Duel.

You look to the deck of cards before you. Their elaborate backs are mesmerizing. You'd have been able to tell right away that this is no ordinary set of cards, even without the jinn there to explain it. While you wouldn't say it's sinister, you certainly feel uncomfortable even laying a hand upon it. If jinn truly can be ancient, there's no telling how old the one sitting across from you is--how many items she's gathered, how skilled she is with games.

"And how to play?" you ask.

"It is a strange game. Every duel is different. We each begin with a hand of five, and we draw a card from the deck as our turn begins. You may then play cards as you wish. There are Creature Cards, which are entities summoned to battle. Then there are Magic Cards, which have a number of effects."

"This... sounds familiar," you mutter.

"Lastly, there are Trap Cards. They are similar to the latter, though must be put into play upside down, and are unable to be used on the same turn they are placed. Everything else is explained by the card. Read carefully, and do what you feel is right. There is no wrong way to play, as if something does not work, the cards will simply not allow the action to occur. And if you have further questions, you may ask as needed."

"Somehow I think I might know generally how to play this already."

"Interesting. I knew when I first saw you that you would be an interesting match. You know more than you let on. There are secrets behind those eyes. I suppose that makes two of us."

You take the deck and put it aside. "So, what happens first?"

"Do you accept our duel then?"

"Uh. Yeah, I do." You feel a sudden pang. Not of pain, but it's a strange shock to your system. You then notice that both of your party members are out cold in their seats. You start to panic, and you look to the man who is unmoving as well. You're quick to react, and reach down to grab the pummel of your sword. "What's happening?"

She raises up a hand and waves it gently. "Please. Your friends are unharmed. As soon as the game is over, they will return to normal. No, nothing will happen to them if you lose. Do not worry."

You slowly retreat your hand back. "Then explain."

"All will make sense when the game begins. For now, it is just the two of us. One versus one. Draw your cards, Kyle Warren. I will allow you to choose whether or not you wish to go first."

"... You know my name already."

"I do. I am called Meti. As said before, I am a jinn, though I wish no distrust between us. I only worry that if I tell you more, it will be that knowledge that leads you to trusting me less."

"That's a confusing way to say you'd rather not tell me everything." You draw one card at a time into your hand until you hold five. The art on each is gorgeous--almost lifelike. From left to right, you see a large tortoise, a suit of armour, a silver dragon, some vines, and what looks to be a beam of light reducing the size of a knight. "So you really were spying on us, huh?"

"Spying? No. I was observing. You are a curious group."

"I think that's basically the same thing."

"If that is how you choose to see it, I will not argue."

This conversation is going nowhere. Fortunately I know a thing or two about TCGs. Let's see... What's weird is that I don't see any attack values or anything. It also sounds more simple than the games I know from Earth, at least so far. She didn't mention anything to do with tapping or sacrifices or any resources at all. Maybe I should let her go first and observe from there.

"Then I'll go second," you say.

She draws a card from her deck. "So be it. I will place a card face-down, and then I will call upon my first Creature Card. It is a small giant." When she sets the card in question down onto the table, a shimmering magic circle appears. Then a muscular man wielding a club appears before your very eyes.

Of course a magic card game would have tiny holograms. "What the hell is a small giant? Isn't that just a man?"

"No. This is a small giant."

Whatever. I'm mostly worried about that trap.

"So it's my turn?" you ask. When she nods, you reach out and draw a sixth card to add to your hand. It appears to be another trap. This one is a hole filled with spikes. You set that one down straight away, and then you place down the tortoise to hopefully combat your foe. Just like fore, the creature is summoned from a magic circle. "And uh... attack?"

It waddles slowly towards its foe, and also towers over the small giant in size. The poor man stumbles backwards as your creature lashes out with terrifying speed and begins to chomp him down within its maw. He's defeated, and he disappears into a burst of magic sparkles.

Meti lifts the card and places it aside. "The first has fallen," she says.

"So how do you win?"

"In one way or another, destroy my deck before I am able to do the same to you. Is your turn completed?"

"I guess it is."

After a draw, she's back up to five cards in her hand--one on the field, and one destroyed. She ponders for a moment and then holds up a picture of a cloaked figure raising his hands over a skeleton emerging from a gravestone. "This allows me to raise the dead, and thankfully I have had one of my creatures fall already. To active this, I must discard one card from my hand." First she pulls a card from her hand and places it aside. Then she places the Magic Card on the table, and exactly what you saw in the art manifests itself before you. "Necromancer, bring back to me... my small giant."

Rising from the earth is the skeleton of the previously defeated man. He swings his club, but is now nothing but bones.

"That is not all, however," she continues. "I will then use this next card. It is a creature with a special effect. A sacrifice must be made in order to summon it to the field, for it is powerful indeed. Come then, Demon Knight, Dame of the Abyss. Take this skeleton as tribute and fight on my side."

She slaps the card down on the table right beside the necromancer. Suddenly, an unsettling black mist appears around them. A knight clad in spiky black plate emerges like a vengeful spirit, and grips in his hand a cursed blade covered in fidgeting eyes. It thrusts its blade straight through the ribcage of the skeletal giant, heaves it up, and causes the creature to once again burst into sparks. Meti reaches forward and retrieves both cards. Now her field has both her trap and the new foe for you to deal with--a warrior of great power.

"Now strike down his tortoise," she commands.

It moves incredibly quick. Though right before it's about to arrive at your tortoise, you flip up your trap. A pitfall opens up directly in its path, and its foot is a mere inch from plunging into a hole filled with spikes.

But then she reaches for her own, and finally reveals what she's been hiding. "This should counterattack the trap you set for the Demon Knight."

"These cards don't have names... Are you making them up?"

The spirit of a beautiful woman appears behind the knight as its charges. She embraces him from behind, lifts him up, and carries him overhead. Then he drops and slams his heavy boots right into the shell of your creature. With one heave, the greatsword slices it in twain. Despite it not standing any taller than six inches, you can't help but find it a little bit intimidating. It's like a tiny armoured Delphi.

"Damn," you curse under your breath as you slide both of your cards away. Now your field is completely empty. "This is nothing like Poker, eh?"

"That it is not."

My only solace here is that she only has two cards in her hand, and I'm about to have five. You draw, and your nerves are relieved at least a little bit. The art on this one appears to be a person drawing cards, though you wish they'd actually explain themselves. "I'll start with this." As soon as you hold it up, two cards rise up from your deck as if by magic. They slowly drift into your hand, and after they do, you toss that card aside. "Nice. I needed some extra support."

Your eyes widen.

"It looks as if you have seen something surprising. Though this may not be Poker, it is best to maintain the face you would keep if it were," she suggests.

No way... All right. I think I get it now.