Queen of Spades

Keywords - Upright: hard terms honored, one thing carried out  ·  Inverted: the letter cutting your way, a bad deal overpaying

Upright

Unpleasant terms, uncomfortable company, a deal struck in circumstances nobody would have chosen. And yet the Harpy held up her end. You got something out of this. Perhaps more than you expected, if less than you wanted.

The bargain was bad and you knew it going in - terms set by someone who could afford your refusal, company you would not have chosen, a price with spite folded into it. And it was kept, to the letter, the way such creatures keep things. Out of the wreck you carry exactly one thing worth having. Less than you needed. More than nothing. That was always the shape of this deal.

Inverted

Read again, the letter of the bargain is on your side. The precise wording that was meant to cage you covers more than its maker intended - the promise made in malice binds her to a kindness, and she is bound. Do not gloat; creatures of the letter have long memories. But collect, in full, while the wording holds.

In Play

Upright. For passage through the marsh, Vell trades the witch her mother's ring - and gets passage: cold, wordless, exactly to the far bank and not a step of guidance more.

Inverted. Safe passage for you and yours, the witch swore - and Vell's pursuers, wading in behind her under that indifferent gaze, discover the marsh does not consider them covered.