Giovanni and the Battle of La Rochelle

It was the shank of the evening and the camp was still bright with song. I guess I had been wandering around for too long..

There is a time every drunk soldier can tell you about.. When you must sing, sleep, drink, fuck or fight. Late in the evening, heavy with the elixir of truth and staggering to your camp to await the call to battle..

I was in that time but my options were limited. Mimi had drained even my content of passion early that night and charged me only half for the pleasure. I tipped her double so she could take a few days off to recover. I was as drunk as I could achieve and still walk. My voice was horse from the previous day's battle, and sleep, has always alluded me the night before conflict.

Someone had a bruising coming their way.

I staggered from camp to camp, dodging the calls of "la conde! Come sing with us!" "Its the Count!!"

I saw a game of dice peopled by fools.

I smiled because one of them was bound to try and cheat me. 

Kneeling down i watched the dice fly. I tossed a few coins in the wager pile and watched their hands.  I cast a few times, winning enough that i almost decided that was enough of a beating for them.  But then something no man had dared say to me was said. 

"No one is that lucky you drunk bastard!  I can't tell how you are cheating but by god you are!"

I looked up at my victim, registering him as thus.  He was big, 6'6", easily over 300 pounds and extremely fit.  I knew his kind.  So good at everything that loosing at anything was unthinkable.

I smiled.