The Shmod Forum

Aarikku · Last edited by Aarikku on Sun Aug 03, 2008 10:42 pm; edited 1 time in total

Okay, let's start off this shindig (never used that word before) with a double feature chapter. Also, these first few chapters are kinda... boring... and mostly to introduce new ideas and characters.

My point being, make yourselves comfortable and grab some popcorn. It's time for the Shmod 2 Double Shmod Extravaganza Deluxe EXTREEEEME.

The Shmod Saga II
Cards with a Vengeance

Chapter One:
The Shmod Factory

Kyle struggled to keep his eyes open during a history class. It may have been about mythology, but he still couldn’t help himself doodling Ultimate Element attacking Sigma Dragon. And Kyle wins! He thought to himself with a smile.

“Your homework for tonight will be to read pages 394 to 400, and answer the questions on page 400.” An impossibly boring old lady of a teacher droned. “Mr. Morin?”

Kyle, as well as the rest of the class, turned to look at Tyson. He snored loudly.

“I would have thought you would’ve been more interested in medieval mythology.” The teacher turned back to the board as Tyson snapped awake. “Not even a dragon keeps you from sleeping in my class?”

“Dragon?” Tyson inquired. The teacher was about to begin anew, but the end-of-school bell saved them.

“It was actually an interesting story.” Kyle retold to Tyson, the two of them now meeting Linlan at their sequential lockers. “A golden dragon that thought of itself as invincible. Eventually it fought an azure lion in the sky, and the force of their battle created what we now know of as lightning.”

“I’ll stick with my golden dragon any day!” Tyson said, taking his deck out of the box in his pocket, and looking at Noble Dragon shine.

“So, the Shmod Factory thing’s this weekend, isn’t it?” Linlan closed her locker. “Exciting.”

“Yeah. I can’t wait.” Tyson chuckled.

==

The weekend finally came. Early in the rainy Saturday morning, Kyle’s mom drove him to the train station. Earliness being a dominant trait of the Hendrixes, they waited for Linlan, Luke and Tyson. The three kids (accompanied by Kyle’s mom, Linlan’s grandfather and the Morins’ dad) obtained their tickets and got on the train.

“So, Luke.” Kyle started the conversation; the kids sitting in a six-seat booth, a few seats away from their collective parents. “You still running Robots?”

“Yep!” Luke nodded. “I had to find some replacements for Bionic Noble Dragon. I think I ended up using a Sphere Droid and two more Scorpios.”

“I’ve had a hard time with my deck.” Linlan complained. “No one, and I mean no one, has any other Great Pandas.” The conductor began to make his ticket-finding rounds.

“Hey, isn’t it a bit greedy for you kids to have six seats for four people?” The conductor scratched his head.

“We’re waiting for a couple friends.” Kyle replied. “Is the train leaving soon?”

“A few minutes. Your friends had better get here quickly.” The conductor continued his walk.

“They couldn’t have found a better way to get to Toronto.” Linlan observed. “Stuff N’ Things did pay for our train tickets.” It was then that a damp Kevin and an umbrella-wielding Cassandra hopped on the train.

“Yo!” Kevin waved, grabbing the empty seat next to Kyle.

“How we doin’?” Cassandra asked, sitting on Linlan’s left.

“No parents?” Linlan inquired.

“Nah,” Kevin waved his hand. “We’ve both been pretty responsible; our parents trust us.”

“That’s a lie.” Cassandra said quietly. “My parents wouldn’t have trusted me if Kevin hadn’t been going. Luckily, he’s responsible enough for the two of us.” The train began to move.

==

The six friends talked, slept, traded and even had a calm enough ride for a couple games of Shmod. After a few hours the train stopped with a “Toronto Station” from the conductor.

“My legs are so stiff.” Linlan complained, but while stretching, she was still managed to touch her toes.

“Shmod factory, Shmod factory.” Tyson and Luke sang, running out of the train. The Morins’ dad started to chase after them.

“Here’s the plan.” Kyle’s mom outlined. “We’ll walk as a group to the Shmod factory. On the way we’ll be passing the Majesty Hotel, so you’ll know where to go afterwards.”

“Got it.” Kyle nodded.

“And… everyone’s relying on you to make sure that no one gets lost.”

“Ah. Extra pressure. Neat.” Kyle sighed. The Hendrixes joined up with the rest of the group.

It was a short walk to the Shmod factory, which looked like a giant warehouse. The word ‘Shmod’ was displayed proudly above the door in the same style as the back of a card. The kids split apart from the smaller group of parents, and they were allowed entry after a guard checked their tickets.

“Ah, the two finalists themselves!” A familiar voice greeted, as the six entered the building. It was the shopkeeper from Stuff N’ Things.

“What are you doing here?” Tyson asked.

“The only way they let me give away tours as a prize is if I was the tour guide.” The shopkeep sighed, stuffing his hands in the giant pockets of his coat. “Luckily, I have a couple trustworthy employees there. Now, shall we – ”

“Sorry to interrupt.” Kyle rose his index finger for emphasis. “Uh, if we have any questions… what do we call you?”

“What?” The shopkeep wondered, confused.

“None of us know your name.” Luke said dully. The others all nodded.

“Martin. Martin Quill.” He replied, scratching the back of his head. “I was sure I told people that at the start of the tournament.”

“Nope. We always just called you shopkeep.” Kevin explained. “Or rather, the shopkeep.”

“I know all of your names.” Martin pouted. “Anyway. Today will be the guided tour – tomorrow, you can just wander aimlessly. Those tickets of yours work both days.”

“Where are the other semi-finalists?” Kyle looked around.

“They came early, so they went ahead without us.” Martin replied simply. “Shmod Co. was able to provide a single tour guide that wasn’t me.”

==

Ferali Shaton and Zywen Lotus walked together behind their tour guide. Truly, it was the most awkward silence there ever was. Zywen whistled in an attempt to break the tension.

Ferali actually attempted conversation. “That song you’re whistling… is it Paint it Black?”

“Yeah. You know it?” Zywen replied.

“Not really. It’s in Guitar Hero.”

“Oh. Of course.” Zywen stopped whistling. The silence began anew, pausing only when the tour guide noted the studios of two Shmod artists.

==

“That must be awkward.” Kyle imagined, shaking his head on Ferali’s behalf.

“Oh my, yes.” Martin replied. “To start our tour, behold one of the latest experiments in card game portability!” Martin opened his coat, and somehow connected to the inside were six watches.

“Because playing Shmod is a lot like telling time.” Tyson observed with sarcasm.

“Tyson, those are S-R’s!” Kevin said excitedly, as Martin passed him one. “They let you play Shmod without using cards.”

“Why would you want to do that?” Tyson asked, putting the watch Martin had just handed him on his wrist.

“Sometimes you just can’t find a table.” Martin replied, looking at his own S-R. “Also, these make holograms.”

“They make cards shiny?” Tyson managed to turn his on, but no more.

“Close.” Martin shrugged, poking what looked like a floating Shmod card. Instantly a pillar of fire erupted from the ground before him. Tyson jumped out of the way as a Noble Dragon about half Martin’s height rose from the earth with a loud roar.

Tyson’s eyes bulged.

“Wait, wait, wait.” Kyle put his hands up as Noble Dragon began walking around the room, breathing the occasional fireball. “Experiments with holographic card games? This has ‘the creatures accidentally kill someone’ written all over it.”

“You’ve been watching too much anime.” Martin shook his head. “They’re holograms. Light. They can’t hurt anyone more than a flashlight can.” He finished passing out the other watches.

“But still…” Linlan scratched her head. “Why would anyone spend so much time and effort enriching the experience of a card game?”

“Marketing.” Martin explained. “Card games generally only appeal to dorky teenagers.”

Death glares from all.

“I said generally. My point being that a select few people enjoy card games, but everyone loves holographic dragons.”

“So how do these watches work?” Linlan held her deck against the watch, as if expecting the cards to jump into the programming.

Martin began to open his mouth, but Kevin intercepted the description. “Shmod cards have a microscopic code just above the Strike and Guard points.” Kevin explained, holding up his Wicked Frog. “So, you hold the card like so…” He held the card above a small, black strip on the side of the watch, and a virtual image of a card appeared on the holographic screen.

“What are Strike and Guard points?” Luke wondered. “Wait, do you mean Attack and Defence points?”

“No, Strike and Guard.” Cassandra raised an eyebrow. “Like they’ve always been.”

“Yeah, what’s this ‘attack point’ you speak of?” Tyson asked.

“They’ve always been Attack and Defence! See?” Luke showed Tyson R-4. “It clearly says it gains 1000… STK?”

“Yeah. Strike.” Tyson nodded. “You feeling okay?”

“I’m so confused.” Luke shook his head, as the others finished scanning their decks.

“These are neat!” Cassandra said, shuffling her virtual deck. “Too bad it’ll be a while until we can test them.”

“I believe that’s our cue!” A male voice from above declared. Two cloaked figures, which seemed to stand on midair, leapt down to the floor. Plain, white masks covered their faces.

“We are the Masked Duo!” The other, a high female voice, cried. “We challenge you to a Tag-Team game! If you win, we will return the cards we stole from the factory.”

“What’s stopping you from just running away now?” Linlan asked.

“And what’s stopping us from calling the cops and having you guys arrested for burglary?” Cassandra agreed.

“That’s not important!” The first argued. “Now, select two among yourselves to battle us!”

“Who works the best together?” Tyson looked around. “Luke and I? Though our decks don’t have much in common without the Bionics. Linlan and Kyle? The whole ‘Elemental Panda’ strategy?”

“How about us?” Cassandra asked, pointing to Kevin.

“Agreed.” Kevin nodded, all but those two stepping back. The Masked Duo stood far enough away to give the holograms some room.

==

“We are the other Masked Duo!” The male of two identical cloaked figures introduced, challenging Zywen and Ferali.

Man, I don’t want to partner with her. Ferali and Zywen thought simultaneously, glaring at the other. She’ll kill me instead of them!

“I’ll take you on.” A new voice said, rather emotionlessly. A teenage guy with blond hair spiked and curved backwards around his head stepped from the shadows; S-R already activated. “My name’s Johnny.”

“Then select your partner.” The female signalled towards Ferali and Zywen.

“They’ll just get in my way.” Johnny replied; the S-R shuffling his deck.

“WHAT?!” Zywen and Ferali demanded.

==

“Here’s how this works.” Martin explained to the group not involved in the game. “A team’s players will have their turns at the same time. They share Mana, fields and Graveyards. Each team shares ten life.”

“You seem awfully calm about this whole thing.” Kyle observed.

“I am. These guys are jokes if they’d rather play a card game than escape.” Martin replied dully. “Though, they can fly. That’s something.”

The Masked Duo had already gone first; the man charging a Fire Mana; the woman charging a Dark Mana. They both used Replenish, and it was Kevin and Cassandra’s turn.

“I charge Fat Tadpole, and tap it to play Giant Tadpole!” Kevin decided, poking a few virtual cards and menus that were hovering above his watch. A floating, bullfrog tadpole appeared and began swimming on the spot.

“Then…” Cassandra looked over her cards. “I’ll charge Burning Tiger, and tap it to play Blaze Witch!” A woman wearing an orange robe and hat appeared, cackling as she floated on a blazing broom. “Sweet. That looks even better than the card’s art!”

“Anything else, or should we attack?” Kevin asked.

“One more. I scrap Living Bullet from my hand, in order to activate the effect of Tora, the Soldier in my hand!” Cassandra decided, poking the right buttons. “Now, I can play Tora without Mana, and she gains 400 STK.” A lady in red armour with a sword and shield of fire came forth. (2000 STK) “By Living Bullet’s effect, I get to reload and add another from my deck to my hand.” She did so. “Now, Kevin, we attack.”

“Giant Tadpole!” Kevin pressed the magic button, and the larval frog fired a blast of water that struck both members of the Masked Duo. (Masked Duo: 9 Life)

“Now it’s my turn.” Cassandra grinned, as Blaze Witch conjured a fireball and Tora slashed both opponents. (Masked Duo: 7 Life)

“This is too easy!” Kevin taunted.

==

“And now, I tap my own and my partner’s Mana to summon Gorgon!” The female of Johnny’s opponents declared.

“You could’ve at least used a partner to gain additional Mana.” The man pointed out.

“Mana is for the weak.” Johnny drew.

“What?” Both opponents turned their heads, signifying confusion.

“I’ll beat you without Charging a single card.” Johnny explained. “I like giving myself a handicap against weak opponents.”

“And how do you expect to play any cards without Mana?” The female asked.

“This is how! By Vanishing these three cards from my hand: the lion, the snake and the eagle, I can create Chimera of Fate – for free.” Three of the cards in Johnny’s hand dissolved, as a new one spawned. A blue lion leapt from a shining spot in the ground, roaring with its own expected head as well as that of a white eagle and a purple snake. It had large, white wings and a purple fish-like tail. “It just so happens to be tied for the strongest Level Three monster, at 3500 STK points! Now, Chimera. Let’s go!”

Card of the Chapter is Chimera of Fate

Chapter Two:
The Ultimate Tag-Team

Johnny held out his fist. “That’s it for you. Chimera!” His blue beast roared with its three heads, and charged.

“Incredible.” Ferali commented, as the creature struck down the last remaining life point of Johnny’s opponents.

“And all without Mana.” Zywen shook her head in disbelief, and then stared in further disbelief as the cloaked figures dissolved into pixels.

==

Kevin and Cassandra had run into more troubles. Their early-game offence had been destroyed. Kevin and Cassandra had 3 Life to their opponents’ 4.

“We’re fine!” Kevin consoled. “Can you destroy Geo Elementalist?” He asked, pointing towards the Masked Man’s fighter. It was a caped man in a green robe, twirling a rock like a top on his finger.

“Yeah. So you can take out Bomb Dragon?” Cassandra looked towards the swollen, pink beast with a fuse sticking out of it.

“Why do I have to take out Bomb Dragon?” Kevin whined.

“Can you summon a fighter with more than 2400 Strike points?”

“No, but – ”

“Then Lady Inferno gets to stay!” Cassandra pushed her virtual card, tapped two Mana, and a beautiful masked woman leapt from a portal in the ground. She landed gracefully, and her hands engulfed themselves in flames.

“Fine. I tap one to play Serus.” Kevin also pushed some holographic buttons, and an angry, white cloud appeared. It held a pointed umbrella.

“Wait – you wanted to keep a card that’s not even a frog and have me lose the mistress of fire?” Cassandra demanded, fuming.

“I thought the cloud would help.” Kevin said sheepishly. “Serus! Go kill yourself!” The cloud fired a blast of water from the tip of its umbrella. The explosive dragon was stuck, and did what its name suggested. Kevin’s cloud whirled into nothingness. “The silver lining, pun definitely intended, is that your dragon was in attack mode!” Kevin clenched his fist dramatically. (Masked Duo: 3)

“Lady Inferno! Show this disbeliever why you deserve to stay more than a cloud!” Cassandra commanded. The woman held two fingers to her opponent and produced a massive ball of fire, which engulfed and incinerated the opponents’ elementalist. (Masked Duo: 2)

However, it was the Masked Duo’s turn. “I’ll charge a Leafer.” The man decided.

“Fantastic.” The woman said happily, though it was hard to tell through the mask. “When a Leafer exists in our Mana Pool, I can tap two to summon the Dark Incisor!” A rabbit with pointed teeth appeared, hiding behind a red, bladed leaf. (2500/3700)

“That’s… not too impressive.” Kevin scratched his head.

“It beats Lady Inferno, unfortunately.” Cassandra observed.

“Yes, but just to make things better, I tap three Mana to summon Mountain Golem!” The man cried, as an enormous rocky troll emerged from the ground before him. “Now! Mountain Golem – take out Lady Inferno!” A single punch was all it took.

“Crap…” Cassandra muttered, as the image of her warrior transformed into cinders. (Kevin/Cassandra: 2)

“And Dark Incisor!” The lady commanded, as the rabbit threw a barrage of bladed leaves that floated through Kevin. (Kevin/Cassandra: 1)

“Huddle!” Kevin called, as he and Cassandra began their turn. He and Cassandra ran to the middle of their side of the playing area.

“You don’t have a way to summon Combustiploder Cannon, do you?” Kevin asked. “After all those Living Bullets, you’d just have to attack Incisor to win.”

“No. Nothing here but Spells, a Bullet and a devil. Do you have a way to summon Wicked Frog? There are just as many amphibians in your Grave as there are Fire fighters in mine.”

“Sorry.” Kevin shook his head, but smiled upon glancing at Cassandra’s hand. “We’ve got one option.”

“Fine, but you’re the one who said you wanted to save them for battling Kyle and Linlan.” Cassandra pointed out, and they returned to their starting positions. “You first, Kevin.”

“Indeed. I tap one in order to summon Orange-Striped Tadpole! And I’ll activate this – a sacred Spell card of ultimate power.”

“Hm?” Kyle tried to lean in such a way that he could see before Kevin activated it, but Kevin was too fast.

“It’s called Art of the Crescent Moon.” Kevin explained, as a giant version of the card appeared. Two giant, wineglass-shaped pillars erupted from the ground, and then water began to bubble in the pillars’ bowls. A faint outline of the moon began to form on water particles flying out of the bowls.

“It lets me summon a God – one of the seven main Deities of Shmod. Normally, it takes Dark Mana in order to summon Divine God of the Moon – Lunor, but the moon represents much more than shadow. Now, by Tributing one Water fighter, like my Orange-Striped Tadpole, and scrapping another, Fat Tadpole, I can summon the Divine God itself instantly from my deck! Rise!” Kevin held his arm high as a massive, six-legged frog hopped from a ghostly moon into the arena.

“But why is it a frog?” Tyson asked. “There’s no reason for it to be a frog!”

“On the contrary,” Kevin argued. “There’s every reason for it to be a frog. The moon, as I’ve said, represents many things. The night is the main one, but the moon’s gravity controls the tides. It controls, in a sense, water. Now can you think of an animal that better represents water than a frog?”

“Like a fish?” Kyle suggested.

“Point. However, the moon represents one more key thing – change. It goes through many stages. Crescent, quarter, full, etcetera.” Kevin taught. “Now, what animal best represents both water and change?”

“Kevin, I wanted to end this game today.” Cassandra commented dully.

“I’m sorry. Lunor clocks in at 5000 Strike, 5000 Guard. Pretty standard for a Deity. But no other Deity has this much destruction – once per turn, I can destroy all other cards on the field!” Lunor struck the ground with four of its six legs, creating a massive whirlpool out of conjured water. This water formed a tidal wave, which rushed at the Masked Duo’s fighters, twisting them to the depths. “Now you, O impatient one.” Kevin looked to Cassandra.

“I tap one to summon Devil Girl.” There appeared a young, red-skinned lady with wings, horns and a tail. “She won’t last long. She’ll become my tribute for this! Art of the Rising Sun. Normally, Divine God of the Sun – Sola is summoned with Light Mana, but I doubt I have to explain why a giant ball of fire can be summoned with a tribute of one Fire creature from the hand and one from the field.”

Two giant bowls appeared, and fire erupted and roared within each. A light shone so strong that everyone in the vicinity had to shield his or her eyes. When it had receded, a giant, cloaked humanoid with the sun for a head and two smaller fireballs for hands had appeared. “I don’t even need her effect, or her 5000 Strike and Guard, but if it’s worth doing, it’s worth overdoing! This is a good time to note that Lunor only prevents Kevin's cards from attacking, so...” Cassandra trailed.

“Gods! Attack!” Kevin and Cassandra cried together as fireballs and tsunamis raging to destroy their foes. (Masked Duo: 0) The winners high-fived as the many holograms faded.

“I told you we should’ve used our main decks.” The female of the duo said, climbing to her feet.

“You know the rules. We can’t use cards that haven’t been made yet.” The man took off his mask.

“Hey, you two. Stay right – ” Tyson began, but was cut off.

“Ace? Kim? You guys got stuck with this job?” Martin walked over to them.

“Yeah.” The girl of the Masked Duo, who was apparently named Kim, took off her mask and robe. Underneath were jeans and a polo shirt with ‘Shmod Co’ embroidered on the back. She was a fairly average-looking woman in her 20s or 30s and had a short ponytail of black hair. “My name is Kim Walker.” She introduced.

The man did the same, revealing a duplicate outfit. He was about the same age, tall and skinny with circular glasses and short brown hair. “I’m Ace Lightning.”

“That’s a badass name.” Kevin said quietly to Cassandra. She nodded.

“So are you guys employees who rebelled against the president of Shmod Co. because of some ridiculous idea?” Tyson wondered.

“No, we’re – ” Ace started.

“Or impostors, trying to win our trust?” Luke voiced an alternative.

“No, it’s just – ” Kim began.

“Or just regular employees who your boss paid to dress like villains to add a bit of excitement to our tour?” Kyle suggested.

“No, it’s… wait, yeah. That’s it.” Ace scratched his head. “Good call.”

“We sent a couple hologram AI’s to the other group.” Kim said. “I wonder how they did.”

“What about the flying?” Luke asked.

“We don’t have time for all your questions.” Ace avoided. “The first two stops on your tour, if I recall, are our studios.” The group began walking.

“What kinds of cards did you two make?” Kevin asked eagerly.

“I made most of the futuristic cards.” Ace looked deep in thought. “A few dragons… some of the wizards… actually, the entire Fire Girl series.”

“I did some of the not-so-serious themes.” Kim began. “Also animals -
Frogs and Pandas were my best work, though I also helped an old employee with some food cards, and do you guys know of the Art Supply series?”

“Yeah. Pencilman, Sharpenerman… those guys?” Linlan wondered.

“That was me after an all-nighter,” Kim explained. “I had a deadline, and ran out of ideas… but I digress.”

“We’ve got a few more studios to get to.” Martin looked at his watch (a real one, not an S-R). “We should split up; a few people for each studio.” They did so - Kevin, Linlan and Kyle went to Kim’s studio; Tyson, Cassandra and Luke went to Ace’s.

Ace’s studio was a fairly large room. He had a state-of-the-art laptop on a large desk, and the walls were all corkboard with sketches of robots and dragons all over. “So, what dragons did you make?” Tyson wondered, eagerly being an understatement.

“Banyo, Cloudrunner, Bounteous…” Ace listed, gesturing towards a corkboard wall filled with pinned sketches. “Quickstrike Dragon… Cave Nest was a good one of mine.”

“Did you make Noble Dragon?” Tyson was unable to contain the question.

“I wish. I’d be rich.” Ace shrugged. “No, the founder of Shmod made that himself. It and Tetra Element were two of the first four Shmod cards ever designed. Well, as well as a few flukes.”

“Flukes?” Luke wondered, checking out the original designs of R-4.

“He made a couple cards called the Mana Providers.” Ace explained. “They were living crystals that, when you charged one, it automatically charged the other from your deck. And they also counted as Fire, Water, Storm and Earth Mana. Those Providers were too powerful and never got into the game. There were a couple dragons that were just plan terrible.”

“I see.” Luke turned back to the robot sketches.

“Those Mana Providers sound cool, actually.” Cassandra observed a photograph of Kim. “Wait, this looks familiar.”

“It should.” Ace unpinned the picture. “Kim sort of modelled for a few of your Fire Girl cards. I’m not very good at drawing people, so most of the time I get my fellow employees’ help.”

“So what are you working on now?” Tyson asked.

“An archetype based on a starship, its crew and their adventures.” Ace replied. “I’d be happy to try out what I’ve got so far against you.”

“That’d be awesome!” Tyson replied. He pulled his deck from his pocket out of muscle memory. “Right, I forgot about S-R’s.”

“Sorry, I can’t right now,” Ace shrugged. “I have to finish drawing a crocodile… wait a second.” He seemed intrigued at Tyson’s deck, and Tyson saw why. Omega Ninth Dragon was facing Ace.

“Yep.” Tyson nodded after a pause. “Actually, on the subject, Omega Ninth Dragon keeps – ”

“Killing you?” Ace suggested, holding the card to a light and inspecting its condition. “You’ve kept it in nice shape. Anyway, no one knows why Omega Ninth Dragon attacks its user, but I have created a solution.”

“Really?” Tyson’s eyes lit up. Ace handed Omega back to Tyson and began rooting through his assorted debris.

“Eureka!” He cried eventually, and passed to Tyson a Spell card.

“The Chains of Atlantis.” Tyson read. “Er… how will this help?”

“And why does Tyson need a bigger advantage?” Cassandra asked.

“Play me during your tour’s lunch break,” Ace promised. “And I’ll show you how that card works.”

==

“Very… colourful.” Kevin noted; the three others looking around Kim’s studio. It was brightly coloured, vibrant and fun. There were beanbag chairs lying around, and a large desk (on which were countless sketches) with a spinning, comfortable-looking office chair.

“I like to keep myself creative.” Kim nodded.

Linlan picked a cylindrical pencil sharpener off the desk. “So this is the origin of Sharpenerman, eh?”

“And this,” Kim smiled, picking up a white eraser. “Was Eraserman.”

Kyle was looking at an unfinished painting sitting on an easel. “It’s amazing.” He said after a few seconds of taking in what he saw. It was of a crowned woman resting on a large, wooden cart pulled by two tigers.

“Thanks.” Kim walked behind him. “It’s part of a new archetype I’ve been working on based on Tarot cards. That would be The Chariot.”

“I haven’t seen – or heard of – any Tarot-based cards.” Linlan turned her head to the painting.

“These cards take a heck of a lot of time. This is only the second, and I started a few months ago.”

“If you don’t mind me asking, who designed the Elements?” Kyle wondered suddenly.

“The big cheese.” Kim pointed to the ceiling. “At the beginning of Shmod. Rumour says Tetra Element and Noble Dragon were among of the first cards he made.”

“What were the other two?” Linlan wondered.

“Well, you didn’t hear it from me, but…” Kim looked around, as if wondering if she was allowed to say her next sentence. “The true rivals of Noble Dragon and Tetra Element.”

“I thought they were rivals of each other.” Kyle said.

“Nope. I don’t actually know what the other two cards were, but Noble Dragon represents fire, so it’s likely that its rival is water or something. And Tetra Element actually represents light, so you’d be looking for a dark card.” Kim grabbed a stack of cards from her desk. “Now, we’ve got enough time for a short game. Who wants to see my greatest work?”

“Hecks yes!” Linlan volunteered.

Cards of the Chapter are The Divine Gods

Don't worry, there'll be more complete card games in the next few chapters.

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The Decktype Guide

Naardaas · Posted: Fri Jul 25, 2008 12:29 am Post subject:

Okay. I honestly don't know what to say. I can't figure out whether it was funny, ridiculous, senseless, slapstick or all of the above. A great start. I have thought of a couple logic-deprived moments, but screw them.[/list]
_________________
The seal on my existence is broken. My great dragon has arrived as pinnacle strength. And I have the last thing I need to exact revenge on those who banished me. I have the power over chaos, over life and death. The power of Drahondes.

Aarikku · Posted: Fri Jul 25, 2008 1:43 am Post subject:

Well, at least it's entertaining. What are these logic-deprived moments to which you refer? If it involves Luke's memory, that was intentional.
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The Decktype Guide

Naardaas · Posted: Fri Jul 25, 2008 1:24 pm Post subject:

Well, lesse:

1) Zwyen was arrested at the end of Chapter 11. Even if she made bail, she would still have to go on trial, and the factory wouldn't have let her in if she had been arrested for theft of their products.

2) I'm not sure how Johnnny won his match with a single attack. Either you forgot to list a lethal damage effect on it, or he managed to deal the other 9 damage during the chapter lapse. Which isn't all that entertaining.

Don't get me wrong. I enjoy the chapters greatly, especially now that you're using more descriptive details.

On another note, the Shmod Forum is the new homepage on my user.
_________________
The seal on my existence is broken. My great dragon has arrived as pinnacle strength. And I have the last thing I need to exact revenge on those who banished me. I have the power over chaos, over life and death. The power of Drahondes.

Aarikku · Posted: Fri Jul 25, 2008 1:28 pm Post subject:

I'm sure I mentioned #1 somewhere... ah, here it is. A poorer description than I thought, but still:

Naardaas · Posted: Fri Jul 25, 2008 1:45 pm Post subject:

Sounds good to me.

_________________
The seal on my existence is broken. My great dragon has arrived as pinnacle strength. And I have the last thing I need to exact revenge on those who banished me. I have the power over chaos, over life and death. The power of Drahondes.