Chapter 68: Card Tournament
5 Imbolc 1206
'Carnal Desires' is the most famous brothel in all of Cintra. It is located in the noble city of the Capital. It is said that only the most beautiful and noble women of joy in the whole kingdom work there. It is declared that you can fulfill all your desires in this place full of sins, from the most mundane to the most extravagant and exotic. If you pay enough and get one of the girls to agree, you can have an unforgettable and magical time.
There is a group of five people in front of this place. Ezio, Saibus, Hélène with two other people enter the brothel. Its two people are two men, Desmond and Leonidas.
The five of them enter the brothel and are greeted by a woman with skimpy clothes that don't leave much to the imagination.
"What can we do for you, ladies and gentlemen?" she asks with an enchanting smile.
"My girlfriend and I want to sign up for the Gwent Tournament while the others enjoy the facility," Ezio replies with a smile.
"Good, register on the register while I take care of your friends." the woman points to a table with a manuscript and a pen.
Ezio and Hélène go to the table while the woman starts a rather exciting discussion with Saibus, Léonidas, and Desmond.
Saibus quickly slips out of the conversation and exits the building. He quietly walks around the building. He is joined by Desmond, who locates the building's exits and architecture.
They go back inside, where Ezio has taken a somewhat secluded table. They find Ezio and Leonidas there, with whom they start a conversation.
"Where is Hélène? I don't see her." Desmond asks, looking around the room.
"She went to the rooms to have fun with the girl who ushered us in," Ezio replies before drinking from his mug.
"Don't worry. You'll get it eventually. Just be patient, and your turn will come." Saibus said with a smirk as he poured himself a drink.
"Don't start, Saibus. But, unfortunately, not all of us are lucky enough to have a childhood friend to marry." Desmond replies, a bit annoyed by his best friend's remark.
"Hahaha. Don't take what Saibus says to heart. Just talk to her if you want to woo her. Be a man and take the first step." says Leonidas.
"Enough talk about me. Do you all remember the plan?" Desmond said, changing the subject.
Leonidas, Ezio, and Saibus take a severe head and nod. They know how important the mission is and how discreet you must be.
"Well, let's go to our positions," Ezio says, standing up.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~
The sun is approaching its zenith. The city of Cintra has been up for a few hours and is energetic. Thousands of people work. They forge, haggle, patrol, heal, direct, walk in the streets... In the upper town, it's not the same, we don't see an anthill in motion but rare people walking, seated in the gardens, young nobles pay court to beautiful young ladies.
In this upper city, rich and noble, there is a building that hosts a bloody, difficult tournament where one could emerge victorious, a tournament of Gwent. This establishment is 'Carnal Desires, the most crucial brothel in the kingdom of Cintra.
In this place of debauchery, many people gathered to participate in the tournament or simply to watch the show, see the atmosphere...
The tournament has already started; the qualifying phases have just ended. There are only nine candidates left, eight candidates have qualified, and the last one is the champion of the previous tournament. She will participate directly in the final.
Each round match will be played simultaneously with a referee to prevent cheating. Saibus, Hélène, and Desmond are seated on armchairs against the wall. They ordered their lunch and a pitcher of low-alcohol red wine.
The room's atmosphere is very festive. Music is played in the background by the bards on the stage. The room is filled with people dancing with prostitutes, together or alone.
Leonidas and Ezio are taking on their opponents, but from what people can drink, their opponents have a weaker deck than them, leading to their losses. These two disqualified people angrily walk away from Gwent's table and console themselves with a prostitute they make out in an upstairs bedroom.
Only Leonidas, Ezio, a woman, and a man remain.
The woman will be Ezio's adversary and is called Lucy. She is blonde, has short hair and blue eyes and wears a short black dress. She is attractive, and all the men in the room look at her with envy.
(Picture Lucy)
"Hello, handsome young man, my name is Lucy. I hope we have an entertaining match, and if you lose, I can do something to make you forget your loss." declares Lucy coquettishly and seductively.
"I intend to win, but I would like to get to know you, noble lady." Ezio smiled as he settled down.
The game between Ezio and Lucy begins quietly. Ezio plays a Northern Kingdom deck with Foltest Protector of the North, while Lucy plays a monster deck. Lucy dominated the first round, causing Ezio to quickly give up, but she withdrew for the second round.
"You don't want to give up, and we both get a reward? Me the trophy and your special reward?" Lucy asks, leaning over, letting Ezio see her cleavage and playing a Leshen.
Ezio looks down at the noble woman's plunging throat and smiles.
"I want to have my reward," says Ezio while playing a spy Sigismund Dijkstra and drawing two cards.
"Well, I'm happy with this outcome. Don't worry. Your reward will be fantastic. You'll be in heaven." Lucy said with a sultry smile before licking her lips.
Ezio looks at his cards and plays a scorched earth card which burns the highest cards on the table. These cards are those of Lucy dropping her score in half. Lucy's face slowly changes, breaking down as she realizes the following.
"I cannot accept your proposal; otherwise, my wife will kill me," says Ezio playing Dandelion on his baseline where there are catapults and ballistae, doubling the latter's score. With these two actions, Ezio misses his turn and wins as he scored 250 and Lucy 50 with just two cards in her hand.
Lucy stands up angrily. She gives Ezio a hateful look and storms out of the brothel.
Ezio goes to the others with whom he shares a small glass of red wine. He talks until the end of Leonidas' match, which ends up losing to Robert, a warrior who plays a Skellige deck.
The two sit around a table and greet each other. Robert is not a man of many words. Don't speak with Ezio. Robert is a tough player, but Ezio wins the first round with difficulty.
Robert is a seasoned player who wins the second round thanks to an Ermion card which transforms all the berserkers of the same row. The third set was tight, but Ezio scored ten points behind Robert.
"Well, the final is about to start between Ezio and Alice." says a girl from the establishment.
Alice is a gorgeous blonde woman with light green eyes. Her curly hair cascades over her shoulders before flowing down her back. She wears a long dark blue dress.
(Picture Alice)
"Good luck, ma'am." Says Ezio.
"I don't need luck, just my skills but thank you and wish you luck," Alice replies, taking her place.
"You are ready ?" asks the prostitute. Ezio and Alice nod and get ready to play.
"Good, it's time for the DDDDDDDUEL!" Ezio and Alice shout.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone