It's just another floor (it doesn't make us different people)

[danzanelfuoco]

The Dark Tower
AU 
COW-T #11 (w6, m4) - I can't wait to see how this turns out



The game was rigged, there was no other explanation to that. 

Looking at the dices, rolled on the table to show two perfects sets of six dots, Eddie thought they must have been tampered with, even if he didn’t know how. 

When it had been his turn, he had weighted them in the palm of his hand, he had passed them between his fingers trying to feel a shifting in the way they moved, to see, if there was some lead plate added in the inside of one of the faces, to make sure it would weight them down the right way when thrown onto the wooden table. 

There was nothing - nothing he was able to sense, at least. But there must have been something, no way someone could be that lucky - an uninterrupted series of tens and twelves - without a little help. 

“You are a vile cheat.” 

The man in front of him had the audacity to laugh in his face. “Excuse me?” Oh, the nerve! 

“You heard me well enough!” Eddie jumped to his feet, the chair scraping against the floor and almost falling from his impetus. The room fell silent, every customer turning to look at the commotion and see what was happening and how it would turn out. 

“Yes, I’ve heard you,” the man had sobered up now, extremely serious as he looked up at him with the utmost carelessness as if he didn’t have someone very angry towering over him. “But I was just goodhearted enough to give you the benefit of the doubt, to allow you to change your words into something more agreeable.” 

Eddie’s hand ran to his side, where he knew he was usually keeping his gun. Except he had no gun, not in that place anyway - the Sanctuary, where all kinds of weapons were forbidden and gunslingers would hang around under a treaty of peace, forsaking whatever personal queries they could have outside. 

“I don’t think you know how this really works, lad,” the man said, looking poignantly at the chair behind him, a not too subtle hint to sit back and stop making so much fuss. He had already made enough of a fool of himself. 

Eddie scoffed but resisted the impulse of spitting at his feet. And then he sat back. 

“Good to know you still have a little bit of brain.” The man nodded, satisfied and the chatter resumed as if no interruption had ever occurred. 

“So fine, let's just say I believe you didn’t cheat… how then?” 

“It’s Ka,” the man told him, "You can keep the dices."  

Eddie scoffed but took the dices anyway. No, still no sign of tampering. 

"Now that we have settled this, I have an offer for you." 

"Let me guess, an offer I can't refuse?" 

The man frowned, he didn't get the quote. To be fair, neither did Eddie. It was just something nagging in the back of his mind, something he knew he should know but he didn't. 

"No, you can refuse it all right. If you do, I'll know you weren't worthy anyway." 

Eddie raised his eyebrows not impressed.

"I'm looking for the Tower. Maybe you could look with me." 

"Why me?" he asked, and the man noticed he hadn't refused straight away. He hadn't laughed at him, calling him a crazy lunatic on a foolish quest.

"Ka, probably. I feel drawn to you."

Eddie shouldn't have even considered the offer. He met a stranger in a saloon and then what? Left with him?

Well, but it's not like you have anything to stay here for, right? Not after Henry's death. 

"If you are not interested, I'd better leave you. I wish you long days and -"

"- pleasant nights," Eddie ended it for him. 

The man widened his eyes surprised and then his expression melted in a knowing smile. "Ka." He might have just as well yelled 'I told you so'.

"Fine, it's Ka," Eddie nodded. 

“I’m Roland," the man said, extending his hand. 

"Eddie. Eddie Dean." 

"Nice to meet you, Eddie Dean." 

Eddie should have been worried, terrified. Instead, he thought 'I just can't wait to see how this turns out'. This time around. 

He took his hand to shake it. 

Somewhere that was everywhere and nowhere at all, the Black Thirteen chuckled.