Chapter One
It was hot when Kaden woke, sweat sticking clothes to skin everywhere. He yawned and rubbed his eyes before pushing slowly up from the sleeping matt he’d stolen a few months ago. It made the hard dirt a tiny bit more bearable for sleeping. Every morning he rolled it up as small as he could and hid it in a cubby carved from the building he slept behind. He’d be damned if someone stole it from him.
This spring seemed even worse last when most of the crops had died before they could even grow. Finding things to steal so he could eat at least every other day was definitely harder.
Maybe you’re just not as good as you think you are, a voice sneered inside his head. It sounded a lot like his old master at the textile factory.
Shaking off the doubt, Kaden ran his hand through short brown hair to untangle it as best he could. This early in the season begging wouldn’t get him anything except a cuff upside the head from the Guard. People didn’t part with hard-earned coppers until the sun pounded the dirt into unbearable shimmering heat and that didn’t happen until much further into the season. Best to look presentable and forgettable. To that end, he brushed the dirt from his tight trousers and dirty brown shirt and tied up his sandals. There wasn’t even a patch of water to look at himself, but Kaden knew he looked somewhat decent since he’d stolen the shirt only a month ago. It didn’t even have any worn out patches yet.
He had to steal something to eat today or he’d grow too weak to be fast enough to steal and run away. It was a vicious cycle he’d fallen into the first year he’d run from the factory. Before he knew enough about how to live on the street without being bought and sold. He’d been young then. And stupid like only an eight-year-old could be. He knew so much better now at ten. Another couple of years and he might even apply to the unofficial group of thieves that ran the city’s underground.
Kaden walked down the narrow alley where he slept behind a cheap rooming house each night. Like most of the rest of Volgin, the building was three stories high and made from mud bricks hardened into near-stone strength. It made for a monotonous but near impenetrable city, from what little he’d heard. Only the Palace, the Great Library, and the Guard Standard rose above three stories; probably to keep an easier eye on the people, he thought bitterly.
He walked into the thick foot traffic on the main street with the ease of long practice. When he’d first escaped the factory, he’d stumbled plenty upon the raised-brick main street. Volgin had only the one and it ran the length of the city with smaller packed-dirt lanes crossing it like a backbone.
It was only just after dawn but people filled the street as if it were midday; craftsmen, vendors, traders, and servants all milled together at the start of their workday. He spotted other children of all ages on the same mission–stealing enough to eat–but ignored them as surely as they ignored him. It was rude to let on there was any kind of competition.
The sun sapped at Kaden’s strength even at that early hour and he sighed. It would be a long day with hunger scratching in his belly.
Bordencit, the not-quite-poorest section of the city where Kaden slept each night, was about a five-minute walk to the jumble of newcomer tents, permanent and semi-permanent stalls making up the Grand Market. The Market took up a full quarter of the city, bringing in money and goods from the rest of the known world. The colorful banners and odd not-people had fascinated Kaden since he’d become a streeter.
Don’t shit where you eat, his old master whispered suddenly and viciously in Kaden’s ear, just as the old man had been doing the last three years. The old man had actually meant not to cock up in the factory. Cock-ups involved workers dying, which meant investigations that cost money and someone inevitably got a whipping regardless of if they’d been involved or not; Kaden had the scars to prove it. Once he’d run away, Kaden had adapted the words to a more literal meaning: not stealing where he slept.
Kaden reached the shade of the eastern wall and took in the familiar flow of the Market. The wall was so high that even at seven bells, there was plenty of shade. The Market was as old as the city and had originally sprung up around a well of magic water, or so legend had it. The first settlers had come across the water bubbling up from the ground and set up camp there. From that moment on, no one in the trading party had fallen ill. The ancient well that was the supposed miracle site looked like every other old well Kaden had seen in the city aside from the alternating Guard pair that watched over it day and night.
Most foot traffic went east to west following the main street which followed the path of the sun. The massive wall that encompassed the city held two iron gates at the farthest points and one of those points was at the far end of the Grand Market. Kaden roamed all parts of the Market except the textiles area, too uneasy of being recognized and forced back to working in the factory. If he couldn’t steal food directly, then he would steal something that could be easily sold to buy food.
It was nearing eight bells when he made his way to the newest ironworks trader. The man had set up tents at the outskirts of the metal workers’ section of the Market and so far everyone hated him. Kaden had witnessed no less than three violent arguments with other metalworkers, two of whom had been Citizens. Even a streeter like Kaden knew better than to get into it with a Citizen. That was just one step down from Nobility and no one picked a fight with Nobility and expected to remain free. Or alive, half the time.
As he’d mostly expected, it was only just gone nine bells when the trader got into a loud argument with a Citizen. Kaden kept on the periphery, but close enough to join the crowd of onlookers. He inched closer to the wares on the front table as the fight got louder and more physical.
Time it right, he whispered to himself. Grab some nails and run. Just need a few to sell for coppers.
The trader grabbed the Citizen’s jacket. Kaden darted to the table and grabbed a handful or large but anonymous iron nails that would be easy to sell. He turned to run when someone big grabbed him around the waist and hauled him into the air with a cry of, “Thief!”
Kaden squirmed and kicked, but the arm around his waist felt like living iron. Maybe it was a Rocmin with their mad hard skin or someone wearing armor. He couldn’t catch a glimpse of his captor no matter how he fought. And then the man holding him howled in pain and dropped him to the ground. Kaden briefly spotted brown eyes in a pale face his own age before regaining his senses and running for it.
He heard someone chasing after him but the footfalls were light and speedy, just like his. It was probably the boy who’d interfered but Kaden wasn’t stopping until he and his nails were far from the metalworkers. By the time he stopped in the horse masters’ section, Kaden’s side pinched fiercely and his breath came in hard gasps.
Hiding in the shade of a small barn, Kaden looked over the other boy and wasn’t sure what to make of him. They were of a height and build, so he was probably ten years as well, but his clothes were well made and clean. He wore shoes not sandals and there wasn’t a lick of dirt smudged anywhere on his pale skin to mark him as a streeter even if the clothes hadn’t instantly given him away.
“You’re not highborn,” Kaden mused aloud, “But you’re no streeter. Why’d you help me?”
The boy shrugged. “I don’t think a few nails is worth someone’s hand, especially not a boy’s. You must really need the coppers. Besides. That trader deserved it for laying hands on my father.”
And just like that, the puzzle pieces fit. Trader’s son. Not quite a Citizen, unless his mother was born such, but higher up than most in Volgin. A prideful one, too, if he thought some visiting trader putting hands on his father meant someone should steal from the man. Still, it worked out in Kaden’s favor. “I’m Kaden.”
“Thad Ri,” the boy replied, smiling. “C’mon. I’ll get us something to eat before Father starts yelling for me.”
A Citizen after all, if he had a surname. Not that it much mattered to Kaden.
They walked through the animal traders and trainers and workers with the ease of friends that Kaden didn’t question. They didn’t ask after each other’s business like he thought friends generally did. And Thad Ri didn’t seem all that nice from his stiff posture to the expectant way he had of walking, like everyone else should move aside from him. Which they did, so maybe Kaden should emulate him.
They’d just reached the cookeries when a shriek pierced the air. It was so loud and close that Kaden flinched and ducked away from the clamoring. A hand grabbed his shoulder, fingers digging into his bones, and he looked up to find an old blind woman staring at him. The whites of her eyes disquieted him right to the soul and he froze in their powerful grip. She had Thad Ri by the other hand, gripping his new companion’s arm just as tight. Her wild white hair hung in a thick curtain to her waist, tangled in places like it hadn’t seen a brush in longer than Kaden had been on the streets. Her clothes were rich but old, the deep green velvet faded and worn in many places. This had once been a woman of means and title, of that Kaden had no doubt.
“Two sides, two sides! The two of you!” she moaned, her voice shaking with prophecy. “Power and pain, so much power and pain. Better one should die now than all who die then!”
Out of nowhere, the old woman held a wickedly sharp looking dagger at Thad Ri’s throat.
Thad Ri’s brown eyes met Kaden’s and they were wide with fright. Kaden didn’t allow himself to think. He grabbed the blade with his free hand and yanked it out of her grasp, the metal cutting into the flesh of his palm.
She shrieked again and fell to the ground, sobbing and screaming nonsense. Kaden threw the blade to the dirt, grabbed Thad Ri’s hand with his bloody palm, and pulled him into running somewhere safe. He wouldn’t let anything happen to his new friend.
They stopped further into the cookery section by a meat pie vendor. Thad pulled out a hand rag that was the cleanest Kaden had ever seen and held it up. “Here. For your hand.”
Kaden took it and wrapped it around his bleeding palm. The cut hurt but he could move his fingers so it couldn’t be too deep. He shoved the ill-gotten nails into his pockets so as not to lose them.
“Let’s get something to eat then see a healer,” Thad ordered, more than said. Before Kaden could point out he had no money, Thad turned to the vendor. “Two meat pies, please.”
The old man nodded immediately and put two pies on the counter. “Three coppers, young master.”
Thad counted out four and asked, “Where’s a healer tent?”
“Over there,” the vendor said, snatching up the coppers.
Thad picked up a pie and held it out to Kaden, who took it quickly. He wasn’t going to argue charity, not as hungry as he was. “Thanks!”
Thad shrugged and picked up the other pie. “You saved my life. Least I can do. C’mon.”
Kaden held the pie on his injured hand and broke a piece off with his good one, shoving it in his mouth and then breathing through the steamy heat as the savory flavor assaulted his mouth.
They walked through the cookeries in the direction pointed at by the vendor. By the time they reached the healer tents–marked by the flags holding a golden crescent against a red background–Kaden had finished his pie. His stomach protested the sudden influx of rich food but he ignored it.
Thad called out, “Excuse me.”
One of the not-quite peoples came out from the tent. She was small and slight, maybe half a head taller than Kaden, with fine flowing black hair, angled dark eyes, and features so delicate as to be doll-like. She wore hardy looking dark pants, a blousy plain shirt the same color, and boots to her knees. Her hands rested on her hips and she looked unerringly at Kaden. “And what did you do to your hand, young sir?”
Feeling sheepish for some reason, Kaden said, “Grabbed the wrong end of a blade, mistress healer.”
Though Fal-el shook her head, her gaze was gentle and she lightly pushed him into the tent. “It’s Fal-el, young sir. Come on. Let’s get you seen to.”
Thad followed without invitation, but Kaden didn’t care enough to keep him out. Besides which, the other boy was paying for her services.
She sat him on a tall stool and unwrapped the hand rag, giving a low whistle. “You certainly did a good job there, young sir. This’ll cost a fair ten coppers to heal up good.”
Kaden immediately hopped off the stool and said, “Thanks, anyhow. C’mon, Thad.”
“What? No, stupid. Get back on the stool. You saved my life, remember?” Thad said, tone querulous and arms crossed over his chest in a stubborn manner.
Fal-el frowned at them. “I thought you grabbed the wrong end of a blade.”
Thad rolled his eyes expressively. “He did. It was at my throat at the time. Some crazy woman said one of us should die. If Kaden here wasn’t so honorable and brave, I’d be dead for sure.”
Kaden flushed at the intensity of the healing woman’s gaze. “It wasn’t that bad.”
Thad insisted, “Yes it was!”
She held up both hands to forestall any arguments. “Well. We can’t have such bravery rewarded with a wound that could prove a real problem down the road, can we?”
Kaden wanted to protest that he hadn’t done anything heroic, but they were both clearly arrayed against him. He sighed in annoyance and sat on the stool again.
Fal-el took his hand and carefully pushed his fingers out of the way, pulling it up to look at more closely. Kaden winced at the resulting pain but kept silent as she examined the wound. She walked to a large case and rummaged through it before returning with a thin blue paper. She said, “Keep your hand steady, now,” and placed the paper on the wound with murmured words he couldn’t understand.
It was just big enough to cover the bloody gash and he hissed in pain when the paper adhered to his skin on its own. She encased his hand with hers and closed her eyes, whispering a few more unknown words. The pain lessened to a barely-there ache within moments and he blinked in surprise. He’d heard the not-peoples had magic, but it was the first he’d personally seen.
Fal-el opened her eyes and smiled. “There you go. The slip will fall off when you’re completely healed, which I’d estimate to be a few days. It’ll stay on through water and use, so just ignore it.”
Considering it would’ve been a few weeks to get anywhere near healed, Kaden said, “Thank you,” with all sincerity.
Her smile softened and she said, “Of course, young sir.”
Thad held out a hand filled with coppers. “Here you go.”
Fal-el shook her head and said, “No need, young sir. Just keep your friend safe. When someone spills their blood for you, it’s a special bond.”
Thad nodded. “I know. Thanks, then.”
Kaden waved at her as they left the tent, walking a short distance away before they stopped. “Well… thanks for breakfast.”
Thad punched him in the shoulder. “Stupid. Like I’m just going to let you starve on the streets. C’mon. I’m bringing you home.”
Kaden exclaimed angrily, “I’m not some stray!”
“You really are stupid,” Thad said dismissively. “Not like that. My mother will know where you can go so you don’t have to live on the streets anymore. She’s got friends ‘cause she’s a Citizen born and bred, though she married my father.”
Fear slashed through him even though he knew Thad meant well. “No, I won’t go back.”
Thad frowned and asked, “Go back? You mean you were already in a home?”
“Textile factory. It’s where everyone between five and twelve works,” Kaden whispered, memories of the bloody, fearful years rising up to swamp him. He smelled the bitter burning of fabric and shivered as the welts on his back ached. “We work from an hour before dawn ‘till eight second-bells and I eat better on the streets. I can’t go back!”
“Okay, okay!” Thad exclaimed. He hissed in annoyance, brown eyes narrowed in thought and looking well above his ten years as he considered the situation. “Well, then I’ll show you where I live and sneak you out some food every day. You can’t come with me to school, but… hmm… you could always spend the day at the Great Library. And this way you don’t have to worry about losing a hand because you’re a crap thief.”
It should be harder to feel both insulted and relieved, but Kaden managed it easily. He scowled as he said, “Thanks.”
Laughing, Thad said, “Come on. It’s not too far away to Gardenwise.”
Kaden lifted his eyebrows in surprise. Gardenwise was a really nice place to live from what he’d seen; not that he’d lingered. The few times he had, Guards had inevitably showed up looking like they wanted to throw him in a workhouse.
It actually took almost twenty minutes to get to the two-story house that stood in a row of houses that were exactly the same as each other. The main difference were the flowers lining the short walking path to the door. Kaden stayed on the street when Thad walked up to the door.
Thad finally realized Kaden wasn’t next to him when he opened the door. Turning around, he asked, “Now what?”
“I can’t go in.”
“Yes you can’t.”
“No, I can’t. What if your mother sees me?”
Thad heaved a sigh and said, “She’s not home, stupid. I already said I wouldn’t let her send you back. Trust me, okay?”
Kaden bit his lip as he looked at the other boy. A few seconds later he screwed up his courage and strode up the path, walking by Thad into the house. His bluff got him about three feet inside before he stopped short. Kaden took in the simple, homey furnishings and clean floors and longing washed through him so strong that his throat tightened with tears. He cleared his throat to break up the emotion.
“Bedroom’s upstairs, c’mon,” Thad said without his usual volume.
Kaden followed him up and had to keep himself from gaping at the large bedroom into which they walked. Toys and clothes littered the floor, but everything was very clean. The small bed under the window–a window! he thought with no small jealousy–had puffy looking bedding with puffier looking pillows and the furniture was sturdy, if not new.
Thad walked to the dresser against the wall and opened drawers, pulling out clothes and then throwing them at Kaden, who caught them reflexively. “You need a bath, but you’ll have to make do with a quick wash. Mother’s only gone for another hour or so and we need to get gone before Father returns. Washroom’s in the hall. I’ll go downstairs and put a bag of food together and then we’ll check out the Library.”
He walked out before Kaden could think of a response. Kaden only dithered for a few seconds before leaving the bedroom to use the washroom. It was about two lengths long and one length wide, holding the garde-robe in the corner and a standing basin with the faucet sticking out of the wall above it. Kaden had never lived anywhere that had water flowing inside, let alone with such ease. It was usually just a metal stool over a waste pit that led to the sewers and washing up to be done elsewhere, if at all. A standing tub took up most of the space along the side wall.
Kaden hesitantly pulled the faucet and jumped a bit when water poured out, then laughed at himself. He put a hand under it to find it warm, but not hot and quickly stripped out of everything. He used the small hand towel as a washcloth and soaked it up with the small bit of soap on the cheerful peach colored dish next to the basin. He soaped up all the necessary places then rinsed off best he could. Not that he would mind smelling like flowers from the residue.
He took only about ten minutes to get clean and dry then dunked his head under the flowing water and washed it with the soap with a sigh of happiness. He scrubbed his hair dry as best he could and dressed quickly, leaving the washroom a scant fifteen minutes after stepping inside. The clean underclothes had him almost wriggling with giddiness as he jogged down the stairs and into the kitchen. The only thing he wore that was his originally were his sandals.
The kitchen was small with a table built into the wall, four chairs around it, a counter next to the wood stove against the opposite wall, and a small door next to it. The door was open so he peeked inside and found Thad putting jars into a bag. He walked in and said, “I can’t take all that.”
“Why not?”
“Nowhere to put it.”
Thad’s frown deepened into a scowl and he asked, “What can you take then?”
Kaden took the bag and looked inside. He left everything in except the dried meats in their weatherproofed bag. “I’ll take this.”
Thad’s eyes widened and he said in dismay, “That’s it?”
Kaden tied the bag to his belt loop and said, “Now I don’t have to worry about anyone stealing it.”
Thad sighed but put the rest of the food back. Once he finished, he said, “Okay. Let’s go to the library.”
Kaden nodded and they left the storeroom and continued outside. The sun was almost directly overhead and Thad set a quick pace, likely hoping to avoid his parents. It took a good twenty minutes to walk through Gardenwise to the library. Kaden couldn’t stop looking around at the cheerful houses they passed, not even when Thad elbowed him with an eye roll. It was pretty much his version of a happy spiritworld. Most people hoped to be reunited with their loved ones in a state of luxury and bliss, but Kaden only wanted somewhere clean and comfortable to live for eternity.
The Great Library stood five stories tall, but it was the mass of the thing that inspired its name. It took up three full blocks and served a dual purpose as a monastery in its center. At the very center stood a vinyard tended to by the monks who lived in its walls. They also cared for the manuscripts, scrolls, art, and every iteration of the written word–in several languages–that could be found. It had been that way since the Great Library’s genesis some five hundred years ago by some king whose name Kaden didn’t know or care about.
There were a hundred stone steps from the street to the three sets of double doors of the main entrance. The entire building was stone, an unheard of luxury that Kaden wouldn’t have been able to imagine without seeing it for himself.
“Make sure and speak quiet when we’re inside,” Thad instructed with a grin. “I got in big trouble once. Won the bet though.”
Kaden grinned back at him and nodded. As soon as they were inside, he knew he’d have no problem staying quiet as the sheer size of the thing pressed upon him almost physically. The ceiling rose so high that colorful birds flew from beam to beam where, he assumed, they nested. He knew that there was a dome in the very center of the building, but they were on the west side and the library was so large Kaden couldn’t catch a glimpse of the thing.
More immediate were the two very official looking Volgin Guards in their black uniforms who stood a few steps beyond the doors. Kaden stopped short on seeing them, flushing with panic when one of them looked at him.
Thad threw an arm around his neck and dragged him beyond the guards and winked at the one who frowned curiously at Kaden. He said in a loud whisper, “My brother’s suddenly realized father wasn’t joking about getting our schoolwork done.”
The guard snorted and then went back to looking out the window.
Once they were among one of the thousands of aisles of bookshelves, well out of earshot of the guards, Thad let go of him and hissed, “You want to get caught? Look. They don’t know you or care to know you. If you stand and walk like you belong here, you’ll belong here. They don’t care. I promise.”
Kaden swallowed against his too-dry throat and whispered back, “Okay.”
They wandered through the aisles filled with books on every subject imaginable. Kaden wished he could read and find out what they contained.
“I’m in school from nine bells until three second-bells. I’ll bring you food here after that,” Thad said as they walked into a large room filled with plants on every table and along the bottom of every wall. There were tables to work at and chairs to sit on. The ceiling was solid glass, but made with colors, letting in the full midday sun and setting off arcs of colored light.
Kaden looked around in wonder. “What is this place?”
Thad blinked at him a few times. “An atrium. You’ve never seen an atrium before?”
Shaking his head, Kaden said, “I won’t have any problem filling time here.”
Thad shrugged. “Okay. I have to get back home. Father’s already going to be angry that I took off like that. I go back to school tomorrow, so be here by three second-bells. Kaden!”
Kaden lurched when Thad pushed him, even though the shove wasn’t forceful. He returned his attention to his new friend. “I’ll be here.”
“Wait, where do you sleep?” Thad asked suddenly.
“Behind a building in Bordencit.”
“Is it safe?”
“Has been so far. No one cares who sleeps there.”
Thad’s eyes darkened as he stared at Kaden for a long moment. “Are you sure?”
Kaden nodded and said, “It’s fine. I stay away from the wilder areas where the adults camp and keep away from the trash, which gets raided early every morning. Go, before your father punishes you for being tardy.”
Thad hesitated before saying, “Okay, but you better be here tomorrow.”
Kaden shoved him back and grinned. “I’ll be here.”
Thad rolled his eyes and pushed him again before leaving with a grin and mocking wave.
Kaden looked around the room… atrium… for almost an hour. He examined all of the plants in detail, not having seen any of them before. Some were small and squat while others grew tall and thin, but they were all wildly colorful and some had scents that made him want to stay there and breathe them in all day.
He finally ended up sitting at one of the tables and staring up at the ceiling, which turned out to have designs carved into them. Some of them formed strange shapes but others seemed to have no pattern at all.
“Star maps.”
Kaden jumped in fright at the unexpected voice and then jumped to his feet and bowed deeply on seeing the speaker was a monk. “I’m sorry, sir, I was just looking. I’ll leave.”
“Nonsense, my boy. Don’t be foolish,” the monk said kindly. “Even if you hadn’t been here first, there’s plenty of room. Oh, do stop that.”
Kaden straightened from the bow and gawped a bit at the monk. He was unusually tall and exceptionally thin with fingers like giant spider legs. He was bald, as all monks were, and wore the traditional beige robe with a scarlet sash and nothing on his enormous feet.
Blue eyes crinkled with humor as the monk watched him watching the monk. “I’m Pelli. What’s your name?”
“Um, Kaden?”
“Is that a guess?”
Kaden closed his mouth with an audible click. “No, sir. My name’s Kaden.”
Pelli chuckled. “Excellent. One should know one’s own name, after all. It’s fairly important.”
Kaden stood there, shifting awkwardly from foot to foot as he tried to figure out how to respectfully leave.
“So you’re a streeter, are you?” Pelli asked casually.
Kaden’s jaw dropped again and he said in a rush, “I’m sorry, sir, I’ll leave straight away.”
Pelli smiled. “Are we back to that? As it stands, I was looking for a Castle partner. I don’t suppose you play?”
“I don’t know what that is, sir.”
“Pelli,” the monk correctly lightly. “Friends shouldn’t have titles between them, don’t you agree?”
Kaden frowned in confusion. “You want to be my friend?”
“Why wouldn’t I? Have you killed someone?”
“No sir!”
“Then I think we’ll get on famously.”
Kaden didn’t think monks were allowed to wink, but that’s just what Pelli did. He couldn’t think of anything to say in response to that and bit his lip.
“Come along, Kaden. I find myself in need of a student and here you are, appearing like a gift.”
A gift? Kaden thought with disbelief. I’ve never been called that before.
He followed Pelli through the atrium to a smaller room with smaller tables and no plants. Each table held a board made of dark brown and light brown squares… No, as he looked closer, Kaden saw the boards were part of the tables themselves. A bulky cloth bag rested on each table and Pelli chose a table near the outside wall, right beneath a large window.
Motioning to the chair opposite, Pelli picked up the bag and said, “Castle is a game of strategy as old as time and once played only by kings. A very long time ago, before Volgin even existed, commoners caught playing Castle were executed.”
It was a horrific thought, killing someone for playing a game and he shivered. Kaden sat and watched as Pelli withdrew the pieces from the bag and set the board with them.
“The object of the game is simple: capture the Emperor. The problem is all these other pieces have very strict rules on how many squares they can move in a turn and in what direction. This, for instance, is a Guard. It’s the most plentiful piece and can move as many squares as you like, taking any other piece in the way, but only forward and back.”
“Well that’s dumb,” Kaden said, accepting one of the wooden pieces. It was the size of his thumb and rectangular with a vague helmet carved into the top. There were so many of the Guards that they took up three rows.
Pelli paused in his motions and asked curiously. “Why is that dumb?”
Kaden shrugged. “It’s too lax. It should be harder.”
Chuckling, Pelli continued setting up the board. “Just you wait, my young friend. We’re just getting started.
Kaden put the piece in its spot and listened intently as Pelli explained the game of Kings.