Result:

• Prompt:

  You couldn't find the time to see Samir, but nothing particular seemed to have happened. Perhaps he only wished to catch up.

Samir has once been a trusted friend, yet at a moment when lives hang in the balance you have no other choice.

He surely never expects a dagger to greet him... You do not dare meet your old friend's eyes, but you strike, and then present the killing coldly before the court: you act only to break the Bloodshed Card, nothing more.

The Sultan is displeased. Samir is one of his favored court physicians—a man who once betrayed his ancestral oath to serve the Sultan instead of his fallen kingdom, a living banner of loyalty and power. Still, the Sultan does not move against you. Such loyalty, after all, he can summon as often as he pleases.

Conditions:

• Slot #3 = 1

Result:

• Clean Slot #1: 1
• Clean Slot #3: 1
• Clean Card (Kapar) On Table: 1
• Counter (7100002): Add 1
• Card (Slander)

When you find Samir he leans against a pillar in the corridor, eyes lowered to the floor.

Seeing you approach, he smiles and points to the shifting shadows.

"When you were still a young noble at court, we spent hours here together. Do you remember?"

Of course you do. The trembling shadows come from dense lilacs, jasmine, and roses planted just outside the arcade. These flowers are meant to please the Sultan and his consorts, yet also a hiding place for idle youths. You and Samir once talked here, read, even dozed; those days feel like yesterday.

"So, my old friend," Samir continues, "when I noticed something strange... I thought I should ask you first, before reporting to the Sultan."

From his robe he draws the register of women who serve the Sultan... Your heart lurches. You expected someone to examine it—perhaps the fat eunuchs who manage the harem, whose eyes are easy to deceive. But Samir? He is far harder to fool.

"This record is... odd, isn't it?" He tucks the book back inside his robe and winks at you. "If the one who tampered with it—whoever that may be—truly wanted to alter it, he should have spoken with his old friend first. I can forget this small matter. But my forgetfulness has a modest price." He hands out a slip of paper covered with names. "There are some people I worry about. Find them—give them food, or money—and then tell me how they fare. In return, my memory will have one of its little lapses. Agreed?"

It is blackmail, yet in this court such gentle blackmail almost counts as help. With a faint sigh you take the list from his hand.

Conditions:

• Not Slot #3 = 1

Result:

• Card (Folded List)