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Erileth leans back in her chair and glances to her side, spotting something suspicious in the crowd. She frowns, standing up after taking back her break-even winnings and muttering something to Sorina.
Alorea, too, notices something suspicious as she sips her drink. Quiet as a mouse, she slips off in pursuit of the strange man with the scrolls.
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The wheel doesn't distract her in the least, but the armed person does. Isabel made sure to check that the gendarmes didn't have anything planned tonight before she arranged her big evening so weaponry can't be for any legitimate purpose. She secures her winnings, keeping only her usual stake to hand, just in case something happens and panic erupts.
While Erileth takes a turn she scrutinises the eye-patched woman closely.
Your absence from the Bounder table goes unremarked upon as a couple of other patrons step up to take your place. You easily make your way through the throng of people without anyone even so much as glancing down at you; indeed, one of the unspoken perks of being a halfling is the tall-folk's tendency to (literally) overlook you when you wish to be discreet.
As you step up to the privy door, you hear the man's voice beyond--it's a sonorous baritone, chanting something in a tongue you don't recognize.
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Her eye is turned towards the privies to the north of the gaming floor. She's waiting for something to happen.
Alorea checks the privy door to see if it is locked. If not, she will open it up to see what's happening inside!
The privy door is not locked.
You push the door open just in time to see the green-robed man snap his fingers and make a translucent shield appear in front of him before taking a scroll into his hands...
...and as you open the door, he abruptly stops and fumbles with his scroll. "E-Excuse me?!" He stutters, shocked by your audacity.
The first time she sets a stake down, the ghoul head spouts a snide remark about her mixed parentage. It's accompanied by a lot of gambling chips landing in her lap. Her second spin breaks even; her next rewards her with a growl about how she needs to bathe more. "Perhaps you can take some of those chips with you--scrub both yourself and your filthy lucre clean!" The ghoul head howls.
Isabel's next spin is a spectacular loss, but considering how much she's already won it's of little consolation to the increasingly-flustered dealer. He takes her stake back a little too eagerly, a couple of sweat drops running down his pale red brow. His relief is very short-lived--Isabel's fifth spin wins her back her stake and then some, the ghoul head moaning something incoherently snide about her height that's soon buried under the clinking of many chips.
Eh-Acka finishes her drink and is suddenly surprised by how the ghoul head is talking.
"HOLY MAMA, THAT'S COOL!" she exclaims.
Then when the elves suddenly get distracted, she follows after them, but then notices the halfling follows a dude and so she follows the halfling. When they find the mage dude in the privy, she seems surprisingly unfazed.
"Watcha doin'?" she asks. "Ya gotta be careful with them papers! They'll steal the words out of yer head!"
"Plus, I think Saul might frown upon anybody trying to conjure magic on the loo!" Alorea says with a smirk. "What's the shield spell, eh? Expecting trouble?"
"Oh hey, ya know magic too! Kewl!" Eh-Acka comments. "But yeh, I'd not be makin' a spell like that unless I was expectin' trouble...or lookin' to make some!"
She narrows her beady little eyes at the man, with a "just try it, a&@*&#@" expression.
"Well, why wouldn't I use a spell to protect myself from strangers who storm the privy while I'm using it?!" The robed man retorts in an attempt to regain some measure of composure. "See, I was under the impression that civilized people don't just barge into a bathroom while it's being used."
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"Luckily for you, *I* ain't civilized!" Eh-Acka replies, with perhaps more pride than she should have at that statement...
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Isabel follows her own advice and steps away from the table to find Giorgi.
"Woman with an eyepatch. There." She gestures subtly towards the woman in question. "She's waiting for something, or someone. There's going to be trouble Giorgi. You know I can tell. I'm going to fund the source, maybe you should get her out of here? Quietly." She can't actually order him to do it but Isabel trusts her old friend to not be an idiot.
With that done She heads for the facilities and finds an interesting situation ongoing...
"An unlocked door and magic scrolls... you're up to something sir." She says calmly. "There are three of us and one of you, so give me the scroll and we can all leave quietly rather than getting the gendarmes involved." She gives a slight smile. "And we know that when the gendarmes get involved the Overlord hears about it. I don't think you want that, do you? Besides, you coconspirators have already been removed by security. Your distraction is rather too late. "
Alorea pats the hilt of her rapier and gives the man in the privy a menacing look, content with letting the half-elf do the talking.
Sorina took a sip of the sparking violet wine in her hand. She smiled as she remembered Isabel's lips lingering by her ear as they shared quiet words.
Sorina hadn't noticed anything more than the eye patched woman, until Eireth spoke to her in low Elven, "I did not see him. Let us follow the others. I saw a woman with an eyepatch acting suspiciously, as well. That can't be a coincidence."
She downed the rest of her wine and then quickly followed Isabel as the lady gambler made her way to Giorgi. Listening to Isabel speak, she waited for her turn, "She had something shiny and metallic on her belt that she seems to be hiding," Sorina quietly added to Isabel's account. Then as the blond helf-elf started to make her way to the privy, a bemused Sorina saw that Alorea and Eh-Acka were already there.
Not able to discern the undercurrent or situation, Sorina listened to Isabel, not interrupting.
==
"Wait, yer a gendarme?!" Eh-Acka exclaims. "Um, you saw it! I'm not with this guy!" she says, jerking a thumb at the alleged wizard.
Giorgi listens to Isabel's warning and moves to approach the eyepatch-wearing woman.
The mage in the privy sputters for a moment before sighing in defeat. "...dammit, I told Thuvalia this wasn't going to work anyway. Sometimes I really hate being right."
He steps forward, scroll in hand, and he moves to hand it to Isabel--
--when a loud noise like the crack of thunder comes from the gaming floor, followed by many gasps of shock! The wizard lets out a sharp yelp of panic!
The eyepatch-wearing woman is standing over the prone, injured Giorgi--and in her hand is a tube of cobbled-together metal, smoke still drifting from its barrel. She slams what appears to be a wad of white paper into it as the bouncer gasps for breath and clutches his bleeding stomach beneath her. Three men surround the woman, knives bared and their eyes firmly on the group.
"Ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention please?" The woman barks, kneeling and wrapping an arm around Giorgi's throat before hauling him to his feet like a human shield. "I was HOPING for a quick and painless job, but since some people don't know when they should mind their own business, I suppose things now have to get ugly."
She glares at the assembled women. "I'm not one for playing by the Devil's rules when there's money on the line. My crew and I are walking out of here with that cash--" She briefly points her metal tube at the chest in the middle of the casino floor. "--and with the gentleman cornered in the privy there. Otherwise..." She presses the smoking tube to Giorgi's temple. "...I twitch my finger and his head explodes."
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Isabel quickly swipes the scroll before the mage can change his mind and gives the man a glare to keep him quiet before turning to the woman.
"That's a pistol I think." She says calmly, slowly stepping closer to the situation. "Nice weapon, but not exactly fast. That shows me you haven't thought this through. Sure, you can blow his head off, but how is that going to get you the gold? Saul doesn't care about his staff enough to value one of them at thousands of gold, and there's no way that everyone else in this building just lets you leave with the money they want to win."
She takes a moment to eye the gang up and down, while the eye-patched woman might be confident, Isabel doubts that her accomplices are so certain.
"Let's be honest, so far you've not commited a major crime." She continues, looking for a peaceful resolution. "The bouncer is hurt, but he'll live with a little medical attention. If you all leave now there's no harm done and no reason for anyone to come after you. But if you kill him, or steal the gold, then everyone and I mean everyone, the gendarmes, the Overlord, the other crime lords, they'll all want you. So really, is this worth risking your life? You clearly haven't thought this plan through properly. I'm sure there's a boss here and someone who gives him up will probably come out of this far better than everyone else."
Eh-Acka jumps at the noise and turns to see the woman and the shot bouncer. She scratches her chin as Isabel gives her analysis of the situation and while she didn't understand half the words she used she got the gist: she wanted them to quit while they were ahead. She puffs out her chest and shouts.
"YEAH, THUVALIA! YOUR GUY IN THE PRIVY SAID THIS WOULDN'T WORK ANYWAY! YOU OUGHTA LISTEN TO HIM!"
Then she gently nudges the mage in the shin.
"Go on, we're givin' you an out here...get her to take it," she says quietly.
"Yes, how could I have possibly planned for a bunch of people getting too interested in watching a wizard use the bathroom? CLEARLY I needed a few extra drinks to have seen that coming." Thuvalia (the eyepatch-wearing woman) snarks back. As flippant as she sounds, there is a waver to her voice that wasn't there before. Her men are starting to shoot each other uneasy looks.
"And the thing about squealing on your boss is that everyone else will want you dead afterwards, protection be damned--" She starts again, only for the wizard to interrupt.
"Vali, dear, please! The whole thing's a bust--let it go!" He shouts.
"What, so they can haul you off and put you in the ground? Not happening! We're walking outta here and we can still salvage this!"
He might be about to do something incredibly risky and/or dangerous.
Sorina's composure slipped a little when she heard the loud *bang* and she swung around to see the eye-patched Thuvalia with pistol in hand and an arm wrapped around a shot Giorgi. This escalated quickly, she mused silently.
She watched as Isabel stepped forward and then closer, using her words to perhaps sway the desperate thief/woman. The goblin Eh-Acka was working on the wizard in order for him to stop Vali shooting Giorgi in the head.
She was too occupied with Vali that she did not pay attention to anything else. Staying put by the privy entrance, steadily and carefully, Sorina moved her hand to her hip and brushed the scorpion whip, there; ready to grab it in case Isabel's gambit did not pay off.
===
Alorea remains silent and doesn't move, but she is ready to draw her rapier and spring into action the instant things turn ugly!
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"See, we can sort this out without any more violence." Isabel says, stepping forwards once more. "No-one do anything foolish now." She shoots Giorgi a ferocious glare on those final words. "Now, Vali. How about you let that fellow go and I'll come with you and your friends to the front door? That way we can be sure nothing goes wrong. No-one here is going to put up a fuss as long as you don't make them."
She isn't quite close enough to kick Giorgi but she would if she could.
"Let's end this without anyone dying. Then we can all live another day and find another way to get rich in this town." Isabel concludes, now right up in front of Vali and her gang, hands open and non-threatening.
Eh-Acka sighs.
"Well, ya tried buddy. Might wanna start clearing off before things really get ugly, at least save your own butt."
Then she turns back to the standoff.
"Who said anything about squealin'?" she asks. "I thought you said you was just trying to do a little smash-an'-grab for yourselves!"
Giorgi blinks a few times as Isabel directs a glare towards him, going still in Thuvalia's grip.
Thuvalia glares at Isabel, but she pulls her pistol away from Giorgi's temple a bit. "Angvar comes out here first. Or no deal."
"Who said anything about squealin'?" she asks. "I thought you said you was just trying to do a little smash-an'-grab for yourselves!"
Thuvalia blinks in realization, her eyes going briefly wide before she shakes her head. "...it's the principle of the thing. No self-respecting professional wants to work with a snitch."
Alorea gently prods Angvar, staying behind him as he walks over to his partner.
Angvar emerges from the privy and practically runs to Thuvalia's arms, causing her to roughly shove Giorgi into Isabel and throw her arms around him in turn. A few tears run from the corner of her good eye as she starts leading the shaken mage out the doors, her posse following suit.
The patrons around the gambling floor let out a collective sigh of relief, and most of them leave the floor and stream into the Goblin's Tankard. Evidently, hostage situations have a way of ruining the gaming mood.
A few moments later, Saul approaches the group, tapping his cane against the floor. "Well, bloody well done handling that. Can't say I ever expected something like THAT to happen on opening night."
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"Well maybe you should have." Isabel replies, giving the man an arched eyebrow. "You did make a big deal about having a huge pile of gold available for the winner. Speaking of which..." She seems fully intent on getting back to the gaming tables as soon as her current burden is taken care of. "I trust you'll be providing the potions your employee needs? The employer paying is still a standard feature of employment contracts, no?"
Eh-Acka scratches her head at Thuvalia's words.
She doesn't have a clue as to what's going on in the lady's head, but waves as she, that Angvar guy and the rest of their crew leave.
"Bye! Try to lay low for at least a week before you try something else!"
When Saul shows up to compliment them, her face immediately lights up and she scampers over to him.
"Yer just the guy I wanted to talk to! Hi! My name's Eh-Acka, Eh-Acka Loudmouse! You're the boss here, right? Oh, right, we gotta help the big guy first! Hey!"
She points at Sorina.
"You said you danced for a sacred calling! That mean you're a priest? Can you do heal-ey magic for him?"
She points at Sorina.
"You said you danced for a sacred calling! That mean you're a priest? Can you do heal-ey magic for him?"
Sorina turned her eyes on poor Giorgi and the growing bloodstain from the hole in his stomach. "Oh, yes, I can heal. If his patron wishes to pay in coin or favour, I am happy to provide the service," the priestess turning her amber eyes on Saul, waiting for his answer.
Alorea joins the others speaking to Saul. "Is the prize still being offered? I was winning before all of this, after all!" the halfling says.
Sorina turned her eyes on poor Giorgi and the growing bloodstain from the hole in his stomach. "Oh, yes, I can heal. If his patron wishes to pay in coin or favour, I am happy to provide the service," the priestess turning her amber eyes on Saul, waiting for his answer.She points at Sorina.
"You said you danced for a sacred calling! That mean you're a priest? Can you do heal-ey magic for him?"
"Erm...wat?" Eh-Acka asks, blinking. "Don't think this is the right time to be talkin' money, longshanks."
"Erm...wat?" Eh-Acka asks, blinking. "Don't think this is the right time to be talkin' money, longshanks."
Sorina's manicured brow shot up and a mused smile played along her lips,
"In such a place as this where coin flows freely, this is not the right time? Surely, like gamblers, healers must make a living. The Savored Sting must be paid her due and this proprietor is in charge of his people and ensuring their welfare." The little green creature was annoyingly naive. Saul obviously had the coin to pay for the healing, looking at the fare he had put on this night.
Looking to Giorgi, and seeing the bouncer's pain, and remembering he was some kind of friend/acquaintance to Isabel, Sorina sighed and quietly said to Giorgi, "I will collect a service from you at some point in the future, for this healing I give you now. I will not forget. There's a good fellow."
Dropping one of her prepared spell , she drew on the divine power of the Savored Sting and poured it into a healing spell, which she quietly cast ; laying her hand near the wound in the man's abdomen.
Sorina's manicured brow shot up and a mused smile played along her lips,
"In such a place as this where coin flows freely, this is not the right time? Surely, like gamblers, healers must make a living. The Savored Sting must be paid her due and this proprietor is in charge of his people and ensuring their welfare." The little green creature was annoyingly naive. Saul obviously had the coin to pay for the healing, looking at the fare he had put on this night.
Looking to Giorgi, and seeing the bouncer's pain, and remembering he was some kind of friend/acquaintance to Isabel, Sorina sighed and quietly said to Giorgi, "I will collect a service from you at some point in the future, for this healing I give you now. I will not forget. There's a good fellow."
Dropping one of her prepared spell , she drew on the divine power of the Savored Sting and poured it into a healing spell, which she quietly cast ; laying her hand near the wound in the man's abdomen.
"Look, I like coin as much as the next goblin...you can buy a lotta stuff with it...but you can't really buy a life, and it looked like he was close to losin' his while we were jawin'," Eh-Acka replies with a shrug. "You could have asked for it when you was done or something, or had him owe ya a favor. If he was dead, you wouldn't have gotten neither."
Giorgi takes a sharp breath as Sorina heals his wound, the bullet in his stomach popping out and rolling across the gambling floor with a *plink*. He looks better, but decidedly very shaken by the whole affair.
"...anyways." Saul says after clearing his throat. "It doesn't look like there's much interest in the tournament anymore." The squat man says with a look towards the Goblin's Tankard. "Apparently, hostage situations put a cramp on their luck."
"Still, I don't mean to sound ungrateful." He looks the group over. "And the topic of jobs is one I'd like to broach to you lot now. It's quite clear to me that you're quick-witted and sharp-eyed: just the sort of folk I'd be happy to have on my payroll."
"And I've no objection to having a music-playing goblin--" He looks at Eh-Acka. "--or a trained priestess for those especially bad nights." He looks intently at Sorina.
"Those of you who participated, I'll be happy to provide you with your winnings. Once that's sorted, come up to my office--we can work out the details of hiring there."
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"I figured your Golden Goblin'd be even BETTER with a REAL goblin around! And I can sing too!"
Before anyone can stop her, she demonstrates by starting to crank her hurdy-gurdy and after playing a few notes barks out "♩ We goblins are a friendly folk, we love to eat until we choke, loving all like friend and brother, we hardly ever eat each other! ♫"
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Isabel applauds politely when Acka plays her song. It's not particularly good, but the goblin's enthusiasm largely makes up for it.
"Well," She says turning to Sorina. "It's a shame I won't be cheating the Devil tonight, but I still made enough to cover a drink or two. Can I interest you in a nightcap? Although I suppose we should talk to Saul first."
Eh-Acka finishes and takes a little bow.
"Thank yew, thank yew!"
"Look, I like coin as much as the next goblin...you can buy a lotta stuff with it...but you can't really buy a life, and it looked like he was close to losin' his while we were jawin'," Eh-Acka replies with a shrug. "You could have asked for it when you was done or something, or had him owe ya a favor. If he was dead, you wouldn't have gotten neither."
Annoyance flared to life in the Calistrian's eyes, measuring her breathing before answering the green-skin, "I have had Giorgi owe me a favour and his life has been spared. Do not tell me how to administer my healing or how to conduct my business", she told Eh-Acka in a steady, yet definitive voice.
"And the topic of jobs is one I'd like to broach to you lot now. It's quite clear to me that you're quick-witted and sharp-eyed: just the sort of folk I'd be happy to have on my payroll."
"And I've no objection to having a music-playing goblin--" He looks at Eh-Acka. "--or a trained priestess for those especially bad nights." He looks intently at Sorina.
Upon Saul's words, Sorina quickly reverted to her charming guise and inclined her head at the compliment. "Thank you, sir," giving him a pleased smile (and knowing if she was closer to him, in his employ, that she could monitor his activity and gain deeper knowledge for her mistress).
Once the goblin lass began to sing, Sorina's nose wrinkled a little at the lyric, Goblins, friendly folk? Loving all like friend and brother? She must be addled or in her cups and taking liberties with the truth... Eh-Acka's earlier, highhanded attitude regarding her healing negotiations had left a sour taste in the cleric's mouth and she did not find the creature amusing at present. Sorina gave half-hearted applause at the end of the goblin's song. Shorafa Pamodae would never employ such a creature to perform at the House of the Silken Veil.
"Well," She says turning to Sorina. "It's a shame I won't be cheating the Devil tonight, but I still made enough to cover a drink or two. Can I interest you in a nightcap? Although I suppose we should talk to Saul first."
Upon Isabel's now familiar voice, Sorina turned and addressed her offer with a flirtatious glint in her eye, "I would be interested, Isabel ma belle. I'm sorry you could not best the Devil this night. I have faith that you shall...soon," winking at the beautiful and flirtatious blonde half-elf.
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"With an angel like you at my side, how could I not?" Isabel replies, tipping an imaginary hat and offering Sorina her arm. She then heads to the teller to cash out her chips (better to do that before speaking to the owner - just in case) and then, assuming Sorina allows her to, leads the way upstairs to Saul's office and knocks on the door.
"Mr Vancaskerkin? You wished to speak to us?"
It wasn't the first time that Isabel had referred to her as an angel and it made Sorina both preen and chuckle silently.
"If it's an angel you seek, then I can play along, my sweet" Sorina playfully retorted.
She happily linked arms with Isabel and together they moved about the space - finally reaching Saul's office as Isabel knocked and made their presence known.
Annoyance flared to life in the Calistrian's eyes, measuring her breathing before answering the green-skin, "I have had Giorgi owe me a favour and his life has been spared. Do not tell me how to administer my healing or how to conduct my business", she told Eh-Acka in a steady, yet definitive voice.
"See? Everybody wins!" Eh-Acka replies with an grin. Sorina's annoyance seems to have flown completely over her head (though that's not very hard considering her stature). Seeing the group adjourn to Saul's office, she scampers after them, hurdy-gurdy in hand.
"Ohboyohboyohboy, I'm gonna get my big break! she says to herself.
Alorea grins as she gathers up her winnings. Surely, she has enough to get out from under Clegg Zincher's thumb now, and Saul's offer of employment only serves to sweeten the deal. She follows the others up to the manager's office, eager to hear his terms.
After what feels like an eternity, Saul's office door opens. The man himself holds the door open for the group as they file inside.
Saul's office could be described as being oddly decorated; aside from the high-backed wyvern leather chair behind his mahogany desk, several paintings of varying quality are hung on the walls (with a pack of werewolves playing a card game being the most notable painting of the lot). Two piles of gold coins are stacked on the desk next to a small wooden snuff box and a bottle of deep tan whiskey.
"Now, first order of business is the winnings you two are owed." He points to Alorea and Isabel. "They're on the desk." He points his key at the coins before turning to the others.
"The next order is the issue of employment. I'll not sugarcoat things for ya--after tonight, I wouldn't be surprised if some of my employees decided to take off into the night. I've already had one dealer skip out on me, and considering my head bouncer got shot in the stomach I wouldn't be surprised if he's the next to leave." The portly owner frowns.
"To that end, I'm looking for a new dealer, a proper head of security, a spotter for the upper walkways, and some new wait staff." He glances at Eh-Acka. "Some new in-house entertainment wouldn't go amiss either."
"What say the lot of ya?"
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"I'd certainly be open to a steady job." Isabel says, not mentioning that she'd have to check with her real job first, but she can't imagine Cromarky being against a mole inside Saul's new operation. "I'm good at organisation and numbers. I could certainly deal, but I think I'd more use running your security. I might even be able to convince Giorgi to stay, with some more hazard pay of course." She adds.