All the world is impermanent; mind is the root of evil. Body a reservoir of sin.
"Vigil? Why didn't we bring Eve here?"
Vigil shook his coat, and something fell from his sleeve, unbeknownst to anyone but himself.
"Simple, really, you want to bring Eve to a place where you play games with your money?"
Elyon thought for a few moments, and he agreed that would've been a disaster.
Vigil asked Elyon, "What do you want to play first? Because I don't want to get into the money-making from the start."
Elyon looked around, and he saw a table that was illuminated by one of those purple lights. Which were, of course, bought from Scholar's Rest. Those lights were made in a more private setting for top business. The table was square and held seven seats. At the top of a table was a bald man with a very impressive moustache. His hands were folded behind his back. He was a dealer, and out of those seven seats, five were occupied.
Elyon pointed to the table, prompting Vigil to speak. "The Good Man's Samsara"
Elyon looked back at him. "That's a weird name"
Vigil responded, "We are not going to make that much money there. But it's going to be interesting."
Elyon nodded, and both of them walked over to the table. Once they sat down, the dealer spoke first. "First, we should get acquainted. My name is Duzakh, and I will be your dealer for tonight. I will give all of you two minutes to talk, then I will explain the rules"
Elyon and Vigil were sitting next to each other. On Vigil's left, an old wise guy sat dressed in rags. "Name Methuselah"
On Elyon's right sat a scrawny man whom Elyon took pity on for no reason at all. "M-my name is Jerahmeel" He was dressed in a plain white shirt and black pants.
On Methuselah's right was an older, gentler woman who wore church attire. "My name is Maryam, pleased to make your acquaintance."
On Jerahmeel's right was a kid who looked like a brat, with spiky hair and piercings in his nose. "Devadatta, just know you all are going to lose."
And finally, on Maryam's right was a hungry fellow who was munching on a chicken leg. "Taotie," He spoke with his mouth full.
"Elyon"
"Vigil"
-------------------------------------------
[DUZAKH]
╭───────────────╮
[TAOTIE] [DEVADATTA]
│ │
[MARYAM] O [JERAHMEEL]
│ │
[METHUSELAH] [ELYON]
╰───────────────╯
[VIGIL]
--------------------------------------------
Vigil stared at the dealer. Now it was the dealer's time to speak.
"Now I will explain the rules. A table for seven includes seven cards"
The dealer placed a card in the middle of the table with an image of a knife.
"Murder, your role is to kill and not be voted out. Kill at night and lie in the morning. If you win, you will claim the pot for yourself."
The dealer placed another card with two theatre masks.
"Fool, your role is to fool the other players and get yourself voted out. If you win, you will claim the pot for yourself"
Another card, this time with a white pigeon.
"Detective, your role is to 'detect' the murderer. At night, you can check a player's card. If you win, you split the pot with the remaining alive villagers"
And finally, four wheat cards.
"Villager, your role is to survive and to vote correctly. If you win, you will split the pot with the remaining villagers and with the detective. That is...if they are alive. If not, you will take the pot for yourself."
"I will take a commission of one gold coin per round. Did everyone understand the rules?"
Everyone nodded, which made the dealer look at Elyon. "How much you want to bet? The rest will follow if they wish"
Elyon shot him a glance which basically told him. If we lose, we are screwed. Vigil nodded; his eyes told Elyon.
Go all in.
"Twenty gold coins, I will also pay for Vigil"
Elyon took out forty golden coins, and he pushed them in the middle. The rest of the participants followed. Once everyone placed their bets, the dealer took one gold coin from the stack. Then he began to shuffle the cards. As he shuffled, he spoke.
"I will give you the cards, look at them and remember what role you have."
Each player got a card, and they analysed them.
"When I say the village went to sleep, close your eyes. I will name the roles, and whoever has that role has to open their eyes. Everything is allowed other than stealing the cards or violence."
Everyone nodded again.
"Let the village fall asleep."
Everyone except the dealer closed their eyes.
"Murder, wake up. Who do you want to kill?"
The murderer pointed at someone, then he went back to sleep.
"Detective, wake up. Who do you want to suspect?"
The detective pointed at someone, then he went back to sleep.
"Let the village wake up"
Everyone opened their eyes.
The dealer spoke, "Vigil, you are dead; the murderer has killed you."
--------------------------------------------
[DUZAKH]
╭───────────────╮
[TAOTIE] [DEVADATTA]
│ │
[MARYAM] O [JERAHMEEL]
│ │
[METHUSELAH] [ELYON]
╰───────────────╯
█████
--------------------------------------------
Elyon punched the table as hard as he could. "Vigil, you fucking IDIOT. Why the hell did you-"
Vigil cut him off. "Shut up and play"
Elyon was fuming, but anger wasn't the only thing burning in him. He was scared because he didn't know what to do.
The old man rubbed his chin. "Ah...youngsters, so hasty in their chase for friendship"
The hungry fellow kept eating without a worry in the world; he remained quiet.
The gentle nun was second to speak. "Why don't we try to get along? There's no need for suffering"
The brat was the second to slam his fist on the table. "Shut up, you old farts! You two can barely even see. What are you two even doing here?"
The nun gave the brat an amused expression. "I'm sure if the murderer knew how you were speaking. You would've been the first to go out"
The brat responded. "Oh, I'm sure that the murderer would love to bathe in your blood next round"
The old man began to rub his belly as he started laughing. "Ah, such fire! I love this table already"
The nun and the brat started to go at each other's throats. Which made the pitiful guy speak. "Can we try to be normal? I don't like it when people yell."
Elyon managed to calm down, and then he was the first to take charge. "Alright, alright. It's too early for us to vote now. We should go to sleep. Who agrees?"
The hungry fellow stopped eating, and he stared back at Elyon with a disgusted look. "Who do you think you are?"
Elyon's eyes widened, and he started to yell at the hungry fellow, "KEEP EATING YOUR CHICKEN YOU FAT FUCK!"
Everyone was yelling at each other except the old man and the pitiful guy. After about five minutes, all of them calmed down, and they silently decided not to vote.
"Let the village fall asleep"
Night two started. The murderer killed, and the detective suspected someone.
"Let the village wake up"
The dealer spoke: "Devadatta, you are dead; the murderer has killed you"
--------------------------------------------
[DUZAKH]
╭───────────────╮
[TAOTIE] █████████
│ │
[MARYAM] O [JERAHMEEL]
│ │
[METHUSELAH] [ELYON]
╰───────────────╯
█████
--------------------------------------------
The brat was furious: "I told you! It's that DAM-"
The dealer cut him off: "Dead people are silent"
The brat stopped talking, and he just looked at the table.
The hungry fellow stopped eating, and he began to scan the crowd. "It's obvious that it's the four eyes. Calyon"
Elyon wanted to explode again, but the old guy was faster to speak. "On what assumptions? We have to vote, and we also need a good reason to vote."
The hungry fellow looked back at him. "No reason"
The old man studied the grease that fell from his chin. "I may be old yet, and my smell left a while ago. But you are the stinker here. And I am not talking about your odour."
The hungry fellow responded. "On what assumptions?"
The old man almost laughed. "On none"
Elyon's head was starting to hurt, not because of his constant multiplier. But because he didn't know what to believe. And so he asked. "Maryam, what role are you?"
The gentle nun turned and looked at him. "Murderer, of course"Elyon couldn't believe what he was hearing. Did the murderer actually reveal herself?
Wait, something is off.
Elyon turned back to the pitiful guy. "What about you, Jerahmeel?"
The pitiful guy was quite happy that someone spoke to him. "I am the murderer!" He spoke happily. Elyon slapped his face. It wasn't as easy as he thought.
The fat man asked Elyon. "What about you, four-eyes?"
Elyon responded. "Murder"
The fat man chuckled, "Same goes for me and this old fart"
The old man spoke, "Everyone here is a murderer at this table, one way or another"
Elyon didn't know what to think. And so he didn't, he pointed to the first person that came to his mind. "Methuselah, you are the murderer."
The old man didn't look surprised, and he silently pointed back at Elyon. But after a bit, he spoke. "I don't know if you are the murderer, Elyon boy, but at least I know who is the fool"
The pitiful guy's eyes widened, and he spoke: "Who is it?"
The nun turned to look at the old man: "I sure hope you have a reason"
The old man pointed with his other hand at the hungry fellow. "Taotie is the fool. Don't vote him out"
The nun looked suspiciously at the old man. "On what basis and reason are you saying this?"
The old man smiled: "None, just a gut feeling"
The nun remained silent, and so did everyone.
The pitiful man pointed his finger towards the old man.
The nun pointed her finger towards the hungry fellow.
And the hungry fellow pointed his finger towards the pitiful guy.
The dealer spoke: "Methuselah, you have been voted out"
--------------------------------------------
[DUZAKH]
╭───────────────╮
[TAOTIE] █████████
│ │
[MARYAM] O [JERAHMEEL]
│ │
██████████ [ELYON]
╰───────────────╯
█████
--------------------------------------------
"Let the village fall asleep"
The third night started. The murderer killed someone, and the detective successfully identified the murderer.
The dealer spoke, "Let the village wake up...Maryam, you are dead; the murderer has killed you"
The older woman could only sigh.
--------------------------------------------
[DUZAKH]
╭───────────────╮
[TAOTIE] █████████
│ │
██████ O [JERAHMEEL]
│ │
██████████ [ELYON]
╰───────────────╯
█████
--------------------------------------------
What do we do now?" Jerahmeel spoke.
Taotie responded: "We vote, that's what we do"
Elyon looked back at Taotie aggressively, "So you can win?"
Taotie nodded while he added. "It's simple, really, you are the murderer, Elyon"
Elyon bit his lip while looking at him, "And you are the fool"
Taotie chuckled, "And Jerahmeel is the last villager"
Jerahmeel could only squirm in his seat.
Elyon started chuckling, alongside Taotie. "I lied, I am the fool. And you are the murderer"
Taotie responded calmly, "Switching so fast, huh? Maybe the fool has long been dead? Ever thought of that?"
Elyon actually didn't think that; he just took the old guy's words for granted. And so he decided to do what he did best. He turned off his brain.
Elyon pointed at the ceiling. "I am not voting."
Taotie look impressed at Elyon's action. And he did the same. "I am not voting either."
To everyone's shock at the table, except Maryam, Jerahmeel voted. He voted Elyon.
The dealer spoke. "The game has ended"
"The murderer won."
"Please reveal your cards in the order you died"
Vigil was the first to reveal his card...villager.
Devadatta was the second...villager.
Methuselah was the third...villager.
Maryam was the fourth...detective.
Elyon was the fifth...villager.
Taotie was the sixth...fool.
Jerahmeel was the last...murder.
"The first round of The Good Man's Samsara came to an end."