Arthur blurted out his next words before he gave any thought to them. “Why hasn’t anyone harvested this scourgling?”

The man with the curly hair gave him a baffled look. “Uh, harvest for what?” His gaze landed on the nearest scourgling in the water tanks. “You don’t intend to . . . eat this, do you?”

In answer, Arthur strode to the scourgling laid out on the table. He reached for it.

“For God’s sake, put on some gloves!” someone behind him yelped, but Arthur was already gesturing over the distinct glow in the chest.

The entire room fell silent as two shards drifted up. Arthur plucked them out of the air and then turned, palm out, to show them.

Immediately, the small group exploded into questions.

“What did you do?”

“What is that?”

“Hey, he stopped the glow!”

“What are those things?”

Deftly, Arthur held a shard up between his fingers. It was not a corner piece, but still oddly shaped. And like the shards Brixaby and the others in his retinue had received, it was blank without a feeling of rank to it.

That actually helped to settle him. It was a reminder that this place and these people weren’t real, and this was not truly the past. This was a scenario—a challenge to solve by the Dark Heart.

Perhaps part of that challenge was to teach these people about cards? It was the only way he could think of that they could use to defend themselves against the scourgling horde outside.

This is a challenge, he thought. And, steeling himself, he accessed his Subtle Influence card to add weight to his words.

Subtle Influence

Common

Mind

The wielder of this card will be granted the power to subtly influence direct conversations in which they are participating. The wielder will be able to push a subtle weight to all of their words, which will have the effect of nudging a conversation in the direction they wish. This is a minor influence and may be counteracted by a strong will. Conversely, this card will have a greater effect on an unsteady, weak, or compromised mind. This is an active skill that uses mana.