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He nodded and drank. He went over and sat down on one of the chairs, motioning me to join him sitting in the other. I did, and I watched as he snapped his fingers. Some kind of... 'screen' opened up in front of us. I saw it was some sort of game.
[ESKART] "Rugby. One of our favorite sports in Belkinsire. This game is happening right now. We have a championship cup union that the clubs play in that gets organized every year. Athletes come and go in these sports. We have a lot of big contenders every year. Clubs have come and gone, sometimes they merge. The two biggest clubs right now are the Fintails and Bushwackers, the Fintails knocked the third biggest club, the Corkscrews out last game."
'Ah, so you love watching sports then? I can appreciate it.'
[ESKART] "Well, yes, but also no. I wasn't initially a sports fan."
'Oh?'
[ESKART] "I got into sports because I got addicted to sports betting."
Hmm. I stared at the screen.
[ESKART] "Our sports betting is done magically. One of our Shamans set it up. It requires you to have a bank account in Belkinsire, as the draw of funds is automatic. You merely speak to the air what you want to bet, and it gets taken. If you win, you get an automatic payout. In recent times, we've been able to modulate it to take other things."
I held up my hand and focused my Psychic energy, crystalizing it into a purple shard.
'Alright, then I bet this shard on the Bushwackers.'
And it was gone!
'Gu!'
[ESKART] "I told you. Now, that thing will be distributed to someone after this game is over. I for one bet on the Fintails."
'It's pretty unique, I'll say.'
[ESKART] "Indeed. I don't have a use for money, and my council insisted I take a salary. I figure I can at least do this with it. Besides, it's entertaining to watch sports this way. You're always eager to see if your bets will win. Who knows, if the Fintails win, I may even get that shard by chance."
'We'll see.'
[ESKART] "Quite."
I can see why he'd become immersed in this.
I sat and watched the game with Eskart while drinking hot chocolate until it was over. When the game concluded, the Fintails did end up winning over the Bushwackers, and Eskart told he got a little payout from the whole thing. I was surprised when he showed me the shard again afterwards, it looked like luck favored him. It was all very amusing to me.
I stayed a little while more and he showed me all the different things about Rugby, and told me a little about the history of the clubs in Belkinsire and how people treated sports. Really, it sounded pretty barbaric, but it was entertaining.
When I'd decided my boredom was alleviated, I thanked Eskart and took my leave.
Come to think of it, that was the first time I'd seen him smile. He has a nice smile, one he doesn't show often.
