The Weekend Report

The Clontarf Shuffle

So we’ve started gathering for social events again and that means I need to write about them for your reading pleasure. I don’t really want to, my enjoyment derived from writing has long since passed. But it’s expected so I shall try to convey my experience at the gathering the best that I can.

I arrived late, of course, but it doesn’t seem that too much happened before then except a ‘newbie’ poker tournament. Now as I hear it, Zatarra won, which hardly seems fair as he’s not exactly new to the game. It would seem that the rules allowed anyone without stacked deck points to join, which seems to be an oversight on the organizers part, if you ask me. Lack of recent participation does not an inexperienced player make. So perhaps a different approach to that in the future might be a good idea.

There was a stacked deck tournament of course. That seemed to go on forever which is why I am unlikely to participate as it tends to take you away from the rest of the gathering for most of the day if you do well, and still a decent portion even if you do poorly. I hear Avendar won, or perhaps I just assumed he won because he always does? Either way, somebody won so congratulations to them.

There were plenty of other games to lose gold at. Roulette, a tedious game in my opinion, is rumored to have won my traveling companion Trent quite a lot of gold, while simultaneously draining his squire, Vesper, dry. Thoril apparently thought it appropriate to sit at the roulette table despite being told by multiple people that it was quite uncouth, but then again what else would one expect from a man who’s now three years late bringing my tea?

Blackjack was pleasant to play as always, but luck was not on my side. Craps was more of the same. Socializing was the only good part of either experience as the rest of it involved everyone losing their gold. I’m not used to gambling with my own money, and I have to say I would not recommend it based on this experience. I do much better when I use other people’s money.

The Luck of the Lion was far kinder to me and was an enjoyable game to play. Though not as enjoyable as it was when they introduced it to us. I am told that they fixed the payouts so they are more reasonable now. Good for the casino, less good for the patrons who want to win copious amounts of coin for little effort. It was a table that was appropriate to sit at, and making a living on my back is surprisingly hard on my feet, so I was happy to be seated for a while.

There were a myriad of card and board games as well, though I didn’t participate in them to know how they were. I did win one in the raffle though, so I’ll get to try ‘Rhiassan Line Battle’ at some point when I find at least one person willing to put up with me long enough for a game.

Other than games, there was a table of mages who were discussing magical theory with anyone who’d listen, and some who definitely were not. Next to them was a lonely woman who tried to interest people in her clothing swap. Spoiler alert, no one was interested in that either. Sitting there did afford me the time to read a wonderful book on insults though, and it’s often difficult for me to find the time for such self improvement effort so I do appreciate that.

There was food. So much wonderful food! Kyomi outdid herself. It was the best kind of food for a social event: little bite sized portions of things that you could pick at throughout the day. The baked brie was fabulous and the little grilled sandwiches, despite not looking like much, were really delicious. The french onion soup was good, though I had to eat it out of a cup since there were no bowls to be found, and I would have loved some cheese to put on it, but it was quite enjoyable with some bread. The deviled eggs, which are one of my favorite foods, were also very good and I heard they were brought from afar from Jerrick Farms by a lad who looks shockingly similar to James Swift but I was assured is an entirely different person.

There were a lot of charitable things happening. Certain types of gold could be bought with special green paper which can help children affected by war in another realm. Tao promised that he would match the donations made in this way, and while I am usually adverse to these types of currency exchanges, the possibility of making Tao poorer and helping children at the same time made it all so much more palatable, even enjoyable. There were raffle tickets to win and buy and lots of interesting prizes. There was even a well made magic cloak in a garish blueish-purple hued fabric that Rillan won. Looks fabulous on him by the way, make sure you compliment him when you see him.

Overall, it was a wonderful day spent with mostly good company. After a few years of very little social interaction outside of my own home, even an afternoon soiree with all of you was a welcome diversion from the doldrums to which I have become accustomed. I am, surprisingly, looking forward to the next time I get to see most of you.