"Fine with me. I just want to watch for ways to size 'em up and maybe take 'em down a peg or two. Can't know until we see them with our own eyes. The free Coin District 'tis."
"Agreed. Let's see what our competition looks like."
And continue observing the blot and listening for any rumors about its origin...
You make your way to the northwest of Riddleport. It's a chilly spring day, but thankfully a strong wind from the ocean blows away most of the horrendous stench that pervades Riddleport. The best way to the Free Coin District is to hop on the Velashu Ferry, where a hideously ugly, but pleasant man named Grimas takes your coin to head upriver towards the District.
As you do, there's a sudden massive squawking as all around you, seagulls begin to take off as one. They all begin to fly in a spiral, turning upwards and upwards, their shrieks a deafening cacaphony. The ferry takes off as you all watch the growing spiral of seagulls. Eventually, their erratic flight brings them into promixity to the enormous arch just to your south; the Cyphergate. Dozens, hundreds of the bird crash violently into the gate, plummeting into the water below. Screams and gasps of horror sound out from the city as you watch this bizarre suicide.
Finally, there's some peace, and a couple dozen seagulls who survived the crash into the cyphergate fly off to the south, out to sea.
"To hell with this!" shouts Grimas as he punts his ferry as hard as he can to get away from the gulls.
Grimas roughly kicks you all off at a low, flat area with a bizarre mix of tumble-down shacks and spectacular stone buildings. It's getting on to evening now and the area looks like it is starting to get busy. In this place you can see several gambling halls. The largest appears to be the House of Nabin, a huge circular building to the north styled opulently. The Dragon's Hoard is more well-made and sturdy, with a spectacular sign studded with gold coins. The smallest of the three is the Watercress, but it appears to be the fanciest, constructed out of good stone and marble, and with a much wealthier-looking clientele entering.
Variel watches with concern as the birds fly at the gate. As they strike it and knock themselves out, the elf frowns and casts a spell to give him arcane sight , hoping to see what might be causing the bizarre behavior.
The elf studies the three halls, and says, "Just as one serves the best wine at dinner, then less refined drink as the evening progresses, I suggest we start at the nicest hall, and make our way down."
Fiona steps off the boat, her eyes widening as she witnesses the birds' weird behaviour. She looks down and clasps her hands together.
"Great Hawk, I pray that what we have seen is not an ill omen..." She straightens herself up as Variel suggests starting from a nice spot and working their way down from there.
"I can get behind that."
Variel can't sense any magic within the range of his spell that could be affecting the birds.
Bofur watches the flock with alarm. "What manner o' devilry is this? Is the city home to a plague of dark mages"
Happy to set foot on shore again, he readily agrees with Variel's idea. "Wine usually tastes the same t' me, but I get yure drift. This li'l one looks best," says he, pointing at the Watercress.
With a direction in mind, Fiona starts heading to the Watercress gambling hall. "Well, come along--we've got some investigating to do."
The group makes their way across the plaza towards the luxurious Watercress, and pass through the marble arches to a casino floor with a variety of different games. The staff are all dressed immaculately, and the customers stylishly. There is a distinct feeling of being underdressed as the group walks out onto the floor. Waiters and waitresses move about with drinks as people crowd around different tables playing variations on card and dice games. At one table there's a great roar of approval as someone wins out on a five hundred gold bet.
Fiona eyes the patrons with a critical eye. Hmm. Everyone's dressed up in high-society clothes. However, there don't appear to be any performers here--the atmosphere of this place seems to do well without one. I wonder how it'd be improved if there was an in-house singer...
"Luxurious, no doubt. Still, I imagine this cost them quite a lot of money to furnish--and I believe they'll do anything they must to cover the costs. Any bets on some of the games here being rigged?" She says to the rest of the party, making sure the staff and patrons aren't in earshot.
Variel nods at Fiona's question. As the group moves around the room, he watches carefully, but manages to maintain a casual air.
This must be the strongest thing I have ever seen, Tahbet wonders silently. If someone is observing him closely, he would be able to see that he looks pale, a worrisome expression on his face.
Magic, for sure, it must be. No good can come out of it.
Tahbet stands behind Fiona like a giant shadow. With his expensive warrior's outfit, he isn't unverdrossen, but he still doesn't fit in here at all.
"I don't think we are really competition to this here, " He says, gesturing widely, indicating he means this whole place. "And I don't think we can afford gambling here. "
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"My first thought is that gamblin' is the sole entertainment. With Fiona here performin' at the GG, we should set ourselves apart." he notes with satisfaction.
"The second thing that comes to mind is that this place is tryin' mighty hard to look respectable in a town that's 'bout as respectable as a trollop's bathing sponge. Sounds like an easy target from that perspective."
Tahbet's intimidating presence is enough so that the staff and customers stop staring and leave the group alone while Variel and Fiona watch the games. After a little while of counting and watching the games, it becomes apparent there may be some subtle rigging going on. The dice seem to fall a certain way more frequently, the wheels land on certain numbers more frequently, and the dealer wins at cards too often.
Fiona's eyes narrow. "I thought so."
"I honestly expected no different. Shall we see how things are at the next establishment?"
Fiona turns to leave the gambling hall. "Yes. Let's."
How hypocritical--no cheaters allowed in gambling halls, eh? What, afraid they'll do it better than you? Some of these tshamek still confuse me...
The group manage to leave, but as they head out into the streets it becomes clear they've attracted attention. Four extremely large half-orcs have followed the group out of the casino; one calls out in a thick Riddleport accent. They all carry cudgels and have a menacing look about them, even if they are dressed in colourful tight clothing and wearing ruffs.
"Wot's yer game now? Rubbish like yerselves can't just walk into the Cress and just walk out! We've got eyes y'know!"
Fiona stops and stares the half-orcs down, one hand on her earthbreaker.
And yet they allow you to work there. Interesting.
"Our 'game', sirs, is that we clearly don't have enough money to partake of the Watercress' entertainment. I'm quite confused as to why you feel that's offensive enough to take up arms and go after us--I imagine you'd be hunting down half the city if that were the case."
She's not convinced her words will be enough to placate them... if anything, she may have just provoked them into attacking. Her hand never moves from her earthbreaker.
Variel chuckles at Fiona's response. "As my companion says, we are clearly not the target audience for your fine establishment. We were clearly in the wrong place, and have removed ourselves to avoid sullying its fine reputation. You might want to give your attention to the two halflings I saw skulking about, I expect they will do you more harm than we will."
The half-orc goons grumble.
"Folks should know better, this ain't a place t'just walk in. Don't cause trouble, we remember faces!"
They turn to leave, stomping off.
Bofur harrumphs quietly. "I'll try to forget yours. It'll help me keep my food down. C'mon, the Dragon's Hoard's a callin'."
"Here's hoping that the Dragon's Hoard doesn't send warriors after us for not spending money there."
"Agreed. We should keep our eyes out for anyone observing us while we are observing them. Wheels within wheels ..."
The group walks into the Dragon's Hoard to find a far rougher establishment, somewhat closer to the Goblin's clientele. The clothing is skimpier, the drinks are dirtier, and the coins are smaller. Still, the hall is at least half again as big as the Gold Goblin, and a dizzying variety of games are at play. Nobody pays the group a moment's notice as they walk.
As they enter, Variel looks around and does the same routine of observation. If the drinks are affordable, he buys one so as to stand out less.
This is more like it.
Fiona follows Variel over to the bar. "Already, first impressions are better than the 'Cress'. More appealing to more people, without the trappings of 'class'." She whispers with a smile.
Variel picks up some grog from a waitress wandering around with a tray. It's a favourite drink for sailors on long voyages. Small beer, water, lemon, and rum. The place isn't quite bustling and some of the tables are still being set up, but there are a number of people playing hands of Golem and many dice tables, with dice being the favourite kind of gambling in Riddleport.
A dealer calls out to the four of you.
"You're looking mighty lonesome over there! We've got a game of over-under ready for a motley crew such as yourselves."
Variel smiles at the dealer, and responds good-naturedly, "Motley, are we? Well, perhaps. What are the stakes?"
"Elf, dwarf, two Shoanti? Yer not really the sort of crew we expect, but everyone's money is as good as another. Simple game here. You put your bet down - minimum five coppers for this game. Three options. You pick over seven, on seven, or under seven. If you pick over and I roll over, you get double your wager. You pick seven and I roll seven, you get three times your bet. You pick under and I roll over, house wins."
He grabs some dice.
"Example... under!"
He grins at the group. "That's a winner right there - coulda been you. Step up and place your bets!"
"I'm sold. Here's a silver on over!" Bofur seems pretty enthusiastic about the game, forgetting for a moment why the group is here in the first place.
Fiona shrugs and walks over to the table, tossing a couple of silvers the dealer's way.
"Oh, why not? 2 silvers under seven."
"I'm feeling lucky. A silver on seven!"
Tahbet shakes his head, declining to bet. The dealer looks to the three of you and quickly tosses out three sets of dice.
The dice go under for BOfur, and land on 8 and 10 for Variel and Fiona.
"Tough luck folks, roll again if you want, it's easy money!"
Although the game seems like easy money, the payout isn't great. There's a 5-1 chance that the dice will land on seven while the house is only paying out on 3-1. Most gambling halls would have slightly better odds, like a 4-1.
"Well, maybe I wasn't so lucky after all. "
"Well, this probably isn't the game for me. Shall we see what other games there are?"
Somewhat confused, Fiona shrugs and nods. "I don't see why not."
"Bah. This game bites my behind just as bad as the last one!" At Variel's suggestion, he lets his eyes roam around the room. Instead of looking for more games, he puts his mind to the task and checks out their security - bouncers and cheat catchers - and their gimmick.
After playing a round of dice the group step back to watch the proceedings. The drinks are astonishingly cheap here and of decent quality, while the place itself has a fun, carnival atmosphere. Not too many people seem to be getting lucky, but nobody seems to mind.
There are a litany of different dice games with crowds of people around each table. A section of the casino is dedicated to card games, with Pharaoh seeming particularly popular.
There are several spotters in the area doing much as you are, standing back to enjoy a drink and watch the crowd. There is also a LOT of security here.
You don't spot any obvious cheats like you did at the Watercress. Instead, the setup here seems to be to get the crowd drunk and get them to play games with poor odds.
You spot a half-orc a Pharaoh table palming card and slipping another from her sleeve. Nobody has noticed.
Variel whispers as the group moves around, "We are not the only ones watching the floor. Try not to look like trouble."
Variel suddenly notices something going on at the Pharaoh table. Maintaining an air of nonchalance, he signals to the others be on guard and maneuvers the group to not be caught in any crossfire with security.
"The Pharaoh table looks a bit hot for my taste. Let's watch out for a better game."
Fiona blinks and nods. "Er--yes. Of course."
"Huh? Ah, okay." Bofur looks to see where the Pharoah table is and walks in the opposite direction. He isn't particularly nonchalant about it but neither does he sprint away.
Once the party is far enough away from the Pharaoh tables, Fiona sidles up next to Variel.
"So, once we're done checking this place out, where to next?" She asks.
Variel continues to watch the cheating half-orc and the spotters to see what, if anything, they do.
"Well, I believe there was one more spot we were going to check out, so we'll give this a good look then move on. I'd also like to listen to conversation and see if there are any new thoughts on that blot in the sky."
"Is there no one actually studyin' it?"
Fiona smirks. "Speaking of the Blot..."
"I was able to learn a few things about it--mostly what the locals know of it." She folds her arms. "Apparently, it appeared about a month ago, and occasionally vanishes for a few hours before returning. And, as it turns out, the overlord of Riddleport is offering a 1000 gold reward for anyone who can determine what the Blot is and whether it poses a threat to the city."