“So you say life is a game of dice. There is chance, luck, and for some few, a set of loaded dice. The biggest difference is what side of the roll you are on. The rolls are random, sporadic. The dice tumble and bounce, the results are viewed, and the results play out as they will. And there is a being watching and interpreting the rolls, causing events to unfurl as the rolls indicate. I think that may be nothing more than a load of crap.”
“Watch your tongue, Hesran, you border on blasphemy.”
The young wizard turned to the priest with whom he was traveling. To be sure, Belthas did not seem like your typical follower of the Cup and Tower. He was rather spontaneous in his actions, something which most followers avoided, looking to the rolls to determine their actions. He did wear the regalia, however. Cubes, pyramids, and more hung around his neck, all carrying numbers along their sides, the symbol of a Roller, as they were known to those who did not follow the same belief. And while Belthas, as a Roller, was uncharacteristically accepting of those who did not believe, he was steadfast in his belief and spoke out when it was derided.
“Apologies, friend, I mean no disrespect. I just find it hard to believe that there is a single being above all, including the Gods themselves, who dictates the outcome for all of us based on the random results of some dice.”
“I accept you apology, Hesran. And I can even understand your inability to belief is the Master of the Game. I too had trouble accepting the fact until I witnessed the truth firsthand.”
This was something new in the conversation. Hesran had always assumed Belthas had always been a follower of the Cup and Tower. It never occurred to him his companion had ever been anything but.
“I never pegged you as one who had doubts in your faith, Belthas.”
“Not now, no. But before I took up the faith, I had doubts of those who spoke of the Cup and Tower. It all seemed too random to have any order to it. But then I witnessed an occurrence that opened my eyes to the Meta. From that day forward, I could not deny there was a greater power behind everything.”
———————-
Thomas looked at James and shook his head.
“Yeah, man, I’m going to need a bluff check on that one.”
“What? It’s what he believes, man! Surely I should be able to make a diplomacy check instead.”
Sara piped up.
“I have to agree with Thomas. I mean the Meta? Really? I know you wanted to play a cleric that followed his own faith, but this is getting a bit silly.”
“OK, OK, I may have gone overboard there. Fine, bluff check it is.”
———————-
Belthas looked down at the string of prayer dice and frowned.
“Crap.”, he whispered, “A 5 … brings it up to a 11.”
The prayer dice spun once again, stopping on a 2.
“So tell me more about this Meta, Belthas. I am not familiar with it, but it does sound intriguing.”