[Artemisia] Another Item for the Gambling House

[Bruce Padget]

Mistress Maire quite whelmed me with her offer of
tangible support for the Gambling House auction at
Uprising.  

But then my competitive side kicked in, and I went
into my collection.  I cannot match the wealth of the
good Mistress, but my collection does happen to
contain one rarity, which I will put up for the
auction.

I speak of a specimen of the Loch Salann pack, which
was discussed on this list a few months back. To
explain:

Each Solstice Court, the Baronage of Loch Salann
present a small gift to each gentle in attendance.

In A.S. XXXI, Their Excellencies Maikeru and Katlin
set a mark not matched before or since.  For their
gift to the populace, Mistress Anne de Junius and Dame
Varia Goffe created a special pack of playing cards,
drawing on period card designs.  The pack follows the
Italian pattern, with 14 cards each in Coins, Cups,
Swords, and Staves.  (The cards also bear the more
familiar French suit marks, if that is more suited to
your game.)

In each suit, the Ace, King, Queen, Prince, and
Princess depict grand personages from Artemisia's
history.  For example, the King of Swords (not
surprisingly, to those whose memory goes back so far)
is Duke Brion, and just as fittingly, the Prince of
Swords is Duke Sean.  Mistress Katlin is the Ace of
Coins, and Maikeru-sama is the Ace of Staves.  (Folks
have been known to go thru a copy of this pack for
hours, playing, "Who's that card?")

For modern games that need them, the pack also
includes two Jokers -- Count Kvelduf (sometimes called
"The biker King of Atenveldt."), and a much noted (and
missed) troubador, His Lordship Aaron Calderius.

The condition of the pack is near-mint.  If a small
play on words will be indulged, there is indeed a good
deal of history in this pack of cards.

Regards,
Niccolo
Abbastanza Buon Non E Abbastanza Buono
bapadget at yahoo.com

P.S. Perhaps full explanation of the person depicted
in the pack could be auctioned separately?  Or maybe
one could ply the right folk with the right drink to
learn who all those folks are...




	
		
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