I was in the Neokeboi when Strago killed The Lion. Of course, this was no ordinary lion; The Lion was a man. He was a man that many looked up to for leadership. Some said he was a criminal, but not many in the Neokeboi said it. Crime in the Neokeboi was what the Doradoi lords prohibited. The Allyrians that settled the Neokeboi since the end of the wars had their own rules and their own leaders.

The Lion was one of those. He fought the Mervoringian Whitecloaks during the wars. We would have won and kept our homes if the Doradoi in Sinnak had had the will to fight. At the time back here in Sinnak, it was a forgotten war. Nobody paid much attention to it until we lost. When we lost, we lost our lands and our homes and most of the survivors resettled here on the outskirts of Sinnak, the capital city of the empire. Now they call us criminals. No lands, no work, not future.

The Lion was one of the men who led us out of Allyrion to Sinnak. He was able to secure a grant from the Emperor for us to settle the Neokeboi, just south of the city. He reestablished churches for us, mainly dedicated to Joshu, who was favored by the Allyrians. He provided protection from unscrupulous merchants so that Allyrian merchants could get established. He helped rebuild the Allyrian community in our new home. Now he’s dead. He died because of a gambling dispute and the man who killed him still walks the streets of the Neokeboi a free man.

Nobody can touch Strago. He is one of the New Men of the Neokeboi. He never fought in the wars or resettled. He and the other New Men were born in the Neokeboi. He is one of the reasons the Doradoi call us criminals. He doesn’t care about the community or our heritage. He only cares about money and power. He and his men have curried favor with the Red faction in the Imperial Palace. The Reds opposed the war in Allyrion when we were fighting for our lives. They advocated for a peace treaty with the Mervoringians that would have sold us out to them. The Lion has always supported the Blues because they supported us during the war. They legislated for more money and troops to fight the war. The reds wanted a tighter grip on the imperial purse strings. The power merchants in the party felt that the Emperor was spending too much and borrowing all the available cash the moneylenders had available, making it hard for anyone else to borrow money. In the end, the Red faction won. The Emperor signed a peace treaty and the Whitecloaks came and threw us out of our homes. Now, with a new Emperor, the Reds are ascendant and the Blues have little power. So when Strago killed The Lion, there was nobody who could bring him to justice.

It all started over a gambling dispute. Even in his older age, The Lion still loved games. A natural competitor, he would fight or play with all the passion in his heart, which was a great deal. A little wager on a game made it all the more interesting.

The game of grips is a simple one. Each player is dealt five cards, four in hand and one face up. In addition, there is one card laid in the middle of the table that all the players can play as well. The players begin to bet based on the initial deal, then on the second time around, they lay down another card and increase the bet or fold. When the last players remaining lay down their final cards, the one with the most points showing wins the game. It is scored one point for each minor card in a run of at least three and two points for each major card in a run. In addition, one point is scored for each card in a suit of at least three and two points for each major card. Each player can use the central card to add points if it gives him a run or suit.

Strago normally plays at the Golden Chalice, a club run and frequented by followers of Joshu and one of the more elite establishments in the Neokeboi. A great deal of money changes hands at the tables in the Golden Chalice, much of it ending up in Strago’s pockets. It is customary for winners at the tables to donate a portion of their winnings to the house, which then goes to supporting the less well off in the community through the charities of Joshu. Strago rarely followed this custom and came to the notice of The Lion, who is an elder in the Church.

It is said that The Lion sat at Strago’s table that night intending to teach him a lesson in
customs and the virtue of supporting the community. Others say it was to recover the Helm of Donys, which Donys’ son had lost to Strago weeks earlier in a game. Such is the desperation of men these days that they will wager the treasures of the community for their livelihood. Unscrupulous men like Strago have no qualms about taking advantage of that. Donys’ Helm is one such treasure. It was worn by Donys in battle against the Mervoringians. The Lion fought beside Donys when he fell. The Lion survived and brought Donys’ helm back from the battlefield where he had buried Donys and gave the helm to Donys’ family. Since the building of the Neokeboi, the helm has been displayed at the Golden Chalice as a reminder to the community of what was lost when we lost Allyrion.

Strago makes no secret of his contempt for our own history and our leaders. This night was no different. The Lion approached Strago’s table after one of Strago’s opponents stepped away, probably after losing his fortune and owing an onerous debt to Strago. The Lion politely requested the seat at the table. Strago acceded to his request, though it is not clear whether he did so because he relished a chance to vanquish The Lion at cards or simply did not wish to appear rude by refusing him in any case, The Lion sat and was dealt into the game.

The first few hands were uneventful. Both Strago and The Lion played conservatively, testing each other’s style and limits. As the game progressed, other players came and went as the winnings slowly accumulated in front of both Strago and The Lion. Over time, more players left the table than sat down as the stakes rose between the adversaries. Opening bets prevented other players from starting in the game and pushed others out. Soon, it was just the two sitting at the table and it was becoming clear that The Lion was gaining on Strago.

The fateful hand came after three hours of play. By then, everyone in the club had lost interest in playing their own games and all attention was focused on Strago and the Lion. People throughout the neighborhood had been filtering in to see the game, even children and women. The room was crowded and tension ran high. The crowd seemed evenly divided, half supporting Strago and half supporting The Lion.

At the opening of the hand, the card in the middle was the Fool. This increased the uncertainly greatly. In his hand, a player can use the fool to become any card he wants. To have it as the middle card meant that it would be useful to each player, but it was uncertain how until all the cards were played. To open, each player laid down a Hierophant, which is good luck. The Lion laid down the Hierophant of Joshu and Strago laid down the Hierophant of Bodhi. A Hierophant in one’s hand can break ties, but with both players playing a hierophant, ties became more problematic. Both of the players bet one thousand gold. At the next round, Strago laid down a nine of swords. Swords follow suit with Bodhi, so it appeared Strago had the beginning of a possible flush for three points. Strago bet two thousand gold. The Lion laid down an eight of shields. Shields follow suit with Joshu, so three possible points for The Lion. He met Strago’s bet for another two thousand gold.

As the cards were laid down, the bets increased accordingly until the players had one card left. The Lion showed a split run of an eight and nine of shields and the paladin and hierophant of Joshu. He could use the Fool as a witch of Joshu to make a suit run for twelve points. He would still need the rogue of Joshu to make any more points. Strago already showed the nine of swords and a rogue, paladin and hierophant of Bodhi. With the Fool substituting for the witch of Bodhi, Strago had a grand run for eighteen. The odds of The Lion holding the rogue of Joshu was very low. If he did, he would win with twenty.

The final bet came and The Lion made a grand move. He bet everything. The crowd was stunned. Apparently, so was Strago. Was it a bluff or did The Lion hold the witch or the rogue of Joshu? Strago stared at his cards and at his money. He did not have enough to match the bet. He took off a ring and threw it in the pot. The Lion refused it.

“I can’t accept jewelry without a proper appraisal and no reputable appraiser would give an honest opinion in the dead of night.”

“I’ll write a letter of credit for the difference,” Strago announced.

“I don’t take the debt of gamblers,” The Lion refused again. “But we all know the worth of the Helm of Donys. I’ll accept that as your wager.”

In fact, the Helm had little monetary value. Strago took it from Donys’ son because it was all he had left to give. He kept it because it provided a certain level of respect among his peers, though none of them appreciated the full moral value of it. If he lost, it would limit his losses, but he could still play and there was a good chance he could win the pot, which was substantial. But his calculation was for naught.

“Bring the helm down,” he called to the bartender.

The bartender took the helm down from its position above the bar and brought it to the table. He laid it on top of the pot of money.

The Lion laid down his last card. It was the rogue of Joshu. The Lion held a grand run! Strago laid down the eight of swords and both held a grand run of eight through hierophant for twenty points each. It was a draw, but no player had anything left to play another round.

“It is simple,” The Lion announced. “Hierophants break ties and the Hierophant of Joshu rules the house of Joshu. The Golden Chalice being a house of Joshu, my hand prevails. The Helm of Donys is mine."

“There is no such rule. Bodhi comes before Joshu. My hierophant breaks the tie!”

“It is an old rule that rarely comes into play. As often as you gamble, you should have heard of it!”

In fact, there was such a house rule. I had forgotten it, but The Lion jogged my memory. That is, in cases of exact ties, if players cannot play another hand, the hand with the higher suit wins. The highest suit is always the suit of the house. They then cycle through the others from Moshu, Bodhi, Joshu, and Momadu. In the house of Joshu, it cycles from Joshu to Momadu, then Moshu and Bodhi.

“You can’t make up rules on the spot just to get a tin pot back,” accused Strago. “I own the Helm.” He picked up the helm and began to put it on.

“Put the helm down! You have no right to wear the helm of a warrior many times your better. You aren’t even worthy of tightening his bootstrap!”

“You are a liar and a cheat!”

“No one calls The Lion a cheat to his face!” The Lion reached for the helm as Strago was putting it on. Whether The Lion intended to knock the helm out of his hands or grab it for himself is unclear. In any case, the helm fell out of Strago’s hands and hit him in the face, cutting a gash across his nose. Enraged, Strago pulled a knife and stabbed The Lion in the heart. The room erupted. The tension behind the dam was released. Knives and swords appeared from beneath cloaks. The defenseless ran and many were trampled in the stampede.

The Lion’s supporters surged forward to help him but Strago’s followers cut them down as they were distracted. The Lion’s supporters put up a valiant fight, but The Lion had fallen and could not lead. Too many died early and the remainder could not hold against Strago’s more numerous survivors. The Lion’s men broke and ran.

The rest of the night was a bloody one in the Neokeboi as Strago’s men went house to house looking for The Lion’s men, knowing they could not unite to defend themselves. Their houses were burned and families put to the sword. The next day was a somber one. Strago’s followers ruled the settlements and few would speak out against them.

The bodies of the dead were piled in a mass grave on the site of The Lions burned home. Nobody has built on it since. Some followers of Strago have tried, but construction was difficult because too many accidents happened on the site. Some blame the ghosts of the dead. A few among us call it Lion’s Square, but not too loudly.

An imperial magistrate came a few days after the massacre to investigate, but found nothing. Strago’s ties to the palace are too strong for him to be brought to justice. Now, the Reds can depend on Allyrian support. Strago makes sure they get it. Anybody who professes any support for the Blues is swiftly dealt with and never speaks up again, if he speaks at all.

I tell you this story now because I am old and do not fear for my life. Please remember the lion; he should not be forgotten.