Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic-Chapter 1649: Traveling Merchant in the Tavern
The table against the wall wasn’t placed right up against the edge, allowing people to sit in all four directions. The lunch for the professor and the two others hadn’t been served yet, and they didn’t start talking until Shard ordered his lunch.
"I didn’t expect to run into you again, Mr. Watson, and such a coincidence at that."
Professor Boulanger appeared quite enthusiastic, while the two young students next to him seemed a bit stiff:
"After I ran into you last time, I added everything you said about the natural and cultural environment of the Pantanal Region to my next paper. Once the negotiation between the two countries is over, I’m planning to visit the Pantanal for further study; there are bound to be many mineral deposits there."
"Then I wish you success, Professor."
Shard raised his glass of water and said, enjoying his interactions with such scholars:
"No one’s been known to conduct a proper study in the Pantanal Region for years, and both countries recently plan to develop the wetlands. The areas that were once off-limits have now been opened up, providing this opportunity. Professor, seize this chance, and you’ll surely become renowned."
"Academic research isn’t about chasing fame, but it’s certainly nice if it comes as a byproduct."
Professor Boulanger said humbly, continuing to chat with Shard about the local weather. This spring, there had only been a light rain in the Green Lake Region, and Professor Boulanger believed it would likely rain continuously starting next week.
Once the drinks and food were served, Shard finally asked:
"Professor, did you come looking for that Rot-Eye Barry to find someone too? I’ve been investigating some interesting matters lately, and if it turns out well, my next book will be a detective novel."
"Something like ’Hamilton Detective Stories’? You must send me a copy; I love detective stories. But I’m not looking for someone; I’m undertaking a geological exploration. On the Carsonrick side, I have a document from the Academy that allows me to go anywhere without obstruction. But on the Draleon side, some private lands don’t allow our entry. After much effort and inquiries, I found out that Rot-Eye Barry owns a large piece of land around the lake region. He agreed to let me in to collect some soil samples, but that man is quite crude."
Professor Boulanger expressed some dissatisfaction, unclear about what kind of difficulty he had faced earlier:
"Mr. Watson, from what you mentioned earlier, are you acquainted with Rot-Eye Barry?"
"No, no, I don’t know such a person. It was my friend, an Army Captain. You know, no matter how formidable someone is locally, they wouldn’t dare confront military officers, especially here on the border."
Shard explained, and Professor Boulanger nodded in deep agreement:
"That’s very true, and speaking of which, it’s a bit embarrassing to ask..."
He smiled awkwardly:
"If it’s convenient, could you introduce me to your military officer friend? I’ve felt a bit of danger lately in Draleon’s territory on the north shore of Green Lake. It would be great if your officer friend could introduce a few bodyguards to accompany us temporarily."
He meant to find someone to protect them at specific times, which is quite normal in the military camps near the border, as soldiers also need to make a living.
"Of course, I can do that. I’ll take you over later; Captain Lades is the deputy camp commander and should have people willing to take on such tasks. Speaking of which, I also have something I’d like your help with."
Shard said, taking out the fountain pen he had found near the Water Ghost Nest. He didn’t know who the pen originally belonged to, but based on the pen knowledge he had learned from Dorothy, he knew that this pen wasn’t cheap:
"Professor, have you seen this pen and this name before? It might be connected to the person I’m looking for recently."
Professor Boulanger took the pen and asked the student next to him:
"It looks familiar, Kirk, is this the kind of pen you use?"
The tall, thin young man adjusted his glasses:
"Professor, this isn’t the kind I use. This is a custom fountain pen from Spencer Company, only sold once in Velindale City two years ago. It wasn’t cheap, and it’s rusted like this."
"Is this name ... Durut Giles?"
Professor Boulanger handed the fountain pen back, frowning as he thought for a moment:
"I feel like I’ve heard this name before, but I’m not sure. It’s a rather unremarkable name. Oh, I’ll write a letter back to Velindale and have my colleagues help look it up. Someone using such a pen must be a scholar, and if they’re famous, we should be able to find them."
"Thank you so much, Professor."
Shard said with a smile.
Throughout lunch, the two kept chatting, with the professor showcasing his extensive knowledge in geology and ethnology, while the outlander who had visited many places offered unique insights. As for the professor’s two students, they only exchanged glances, seemingly not used to dining with their teacher.
As they were nearing the end of lunch, a traveling merchant with a red scarf around his neck and a brown scarf wrapped around his head entered the tavern. He claimed to have an unidentified and potentially fake Special Roder Card and wanted to gamble with the tavern guests.
This type of gamble involved not just betting on who would win but also whether the traveling merchant’s card was genuine.
So, the intrigued Shard got up to join in on the activity, asking Professor Boulanger to wait for him a bit before they went together to see Captain Lades.
There were quite a few people in the tavern interested in it, but most were worried it was a scam. Furthermore, most people couldn’t come up with the 5 pounds the traveling merchant required for the bet, so in the end, only three people, including Shard, went to see the card at the bar counter.
The rules of the card were very special, different from all the special cards Shard had seen:
"This is... [Dove of Peace - Kansas Mountain Meeting], suit Star 13. If all card players agree, this round is a draw."
On the card face, two hands were clasped together with the distant view of Kansas Mountain in the background.
The "Dove of Peace" card series includes those negotiations and meetings that have played a decisive role in world peace and the progress of civilization. This series of cards is very special because the rules for all special cards are "if all players agree, the round is a draw," which also reflects the original intention of the Prophet’s Society when creating this set.
The series was issued approximately thirty years ago and has never been reprinted since. Although it is very rare, due to the rather difficult-to-implement rules of the special card, the auction and sale prices of this series of special cards were generally lower during the initial release compared to other series of the same period.
However, since in recent years the Prophet’s Society has started reprinting past cards, the price of the "Dove of Peace," which has never been reprinted, has gradually approached or even surpassed other contemporaneous series.
Seeing this card, after some hesitation, the well-dressed old gentleman among the three gave up competing, leaving Shard and another scholarly-looking gentleman wearing glasses to decide who would gamble with the Traveling Merchant.
Both of them together checked the card, while "she" softly reminded Shard that, from the details and texture, this card was most likely genuine.
After their inspection, the Traveling Merchant said:
"Please present the amount you wish to wager with me for the card, starting at the agreed base price of 5 pounds. I will gamble with whoever bids higher."
"You really know how to do business."
Shard said, taking out his notebook and writing down a number. The middle-aged man hesitated, then shook his head and said to Shard:
"I give up too, you play cards with him. I won’t let such a profiteer take advantage."
"You’re right, I don’t want the profiteer taking advantage either."
Shard revealed the number he had written in his notebook—5 pounds. The Traveling Merchant smiled and shook his head:
"I’m not taking advantage of you; I spent quite a bit of money to get this card myself. Sir, shall we play one round to decide the outcome under the most basic rules? If it’s a draw, I take the money, and you take the card."
"Of course."
Shard took out his spare deck with no special cards, and under the watchful eyes of the old gentleman and the middle-aged man who hadn’t left, each drew two cards with the Traveling Merchant, revealing the second card.
Shard lifted the corner of his first hole card for a glance, raised an eyebrow, then flipped the hole card:
"I stand."
Moon 10 and Star 9, totaling 19 points.
The Traveling Merchant used his second card to lift the first and slowly revealed it in front of himself, then smiled and showed Shard the two cards he held, one in each hand:
"Star 9, Sun 9. You shouldn’t have revealed your card straight away, otherwise I might have hesitated whether to draw another card."
"The fun of playing cards is what’s important; being too fixated on winning and losing ruins it."
Since the loss wasn’t significant, and the increasingly wealthy Outlander leaned back against the counter and spoke with ease. The old gentleman and the middle-aged man both expressed agreement.
The Traveling Merchant then flipped over his third card with an exaggerated motion onto the table, exclaiming in regret:
"Sun 13? Are you kidding me?"
"Then this card is mine."
The Star 13 [Dove of Peace - Kansas Mountain Meeting] was not placed into the Traveling Merchant’s deck but left where everyone could see it. Shard picked it up and inserted it into his own deck, then handed over the 5-pound wager to the merchant:
"You have to make a living too, consider it a draw."
The Traveling Merchant, who had initially been a bit frustrated, was taken aback. He wanted to refuse the money out of dignity but ended up accepting it and said to Shard:
"I won’t take your money for nothing; take a look at my goods here and feel free to choose one."
He then said to the watching bartender:
"Please bring me four mugs of barley wine, yes, four mugs; I’d like to treat these three gentlemen to a drink."
Although not usually fond of drinking, Shard didn’t refuse the generous offer. When the bartender brought the mugs, he smiled, clinked glasses with the old gentleman, the middle-aged man, and the Traveling Merchant, and toasted the Roder Card.
Afterward, Shard finally took a look at the merchant’s wares.
