Shadow in the Sky, Chapt 1 of TRM's Second Darkness [IC]

[The Rolling Man]

The 'succubus'

Voadam doesn't see anything really fiendish with the hostess. It really appears to be a simple masquerade. As he puts his arm around her waist, the tall bouncer takes a step toward them but he stops when the 'succubus' holds out an hand and slightly shakes her head. "I'm here to help kind sir." She tells Voadam with a smile. "Ah, the devil's mark ... Intriging, is it ? You see, it depends. If you just lose but don't cause any trouble, you get mine." At that, she blushes a little and kisses Voadam softly on the cheek, leaving a bit of lip rouge. She then pulls back. "But if you cause any trouble in here, you get his Mark." She says, pointing to the tall bouncer who simply grins and cracks his knuckles. "And you're right, I'm not Old Scratch. I go by the name of Lixy. No, Old Scratch is the devil you must rob tonight and he's already here." She points to the middle of the gambling hall where Voadam can see that a bird cage containing a little devil is hanging from the ceiling. Voadam has seen such creature before and knows them well. It's an imp, the little devils from hell that often act as spies, councilors or trickters. An imp is resistant to normal weapons, only blessed or silvery weapons can hurt it fully. Voadam also knows that its tail sting is poisonous and that it has a few magical powers like invisibility and the power to suggest actions to others.



Voadam takes this time to scan the rest of the casino floor. A large chest is placed on the central podium, just below the imp's cage, and it is flanked by a pair of bouncers dressed in a way similar to sultans' guards from the far south. Painted panels depicting grinning devils and hellish fires are nailed on some walls while 'heads' made of straw are planted on upright spears and pitchforks. Finally, the chandeliers hanged on the ceiling and the coal burning in copper braziers light the room in an 'hellish' way. Voadam also sees a few tieflings amongst the varied clients but, from what he has seen of Riddleport so far, this isn't unusual for this city.

The young hostess giggles at the notion that the bearded 'wizard' has no soul. "Hi, hi, don't be silly, everyone has a soul. But if you insist that you have none ..." She lowers her voice. "... you can sign anyway. It will be our secret, I won't reveal anything." She concludes with a smile and another wink.

OOC : Just fyi, you rolled a 13+8=21 for diplomacy and 19+6=25 for knw(planar) here.

 

[ghostcat]

Chan Ti Monk 1

Ti declines to sign the pledge. "Thank you but no thank you. Last time I gambled I lost 3 days and won orange hair. Tolly, I won't be gambling but I will watch you back if you want to give it a try."

Once the place starts to get busy, Ti will start to circulate. If Tolly want to play and doesn't mind, Ti will keep him company.

 

[Ambrus]

[sblock=TRM]For a time the small slate-coloured dragon surveys the crowd of humanoids milling about in line in front of the Golden Goblin. Nestled in the shadow of a rain-barrel at the mouth of an alleyway a few buildings further down the street, the creature carefully studies each mark in turn. It looks for the telltale signs of easily gotten gains; bulging purses & pockets as well as the glint of jewelry. As part of its detailed analysis the wily dragon memorizes pertinent details for each person; whether they display right or left handedness, the type of armaments and armor they're sporting and if they show signs of old injuries or early drunkenness.

Once satisfied, the small creature waits for a horse and carriage to trundle past before folding its wings tightly around its shoulders and scurrying across the street into another shadowed alleyway. Padding softly through a ditch, the stealthy dragon ducks through a vacant lot and circles to the back of the Golden Goblin. Taking momentary shelter in the midden, the creature studies its approach before making its way over to the tiny disused coal chute. With a last look behind, the small dragon pulls open the rusted iron hatch and leaps inside to gently slide down into the coal pit beneath the scullery.

Once inside the small slate-coloured dragon pulls its dark goggles up onto the top of its horned head to reveal a pair of glowing red eyes. Cautiously, the stealthy burglar pushes up the wooden trapdoor atop the pit to make certain that the scullery is empty before clambering out.

OOC: Tosh will wait till it hears the sound of gamblers making their way into the gambling hall before covertly using stealth to duck through the kitchen to enter the hall itself. Its main aim is to lurk unseen beneath the various gaming tables as it covertly picks the pockets, belt pouches and boots of seated gamblers while they suffer distraction penalties to perception rolls for being firmly focused on the gambling action going on above. Since it's executing a slow and carefully planned heist, Tosh will take 10 on his Sleight of Hand and Stealth checks as much as is possible.[/sblock]

 

[Voadam]

Voadam doesn't see anything really fiendish with the hostess. It really appears to be a simple masquerade. As he puts his arm around her waist, the tall bouncer takes a step toward them but he stops when the 'succubus' holds out an hand and slightly shakes her head. "I'm here to help kind sir." She tells Voadam with a smile. "Ah, the devil's mark ... Intriging, is it ? You see, it depends. If you just lose but don't cause any trouble, you get mine." At that, she blushes a little and kisses Voadam softly on the cheek, leaving a bit of lip rouge. She then pulls back. "But if you cause any trouble in here, you get his Mark." She says, pointing to the tall bouncer who simply grins and cracks his knuckles. "

Voadam smiles "Ah, your devil's mark is a prize worth seeking for its own sake. You are tempting me to enter and lose gracefully you she-devil."

And you're right, I'm not Old Scratch. I go by the name of Lixy. No, Old Scratch is the devil you must rob tonight and he's already here." She points to the middle of the gambling hall where Voadam can see that a bird cage containing a little devil is hanging from the ceiling.

"Oh, ho, I see. Thank you Lixy. Rorgar." Voadam turns back to his orcish companion. "Isso é um verdadeiro diabo, vulneráveis à prata, ele pode ir um homem invisível e corruptos da mente com sugestões. <orcish>[sblock]That is a real devil, vulnerable to silver, it can go invisible and corrupt a man's mind with suggestions.[/sblock] Go ahead and grab us a table and some drinks while I chat with Lixy." He then returns his attention back to Lixy with a smile. "And so is old Scratch running the show here or was he summoned up by a socerer?"

The young hostess giggles at the notion that the bearded 'wizard' has no soul. "Hi, hi, don't be silly, everyone has a soul. But if you insist that you have none ..." She lowers her voice. "... you can sign anyway. It will be our secret, I won't reveal anything." She concludes with a smile and another wink.

"I ask because I felt you steal my heart and soul the instant I walked in." He laughs good naturedly at his own silliness. "I came to spend my coin on wine, women, and a warm hearth after a long travel, but you've tempted me well, I'm intrigued at the story here. What more can you tell me of old Scratch? I'm an honorable black-hearted rogue and will only cheat and steal for the right reasons after all."

 

[The Rolling Man]

Tosh

[SBlock=Ambrus]Tosh watches the clients arriving at the Gold Goblin for a while. This being the wharf district, most of them look like sailors and pirate crews perhaps wanting a bit of fun before leaving the shores. Tosh notices, for example, a group of large Ulfen men (i.e. Vikings) that might be part of a docked longship's crew. Another large part of the gamblers are filty looking dwarves, possibly workers from the gas forges. Other notable clients include a noble-looking and dark-haired woman with 2 menservants, a richly dressed gnome, 2 men that look like foreign merchants (one is a dark skinned Garundi and the other is an almond-eyed Tian), another woman with all sort of weird symbols on her dress and a dark haired man that has the look and dress of a wizard. He also notices another group, not for their apparent wealth, but for the oddity they represent. One of them is a wild looking half orc wearing leathers decorated with animal skulls, another is a wild-eyed dwarf with a necklace of dead squirrels and the last one appear to be another Ulfen but he certainly doesn't dresses like one ; he wears a simple black robe and carries no weapon.

With some effort, the little kobold is able the squeeze into the small coal chute and finds the coal dump almost empty. It doesn't waste time in there and, after a quick verification, founds the pantry empty. From what it could gather with a quick peek, the kitchen is another matter. The staff is in a flurry of activity, some of them entering with empty platters and other leaving with full ones.

It seem to the small dragon that while a lot of people have entered the gambling hall, there doesn't seem to be a lot of actual gambling happening just yet.[/sblock]

 

[The Rolling Man]

Lixy

"Old Scratch is here to get a bunch of new souls, of course !" Lixy looks at Voadam with a big grin. She then shrugs. "I'm not fooling anyone with my theatrics, am I ? I better stop yapping my rathole. To tell you the truth, I think the old Saul won the service of the little devil somehow. I don't really know the details."

 

[Ambrus]

[sblock=TRM]Tosh patiently watches the activity in the kitchen from behind the crack of the scullery door. Keeping track of the various cooks and servers' comings and goings, the small slate-colored dragon waits for the right moment to move unnoticed. When their backs are turned, Tosh silently opens the door and quickly scurries from cover to cover behind armoires, barrels, and tables and out through the main hall door in the wake of an outbound server.

Following in the shadow of the human woman's voluminous skirts, the dragon snakes its saurian head around swiftly to survey the disposition of the crowd before diving into the shadow beneath a nearby table. Catching its breath beneath the table's curtainous tablecloth, the wily dragon cautiously tastes the air with its serpent's tongue as it studies the patrons and staff for a time; this time from the inside of the Golden Goblin.[/sblock]

 

[Dr Simon]

Tolly reads the contract, laughs, and signs it without hesitation.

"I'm sure my soul's worth less than ten silver sails anyway," he says.

Later, he wanders the casino floor, checking out the games on offer before he decides on one to enter. Whilst doing so he also surveys the crowd, sizing up his audience for later.

 

[The Rolling Man]

Later, he wanders the casino floor, checking out the games on offer before he decides on one to enter. Whilst doing so he also surveys the crowd, sizing up his audience for later.

Tolly surveys the clients inside the Gold Goblin for a while. This being the wharf district, most of them look like sailors and pirate crews perhaps wanting a bit of fun before leaving the shores. Tolly notices, for example, a group of large and loud Ulfen men (i.e. Vikings) that might be part of a docked longship's crew. Another large part of the gamblers are filty looking dwarves, possibly workers from the gas forges. Other notable clients include a noble-looking and dark-haired woman with 2 menservants, 2 men that look like foreign merchants (one is a dark skinned Garundi and the other is an almond-eyed Tian) and a dark haired man that has the look and dress of a wizard. He also notices another group at the entrance mostly because of the oddity they represent. One of them is a wild looking half orc wearing leathers decorated with animal skulls, another is a wild-eyed dwarf with a necklace of dead squirrels and the last one appear to be another Ulfen but he certainly doesn't dresses like one ; he wears a simple black robe and carries no weapon.

OOC: This post is me being lazy and mostly copying another I made for Tosh . I've posted the description/rule of the 4 main games at the tournament in the OOC thread. Also, you can check out post 41 for a description of the main casino floor (Tolly just doesn't know about all the imp's powers and weaknesses however).

 

[Dr Simon]

Tolly nudges Ti Chan (carefully).

"I saw them setting this up earlier," he says, pointing to the Ghoulette Wheel. "It looks like fun, fancy a go? That 'Dungo' head thing is pretty funny."

He heads for the Ghoulette wheel, but keeps an eye on the dark-haired noble woman, and the two foreign traders. They seem the most interesting characters (from a gambling standpoint), and he checks to see what games they are playing. Ghoulette will serve as a warm-up, but perhaps a good game of golem to really test skill later on, performance allowing.

"I'll put two silvers on..." he looks around and spots the dwarf with the squirrel necklace. "...hygiene."

[sblock=OOC]
Assuming that unused chips can be exchanged back, he'll change 10gp into chips of various denominations.

2 sp on Hygiene, please.
[/sblock]