The Hilbert family was one of the most well-known and wealthiest in all of Nun. Their great grandfather, the original Hilbert, was a frugal Hobusian who started with a small shop in a corner of Nun—which had long since been paved over. The family continued to grow for many years, building larger and grander buildings to accompany the Nun atmosphere.

The Hilbert Hotel and Casino was made with such grandiose in mind. To say it was a simple building would be an understatement. It was built on a natural lake and could only be reached by crossing a glowing drawbridge. Those deemed unsightly would be thrown into the lake and expected to swim back to shore. The bottom floor was the lobby, the next two floors contained the casino, and the rest contained the hotel.

Alone, the structure might not be too strange, but the hotel had another feature that would cause people’s heads to spin. It was built like an overly complex merry-go-round with three separate wheels that always slowly turned. The outer wheel would turn counterclockwise, the middle clockwise, and the inner counterclockwise as well. The very center was a still section that acted as an axel to the tall wheel, and the spinning was so slow that one wouldn’t notice until they had become thoroughly lost. Naturally, the building itself functioned as a part of the casino, and every day, there was a possibility to win big for someone who stood in a randomly selected section of the casino—as if it was the most complex roulette ever devised.

Odell and Hal stood and stared at the gaudy glowing building at the end of the bridge.

“Are you coming?” Tancred shouted back. He was several steps ahead, but his short Bentulousian stature was liable to get lost if they let him stray further.

“They are obviously overwhelmed,” the detective's assistant, Rym, said as she shook her scaly pink head.

Nevertheless, Tancred’s words were enough to break the duo out of their surprise, and they quickly formed a group that got in line for the entrance.

“Must we really come here? I would think you are more interested in gambling the money our agency doesn’t have,” Rym groaned.

“Now, my dear assistant, don’t you recall what Hagan said? This hotel has a lead, and we will find it!” Tancred replied with an enthusiastic but hushed tone. “What’s the harm in a little gambling! I have a feeling we will strike it big!” he shouted after noticing a few funny looks from others in the line. They were an odd crowd, and two carrying Needaimus was enough to warrant caution. The detective’s words were enough to alleviate their attention, and people began to turn back to their business.

“How big is this place?” Odell asked as he eyed the glowing building that seemed to grow larger and more intimidating with every step they took.

“Large enough to get lost in, so stay close,” Tancred replied with a smile.

The line moved up slowly but at a steady pace, and before long, the group was the next to speak to the guard at the door. They observed as he talked to a couple trying to make a case for entering the casino. When the guard was not convinced, he grabbed the well-dressed couple by the backs of their shirts and tossed them into the water below the bridge with no more effort than one would give when flicking away a pesky bug.

Odell was wide-eyed as they walked up to the guard. He wore black clothes and a frown. A scar ran down his shiny green face from a bald head to his chin, and his form was bulky like a bodybuilder.

“State your business for being here,” the guard said.

“Come on, Harry, I come here all the time to gamble!” Tancred replied as he got close to the guard and nudged him with an elbow. The green guard looked down at the short detective and then at the other three.

“You don’t normally bring others around,” he said curtly.

“I have some friends visiting and thought I’d introduce them to the wonders of gambling at the best place in all of Nun!”

“Two of them look rather young.”

“It’s never too early!”

Harry sighed.

“Just don’t cause too much of a stir, the boss is on an extended vacation, and his temp is much more of a hard case.”

“I understand,” Tancred replied while gesturing that the others should follow. He quickly got a couple paces ahead within the long hallway to the casino. Lights and colors seemed to flash on the sides as if to distract people coming in before they ever got to their desired destination.

“Only two of us look rather young?” Rym said in shock once she was sure they were out of Harry’s earshot. “I don’t look old, do I?”

“Don’t let it get too you!” Tancred replied.

“You don’t look a day over 30!” Odell reassured.

“I’m 25.”

“Oh… uh… Hal, help!”

The Netzian soldier looked at Rym’s frustrated glare and Odell’s confused expression and shook his head. He quickly sped up to match Tancred’s pace and left the Hobusian prince to fend for himself.

“You’re pretty wise to get out of that one!” Tancred said with a laugh as Odell tried to stammer out an escape from the hole he put himself in—his words only dug him deeper.

“It does not take the wise to know that was a battle which could only end in loss,” Hal replied.

Tancred chuckled but said nothing as they approached two large, wooded doors. They were engraved with geometric shapes and patterns and had ornate golden trimmings.

“Well, let’s get to our investigation!” he happily said. With the short detective’s words, he pushed the doors open. An unnatural and uncomfortable light began to pour in from the other side.

The inside of the casino was a vast space. The designers sought to waste no area on the floor and set up pillars to distinguish the three rotating sections. Every space in between was covered with tables for playing games and people happily gambling their money.

A bright red velvet carpet lined the floor, and golden trimmings made a series of ornate and increasingly smaller rings to further divide the sections. The columns were marble, and the ceiling seemed to increase in height with every section. The center had a spiral staircase which gave access to the top floors. Around the room's outer wall, statues of famous Nun figures were carved and equally spaced.

The ceiling of the building was encased in bright light, though how it was lit was unclear. The brightness was often compared to the sun, and many considered it like having the twin suns coming to gamble along with them.

To say the sight was overwhelming for Odell and Hal would be an understatement. Each had no idea how finding leads would be feasible in the setting. Nonetheless, Tancred happily strolled into the casino. Some people greeted him by name as he passed, and he waved hello with his eyes focused on an active table of cards.

Rym grabbed the short Bentulousian by the back of his coat and pulled him back to the group.

“Where do you think you’re going?” she asked.

“To get information, my dear Rym. We can discern a lot from a simple game of cards!”

The blue and pink Zenotote shook her head. She ground her teeth together for a second before smiling at the short detective. Odell backed up slightly as her smile seemed more sinister than friendly.

“You did look at the finance record I gave you this month, did you not? Our office and daycare business doesn’t have nearly enough free cash for you to gamble with!” she said in a cheery tone that contained maliciousness.

“What does it matter if I win!” Tancred said with a huff as he pulled himself free of the Zenotote's grip. He started to walk to the table once again when Rym spoke up.

“If you lose even a little cash, I will quit on the spot and find more stable work… in an office.” Her threat was slightly undermined by a pause in her sentence and her conviction.

Fortunately for Rym, the short detective was wrapped up in his own little world and didn’t pick up on her pause.

He grunted and turned back.

“Fine, we will gather information with other means.” He looked up to the group and nodded.

“We should split up to cover more ground. There is another floor of this casino and not to mention many more for the hotel. Odell can come with me, and Hal can go with Rym. Be on your guard, and don’t say more than you have to.”

“Alright, Hal, I will check the Casino, and you and Odell can check the hotel,” Rym said. Tancred grumbled but didn’t argue.

“Very well, Odell, my boy, let’s go check out this hotel!” he said with a wink to the Hobusian prince.

“Let’s do it!” Odell and Tancred ran off and began to climb the stairs.

“Was it best for those two to go alone?” Hal asked.

“Tancred can be reliable when he needs to be; they should be fine,” Rym said as she rubbed her temples like she had a headache. Dealing with him can be a pain, though.

“My companions are cut from a similar cloth,” Hal replied.

“Now, we should start asking around, but we must be careful about it….” Rym began to say. She was interrupted by several drunk gamblers coming close to them.

“Ha buddies… wan- to ave some fun?” One asked as he threw an arm over the Zenotote assistants’ shoulders. Her scaly face grew tense. They had waited until Tancred left the group and now took the opportunity to pounce.

“Oh, is one’s… ust a little boy!” another said while drunkenly shoving Hal.

“This is why I avoid these places,” Rym muttered. Hal sighed and shoved the drunk back with the same amount of force. He fell over and began to whine.

“Ah… the boy… arting… a fight!”

“Now you’ve done it!” one that was not nearly as drunk shouted with a laugh.

Rym began to squirm, but the drunk that hung on her suddenly grabbed her. Hal motioned to the Needaimus on his arm, but the drunks laughed.

“Not much that going to do you here! Less you want to be thrown out!” the soberest of the group chuckled as he took a step closer to Hal. He leaned his chin close. “Go ahead and get a good blow; I won’t be the one getting thrown out!”

“That’s enough of that!” a shout came from across the casino. Tancred and Odell stood with their arms crossed.

“You were right; they swooped in immediately!” Odell said in shock.

The detective suspected that those who didn’t like him would come in to harass his companions the minute he left. He had whispered as much to Odell while they climbed the stairs, and as soon as they finished going up, they peered back down while hiding as much of their bodies as they could.

A laugh echoed from the casino's edge, and a wide Netzian stood up from his table. The casino grew quiet.

“What a day this is! The great detective graces us with his presence!”

The man walked over with a smug expression.

“Ah, a crime boss is gambling away his stealings in a casino!” Tancred shot back.

They crossed the room and approached each other. The Netzian was over twice Tancred’s height, but the Bentulousian did not seem intimidated in the least.

“What case are you working on now? Trying to throw me in jail again?” the Netzian laughed.

“That hardly requires any effort, your rather easy to investigate. I’m here for something more important.”

“Oh, so you wish to buy some information from old Lucchi?” The Netzian said with a smug smile.

“If I wanted to buy some information, I’d at least get it from a good seller,” Tancred shot back.

Lucchi smiled and waved to another in the casino. In a flash, he had a deck of cards in his hands.

“How about we play a game? If you win, I’ll tell you whatever you want to know. And If I win, you tell me whatever I want to know.”

“You assume you have what I’m looking for,” Tancred said with a shake of his head. Lucchi leaned over and whispered something in the detective's pointed grey ear.

Tancred frowned.

“Rym, change of plans. You and young Hal go to the hotel. Odell and I will be joining this match!”

“We will?” the Hobusian prince said in shock.

Rym opened her mouth to complain, but when she saw Tancred had a serious look in his eye, she didn’t refuse. The blue and pink Aqueenian grabbed the drunk’s arm that was still wrapped around her and twisted it. He let out a yelp as she broke free.

“Come, Hal,” she said calmly as if nothing had happened. The duo left as Lucchi laughed. He kicked aside the drunk while he shuffled the cards in his hand and threw them down on the table.

“Let’s get this game started.”

“What game?” Odell asked.

“Ohellega,” Tancred replied as he made his way to the table.

“I don’t know how to play!” Odell whispered back.

Cards on Resh were something brought initially by the Netzians. The allure of a new multitude of games attracted the many species of Resh, and soon standard decks of playing cards were brought into production. Each species on the planet modified the cards for their own nations, making four styles collectors sought in addition to the original Netzian printings. Over time, the desire for peace brought a standard deck into the mainstream, with each of the four native species taking up one of the suits. Aqueenians for diamonds, Bentulousians for hearts, Hobusians for clubs, and Zenototes for spades. Netzians were relegated to take up the jokers.

As Tancred quickly explained the game's rules to Odell, Lucchi shuffled his deck of the Resh playing cards. He waved for one of his subordinates to join in, and they were quickly seated at a round table with Odell and Tancred facing each other from across. The division kept the players on the same ‘team’ from potentially seeing each other’s hands, but that didn’t stop Lucchi from stacking the deck with his shuffling.

“Since it’s the young Hobusian's first time, we will skip round one. Is that okay?” the crime boss said.

“Fair enough,” Tancred replied.

“Oh, and break off with your Needaimus,” Lucchi added as he glared at Odell. The mechanical creatures were excellent at counting cards. The green Needaimus, Cal, quickly separated. It slumped over Odell’s shoulder. Before separating, the Needaimus had warned Odell that Lucchi was controlling the cards in his shuffle and the prince watched closely as two were dealt to him face down.

He picked up his cards and looked at his hand. A two of hearts and an ace of spades. The deck was placed in the center, and the top flipped up to show a king of diamonds with a blue Aqueenian king—marking which suit would be the trump for the round.

Odell cautiously looked around the table at the other players. It had quickly been explained to him that they would play a series of ‘tricks’ that was the number of cards for the round. Before that, they had to bet how many tricks they would take. Then they would put cards out, and the highest nontrump would win unless a trump was thrown out instead.

Under normal circumstances in the casino, the bets would be with cash in sets of a hundred for each number of tricks. Due to the deal the detective and crime boss made, the bets were made with dice instead.

“Zero,” Tancred, who was to the left of Lucchi, said. The crime boss's subordinate also bet zero. Odell looked at his cards.

“One!” the prince shouted before playing the die in front of him with the one showing.

Lucchi smiled and put his die out with the two showing.

Tancred played a spade, and the subordinate of Lucchi followed suit. Odell grunted and played his Ace of the same suit. Lucchi finished with a two of diamonds. After taking the cards, he quickly threw out a three of diamonds. No other player had a higher card in the trump, and Lucchi took the round.

Tancred was next to shuffle and deal, and soon three cards were tossed to Odell.

“Stacking the deck, I see,” Lucchi said with a laugh as he eyed his cards.

“You’re one to talk,” the Bentulousian said with a grunt.

Each made their bets, with Tancred taking all three. Odell began picking up on the pattern as the subordinate dealt four for the next round.

Lucchi had picked a subordinate that could also deal the cards they needed to win. He planed to take two rounds for everyone that Tancred could take and win more points over the long game. The crime boss smiled as he considered his reputation as a patient man, a reputation that only existed in his mind.

Odell gritted his teeth as the crime boss won the next round. Even knowing what his opponent was doing, he couldn’t do anything to fight against it. The prince silently wished someone else was in his seat. Harlan likely could outplay their game, Hal had enough of a poker face to confuse them, Rheba might flip the table and call out the cheaters, and even Gwyn or Fiona could cause enough of a scene to secretly switch a card. As he debated what his companions might do, the prince was handed the deck to shuffle.

He knew no fancy card techniques or sleight of hand to give Tancred a favor, and he was too new to the game to possibly find a way out of their dilemma within the game rules. Odell’s head hung as he dealt out the cards randomly and fairly.

He was a burden in this game, and it frustrated him. He was happier being a clown in the Hobusian capitol while working on different machines and vehakuls. Mechanical things didn’t require special tricks, just a turn of a nut and bolt here and there. All his time to ponder led the young prince to consider what happened in Horizon as cards were being set on the table and trick won.

In the small mining village, Odell had quickly become caught. He was hardly helpful in the escape and had to run and hide from opponents without his Needaimus. His victory against Icarus was a combination of luck on his part and arrogance on the part of his opponent, and he was only helpful in supporting Gwyn by becoming a punching bag. The grey prince shuddered as the thoughts ran through his head. He had agreed to the trip partly from a whim and partly from frustration, but as he sat at the card table, Odell could only think of how he was a hindrance.

Tancred managed to pull out a close win for the round, and Lucchi began to deal the next. The crime boss detected the wavering in Odell’s spirit and took the opportunity to speak up.

“Where did you pull this boy from? He would be better suited for grunt work in my organization than at the table for an important bet!”

Odell slumped.

“Don’t underestimate the boy, or you will be surprised!” Tancred replied as he eyed his next hand. “And boy, keep your head up; we’re playing a game here!”

Odell snapped back up and looked at his cards. The hand had again been dealt to keep him from winning. He shook his head and stared at the cards. Tancred seemed to have some faith in him, so he had to do his best to live up to that. The prince closed his eyes as others made their bets. He tried to imagine the game as a machine, like the Ali-442 the group had traveled in. He thought there had to be a way that he could make things work.

They were at another loss as the round ended, but he felt he was starting to pick up the rules better. Odell nodded as Tancred began to deal.

‘I can do this; we can win!’ he thought to himself. 

*****

Ohellega Rules from ‘The Many Games’ by Esther Shawn 

Ohellega is a fun game that can be played with three to seven players. The game is played in a series of rounds where each player bets on a number of tricks they will take per round. For the first several rounds, the number of cards dealt out corresponds with the particular round. The first will be one card, the second will be two, the third will be three, and so on. After the hands are dealt, the next top card in the deck is turned face up. The suit shown is what is considered trump for the round. The player to the left will become the new dealer for each round.

Once hands are dealt, the players rotate counterclockwise, making bids for how many tricks they will take. The player left of the dealer bids first. Every player must bid from 0 up to the number of cards in hand. The very first round is played differently as instead of looking at the single card dealt, the player will show it to other players for bidding. Players do not show their cards from rounds two and beyond.

After bidding, the player to the left will play a card, and the game will rotate counterclockwise. Players must follow the suit of the first card if possible. The highest card of the suit led will take the trick unless a suit of the trump is played, in which case the highest card of the trump will take the trick.

After the final round, to evenly split the deck is played, four rounds are played without flipping a card over in the deck. The rounds follow the trumps: Diamonds, hearts, clubs, and spades in that order. Then a final round is played with no trump.

Points are scored only if a player accurately predicts the number of tricks they will take. They will get 10 points for predicting and a number of points for each trick. For example, if a player bids on six tricks, they will get 16 points for accuracy. An incorrect prediction awards zero points.