaps we could trade decks for this next round?"

Coye smiled, knowing now was an excellent time to make his move. "I think I'm good. It sounds to me like you're underestimating fairies, though."

"No, of course not," Dorothy laughed. "Fairies themselves are magical creatures of incredible power in many respects and are capable of many miraculous feats. Even in RealMonster, they're quite powerful with the proper deck, and..." she cut her tangent short, assuming he was making a jest.

"Well, you said it yourself. If they're really so powerful, let's bet on it. I'll bet you anything I can win with this deck, Dorothy."