With everyone pushing coins onto Profession, Sebastian will repeat his 5 silver bet there too and carefully watch the response.
you notice that something is a little off, you are also pretty sure it has something to do with the song. but something tells you that the oblivious adolescent elven lass is completely innocent and is completely unaware of her actions. there is something telling you to not call her out on it. your intuition tells you that it may prove beneficial to you. your intuition tells you to place your bets wherever Kira places her's.
Kira is completely unaware of her "Gift" and something is telling you not to call her out on it. this may potentially lead to another bounty from Erastil. a bounty that may prove to be in your favor if you allow it to come. Something is telling you that Kira may be a sign of that coming bounty and a potential source. something is telling you to place your bet wherever she places her's.
something is telling you that you may need to eventually stick up for your younger cousin's innocence. it may prove to be favorable for you as the birds signal such message through the window. the birds are also hinting that you shouldn't call her out. the birds tell you to place your bet wherever she places her's
you think it has something to do with a specific elven child and her song. but voices within your head tell you to not call her out on it. something is telling you, that if she wins, you won't be completely empty handed and the same voices in your head are telling you that you want to bet wherever she bets
Kira appeared completely oblivious to her "spell" and was mostly unaware of her gift. she knew how to magically mend and clean clothes and create limited light, and that her spasms sometimes generate electricity in times of stress, but she knew not how she was manipulating the wheel. to her, the song was just a lucky song.
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Sable glances around the table while the final bets are being placed. He speaks in the Common tongue. "I think that Winter is correct. After this bet I shall move to Bounder, and you are welcome to join me. I believe I shall Cheat the Devil in my own way. I wish you all swift winds."
Sable sits quietly until Dungo is spun again.
Sweeney leans over and places one gold eye on Profession.
Perception to notice the wheel moving strangely:
Winter and Kaylen both see that Kira is doing something to influence the spin.
Dungo spins around, and visibly gyrates--not the smooth action of the last round. The wheel slows and speeds up, as the disconnected head finds it's way to 'profession'.
Turning his eyes to Kira again, Dungo shouts at her, "You can't cheat Dungo the way your customers cheat on their wives!"
The croupier hands the winnings over, now watching the group carefully. He motions for one of the floor walkers, who moves along the catwalk overhead to have a clear view of the ghoulette table.
kira says, may i cash in 3 of these gold eyes for the next badge?
she tells them, i would also like to bet 4 eyes on bloodline , she sings her lucky song again. this time, it will now spin unnaturally until it lands on bloodline. Kira is still oblivious to her spell. those who speak elven know that Kira is singing "Mary had a little lamb". the same song she sung the last 2 spins.
predestigitation, it will land on bloodline this time.
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Sable collects his winnings, nods to the croupier, and stands next to Winter. He addresses him in Elven, "My apologies if I caused you any further feather ruffling. Although I find Dungo's squawking amusing, I am moving back to the Bounder table where the odds are more in everyone's favor. May I get you another drink?"
Sebasian grabs his winnings and hisses to Kira, "Careful girl, gambling is a grownup's game. Better leave the nursery rhymes for happier places."
He follows Sable over to Winter quickly."If you have any influence over that child, you better draw her away from that table. She is casting spells in a casino to cheat...Not sure they suspect her...but it is a good way to end up face down in the river." He motions with his eyes to the catwalk above and the floor walker's attention on the ghoulette table.
After Kira collects her ill gotten winnings from the ghoulette table from it suspiciously landing on bloodline, she will follow Sable and Winter to the bounder table. hiding among the crowd as she moves. sebastian's hissing, the watcher on the catwalk and the succubi attendants were all unsettling her and she appeared to be about to eventually burst into tears from all the unsettling emotions occurring at once. her suspicious gifts also seemed to unsettle her. she knew that she didn't want to go back to living her life as a whore.
Kaylen, seeing the gesture the croupier makes, will wait for everybody else to leave the ghoulette table. Then, she'll toss 1sp onto Clothes/Equipment, 1sp onto Courage. "I'll take another spin, chief. Give the wheel a whirl. Let Desna call my fortunes. Lady Luck has no need for good luck charms."
"If you have any influence over that child, you better draw her away from that table. She is casting spells in a casino to cheat...Not sure they suspect her...but it is a good way to end up face down in the river."
"I had not the ability to place the source of the cheating, although I had my suspicions. Arcane magic is not something we see in the mountains, but now you point it out I see it for what it is. Unfortunately that lesson cost me five silvers, cheated away from me. Not only have I prompted her on a path to salvation, I have apparently unwillingly furnished her pocket with coin to pay for the trip - she has shown me what seeds she has planted, unfortunately I have paid for that harvest."
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In Elven, "It disheartens me that she wears the same feathers as we, but I would like to continue to get to know you gentlemen. Winter, would you accept this gold eye to compensate for her folly?" Sable pulls one of the golden eye chips from his robe and offers it to Winter. "The night is still yet young and I would not see this flight spoiled by one naive hatchling."
Winter lightly tosses the golden eye in his hand, and his expression is one of weighing up it's worth.
"I thank you for your token, but I'd not seek to profit from the experience any more than I had sown" with that he returns five silver teeth to Sable.
"Let the matter then rest, and I shall find my snows begin to thaw, perhaps a little faster if I keep warming myself with thoughts of that Succubus over there... His face begins to crack with a broad smile, "Indeed, I would have the vixens name before the night is done".
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Sable pockets the coins, chuckling. "I wish you fortune in your endeavor, my friend. Swift winds to to a full hoard. Do not let the falconess pluck away your heart so easily! Let her know your song is only for her." Sable smiles to see Winter's chill easing. Turning to Sebastian, "And of you? Are you inclined to chase doves or shall you take this poor magpie up on the challenging of collecting shiny trinkets?"
After Kira collects her winnings for the round, slips through the crowd and catches up to Winter and Sable, tears running down her cheeks. she hysterically attempts to whisper to Winter in Elven, if you wish to punish my body for my mind's ignorance, i shall allow you to. i apologize for not knowing that you would have felt upset by the results of my lucky song. i had no intention of hurting you. please, i beg you, resolve any physical aggression you feel towards me. spank me, beat me, penetrate me, you can even do all 3 if it makes you feel better. i have been a bad little girl and i need to be punished. i will try my best to hold in any screaming i can.
Sweeney will attempt to cash in a gold eye for a badge of Dis before making his way to the Bounder table, trying to lay low and avoiding undue attention caused by Kira's actions.
To Kira, whispering in Elven:"Why would anyone desire the body of a child when the body of a woman is so much more adequate? I myself prefer those with a little bit more dignity and grace behind them. If I understand correctly your little stunt nearly cost me and these fine folks this tournament, and I don't play nice with those who don't play nice. Trust me, darling, I've heard a hundred sob stories for every night I've spent with a gal such as yourself, and it didn't work then and it's not going to work now. If you wish to be treated better you must learn to set an example for yourself. Immature actions are the sign of an immature person. Your body has no bearing on your mind's decisions, love, so perhaps you should start thinking with your mind instead of your body."
please, i beg you, resolve any physical aggression you feel towards me.
Winter appears completely lost by this. He just stares at her, perplexed, as though she has grown a second head. "What manner of creature do you judge me as that you feel I would derive satisfaction from such vengeance? What manner of man would seek to sew his seed upon an unwilling and unfertile soil, in order to simply satiate his base lusts? Only the most unrefined animal would covet such a thing. Turn your mind and your hands to honest work, and in their earnest toil you will find your mind adapts to structure and routine... insult me with your offers no further - I seek not a body in payment!"
He then waves her away dismissively,
"Have a think about your actions, and understand its easier to walk a straight path when your knees pass close together. Talk to me again when the basic wisdom of these words rings true"
From the ghoulette wheel, everyone hears "And they said rats and humans couldn't create offspring." (Came up race)
Kira walks away from the ghoulette table, and a floor walker follows. Both the floor walkers on the floor, and on the catwalks search for Kira, but their attention is soon drawn to other patrons, and they leave the party alone.
Kira heads over to old Scratch, Tears were running down her cheeks, she just wanted to get out of this place, but at the same time, she had no desire to forfeit her soul. in fact, she wasn't even serious when she signed the form. she cries loud enough for old scratch to hear, I wanna go home, i wasn't even serious when i signed the form, please old scratch, please spare me your wrath. the soul of one completely nonserious child is worthless to you in the long run. i never took the deal seriously. let me cash out my winnings and leave. your contract with me is null and void to begin with. in fact, i don't think i am even old enough to legally gamble. please old scratch, please let me cash out and walk home free. i seek to unintentiontially sully this establishment no longer. i promise to never gamble another coin again. i just wanted a shortcut to the path of a more honest life. please, spare me your wrath. i'm sure that even you should have the compassion to spare the soul of a helpless child.
diplomacy check (to appeal to old Scratch's compassionate side)
she tears the contract into 8 pieces and places all 8 of the 8 gold pieces that made up her winnings before the devil, telling him i bought the rest and i have the transcripts to prove it. this contract is null and void, on several bases, i am but a child, i wasn't serious when i signed it, my surrogate father is the one responsible for my well being, and i feel that i may have cheated and not realized it until just now. a contract requires both sides to have complete sincerity, and i violated my half, so thus, it is null and void. and because the contract is worthless, you have no right to claim my soul. and since i am a child, i am thus not eligible to sign contracts for myself. so you never had the right to my soul to begin with. we can both agree that i was never here to begin with. . she cashes out the rest and leaves the establishment, walking her way home, crying as she returns to her surrogate father.
Heading to the Bounder table, Sebastian stops to watch the spectacle at the cage. Turning to the others. "I had a course on Legal Contracts and Wills and one of our text books was Zertanio's Discourse on Infernal Contracts and while I think he was off base on his basic premise on intent versus... Realizing he was straying from the topic at hand, "..oh, well short story here, I do not think that you can appeal to an Imp's compassion to renegotiate a contract....Shame really..." His voice holds a dispassionate edge as he watches the crying girl, as if noting the behavior of an ant under a viewing lens.
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Sable heads to the Bounder table and takes a seat, resting for a moment and leaning on his staff, scouring the room and taking in the coop of rakes and strumpets. Seeing Kira's tantrum, Sable sighs and whispers in Celestial, "May a thousand winds carry thee rapidly to thy nest, child."
Sable trades eyes up to the badge of Plegethon and cashes in ten more pieces of gold for eyes, and waits for other players to join him.
Sweeney mutters to himself under his breath, "Tough luck, darling. At least you'll have plenty of business opportunities where you're going, back to the streets." he says with a chuckle.
He will approach the Bounder table, cash in gold pieces for golden eyes and trade eyes up to the Badge of Stygia where he will wait for the dealer to begin the game. He nods to Sebastian and Sable while idly flipping the badge between his fingers. "Boys, when they said this place was gonna be hell, I had no idea they were talking literally. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, indeed."
"She did not linger to get her Devil's Mark...I figure that the brief attention of a scantily-clad lass is not something I plan on turning down once I lose my last chip."
After sighting a particularly succulent succubus, Winter had been marshalling all of his courage to make an approach. Finally confident of his words, and certain he wasn't going to jumble them at the hurdle, he began his stride towards his planned distraction now that she is free - it is his chance!
So close to the target of his desire, he sees the weeping Elf and the over the top emotive display.
Immediately his eyes roll heavenward, he breathes an enormous sigh, almost a groan - "Erastil, send me guidance, for this lamb seeks a very troubled birth"
He intercepts Kira enroute to the door, begrudgingly giving up what is likely to be his one and only shot at the succubi-of-his-dreams.
"You can't plant a field with tears, and you can only water a bitter harvest with them. Temper your emotion, and gather yourself; how much worse do you want your situation to become? Why do you feed the flames of your own destruction?"
"Go to the bar, enquire if they have any honest work, and apply yourself. You seem so keen to use your body, and show no inclination to do otherwise, so you may as well do it here where they'd see to your safety and the quality of the patrons - and by my observation - to your discrection to pick and choose as you please, and for leisure instead of coin. It might give you time for that rattling sound in your skull to reveal itself to be a dry sponge thirsting for knowledge and wisdom"
With that he heads back to bounder and drops his 5 silver tokens on the table and prepares to play.
The croupier takes the bets, and allows the players seated to roll their first point. After the points are rolled, he cups the dice in both of his hands, shaking them vigorously, and spills them out across the playing mat.
"The winds appear a little clamer now, and thus I believe the dice might fly a little straighter, those winds appear to be troubling the flight of the injured bird, and I hope she finally follows a new course and navigates them more carefully. Whilst Erastil teaches us of the husbandry required to nursemaid weak animals to greater health, he also counsels us to accept they cannot all be saved"
"Despite my curiosity about that vixen over there, my sense of duty dictated I did the right thing and look to the welfare of others. I accept that this has cost me my chance but perhaps Erastil will see his way to having the buck and the doe meet at some other opportune time. No point wasting an evening and complaining about missed chances, lets have a few rolls and see what transpires."
Winter picks up the dice, looks at his 5 silvers, and then hurles the bones... "Erastil, is this the way?"
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Sable bets 5 Gold Eye and rolls his points.
First point
Second point
To Winter in the language of the elves, "Very well said and you show yourself to me once more as Winter the Owl. Let us now cast our despair at how quickly our coins disappear."
Smiling, Sable cashes in 10 Gold Eyes for the Badge of Stygia.
Sebastian pushes his 5 silvers forward and grabs his dice. "I calculate the odds to be more in our favor here, nursery rhymes withstanding. And welcome back Winter, it feels right that this ship of fools here has its rudder back."
"Bounder! My luck is changing already!"
Sweeney bets 5 gold eyes and rolls to set the point.
First point:
Second point:
Kira, stopped by winter, says to him, i will do what i can to help my situation. she wipes her tears and apologizes to old scratch,
she approaches the imp and proposes to him with a progressively calming Hysteria old master scratch of the golden goblin, i apologize for my immature tantrum and have a proposal for you.
may you spare me your wrath should i work for this establishment? for i wish not to gamble at all. the new me wishes to work an honest life, and as a priest of Erastil said, there are no shortcuts.
the foolish elven child who signed that torn contract is no more. i feel like i was reborn as a new individual just now. i thank Erastil for this divine revelation
if you wish, i can bus tables, wash dishes and sweep floors and i will earn my salary through that.
my original intent was to the earn money to pay my expenses, at first, i cared not how i earned it, but i realize now that gambling is not the way to do it.
should you choose to spare my soul, i will work in this establishment bussing tables, washing dishes and sweeping floors with the best enthusiasm i can provide for the rest of this tournament and for a month after with halved wages,
i will also try my best to tolerate any browbeating or physical pain provided to me during that time.
i figure this casino should pay fairly well and if it does, than halved wages should be plenty for the first month.
all that currently matters to me is that i can cover my expenses and that my soul remain intact with my body.
give me this job and i promise to place my best efforts into working with whatever pride i can muster.
Kira was thinking within her mind. Thank you Erastil. may this harvest prove bountiful and may your arrow strike true.
His eyes wander over to the Elf.
It's clear by his expression that he is curious to see whether the seeds he planted might take root and yield at least a modest harvest.
The croupier hands everyone except Sweeney winnings. "Care to try your luck again?" he asks.
Kira:
Old Scratch is way up in the air, suspended from the ceiling, so you can't actually be face to face with him. Nonetheless...
The imp thrashes about at seeing the contract torn up. Screaming in infernal, you can't make out what he says. You do however, understand that he has garnered the attention of a floor walker.
There is heavy, brackish breathing on your neck as the nearest floor walker comes up behind you. He leers down at you, and sees the torn up contract held loosely in your hands. "So you don't want to play," and reaches for Kira. "Maybe I've got another game for you out back, eh?" baring his yellow teeth in a hideous smile. Reflex save DC 10 to avoid being grabbed.
reflex save
is it possible to request a job here? i hope that game out back has nothing to do with imprisonment, gambling, violence, or exploitation.
The same five silver trinkets are placed down on the table, Winter nods to the dealer signalling he is in for another round.
Kira, you can go ahead and describe how you respond. Anyone at the bounder table can also react if they want to.
reflex save
1d20+3
is it possible to request a job here? i hope that game out back has nothing to do with imprisonment, gambling, violence, or exploitation.
You could make a Sense Motive check if you wanted.
Seeing the commotion starting up, Winter just looks somewhere between stunned and dismayed...
"Could we get some dice on the table fast good sir? I believe there might be a floorshow about to start..."
Kira yells hysterically will somebody help me? some big ugly greasy thugs are planning to force me out back with them and rape me. as she runs past the bounder table making this announcement and attempts to get the customers into a riot against the bouncers. as she flails her arms running, a bit of accidental electrical discharge flies towards one of the guards
acid splash but electrical damage instead due to bloodline arcana
Sweeney cracks his knuckles, aware of his surroundings but remaining totally dedicated to his cause. Motioning to Sable, "I'll match his wager for this round, mate." and pushes a stack of ten gold eyes onto the table.