Roger has to play for his inheritance

“Up to me? I don’t know what you mean. Do we play a round of cards?”, Roger asks himself as much as Mr. Light.

“As I already told you, this is the Divination Room. I may have granted your great-uncle this mansion, but there are powers at play even greater than me. Which is the reason this room is the most important part of the mansion. If this house is a nexus of magic, this room is the very center. Here the nexus current owner can channel the very forces that make up reality.”

“Using a deck of cards?”, Roger questions.

Mr. Light gestures to the table at the rooms center and the chairs around it.

“Not an ordinary deck of cards, but I will get to that. Please have a seat first. You wouldn’t want to pass out on that chair, it’s one of the finest crafted pieces of furniture in all the realms. I provided it just for you.”, the man says in equal parts politeness and threat. The accompanying smile sends even more shivers down Rogers back and he hurries to sit down in front of the ominous candle.

Shuffling the cards skillfully in his left hand, Mr. Light takes his place opposite to Roger. Using these mystical cards he forms two staples on the table, one on each side of the candle.

“So Mr. Carmine, shall we begin your inauguration? To take over your great-uncles inheritance, his true inheritance, you must appease the Great Ones. These deities are anchored to this realm. They exist in many if not all realities, mind you, but these entities, that are even beyond my own understanding, need a focal point to stay connected to each one. And this my young friend, is where you come in.”

Mr. Light looks at Roger meaningfully, as if waiting for the penny to drop. And it does, kind of. Rogers face is scrunched in thought and as he realizes the stranger is waiting for any sign of understanding he nods.

“Ah, you are coming around I see. Where was I? Yes, the anchor. The Great Ones need a human focal point to stay connected to this world and you can see me as a facilitator for this binding. In return for connecting these powers to this realm of reality, you will be able to use a fracture of it for your personal gains. But beware, the fragile human mind is not fit to handle the otherworldly influences that would flow through it. Your family line could be an exception, should we deem you worthy.”

“And how can I show myself worthy? It probably has something to do with these cards, I guess. Do we play a game for it? I have to warn you, I got a pretty good poker face.”, Roger tries to lighten mood.

“Almost Mr. Carmine, almost. You will draw a card from both staples. The one to your right contains the human sacrifices that would need to be made should you fail your trial and that you have free reign over should you succeed. I already told you the other humans that came here may have inherited most of the wealth your great-uncle left, but each had to sacrifice a loved one for it. All of them, just like Becky, now roam this house in another dimension. The staple on your left contains symbols corresponding to the gods you have to please, if you want them to accept you as their new medium. The gods you draw will test you, in their unique way, and depending on the outcome you either own the soul and get backed by a deity or lose that person to oblivion and weaken the claim on your legacy. Should you at any point draw the woman you love, whose soul you bound to your own in marriage, and fail the challenge opposed to you by the drawn deity…. In your own interest I will spare you the details and say that there are fates, far worse than ****.”

Even just thinking about it, fear flashed on Mr. Lights face and Roger wonders what could scare a man like this. At that moment both share a deep apprehension. Mr. Light recovers first and with a gesture returns Rogers attention to the cards in front of him.

“Rules and explanations aside, Mr. Carmine. Will you do us the honors and draw a prize and your first opponent?”