"We should be cautious at the silver hall, as you will likely lose you money there.
Likely do to bad luck or a good pick pocket."
Valia: "I am the most carefully dangerous person I know."
All of you proceed to the silver hall. You are greeted at the entrance by the sound of music and voices, and the sight of a pair of silver doors [painted, not real], and two guards. Both have no obvious weapons on them.
On entering, you see a corridor, with a doorway left and right, and double doors at the end. An attractive girl in fine clothing and spectacles smiles at you and says weapon check please. No weapons are allowed in the casino. They can be left here. This includes but is not limited to weapons of all types, spell component pouches, potions, wands, rods staves and alchemetical apparatus. Also note no magic is allowed to be used on premises, except healing.
She speaks as if by rote.
Actions please
[ooc]Take 10 for 18 on Kn:Local[/dice]
Anody gets a bit nervous as he recognizes who Garmin uses for security at his establishment. I think it's safe to say that this place is full of criminals he whispers to the others before they get near the doors.
Inside Anody shurgs and hands over his small crossbow and bolts as well as his component pouch. The weapon was more there for show than anything else really.
"They are here to see Master Ulreth." He says, "By invitation."
He scratches the back of his neck, nervously. Valia makes no move to remove his sword.
Sharae has spent far too long in the River Kingdoms to not recognise a den of iniquity for what it is...
...play along though Sharae, you are a guest here...someone wants us to be friends...or at the very least wants information...let's see how this plays out...
Passing both of her star knives to the lady, the Desnan smiles, "What games do you have here? A game of chance may be just what I have been looking for...", turning to Anody, "Professor? Do they have casinos and the like in Absalom? Sometimes, a wager is a perfect lift to the spirits...the joy of chance smiling upon you"
The girl continues to smile and says to Valia, of course sir. But there are no exceptions to the weapon rule. Even Master Ulreth disarms before entering. This is a place of entertainment, not combat. While here you have his protection.
The girl turns to sharee, after writing her and anody's equipment on a list and giving them a receipt.
yes ma'am, we have many different games of chance here, ranging from various card games, dicing, to dire rat fights and fisticuffs.
She passes to equipment to a boy who enters one of the side door ways. If you look you see another rope fist guard there, and a series of racks and pigeon holes. This is duplicated on the other side.
The girl then passes anody and sharee a silver token. this gives you a complimentary drink at the bar
Valia looks bemused to think that the owner would disarm himself.
And how many guards does he keep with him when he is unarmed, I wonder?
"Of Course." Valia wraps up his sheathe in a red sash, and passes it to the lady behind the counter.
Valia is given a silver drink token as above, and a receipt.
Anody wanders in a bit and looks around while the others deal with the reception.
Sharae my dear, it would be a simpler question to ask what Absalom does not have rather than what it does. It is called the City of Wonders for a reason and well worth a visit.
Seeing the others comply, Criek reluctantly unslings his bandoliers and passes them over, along with his own weapons. To be honest, I'll likely be safer inside with a disarmed Sharae and Valia than fully armed on my own outside, he comforts himself, smirking slightly at his own expense.
Accepting a token and receipt, he follows his companions inside.
Having no qualms with the rules and regulations of the establishment, Ardash follows suit, handing over his bow and large sword. He gives his drink token to Valia, anticipating him to be the type that enjoys these types of indulgences. If the party is lead directly to meet with Ulreth, Ardash will accompany them, on guard at all times, even without his weapons.
If it appears the party will be partaking in some of the games of chance, Ardash, uninterested in those, will make his way to the area where they host the 'dire rat fights and fisticuffs', intrigued by the bizarre practice of betting while lives are potentially at stake. He watches with flat shimmering eyes, trying to discern exactly what the appeal of this sort of sport could be.
Well, options, options.
You can gamble, drink, eat and gamble.
As you enter you here cheers as two men fight in a bare knuckle fight. In another section, card games and dicing is the go. There is a bar and the smell of beer and food. Near the bar are tables to sit at.
Rules of gambling. These are going to be a bit abstract. You roll a d20 and must get over 15. This reflects the house edge. You can assist yourself (like the aid action) with skill rolls lusted below.
Boxing or dire rat fights.
Make a know nature roll (dire rat) or know local (boxing).
Card, dice games
know engineering (with its maths element)
All
Prof gambler.
these are all DC10
cheating. This works as follows
Roll profession gambler (or slight of hand for cards and dice). To win get dc 15. The result is also the dc for perception to spot the cheat. No take 10 or 20.
payout
If the roll succeeds, you get your money back, and an equal amount extra. Every 5 better on the result doubles the extra.
This all represents an hour of gambling.
If you are gambling, you get a + 4 to gather info checks. Gamblers gossip
Anody eyes the card and dice tables, his quick mind going through the possible permuations of the games rapidly.
Perhaps... we should meet the gentleman in charge first before we do anything else he says tearing his eyes away and looking to his compatriots.
Ayla will not take part in gambling, but she'll keep observant and aware of things.
"One day Professor...maybe you would show me this City of Wonders? The Sellen has been my life so far, and it has nourished my wanderlust with wondrous bounties...but maybe it is time to experience life beyond the mighty water..."
Turning to her friends, "I think it is time to mingle...play some games, talk to some folks and...above all...listen. But, before we do that, I think we should drink to those who have fallen...and those who are still lost."
After her toast, with beer that she will buy for everyone at the bar, she mingles... Naturally gravitating towards the card games...
...watch a while! learn the rhythm of the game and then let Desna guide my hand...
I wouldn't say no to a drink, but then perhaps we meet Garmen Ulreth before we partake of the tables Anody says and raises his glass to Sharae's toast.
The beer here is a staggering 1sp per glass, and it is in glass, not cheap. It is also very good stuff indeed.
Criek joins Sharae's toast, then offers, "And to the hope always that they may yet be found?"
Looking to Anody, he suggests, "From what I know of Garmen, limited though it is, he might rather wait until we've settled in to converse? Home domain advantage and all?" With that, the ratfolk joins Sharae in drifting towards the card tables, studying the play to find a game with some skill involved.
Anody spreads his hands in mock surrender at the bar. I bow to the superior wisdom of the group he trots to the cashier to cash in his 10 gp complimentary chip and then joins Criek and Sharae at the tables. While Sharae and Criek observe Anody hops onto a stool at the card table and plops down 5 Gp.
We only live once yes? he laughs and joins the game.
Chuckling at his misfortune and clapping the winners on the back in congratulations he moves on to the dice game and puts down the remaining 5 of his complimentary gold.
And the dice roll his way. He stands up and does a funny little gnomish dance saying Not really a follower but damned if sometimes Nivi Rhombodazzle doesn't deserve praise
All the while Anody will be regaling his fellow gamblers with interesting facts as well as regaling them with tales of Absalom and his travels from there to here.
and also bringing up questions about the proprietor of the place Garmen Ulreth.
Two hours later Anody glances at the time and exclaims My word, where does the time go?
Introducing herself, Sharae takes a seat at the table that has the most communicative folk sat around it… taking a hand of cards, she smiles and follows the game, her bets and wagers are cautious but she still finds herself down after ten minutes or so…
Her motives are clear though, this is not about winning money, this is about people with loose tongues and tales to tell…
…yet, despite herself, she puts another few chips into the game…
...careful...don't draw too much attention...
More or less breaking even, anody and sharee are successful in gathering information.
Anything specific you want yo know, or are you fishing for interesting info.
Sharae is very good at listening and, in general, is looking out for rumours that may relate to goings on in the town...she does also, at an opportune time, try to steer the conversation towards the presence / demise of the folk within the caves...she is trying to determine what business they may have had down there...
Anody is trying for two things if possible. Information about Ulreth and about the Technic League.
Whilst taking in the scene at the fighting pits, Ardash will keep an ear open for anything involving the Technic League as well as that strange light he investigated at the refuse yard and failed to gain any information on.
Valia is going to try and play wingman for Ardash the whole time. He flits around the tables, being liberal and generous with 10 free drinks passed out among new acquaintances. However, he seems to only rarely sip from his own.
Finding a game he knows, Criek sits down at one of the card tables, laying out all 10 gold from his complimentary token over the course of the hour.
As hands begin to fall his way, he feels more comfortable chatting up his tablemates, hoping for any additional nuggets of information that Baine might have mentioned between his trips to the cave, or tidbits about the other groups that entered the cave. "I suppose it might have been fair to have warned you all that Khonnir taught me this game; whatever skill I have, I owe to him. I might only hope that eventually I gain some of his courage as well? It is a great man who ventures into so dangerous a place in attempt to restore his community's prosperity, and would that we can assist him?"
Ayla chats at the casino's bar
while keeping alert for things
While you are information gathering, you are met by Garmen Ulreth himself. He is a tall man, ruggedly handsome with a friendly look about him.
Welcome to the Silver Hall. I am Garmen Ulreth, proprietor and manager of the place. I hope you enjoy your time here.
At that he turns to both Sharee and Ayla and bows with a courtly grace. And may I welcome two lovely ladies here. Truly you both outshine the silver fires of this hall.
He makes eye contact with each of you and smiles.
May I have the honor of your names
Then as if noticing the rest of the party he says Oh, a round of drinks for my guests. I wanted to wish you luck in finding poor Khonnir. Or at least if you can find his body, you have to be realistic about this.
Then his attention shifts back to the ladies.
Information gained
A few hours of drink (the complimentary drink chit is long gone) and conversation has left Anody feeling pretty happy. Breaking even on the night's games is a bonus. He regroups with the others in a quiet area to relate what he's heard.
Seems like rumour mongering to me. But who knows. It could be the League is behind the Torch being extinguished in at attempt to take over the town. It's certainly bad for business. Garmin Ultreth must want the Torch to be re-lit as badly as everyone else in town.
BTW after introducing himself to the party, and chatting up the ladies, Garmen slips away and you don't see him for the rest of the night.
Having sated his curiosity at the fighting pits, Ardash also looks to rendezvous with the group. He waits for his turn to report on his findings, "The citizens seem to be agitated, and some suffer from headaches, which I observed previously in the town proper. Also, for reasons unknown to me, the guards appear to be hesitant to enforce any regulations and are maintaining their position."
He looks to Anody, a cold glare in his eyes, "If the Technic League is preparing for an attack on the town then we must prepare ourselves for battle."
The rumour is that they wouldn't need to attack. Anody explains to Ardash With the Torch gone, the economic life of the town dies and when the population dwindles away they'll just stroll in and take over. Relighting the Torch seems to be of the utmost importance
Ayla keeps to the bar chating with folks, hoping for more information, while keeping an eye on the atmosphere in the casino.
Returning to his table where he holds court, Valia tips his new friend/server a solid 3 gold. To the table he says, "She is a good sport, she deserves her own merrymaking."
Noticing Garmen is gone, Hmm where did the gent go?
He muses among his server and the other strangers at his table, "Garmen doesn't seem to mingle among his guests much."
Noticing the prevalent symptoms that seem to plague the patrons of the casino, Sharare subtly feels the pulse of the serving girl...assesses her temperature for a fever...looks for dilated pupils...all disguised as over-familiarity and tactile friendliness...
...something ails this girl...what though? It would be ill fortune of disease was to ravage this community now...
When Garmen introduces himself to her, Sharae thanks him for the invitation, for the drink and for the kind words, "Oh but we still hope to find Khonnir alive down in those caves...it's a warren down there - it may well be that he simply got lost and a structured search will be enough to locate him...he's a pretty resourceful man from what I have heard"
Sharae makes no reference to anything unnatural in the tunnels and, furthermore, she exaggerates her assessment of Khonnir...
...any reaction? What do you really know? Why have you invited us here?
Garman is human and a male BTW
Well this was certainly an entertaining evening. I thought Mr.Ulreth wished to speak with us but now it seems like he just wanted to give us a taste of his establishment. Anody streches and yawns. It's been a long day, may I suggest we retire to the Foundry and discuss what we've learned? I'll go and cash in my winnings of 0 gold Anody grins and waves his credits around.
To his tablemate, "I, er, yes, I am -- and I do apologize for your trauma? We have bad apples among our folk as do all people? My own clan does not brook with banditry, though, and we are vigilant for it as any are? If I may ask, where was it you encountered these scoundrels -- and, if I may, buy you another drink to help soothe the memories?" Criek offers a gold piece to the server to buy another round of drinks for his table.
"I think Mr Ulreth was just looking to show his importance in the town...it's fine...his wine was good and the hospitality was better than most gambling dens along the Sellen...so I'll hold off judgement for now", Sharae echoes Anody's yawns, "You're right though Professor, it has been a long day and we've a hard day ahead of us tomorrow...I propose we turn in for the night"
If Valia does not hear from his new friends at the table, his fears get the best of him.
If he's not here, then where could he be? Oh gods...