‘… I need a drink.’ He wasn’t quite sure how to proceed. He’d always prided himself on his ability to strategize. He even had a good enough hand on misdirection that people called him annoying because of it. They’d even feared him for it! Yet here he was, the trickster, getting played for a fool. He needed to think about this carefully… and as sad as it was, hitting the bottle wasn’t going to help. ‘Aren’t you going to drink that?’ The barwoman asked. ‘Maybe later,’ he answered. ‘You look and sound out of sorts.’ ‘I’m surprised you aren’t trying to gut me.’ His smile was forced.