Looking around for a little bit before tugging on Makall's arm and leading him out, "I will assume we want Searok with us for the hammock door so do you fancy gambling dear?"
"Gambling will do." Makall looks at the smoke room with apprehension and you watch him shake his head as he attempts to release the tension building up in his body. You see his face get flush and a little sweat beads against his brow. "Yes. Let us move on."
Emma and Makall walk across the gangplank to the Twin Tigers. Two hut-like structures sit atop this barge, raucous laughter and periodic roars of victory sound from within. The ship has been decked out in a faux-Tian aesthetic, with lots of gold and red coloration, and images depicting leaping tigers and those weirdly elongated dragons they have there with the silly whiskers, not like proper dragons at all. The place veritably screams opulence, or at least the kind of tacky, ostentatious opulence displayed by those who are trying to seem richer than they are.
The doors to the huts are open, and within each dice clatter, cards are shuffled, wheels are spun, coins dance and jangle. Blades flash as well; it seems that despite the phony display of classiness, they play Knivesies here; no doubt that would be illegal within the city itself.
A pair of enforcers are stationed here, paying more attention to those leaving the boat rather than entering, stopping to rifle the pockets of those who look like they might have sticky fingers.
Knivesies is simple to play. Two contestants stand on top of opposite ends of a long wooden table. Their right hands are bound to their sides with boiled leather straps, belt pouches are fitted to their waists, and a dagger is stuck in the tabletop between them. The game begins after a count of 10, during which time observers can place bets by tossing gold pieces (roll 3d6+20 to determine how many gp land on the table) onto the table and standing at the end of the table where their chosen fighter stands. As the game begins, each contestant rolls an Initiative check.
There are two ways to win knivesies. You can force the other contestant to fall off the table, or you can end the game with more gold than your opponent claimed. Snatching a fistful of 1d10 coins off the table is a standard action that provokes an attack of opportunity. Since each opponent has only one free hand, the first round is typically a mad lunge for the dagger, forcing the slower opponent to make grabs for gold. There aren’t any more rules beyond this; most knivesies games devolve into tabletop brawls, with the first person to drop or touch the ground losing.
The game ends once a contestant is unconscious, dead, or knocked off the table; as soon as no coins remain on the table; or as soon as any coin is knocked off the table. When the game ends, an unconscious, dead, or de-tabled contestant is automatically the loser. Otherwise, the winner is determined by which person has the most coins in his pouch. At the end of the game, all money is emptied from the pouches back onto the table. Half the total is paid to the winner, while the remainder is split evenly among all of those who stood at the winner’s end of the table.
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Searok keeps his eyes closed and listens to all the foreign sounds. Lamm never taught them about the birds and bees and all of his knowledge up to this point had been what the other lambs had told him and from what he could hear Shaeda and the lady of the night were running the gauntlet!
Oh wow I am out of my element. Twisting her head around to take in the whole room while tugging Makall along. Pausing at the table that kniviesies is being played at.
"You cannot be serious?" Makall pauses to pull Emma closer "If you do succeed you will likely get us noticed by the 'right people' and it might help us to succeed in our mission. How do we tip the scales in your favour though?"
Turning to look up at Makall with wide eyes. Tugging him down to mumble in his ear, "Do I look insane enough to do that? I was gonna gamble. Look at me I am tiny and weak!"
Glancing back at the game and feeling her blood race a little faster. Yep, I have lost my mind.
Looking back at Makall and pulling him down to obviously kiss him on the cheek and mumble, "Cheating would be bad form dear."
Turning and looking around before calling out, "If a lady wanted to learn to play who would be willing to help?"
A second's pause, and suddenly Emma finds herself surrounded by half a dozen "helpful" gentlemen, all talking at once, so only snippets of advice can be heard over the already noisy din of the boat.
"-very simple, young lady, you see there are four basic theories-"
"-never bet on someone with red hair, it's bad luck-"
"-sies was invented in 42 AR, some say by Aroden himsel-"
"-fake gamer girl, just wants atten-"
"-don't know how to play either, but I'm up 7 Sails-"
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Holding her hands up in a motion of surrender, "Gentlemen, please not all at once."
Pointing a finger at the man with a bad opinion of redheads, "My gran was a redhead and the luckiest woman I ever met so that is not true!"
Letting her hand fall to her hip, "And of course I want attention! But I am anything but fake for which ever of you was the ass that said that. Anyways I would really like to try my hand at this delightful game. Who do I get to try my luck against?" Oh screw you Makall!
A croupier sizes Emma up. "New contender, ladies and gents, looks like a scrapper too!". He pats her down, searching for hidden weapons, relieves her of her rapier and whip, and briefly even lifts her off her feet. "Nine stone, or thereabouts." He looks over a waiting group of other contestants, most of whom are far too big to be suitable, but singles out another young woman.
She's about Emma's size, but the similarity ends there. She's got an eyepatch, a torn sailor's shirt, leather breeches, and cuffed boots. If she isn't a pirate, she shops at the same places as one.
"Evannessa, one for you I think."
Emma is led to the table. She can't help but notice a few reddish stains on the side. The gamblers immediately start tossing coins into the middle. Nearly all of them gather at the opposite side from Emma.
Makall watches on with curiosity. 'Well she actually did it. This I was not expecting. Makall pushes his way through the crowd not caring who he pushes to get there. "MOVE! My champion has a challenger. he throws two gold coins onto the table towards Emma's side to show his support for her.
"Let us BEGIN!" he shouts hoping to get the crowd pumped up.
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I am going to hurt him or haunt him. Smiling at her circumstance cause what else can she do at this point, "You all sure know how to flatter a lady. Making so much space like this."
Tossing a grin back at Makall, "Thanks dear."
In addition to the two coins Makall throws in, gold sails land on the table.
Evanessa hops up, and both her and Emma have their right arms bound. The croupier raises a red handkerchief, then brings it down with a flourish.
"Begin!"
What in the world is wrong with my damn brain! Surging forward and grabbing the dagger, as much as that woman's fists are going to hurt the blade is going to be way worse. Crouching lower to the tabletop in hopes that a lower center of gravity will make it harder to toss her on the ground.
Evannessa seems surprised by Emma's quick reaction time, and tries to grab her wrist to twist the dagger out of it.
Although she feels a strange urge not to strike, she shrugs it off and tries to get hold.
(provokes)
Flinching at the movement and lashing out with the dagger.
Emma jabs the dagger at Evannessa, cutting her hand, but she manages to wrench the dagger out of Emma's grip in the process.
"S&$%!" Crouching down and trying to grab a handful of coins.
Evannessa curses under her breath at her bleeding hand, but it's the only one she has available to her, so she grips the dagger as best she can and jabs at Emma to try to drive her away from the pile of coins, before scooping up a handful of her own.
.
Her lunge with the dagger misses its target.
I have lost my mind! Ducking the blade and reaching up to shove at Evannessa. Off the table!
Evanessa was obviously counting on her having the dagger to keep Emma at bay, and underestimated her obviously terrified opponent. Shifting the weapon in her hand to leave a few fingers free, she scoops up a handful of coins, momentarily taking her eyes off of Emma.
Big mistake. When she glances up again, Emma is charging toward her. She reacts as quickly as possible, sticking out the knife against the charge.
Emma runs right into the blade, getting deeply cut, but her momentum is still great enough to slam her into the pirate girl at great speed. Evenessa goes flying off the table, landing in a heap on the floor.
A second passes as the crowd registers this unexpected event, then they break into a cheer. Even the majority who stood at Evanessa's side of the table seem impressed.
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Gripping onto her shoulder and trying to ignore the pain radiating from it. I was just stabbed! What in the world was I thinking? Looking up from her new wound for her opposite but the woman is laid out on the ground. Noise erupts, a sound she had always wanted to hear, but never thought would for this reason. Yep, my parents will surely be proud.
Looking around for Makall and once spotting him she grins and holds out her free hand while yelling, "Darling you mind giving me a hand down? I'm a little tied up right now."
Makall is quick to push through the crowd as the people gather around her. Finding Emma's hand he squeezes it tightly and acknowledges her victory with an appreciative. Carefully assisting her down he stares at the wound and gets out a bandage from his healer's satchel.
"Quite the wound!" he announces to all within range, "but there was little doubt you would win! This wound is only a scratch let me work on it. Give me room all. You can congratulate her after I fix this!"
Getting a clean swath of cloth he holds it one hand as he gets ready to put it on the shoulder and then casually winks and nods at her. "You will be fine in a moment. Do not be alarmed by what happens next." With his other hand he touches the back of her shoulder as if he was bracing her and then moves to put the dressing on. At same time Emma feels an almost burning touch surround her shoulder.
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Smiling widely at Makall's overacting. Flinching at the heat then sighing as most of the pain goes away. Magic is going to need to fix the shirt to later. Thank the Gods for magic!
Patting Makall on the cheek, "Darling I am glad you had no doubt. Makes me feel loved." Stepping back, "But give me a moment if you don't mind."
Swiftly walking over to Evanessa, "Thank you for the game."
Evanessa picks herself up, slightly bruised but none the worse for wear. For a second she looks rather angry, but then she realizes Emma is being sincere.
"Hell of a blow. Didn't think you'd charge the knife like that. Word of advice, don't make that a habit, never know what part of you it'll go through. You got guts, that's for sure, but you want to keep them on the inside."
Emma's winnings, 17 gold sails, are dutifully handed over to her. Since so few of the gamblers bet on her, the ones that did made out quite well, and a few people tell Emma her drinks are on them for the evening.
"Hell of a blow. Didn't think you'd charge the knife like that. Word of advice, don't make that a habit, never know what part of you it'll go through. You got guts, that's for sure, but you want to keep them on the inside."
Grinning and having the decency to look a little embarrassed, "I will keep that in mind."
Makall whispers into Emma's ears, "See if your new friends might have information on the man we are looking for. These ships are big he could be anywhere and I doubt fighting atop tables all night is what you want to do."
Nodding and begining to wander around while asking questions here and there. Trying to gather info on Amprei and Devargo all the while keeping a happy grin on her face while watching which ever game she is infront of.
Between Emma's star-making performance in the ring and natural charm, people are only too happy to chat with her.
Darvargo Barvasi is widely known as the King of Spiders, a moniker he earns by wearing elaborate spider motifs in his clothing, and occasionally spiders can even be seen crawling on him. Rumor has it that he has the blood of fiends within him, and can control and speak to the spiders. He certainly has done nothing to discourage these rumors, and wears his nickname as proudly as his arachnid-themed attire. One drunken gambler lets slip that the spiders may be how he gathers the information he uses to blackmail - but then he falls silent; the bouncers are within earshot, and accusing their boss of crimes might not be healthy. Devargo only rarely walks the decks of Eel's End and visits the establishments himself, as he has more than enough authority to have whatever entertainments he requires brought right to him. Instead he "holds court" in the captain's cabin below the aft deck of the ship.
Amprei is less of a known quantity; he would hardly go around advertising his name and position in a seedy establishment such as this, but when you repeat the description Vencarlo gave of him, a few recall seeing him around. He went to the House of Clouds at least once, but that was a while back, and he doesn't seem to have returned there. He shows up every couple of weeks, has a drink, throws some dice, then goes to visit Devargo before leaving. One might assume from this behavior that he is really just here to see Devargo, and the other activities might just be for show.
When Emma relays this to Makall he thinks on the next course of action. "There is only one thing to do then. We must visit Barvasi court. Let us find the others they have been gone too long. Maybe we can bribe our way to see the captain's deck."
Thanking any who have answered her questions and happily chatting with them. Having found what she needs and shared that with Makall. Rubbing her shoulder and nodding, "I assume they have had enough for now as have we."
Shaeda makes a show of stretching, ”well, it took all we could to wring information out of that girl, but once things got going, we learned a bit.” She winks at Searok. She proceeds to tell the group what they learned.
Searok is finally glad when the ordeal is over and he doesn't have to play dead anymore. His cheeks are still a little flush when he sees Mikall and Emma.
What did we miss?
Looking at the flustered dwarf he shakes his head and leaves it be. Gathering the others closely "So what are all the options we have to choose from"?
Grinning at Sheada and Searok, "Not sure we had as much fun as the two of you. But I get ruin my shirt so I suppose that counts for something." Said shirt is bloody and torn at the shoulder.
"Helvara seems like someone to talk to. She might be able to get us to the captains deck."
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Searok sputters. Ye call that fun? It was down right terrifyin' He then looks around embarrassed and hoping to change the topic, Yer right. Let's talk to this Helvara. Now!
Asking around, you eventually find a patron who points you toward Helvara's "office", which due to the limited space available on the ship, is actually a small shed transplanted onto the aft deck. Some attempt has been made to make it look fancy, with paint in a rainbow of colors, and glass costume jewels around the door.
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Searok sputters. Ye call that fun? It was down right terrifyin' He then looks around embarrassed and hoping to change the topic, Yer right. Let's talk to this Helvara. Now!
"Well, I enjoyed it."
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"Well, I enjoyed it."
Searok glares at Shaeda. Despite him stating that he wanted to see this Helvara, he makes no action of knocking on the door to speak to the madam. In fact, he moves to the rear of the group. Ye ladies might be doin the knockin' it seems like everyone in this trade runs around without a stitch of clothing. She might not be decent! He says as he pulls Makall back with him not bothering to consider if the man wanted to see the madam naked or not.
Makall gets his newly purchased wand in hand and hides it as best he can. Staying close to the others he keeps an eye out for any that might be tailing them.
Makall doesn't see anyone paying the group any undue attention. This is an establishment that thrives on discretion, so most people tend to mind their own business, and hope others do the same. Besides, there are very scantily clad members of both genders about being seductive, who'd want to look at the four of you?
Biting the inside of her cheek to chase away the grin. Raising a hand and knocking.
A voice inside says "Enter". Unlike every other voice that's addressed you since setting foot on this particular ship, this one isn't oily and seductive, but clipped and businesslike.
Helvara's office is scarcely larger than a walk-in closet, with just enough room for a couple of chairs, a desk, and the woman behind it. Helvara is a half-elf on the cusp of middle age, which to her race means pushing 60. Unlike the ostentatiously garbed ladies and gentlemen of the evening she employs, she is dressed very modestly, with her black hair up in a bun, a simple black dress, and half-moon glasses. The only indication that her profession is as a madam and not a stern primary school teacher is her nails, which are very long and elaborately painted.
One other creature is on the room, a woman no bigger than a rat with diaphanous wings and long ears, who is sitting on the desk writing in a ledger far bigger than she is, while counting a pile of coins next to her.
"This will be interesting..."