Masquerade Part 2: Army of Darkness

[Nanami Touko]

Glare

Makin quickly glanced up at Angus, and stood herself off of the chair. Should we just run? I already told him where we're staying. That wouldn't work... She didn't know what to say at this, as she focused all of her energies into keeping a straight face, away from fear. Can't get caught, please...

Cedric proceeded to glare at Angus, walking over to his mantle. A rather ornate looking bow sat upon it, and he casually picked it up, lightly plucking the string. "Is it? I must not've noticed when you came in, then... Felson always has the latest trends in clothing. I'm sure you'll find a suitable replacement. Run along, now. I'm sure I've answered all of your questions." He reached up for an arrow that had been sitting next to the bow, and inspected it. "Did you know I'm a rather fantastic shot with a bow? I often judge archery competitions held in the city. I bet I could stick an arrow straight through that hole in your shirt... I'd participate, but before I was a member of the council, I'd always win... Wouldn't be fair to do so, now."

"Right, thank you," Makin said, not even bothering to deal with the less than subtle threats. She slithered off out of the small room and ushers for Angus to follow her as fast as he could. He did not buy that at all and we need to get out of this house right now! At least there hadn't been any guards in the manse. That would've spelled even more trouble.

Alas

"Well, that's unfortunate. I don't get to see light magic often, and I was hoping I'd be able to see some more of yours." He also simply wanted to see someone else fight, as he'd missed Quincy and didn't get to see the other combatants. "I would, but, you're right on the money with that one. I just bought these clothes, and I'd rather not see them torn, or bled on. Not yet. I'm sure Valha would be more than upset to see me show up like that, especially right after her spa trip. Hah~" He chuckled to himself, and stood up from his seat. "I'm not going to sit around and watch the arena dwellers spar, then. I'll see you around, Sonia. I'll be at the inn, until Valha returns." And off he walked, whistling to himself once again.

Dead End

Even Vriska couldn't pull anything else out of what Lanos had said. She sighed, and looked down at the floor. "Well, I tried... Sorry. I mean, really, sorry," she said, without any hesitation. "I get like that, when I can't figure something out, and I probably poked my head into some unpleasant memories of yours. I didn't meant to, and I hope it doesn't happen again. I'm sorry." She finished her barrage of apologies with a hug, not holding it for long, and letting him go. "Is there, uhm... Is there anything else you wanted to do, down here?"

Leg Massage

Press, press, press, rub, press~ "I don't know much about harpies. I don't know much about many monsters, to be honest with you. I'm not sure if it's offensive to say that they aren't talked about much up here-- not for any reason in particular, to clarify." And that was that leg done. Next~ "And you can't read? That must be tough. Does these harpy and elf friends of yours do all the reading for you? All the time? What if they aren't around?"

[Oersted]

"It's okay. It's not like you did it on purpose." It wasn't like she'd brought the memory up, she'd just made him talk about it. "Maybe I wanted you to know, I didn't tell you I didn't want to talk about it or to leave me alone or anything like that." The apology hug surprised him and made him wonder if there was a reason Vriska seemed so eager to touch him. Sure she'd said she liked him, in a sorta roundabout way, but he wondered if there was something else. When asked if he wanted to do anything else in the slums he shook his head. "No, not really." Not now at least... "There is something I want to do in the Upper Rung though; the arena. What about you? There anything you want to do today?"

[riariadne]

"Hmmm... I guess I can't really blame you for not knowin', we haven't been around these parts that long. That's one of the first things you gotta know about harpies, though, so now you're ahead of the curve on other people!" Valha responded, somewhat pleased she had something new to say to her. "Never really could get the hang of it... I tried once, but it took a while 'n was really furstratin', 'n I didn't think it was that important. Down in the slums, it really wasn't, 'n even now it's not too hard to find places with a bit of lookin' around. I found here on my own! Maybe some time it'll be worth learnin', but for now I'm a bit busy."

[charlie_]

Right. Not staying here. Angus wasted no time in following Makin out of the manse, and then made sure that the door was firmly shut behind him. "I fucked up." he muttered. "There was a harpy in there, but she wouldn't come for some reason. I didn't have time to get any evidence either; if I stayed for any longer, she would have screamed." Angus looked away, avoiding eye contact with the Naga. Was it all for nothing?

[Sandalphon]

"Uh, how are ya Mr.Soderberg?" Vesta said with a half-hearted wave. Admittedly this was not exactly the most confidence-building means to meet someone she would be trekking across a dangerous frozen wasteland with. Hopefully they would be more lucky in the thick of it than they were now.

Still, she perked up at the prospect of getting some practice in. "Sure, sounds like a plan to me. Time to bring on the pain I reckon!" She laughed, socking Ferdinand on the arm playfully.

[Xinnidy]

"Alright, let's go back up!" Maja announced, guiding the way back from where she left Vriska and Lanos. It hadn't been too long, so thankfully Maja still had an idea of where to turn. "Now, Kadin... if you want to have some time for yourself, could you warn me? I know it might sound bothersome, but... it's hard to tell if you're just having some time for yourself or if something happened. Since you're... it's really hard to find you if you don't want to."

"Hm? Oh, you don't need to worry." Kadin turned some of his attention away from his own thoughts: perhaps this was a good time to bring his own questions to light. "...Maja, may I ask? What makes you so... fixated on this? Nobody else talks to me as often, or worries that much about finding my past, nowhere as much as you. You even had some of my past revealed when you got your fortune told." He stopped in his tracks to throw a curious look at the girl. "What do I mean to you?" From the back of his mind, Kadin tried to bring memories of any distant family in Angern to no avail. Whatever it was, the reason this girl's fate was so intertwined with his eluded him.

Maja turned back to face Kadin with a bit of surprise. She wasn't really expecting a talk of that nature just like that. "I..." The words failed her for a moment, it was a fairly deep question. "I don't really know. I've always been curious about the paranormal, but all I ever heard were tales and rumours. Back in my town, I used to listen in to that kind of thing! Zombies, monsters, ghosts, even demons, I heard just about everything from caravans passing a night or so by. ...I kind of bothered the travelers about these stories since I was younger." She shot a glance at the floor, a bit reminiscent of days past. "I.... never really had a lot of people my age I got to talk to. Whenever most kids were out, I was reading, chanting or praying. My parents really wanted me to serve Him. I got to sneak around whenever I could, though, so I got to talk to the grown ups I met every now and then... some of them were weird, but everybody had a story or so to share."

Maja shrugged. "I grew up hearing all things about undead and ghosts, I wanted to learn more about them. See things for sure. Now I know that a lot of things were true, and I even found you!" She threw a small smile as she thought about it. "We've put all these undead to rest, so now what I want to do is to help you as I can, because... I think it's the right thing to do!"

The ingenue, borderline naive, warmth of Maja's reply made Kadin smile, if only a little. The ghost was still not done satisfying his curiosity, however. "Then, am I to you just like these undead? Something to get rid of?" His face, once more, turned serious.

Fact is, that direct question shook Maja, whom took a moment to compose herself. "What? No!" She shook her head as the words came out of her. "You're... I want to help you because it's your life! You want to find about it! Or at least, I always thought so... am I being wrong?" She couldn't believe that what she was doing was bothering Kadin, but... what if she wasn't listening?

Kadin looked in Maja's eyes for a moment, and became calmer at the turn of the moment. "No, you're right. I don't want to be stuck here for a cause I can't remember. You've been helping me learn of my past, and I am grateful." His tone was far more serene than when he started pressuring her, and it calmed her down.

"Yet..." Kadin continued, to Maja's surprise. "You live your life for others far too much. You're curious about so many things... you should find more time to live your own life and figure them out. You can't always find happiness by helping others." Kadin stopped to think on his own words, quickly shaking his head. "Sorry. Just an tired man's rants. Thank you, really." A smirk formed in his face to add some levity to the conversation.

"...It's fine." Maja felt a bit overwhelmed, being called out like that was a fairly alien situation, but she prized the ghost's words. "And I'm living my life! Well... I guess I'm still very clueless, but... thanks for that." She nodded happily and looked back to their path, being sure she was close to Vriska and Lanos by now.

...Except when she made her final turn, they were nowhere to be seen. ...Wait. Did they leave? Did I take a wrong turn? Oh no... Maja turned from side to side to make sure she was coming back the right way... and she was honestly unsure. "Uh... Kadin? I might be a bit... lost. I don't know where the others are." She was a bit reluctant to admit, but she had no idea what to do at the moment.

"Hm..." Kadin looked at his surroundings, trying to bring back some familiarity. "Let's keep walking. I am sure I know Felson. I might remember something if we scout this place. You keep searching for them."

Maja sighed with some relief. "Thanks, I'm counting on you!"

And then, they continued to walk through the slums.

[Nanami Touko]

Escape

Makin and Angus couldn't get out of there quick enough. The snake seriously thought she'd heard Cedric pull his bowstring as they left the door. She tried not to pay it any mind, as Angus spoke up. The news was a bit surprising. "There was? And she wouldn't?" There was something missing there. "Well, what else? Did you just say 'come on' and she said 'no, sorry'? Did you ask her anything else?" She put a hand on his shoulder as they walked, as well. "And you didn't fuck up. You did more than I thought you would, and even if Cedric is suspicious, unless she tells him you were there, nothing's going to happen. If she didn't want to leave, I don't think she'll tell him. That'd make it a bit more public than he might want, him having to come chase us down..."

To The Arena! ...After a Moment

Vriska turned a little bit red, as he said that maybe he wanted her to know. Was she surprised that, perhaps he cared that much? A little. It at least made her think. Think a bit much. Stop that thinking! She sighed, and didn't have anything else to say to that. "Alright," was all she managed, not knowing what to say as the redness in her cheeks refused to fade away. "The arena, huh? Well, I don't have anything to do, so I can go cheer you on. Let's go."

So they went, but didn't get very far, before they ran into Maja and her ghost. At least she'd managed to find her. "Hey, Maja! Glad you found him. Can I have my tomes back?" Vriska asked, not rushing over, as that would mean letting go of Lanos's hand again (of course she was holding onto his hand, please). "And, where are you two headed?" She felt she had to ask. Maybe she could rope them into going to the arena as well.

Almost There

Maggie quickly moved over to the next leg. It wouldn't take her anywhere near as long now that she'd figured her way through those feathers. "I wouldn't say it had to do with you not being around that long. More that I don't get a lot of you as customers... You're the second." Press, rub, press... This isn't that bad, anymore. "Suffice to say, the first didn't have as many feathers, mhmhmhm." Maggie chuckled to herself. "Perhaps now is the time to start, then. You might not think it that inconveniencing, but being able to read is a seriously useful skill..."

Fistycuffs

The men stepped out of the way to let Vesta walk herself into the ring, as Carl Quick came back. He'd been healed rather quickly, and other than looking a bit miffed that the guy that took him out went down minutes later, he was ready to fight. No one laughed at such a small opponent, they all knew well enough that size mattered little in matters of the fist.

[riariadne]

"Only the second, huh? Do you know what their name was? Maybe I know 'em," Valha suggested. "You are right, though... I do have a lot more feathers than your average harpy. Most others don't have so many around the shoulder area, 'n the ones on my legs reach all the way up to my body, which is unusual too. I'll... think about what you're sayin', though. Maybe I'll try 'n get my harpy friend to give me another shot at bein' his student or somethin', yeah?"

[Refa]

Place Yer Bets

The gambling parlor was lively with the sound of murmuring, as dealers are many tables folded out cards for people. It seemed Blackjack was the most popular game of the day, and a dealer waved Quincy over as he entered. "Come over here, young man. Sit down, bet on some cards, and see if you can win. Games of chance are always fun, eh?" He smirked, and flipped the cards about in his hands, hoping he could make some extra gold.

Quincy grinned at the dealers' comments. "Of course. You gotta be willing to risk it all if you're ever really gonna..." He trailed off and picked up his cards. "So, shall we get started? I'll put 200 gold on the table to start out."

Edited December 27, 2014 by Refa

[Xinnidy]

"Oh, it's you two! Thank Him!" Maja let out a breathe in relief as she immediately went towards Vriska and Lanos. "Yeah, thanks so much, your magic really helped! Oh, and right, here they are." She presented the tomes back, she'd already got used to carrying them such that it slipped her mind, it was a good thing Vriska asked them back! "Well, right now I was searching for you two! ...I wasn't sure what was the way back when I didn't find you." After a pause, she still had no immediate answer to Vriska's question. "Well, now that I found Kadin, I don't know. I think I'll go back to the inn. Are you going to stay?"

Kadin simply followed behind, giving a greeting nod as he recognized the other two.

[MRDRHAWK]

Kendeall wasn't quite sure where he was. All he knew was that his throat hurt like hell and his pockets felt a bit lighter. He must have lost or something. Shit. That's never good. Grumpy, the axeman went back into the arena and went to watch the new matches, since apparently those started up. When he got there, he noticed that Carl guy he beat facing off against... a tiny horse. Er.

[charlie_]

He tried to collect himself a little bit. "Right. Sorry. Yeah, that wasn't all that was said. She said that she didn't want to go back to the slums, and that she lost her son when she tried to get out last time. Then I said about how we knew some who had made it out. But when I said Lanos and Valha's names, she freaked out a little bit and grabbed me." He pointed towards the fresh hole in his shirt. "That was when I got it from. I'm kinda surprised it's not bleeding, those claws are pretty sharp, after all." He took another pause to catch his breath. "Anyway, after that she started panicking some more and told me to leave. I said that I could take her to see them, it sounded like she knew at least one of them, but she wouldn't say, and told me to get out before she yelled." He stopped, having run out of things to recount. Unfortunately, something else weighed on his thoughts. "So, er, do we tell them this? I'd feel bad not telling them, but I don't know how they would react..."

[Oersted]

"Actually I wanted to do a bit of shopping first, that's fine right?" He wanted to be prepared for anything and that arena and he really only had one weakness at the moment, heavy armor and mounted units. If he remembered right he'd seen something that fit the bill in Drogan's little shop, the rapier. As they walked he did the, admittedly not the best, math and came up about 100 gold short, counting the arena fee, even if he sold everything he had but the Tulwar. Shit. Maybe Vriska would borrow him some gold. If she didn't he could always threaten to charge her for rides in the future. "Hey Vriska..." he felt awkward asking her for gold but he'd pay her right back so he got over it. "Could you please lend me some gold. I swear I'll pay you right back, it's just I'd rather be as prepared as possible for the arena and I'm short."

He waved hello to Kadin and Maja with his free hand as Vriska greeted them. "So you'd have been completely lost unless you found us again?" Lanos was kinda glad that he'd opted to finish his stuff down here later. "We were going to head to the arena after maybe a little shopping once we got out of here."

Edited October 7, 2014 by Oersted

[Nanami Touko]

Information

This was... This was a bit heavy. And it carried some big, and rather complex, implications. "That's... Really worrisome, honestly." She placed a hand on her chin as they walked (and she slithered) along. "And you're sure it was those names she freaked out at? Well, it could be either of them, then... Probably Lanos, if she was talking about her son, but..." She sighed. "We should keep it to ourselves, just for a bit. I don't want to jump to any conclusions before we let either of them know. If we come across any more information, maybe we will, but... Ugh." Makin was glad that they'd managed to get a job, but at the same time, this new information was just something new to fuss about. "Anyway, I'm heading to the arena to blow off some steam. Actually... I'm going shopping first, and then we are going to the arena." She continued on, and dragged Angus with her.

Money Lender

Vriska gladly took her tomes back and sighed at what Maja was planning to do. "Well, if you want to go back to the inn, that's fine. I was hoping we could drag you along to the arena, but if not, no worries." Then Lanos mentioned the shop, and she nodded at that. "I'm at least going to drag you all to the shop, though! There might be something cool for you to spend your money on, there." Unfortunately, Lanos' next topic was a bit of a tricky one. "Lend you gold?" Vriska said, her tone almost sounding annoyed. She grumbled. "When we get to the shop, we'll see..." She started to lead them out of the slums, remembering which ways they'd gone to get out of there.

Shops Aplenty

Through sheer coincidence, Vrisk, Lanos, Maja, Kadin, Makin, and Angus, all managed to arrive at Drogan's around the same time, the former group already being inside. Vriska stood around and waited for Lanos to do his dealings, waiting for him to ask her for gold. Makin was a bit surprised to see so many people there. "Well, I won't be too long. Hey, everyone." She moved over to the desk, and leaned onto her arm. "Alright, 'Drogan', you're going to give me that Lancereaver. At sale price. Not your marked up excuse." She cocked an eyebrow at him, and he cocked an eyebrow back at her.

"Miss, I'm afraid I don't know what you--"

"You do. I've done some merchant work before. You're selling that at one hundred gold more than it's worth, and I'd rather not pay that. You work in Felson, I don't think the money's going to break you. Me? I'm a mercenary, lucky enough to have gotten work for all of us," she said the last bit a bit louder, so that the rest of the mercenaries in the room would hear, "and I need all the money I can get. Unless you don't want twelve hundred gold?"

Drogan bit his lip, and sighed. "Fine... Twelve hundred gold." He seemed almost beaten. Perhaps people with knowledge of weapons costs were just those he didn't want to get involved with. "Here is your sword."

"Good." She paid, and moved out of the way so that anyone else could deal with the merchant. She would've left, but with the small bit of information she'd just thrown out, some people might be asking things. And then there was Lanos... She hoped that Angus could keep his mouth shut now that they were near the bird, with the information they'd gotten.

Names

"Taryn," Maggie said, pressing into Valha's leg. "She came along with one of the nobles... I can't remember who. It happened a while ago, and I haven't see her again. She seemed sad, when she was here. And I wouldn't worry about all the feathers. They're lovely. I'm sure the man you're dating, and that friend of yours, both really appreciate them." Maggie giggled once again, and then pulled herself away from Valha. "And there you are. You should feel plenty relaxed, and plenty stretched out. I hope you visit again, if you're ever in the area. Feel free to get up and get dressed. Or don't. I don't mind either way." Maggie laughed again, and began to stretch her own arms out.

Let The Cards Fall

The dealer smirked, and moved Quincy's bet into the middle of the table, starting to deal cards between them.

[Oersted]

Geez, maybe I shouldn't have asked... The trip to the shop was a bit awkward for Lanos after that. He managed to get everything he wanted to sell out of his room before they made it to the shop so all he had to do was go and see just how much he owed Vriska. Makin made it to the counter before him and after her display he wanted to ask if she knew how much the rapier cost. But he didn't since he figured he'd end up owing Vriska anyway and he had already accepted that he wouldn't be getting all of his arena money. Placing everything he intended to give up (his vuln, torch, iron sword and gold) on the counter he looked Drogan in the eyes. "This is enough to cover the rapier right?"

That out of the way he turned towards Makin while he assumed Drogan was crunching the numbers. "So what exactly are we doing boss? Find out anything interesting about the place or what we should expect?"

Edited October 7, 2014 by Oersted

[Xinnidy]

Maja figured it wouldn't hurt to follow Vriska and Lanos more if they didn't mind, and it was fairly surprising to see Makin and Angus at the same shop they were going! Makin had already talked to the shopkeeper, and something she said sprouted some curiosity. "Oh, we have a new job? What is it, Bo-" She was completely one-upped by Lanos, but digressed soon enough. "Are we leaving soon, then?"

[riariadne]

"Taryn... can't say I know her. But that's the sorta stuff I hate, more than anythin' else... pets," Valha spoke angrily, though her mood switched quickly when her feathers were complimented. "Thank you... I'm proud of 'em- sure they're different, but they're mine. It was nice to meet you, Margaret. I'll be sure to visit again when I'm next here, yeah?" Valha stood up, stretching herself out for a moment to get used to moving on her own again, then clothed herself before exiting, waving.

Valha headed quickly to the inn, spotting Ingverd in the lounge and smiling. "Hey Ingverd! Lookin' good, huh?" She sat down next to him on one of the couches. "How'd the spa make me look?"

[charlie_]

Angus nodded. "I didn't mention any other names, but I'm not sure which one it was specifically. She looked like she was in her late thirties maybe, so I suppose she could be Lanos' mother, but I don't really know much about the guy, to be honest, so I'm not really sure how that holds up..." He felt kind of bad about that, honestly. They'd both been here since Makin started recruiting, and he'd barely said a word to the harpy. Actually, the only ones he'd really spent a while speaking to from that group were Kendeall and Kadin. Huh.

Eventually though, Makin's decision on what to do snapped him out of his throughts. "Uh, right. That's probably the right choice, I guess, at least until we get more information. Maybe they could've been mortal enemies, or something." he laughed, nervously. "Kind of wish I got a chance to find the other ones though, if I had the time, but..." He trailed off. There was nothing he could do about it now, he supposed. And then the Naga told him that they were going to the arena. "Hey, what do you mean we?" he laughed, following her lead all the same. He wasn't sure if the boss intended to fight, but he could give it a go himself. He probably wouldn't be too successful without the Greatbow at his side, but...

When they eventually stopped in Drogan's shops, he was quite surprised to see the others gathered there too. "Hey there." he said, trying his best to keep a straight face around Lanos. If they weren't telling him, if he had no clue what was going on. "Fairly soon, yeah. As far as I can tell, we're just trying to investigate the place. Cedric said he was gonna send one of his men - uh, women, even, with us to help, so I doubt we'll be leaving before she arrives and gets a chance to prepare..." He just hoped that she wasn't particularly close to Cedric or anything, or else it was likely that he'd feel pretty uncomfortable around her. He took a glance around the shop, but nothing really took his fancy. You'd think with Cedric being a solid archer you would be able to find some half decent bows somewhere in this city...

Edited October 7, 2014 by SB.

[Nanami Touko]

Shop Talk

Drogan looked at the pile of things sprawled out in front of him for a moment, and let out a small sigh. "Barely," he said, taking the weapon off of the shelf and handing it to Lanos. "Your change." He gave the bird man back three pieces of gold. Almost sad.

"Looks like you're not short after all," Vriska said, donning a smile. Then again, he'd said he wanted to go to the arena, so she figured she might still be shelling out some cash. Oh well... If it's him, it's not that bad, I guess.

Makin did her best to sort through everything. "Yeah, we got the job with Cedric. We're going to try to get into and out of Karstell without dying," she looked at Lanos at she said all this, holding her gaze a bit too long, and ending up looking a bit sympathetic. She caught this and looked away rather quickly, jolting her head over to Maja. And I thought Angus would be the one having trouble... "Anyway, he told us that the monsters of the castle sometimes manage to get themselves out, and onto the ice. We might have a fight on our way there, but it isn't anything we can't handle, right?" She popped a smile. "Especially with the world's best cleric at our side! And I see you found your ghost." Makin looked over at Kadin next, not asking him why he'd disappeared. If he wanted to tell them, he would, but his past was something she felt should only be shared with Maja. They were incredibly close.

She sighed, but still smiled. "This really does feel like the old days... Getting work and going off to do crazy things... Fighting monsters and bandits for gold. Hah. And it's thanks to you guys, so... Thanks." She laughed a little bit. "Don't mind me, getting all nostalgic and sentimental. Anyway, I'm heading off to the arena, to get a work out. Anyone else is free to come, if you're up for the fight."

Vriska spoke up at this. "Lanos is coming. He wanted to fight, too."

"Did he?" Makin said, looking back over at him again and trying to avoid giving him the same face. "Well, come along, then. I'm sure it'll give you some time to relax, in a way."

Leaving

Maggie waved Valha off, and start to think to herself out loud. "Now what was the name of that noble? Saber...? Cecil...? Hmm-- Oh! It was Cedric, huh? Goodness, I can't believe I'd forgotten... Well, no matter."

Meeting

"There you are," Ingverd said, giving Valha his same old smile. "It looks like you've taken years off of yourself. Have you been this relaxed since we met?" he laughed as he asked. "No matter, you look wonderful. Shall we get going? I'm sure you know the best places to eat in Felson." He stood and held a hand out for her to take, bowing slightly as he did.

[Refa]

Quincy's starting hand consisted of a 2 and a 4; not good, but not bad either...until he took a look at the dealer's hand. An 18, really? I thought I was supposed to be the lucky one, Quincy thought as the dealer hit him with a 9. The situation wasn't looking too good, but Quincy hadn't gotten this far in life without learning some of the tricks of the trade. When the dealer turned his head to gaze upon two of the patrons beating the crap out of each other (presumably over some sort of financial dispute), Quincy swapped his 2 in for the another card. That was almost too easy, he grinned as he flipped the card...which was a 10. Fuck, busted. The dealer smirked, and asked Quincy if he wanted to continue for another round. Quincy of course complied. There was no way he'd be leaving this place at a loss now, especially considering how smug he had acted when he entered. "Ante up," Quincy said as he put 200 more gold on the table; the dealer dealt them both their cards and the disturbance began anew. The cards were looking more favorable this time around, with the dealer being at 13 and Quincy himself being at 15. "Hit me again," Quincy said, rather daringly. What could possibly go wrong?

He was about to find out, as the dealer dealt him his next card. Flipping it over, Quincy resisted the urge to facepalm. A 10, really? Attempting to get an edge over the dealer, he moved his hand towards the deck once again. However, by that time the fight between the two patrons had concluded (rather forcibly, as they had both been thrown out of the establishment by the bouncer, a rather grizzled man), and the dealer turned his head around to look back at the game. Dammit, there's no getting out of this one, Quincy thought as he forked over 200 gold and put 200 more on the table. Go big or go home, he thought. Sure, he'd been losing consistently so far, but his luck was bound to turn over eventually ...right? Right? The cards were at least looking more favorable this round, with the dealer's had adding up to 14 and his own adding to 12. This is great. Even if I wasn't cheating worse than an ornery merchant, the odds would still be in my favor, Quincy arrogantly thought as he asked to be hit once again. Flipping the card over, Quincy's jaw dropped in disbelief. Why do I even try, he bitterly thought as he gazed upon yet another 10. The dealer gave him a quizzical stare, before asking him if anything was wrong. Thinking quickly, Quincy said, "What's that behind you?" and the dealer actually fell for the oldest trick in the book (what a chump). To his credit, he turned around rather quickly once he had been fooled, but the damage had already been done. Quincy flipped the card triumphantly; it was the symbol of luck itself, the 7. The flustered dealer hit himself and got busted as a result. One step closer to victory.

Now this was more like it. "Double or nothing," Quincy declared, assured of his victory by nothing else other than his obnoxious confidence in himself. The hands were pretty even this time around, at 17 each. However, Quincy was feeling daring today, and swapped his 7 while the dealer was lazily gazing at his own cards. Through some miracle though, he wasn't caught and flipped his new card to reveal a King. The dealer drew another card to no avail, and Quincy grinned as he confirmed that the dealer had indeed busted. The next round was so uneventful that it wasn't even worth noting. Both of them drew 21's, and the lack of money moving around annoyed Quincy more than the dealer matching his 21. I'd rather lose than draw, he thought grumpily. Well, this is starting to lose its appeal. One more round and I'm out, he thought as he put 200 more gold on the table for the final time...that day. Drawing another 21, the dealer threw up his hands in frustration and just handed Quincy his gold. Taking his winnings, Quincy walked out of the establishment, but not before turning around and saying his piece. "...Win big."

Edited December 27, 2014 by Refa

[Sandalphon]

Round 1

Vesta grunted as she stared down the big brute in front of her. Typical nasty big guy who thought that might meant right, she reckoned. He was probably making short jokes in his head, the jerk.

She put up her dukes and smashed him in the side, which felt particularly satisfying. Less satisfying was the blow to the ear she got in response to that.

That really steamed her buns.

"Don't be fecking rude!" She shouted as she socked him in the kisser. He fell, his lip split open.

She loved doing that.

Round 2

Vesta yelped cheerfully as she elected to go in for a second round. She swung her fist at the man who entered the ring and was delighted when it connected to a cheekbone. True, the guy returned the favour but that was unimportant, because he had given her an opening for a fairly good uppercut.

Clearly, the other guy decided to change strategies as he attempted to strike her from a different angle, not exactly accounting for the fact that wee horses are clearly light on their toes. Still, it did give her an opportunity to demonstrate why a horse should not be approached from behind as she gave him a kick to the gut. Had she been larger, this maneuver would've been more unpleasant, but luckily it was just enough to knock him out. (Thank goodness for that, Vesta was never one for leaving permanent damage. After all, it would be a pity to mess up someone's good looks).

Round 3

Admittedly, at this point Vesta was feeling a little tired. In retrospect this had been quite a long day and semi-drunkenly brawling had a way of dehydrating people a lot faster than they would expect. She groaned as she heard Mama's voice chiding her in her head.

Remember to drink plenty o' water if ya gonna drink like the big kids, girly. Yer small and you're gonna get thirsty mighty fast.

It was at this point that what could best be described as an ambulant mountain entered the arena. She had heard of this one, something about being "a boulder" or something. No matter, it would give her the opportunity to finish this party with a bang.

She swung a fist at him only to find that "boulder" was a pretty apt description. She shook her fist as she attempted (and ultimately failed) to evade a blow to the side. This was not good. She attempted the ol' one-two as she stumbled onto her feet, only to find that punching someone built like a brick wall was not the easiest task. Still, this did give her the opportunity to see that counter attacks were not this fellow's forte.

The skirmish continued for quite a while, with Mr.Bouldery-Rockman seemingly having the upper hand. Still, she continued with the ol' two-punchy prancing pony technique (and considered for a moment that perhaps in the future she should re-think the names she gave to her fighting moves). She weaved around, her agility and dexterity strongly hindered by the amount of alcohol that was still in her system (as well as the cumulative effect of a bunch of punches to the head). Somehow, her tail managed to swat him around the soft spot on his knee cap, sending him toppling to the ground.

"Oh come on, really?" Vesta panted. "That is like the weirdest goddamn weak spot... Oh whatever."

Her survival instincts told her it was best to give up at this point. This time, she agreed.

[riariadne]

"Aww, you're too much... but you're right, I probably haven't been this calm since we've met. We were on the job so much before, 'n we've had some down-time, but that's nothin' compared to a few days off after travelin' for so long..." Valha faltered at Ingverd's suggestion she knew where they should head to. "Uhh, well... no, I don't really know anywhere that we should go to... they're all pretty fancy when you're used to the slums 'n expensive 'n all that. I just know they're supposed to be pretty nice, but I wouldn't know where they are or what they've got there or anythin' like that since I haven't been there before." she admitted, then added, "'N I can't read to find out, either. Maybe you could pick out somewhere nice as we go?"

[charlie_]

"We've dealt with monsters before, I can't see them being much more difficult to take out." Angus agreed, trying his best to keep the facade up. I wonder how long we can keep this act up for... Makin already seemed to be struggling with it, and he wasn't doing any better. He kept glancing back at the harpy subconsciously and then berating himself for it, although he didn't think he'd seen him do it yet. Eventually, Makin seemed ready to leave, with her business done. "Well, if any of you aren't going to the arena, see you!" He waved them off, trotting after the Naga. Hopefully watching and fighting in the arena would put him at ease. As long as he could keep his thoughts from roaming, that is.

[Refa]

Having finished his gambling adventures, Quincy was done for the day. Returning to the inn, he was surprised to find out that everyone had gone (or at least anyone that he could recognize). More room on the couch for me, he thought as he sat down on the couch. He then took a book out of his bag and proceeded to read it...riveting!

Edited October 7, 2014 by Refa

[Oersted]

Lanos took the rapier and his massive amount of change with an equally massive sigh, it'd been a while since he'd been as broke as he was now. He halfheartedly smiled at Vriska. "Yeah, talk a a lucky break..." It was really. He didn't have to embarrass himself in front of Drogan or anyone else nearby. However, while Angus was still in the shop Lanos couldn't help but notice he kept glancing over at him and then turning away. Before he could question him he and Makin presumably left for the arena. Well, he was going there too so... "C'mon on Vriska, it's time to hit the arena," he said as he grabbed her hand and for once got to do the dragging around. Luckily they weren't that far ahead and with a little speed walking caught up. "Since we're all going to the arena we might as well walk there together yeah?" It was more of a test to see how they reacted to him. If something similar happened he would press for details.

Edited October 7, 2014 by Oersted