Read Online 1 State of Grace by John Phythyon - Free Book Online Page A

the government,” Wolf asked as Silverleaf moved his cards into Wolf’s mountain territory.
    “Hardly,” Silverleaf said with a laugh.
    “You can’t mean you live in squalor,” Wolf said, baiting him.
    It worked. The ambassador looked up at him with a new sense of hatred.
    “I have a very nice manor,” he said, his voice dripping with venom.
    “Perhaps you could host me when I make it to Alfar,” Wolf prodded.
    “Yes, of course,” Silverleaf said, his tone a mixture of anger and sarcasm. “You simply must stop by on your visit. Can we continue with the game?”
    Wolf drank some wine to hide his smile. Whether he lost the game or not, he was thoroughly enjoying needling the pompous elf. Still, he needed to win the game for it to really have any sting.
    “I’m sorry, Ambassador,” he said tossing ten gold into the pot and playing a card. “I’ll cast ‘pall of darkness.’ Your units all suffer a minus-two penalty to their attack values and are unable to attack this turn due to fear.”
    “I don’t think so,” Silverleaf replied. He too tossed ten gold into the pot and played a card. “ ‛Ray of hope’ counters all dark magic spells in a single territory.”
    He smiled triumphantly. Wolf pretended to look concerned.
    “Very well,” he replied. He paid the pot another ten gold and said, “I’ll activate the ‘staff of darkness’ and use its ‘unholy strength’ ability. All of my units gain plus-three to their attack and defense values.”
    Silverleaf was unmoved. The smug smile remained on his face. With deliberation, he dropped another thirty gold into the pot.
    “I believe I’ll disenchant your staff of darkness,” he said, playing a card.
    Wolf sighed. He removed the “staff of darkness” from play.
    “All right, Ambassador,” he said, “let’s match things up.”
    “The dragon attacks all of your units, extending its range into your other mountain territory to also get the fungi,” Silverleaf declared.
    “Very well,” Wolf said. “My zombies and ghost attack your elves, and the goblins and vampire bats attack the pixies.”
    “The pixies use their charm ability on two of your goblins,” Silverleaf countered, tossing five gold for each card into the pot.
    Wolf said nothing. He just stared at the board and looked lost. Silverleaf grinned like a thief.
    “Anything else?” the elf prodded in an attempt to twist the knife. Wolf sighed. He tried to appear forlorn.
    “I guess there’s just one thing left for me to do,” he said. He tossed fifty gold into the pot. “I play ‘insidious design,’” he said, dropping the card on the table. “Your dragon is actually working for me.”
    As big as the gasp was for Silverleaf’s double-gargantuan, it was even bigger for Wolf’s masterstroke. Silverleaf raised a hand to silence the crowd. Surprisingly, everyone complied.
    “You can’t do that,” the ambassador said. “As you’ll recall, I’ve cast ‘ray of hope’ on the territory. No dark spell works.”
    Wolf felt the air go out of the room. Everyone thought victory had been snatched away. Wolf waited a moment before speaking.
    “I haven’t forgotten about your spell, Ambassador,” he said. “But ‘insidious design’ isn’t dark magic. It’s just a battlefield condition. Read the card.”
    Silverleaf snatched it off the table and examined it carefully. As he read, Wolf saw him turning the strange shade of purple again. He threw the card back on the table in disgust.
    “Your dragon attacks the pixies,” Wolf said.
    A moment later, it was effectively over. The zombies killed the elves, turning them into zombies under Wolf’s control. The dragon and goblins made short work of the pixies. Wolf was in control of an unstoppable army. Silverleaf had only three units in play. He could draw another one next turn, but he had nothing that could withstand the apocalypse Wolf was about to unleash on him. The game was over.
    “Would you like to concede, Ambassador,” Wolf