"Attention! Everyone! So as you all know, I'm not the merchant of the night so as the former merchant, I'll have to introduce the new ones! Terry and Lily!" They all cheer and applaud, Damon takes the crown off his head and he placed it on Terry, he gave Lily a bunch of flowers and a crown on her head as well. He continued, "Now I've been merchant for about five years in a row. I've decided it'll be better for the new ones to come along. You are highly welcome. Also before I forget, I decided to add some friends to the list. I know we normally don't do this but I invited some friends without anyone's permission! They'll be here any moment from now."
Speaking of betrayal! He said he didn't have anyone coming didn't he?
Susan and Stan made eye contact, he lied. He opened the door and ushered his fellow people in. They hugged and walked in. They exchanged greetings with the others. They are about eight in number. Like four males and four females, a perfect match for the others.
One of them, a lady, she dropped a board game on the table. It had the exact same title 'Swipe' on it. The only difference was that it was a different color. Alicia and Amber just saw it, Amber asked, "How did you get this? Where did you get it from?"
The lady answered, "The store. The woman's store."
Amber asked, "What's your name?"
"Camilla, I got the second part of the game. Damon said you guys already had the first part. My friend Tristan got the third part and Olivia got the fourth part. So we can play the game properly."
Amber froze in shock, she didn't even know there was a second, third or fourth part. It didn't make any sense. The first board was big enough for the game.
Camilla said, "First we connect the parts then we can start playing by midnight. Come one, help me." Amber and Alicia didn't like the sound of this, they didn't want to connect the board game together but still they agreed politely and they did arranged the board game with her.
Stan and Tony exchanged greetings, they engaged in a conversation by the side not too far from the table. Amber can over hear Tony saying something about the game they bought. How it was once considered a gateway to another realm. He said magicians used it to travel for the sake of blood rituals, he spoke of how the game could trap the souls of those that played it but couldn't finish.
The funny thing was, he wasn't saying anything as such too loud but she heard it. She connected the board game, the wind blew and at every instance the lights were triggered. Aren't these the warning signs they thought of?
Damon was so lost in the conversation, he wanted to have a few drinks. He started mixing the drinks with the rest of his crew. Everyone knew Damon to be the mild alcoholic but from what we could see, he brought out a lot of alcohol. Tony and Stan could see he needed help with the drinks, also they had to keep their eyes on him. They didn't want him overdoing things. Around the crew, music played and they others laughed out loud.
Amber glanced across the room, they were done with the board arrangement. She asked Camilla, "Hey, Camilla? What do you know about this game. Could you explain each of the parts to me and what it entails?"
She smiled and said, "Of course I could. Well first, we have the first part called, 'the coin.' It's called that because of the end reward it comes with. We'll have to pass through the playing of the cards and you must take alcohol first before you start the game, specifically the one called, 'spirit.' Then we'll proceed to the second part called, 'the gold rod.' That's more complicated, the third part is called, 'the artefact.' And finally the fourth part is called, 'the glass scroll.' We must continue till we reach the fourth part. You can't stop once you've started. For the first part we take a shot of vodka raw. For the second part, we must take two shots of vodka raw before we start, for the third part we must take three shots of vodka, for the fourth part we must take four shots of vodka."
"Why do we need any form of alcohol to even start the game. It's not even time for truth of dare yet, Is this even legal?"
"Of course it is, that's the rules."
"Have you played this before?"
"Nope, it's my first time but I know the rules."
Her heart beat increased, she could feel the heat sensation all through her body. Amber sat on the chair, her eyes could see the dangers entitled in this game but would the others listen? She felt like it wasn't a coincidence that they all got the game from the same person and the exact same store. It was a language connected, a sign ignored.
She said, "I need to speak to Damon, I'll be right back. Enjoy!" She rushed out to see Damon. She walked into him already kissing Kayla, his girlfriend. They stopped after she cleared her throat, they were standing outside where no one would see them. His girlfriend knew she had to move aside, she just walked into the apartment again.
Amber said, "Damon? We need to talk now. This is not the time to relax, I just noticed a lot of things happen right now. This game we bought, I don't think it's going to lead us to a safe place. This game has been on my mind. No I'm not drunk okay? We need to research more about this. Damon we need to be careful."
Damon looked at her, he wasn't slightly drunk. He said, "Amber, if you didn't want to be here, all you could have said is no. I'm trying my best to just have a good time and you guys aren't really making that happen to my taste. Like I said. You need to relax." He walked into the apartment.