"Hey, Cyril. Let's visit Hoja Mesto!" He'd been thinking about this for a while now. Months, even. Sometimes when their parents were busy they would be left to themselves, and with Lys taking combat training while Chrys was going on nature walks, that left him and his twin. Efrain couldn't be bothered to leave at all, and he'd rather not risk getting some curse thrown on him. It was the perfect opportunity to visit some new places and see the sights. Opening a portal was easy, and they packed their bags to slip out of the Machinarium. The first thing that happened was they ended up falling in some cave, but they found their way out into the city. It was weird now he thought about it. After all portals opening up in new places should be completely random. 

It was a feast for the eyes once they were on the streets. If places like Iria, Arri, and Nisshoki were exciting, this was everything combined! Belen was busy pointing at things he'd never seen before, looking at things up close, and weaseling out of being sold various items. "You know, I think this is the first place where I've seen less humans compared to everyone else." He commented. "Like, there's everybody here–not mostly elves, orcs… This place is pretty cool!" Realizing his brother wasn't behind him, he turned to see his younger twin captivated by a street performer doing tricks with cards. Moseying over, he decided to watch too. 

"Step right up! Test your luck and see if you can guess which card out of these has your lucky number! See what fate has in store for you today!" A small crowd was gathered around the crier, and cards shuffled so fast he swore they were flying. He'd totally want to learn how to do that! "Hey, is this some kind of fortune telling? How can you tell what somebody's luck'll be just by picking a card?" He asked. The man had a twinkle in his eye as the question was raised.

"What a great question, my man! Well, these are no ordinary cards and this is no ordinary deck! Though these might not be a tarot, its fate-reading skills are second to none! It's simple–the suits and the numbers tell all! If it's matters of love, hearts are what you're after. Looking for what surprises are in store for you today? Clovers are your sign! Worried about coin and other monetary matters? Diamonds as they say, are a girl's best friend. And if you're feeling like you can take on the world, my bet is you're luck's in spades!"

After his introductory spiel, the performer gave another showing of his spectacular shuffling skills. "Now, which one of you fine folks want to take these cards for a spin?" As good as it sounded, Belen didn't fully buy it. He was sure there was some sort of trick hidden somewhere. The twins looked at each other. "Well? What do you say Cyril?" He asked. His brother replied, "Bel, let's give it a try! I wonder what cards we'll get?" 

'Getting up to this place was an adventure in and of itself,' Mydrei thought dryly. Her arms still burned from climbing the ropes up to the city, and as she'd climbed, she'd mentally hurled insults at those who simply flew up to the city or used other magical means. Though she was no stranger to physical labor, she was by no means muscular - and even getting to the ropes themselves had been a task, because the golem that moved the city kept outpacing her horse. Well - now her horse was free, probably to find its way back to the City of Baltil where she'd got it from, and now that she roamed the streets of the city, her purse was remarkably empty. She'd just been mildly considering street performing with the two sais tucked on her waist when she realized where the invasive thought had come from - on the edge of her hearing came the ever-familiar cries of a street hawker, gathering an audience for a performance.

Mydrei walked closer to it, listening to the performer's well-practiced speech. "And we have our first volunteers, folks! Everybody give a round of applause for these two brave young men, yes, that's right boys, step right up to the table and let the cards tell your fortune!" There was a healthy smattering of applause for the two young boys at the front of the crowd, and the crier made a grand show of shuffling the cards in an orderly rainbow above his head from one hand to the other. To Mydrei's eye, there was some magic was involved, for not one card came out of place from his clever fingers. "Now, you here, mister lady-killer himself," The fortune teller nodded to Belen, spreading out the deck in a perfect fan, face-down on the table. "Go ahead and pick a card, anything that calls to you. Yes, just like that, flip it over……and he's got the Jack of Hearts, everyone! What better card would suit this fine fellow! Charismatic, bold, charming, adventurous, everything and all of the above! Just mind your responsibilities and don't tarry, and you'll be just fine. And what's your fortune for today, young master jack? Go ahead, pick another card, that's right. And…….it's the three of clovers! Three is going to be your magic number today, master jack, and you'll find a repeating pattern in threes today! Three players in a circumstance, three occurrences–but you must be quick, otherwise you'll find the opportunities given to you will slip away between your fingers. Trust your instincts, and you'll be on the right path."

Next he turned to Cyril. "Now for this handsome fellow! That's right, don't be shy, go ahead and pick a card, any card that speaks to you…..And let's see what you've got there, my fine fellow. Ahah! The seven of clovers! Now, this is a fantastic card, and it perfectly compliments the master jack's card. The seven of clovers is thoughtful and clever where the jack is impulsive, and together nothing can stop them! And look, here? It's the same suit! So you, my fine fellow, will form the luck of young master jack. Am I right to assume the two of you are brothers? You are! Haha! Now, mind you stick to each other like glue, listen to one another, and no hurdle will ever be too high."


With a flourish, the man scooped up the cards and made a trick of shuffling them again, calling to the crowd to step right up and come a little closer for their fortune to be told, and if they liked the show, to show their appreciation with a few silver, nudging to the a hat placed at his foot. Coin clinked together generously one after the other, and voices all clamored to be the next one to have their fortune told, and the man's gaze moved over the crowd for who to pick next. "Ah! The exotic beauty in the back! Yes, ladies and gentlemen, let her step forward, thank you - and what brings you here today? Sightseeing? Well, that's a fine a reason as any. Let's give the lovely lady a round of applause for coming so far to my humble little table. Now, I'm going to shuffle the deck again, and just like the two young men from before, pick any card that calls to y–" In a quick flourish, Mydrei picked two and flipped them over to lay atop the fan. "…..My my my! The Queen of Wealth herself, the queen of diamonds, accompanied by the ace of clovers! If that wasn't the turn of lady luck herself, I don't know what is! Now, these two cards have much in common, but they fight with each other, you see. Wealth will come and go when you need it, my fair lady, but you'll have to fight in order to keep it. Success will grant you your heart's desire, but it will come when you least expect it."

Mydrei smirked. That sounded about right. She leaned over the table and shook the man's hand, and he blustered and made a show of it, garnering laughter from the crowd for the favor of such a lovely lady, then quickly turned to pick another volunteer, to the sounds of more silver piling into the hat. She made her way out of the crowd, laughing to herself, throwing and catching the performer's full velvet purse in her hand that she had snatched during the handshake. The man was good at reading fortunes, but he might've been better served to have read his own fortune first and foremost.

He watched spellbound as the man shuffled the cards, and how his brother picked the cards. It was amazing how by seeing what card they picked, the man could tell fortunes. Though Belen didn't seem entirely convinced, Cyril thought the cards were spot on. How did the man know? When it was another person's turn to pick their cards, his brother pulled him aside. "Wasn't that amazing, Bel? I didn't know you could do fortune-telling with playing cards!" Glancing behind at the street performer, his brother pointed his thumb in the man's direction. "I bet there's some sort of gimmick with the deck there. There's no way he could know a person's personality from a first glance. His predictions are just vague enough for anybody to buy into it, unless he's using magic."

His brother was determined to figure out the performer's secrets, watching other people pick cards while trying to pick the act apart. Cyril's attention wandered while his brother was preoccupied, and by chance he happened to see a lady dressed a lot like somebody from Arri shake the man's hand all of a sudden. She then quickly turned to leave, and the man went back to calling in whoever was curious to see his show. His eyes lingered on the woman for a bit, and he saw something in her hand that he didn't see earlier. Weren't her hands both empty when she took the flashy man in a surprise handshake? "Hey, Bel…" He tapped his brother. "Shh, not now. I think I've almost got it." Still feeling that something was strange, he bugged his twin. "Bel! I saw something!" The brunet boy turned to look. "Really? Where? What is it?" "That lady over there, with the white hair. Where did she get that purse?" Realizing he wasn't talking about the card magician, his brother's interest dampened. "I dunno? Beats me. Anyway, I'm sure somebody sells those around here. Hey, where are you going?" 

Cyril was now worming his way through the crowds following after the woman with the strange purse. He had a burning question and he wasn't stopping until he asked. His brother's shouts we not far behind, but he didn't notice. The purse, why did he have that weird feeling about it? Catching up to her, Cyril moved to get in her line of sight and made eye contact. "Excuse me miss," He said, leading right into what he had been wanting to ask for the past five minutes. "–Why did you take it?"