House Millithor in the City of the Spider Queen

[Seonaid]

Narcelia shifts slightly, and her fingers flash in an elegant pattern, as she addresses Dariel alone. Do not allow your hatred to blind you. It is a tool, nothing more. Failure in this matter would be most unpleasant, for all involved. She turns back to the others. "Your plan, Matron Mother, is wise. And as Quertus says, I believe we can profit from this. I think we should wait until almost the last moment before betting, to enhance the idea that we were unaware of Dariel's actions. If we bet too early, they will wonder why we did not involve ourselves. If we bet late, they will figure we have resigned ourselves to the challenge, and of course have no doubt Dariel will prevail." She pauses slightly. "If you have a better suggestion, Matron, of course your will reigns."

 

[Xael]

I think we should wait until almost the last moment before betting, to enhance the idea that we were unaware of Dariel's actions. If we bet too early, they will wonder why we did not involve ourselves. If we bet late, they will figure we have resigned ourselves to the challenge, and of course have no doubt Dariel will prevail."

Quertus comments yet again: "Or, if Dariel's honour and ego can take it, he could even pretend to be losing the fight, or keep it somehow even-looking, and then swiftly deal with the poor sucker when matron decides the odds are high enough. Though again, this tactic would be very, very against the few rules ought to exist here and might result in some unnecessary attention, so there's another risk to be considered.

Maybe it's still better to keep this as simple and as "legal" as possible.

But the possibilities here are quite numorous and profitable indeed. If we just had more time..."

 

[Serpenteye]

But now the real question is: How much do we bet on Dariel?

As much as possible, abbil. As long as our bets do not scew the odds too far.

Ki'Willis turns to Yyssiriryl.
How much gold is usually circulated in a typical arena fight?

In reply to Quertus' suggestion she answers expressionlessly, still keeping her voice low enough for only her party (and Yyssiriryl) to hear her.
I'm not entirely familiar with the rules of this particular arena, but surely the official bets are closed once the fight has begun. I would also assume that the bets are made trough the representatives of the proprietor, and that the specifics (other than the changes of the odds) are unknown to the audience. Surely, lady Yyssiriryl, it is not openly announced who has bet how much and on whom they have bet?

(ooc: I assume the rules are similar to those used in most Real-World betting on sports. I doubt you can make bets, or retract them, once the fight has already begun.)

It would be wise if we do not all place our bets at the same time. Doing so would cause a sudden and drastic change in the odds that some may find suspicious. It might be to our advantage to place our bets relatively early so that the other players will be led to believe that there are greater profits in betting on the other side, which will cause better odds for us.

 

[Endur]

In Laral's luxury box:

Laral stares at Jena and growls at her, “I want you … to go see your former owner. Remind your former mistress of what she lost when she sold you to me. And find out who her new friends are.”



In Lady Yyssiriryl's luxury box:

Lady Yyssiriryl responds to Matron Ki'Willis,

"Betting amounts vary depending on who is doing the betting. A goblin might bet a copper. If a rich Duergar noble is betting, the bet might be as much as one hundred pounds of platinum (50k gold).

"Your presumptions regarding the specifics of how betting is done are pretty accurate. Retracting a bet is not an option. Once you make a bet, the odds are locked in at the time the arena staff accepts your bet. You can try to make bets after a fight has begun, but the odds tend to be reduced and there is no guarantee that the odds makers will accept your bet.

"You can also make bets without using the arena staff, simply make a wager with someone who is willing to bet against you. Although in that case, if someone refuses to pay a bet, you will either need to collect the wager yourself, or hire someone to collect it for you. There is a bounty hunter named Kileaf who makes a living chasing after those who refuse to pay their bets."



Torellan, with a bored look on his face, mentions to Dariel, "If you are concerned about provoking a dwarf, that should be easy enough. You could mention to one of the vermin that it has a remarkable resemblence to a dwarf you killed outside Mithril Hall seventeen years ago. The shield dwarves have large families. Probably every shield dwarf lost a relative in the war between Menzoberanzan and Mithril Hall. Who knows, it could even be true that you killed his relative."

 

[Serpenteye]

"Betting amounts vary depending on who is doing the betting. A goblin might bet a copper. If a rich Duergar noble is betting, the bet might be as much as one hundred pounds of platinum (50k gold).

Upon hearing that Ki'Willis arches an eyebrow and allows herself a small, ladylike smile. Absentmindedly touching the lining of her bodice she considers how much to bet. We can not be absolutely certain that Dariel will be victorius, too great a loss could be devastating for us. Though we could certainly attempt to free him if he's taken, that may or may not work. It might be neccessary to buy him back, or indeed Raise him. That will be expensive.
On the other hand, if we are going to let Quertus fight the Troll, a fight in which the odds will surely be profitable for us, we are going to need to bet a very large amount. If we make a significant profit from Dariel we will also be able to Raise Quertus if he's killed, an unlikely but possible development. With House Baenre intent upon raping the Coiled Whip we are also going to need considerable wealth to restore our place in the Menzoberanzan hierarchy. A refusal to take risks is the greatest risktaking of all.

Turning so that only the members of House Milithor can possibly see her gestures she signs. We bet a total amount of 50'000. I will contribute 30'000, the rest of you can share the other 20'.

ooc: Would it be reasonable if you pay 15% or your earnings as taxes to the House, to be spent on resurrections, hiring mercenaries and other communal expenses?

ooc: How much cash do you all have?

-

Torellan, with a bored look on his face, mentions to Dariel, "If you are concerned about provoking a dwarf, that should be easy enough. You could mention to one of the vermin that it has a remarkable resemblence to a dwarf you killed outside Mithril Hall seventeen years ago. The shield dwarves have large families. Probably every shield dwarf lost a relative in the war between Menzoberanzan and Mithril Hall. Who knows, it could even be true that you killed his relative."

Ki'Willis makes a slight affirmative gesture to Dariel, seeming to imply that Torellan's suggestion was a good one but that the choice of how to proceed ultimately rests on himself. She is confident he will make a wise decision.

 

[Xael]

"I could cast a protective spell on Dariel before the match, but one can easily see that something is wrong if they manage to hit him, so there's the legality question again. The spell also has a minor component cost, and frankly money wasn't the first thing I grabbed with me when we rushed through the portal."

OOC: I have about 60 gold pieces.

 

[Serpenteye]

If I understand the lady Yyssiriryl correctly the only rule of the arena is that one may not interfere in a fight in progress. Interfering before the fight, by casting protective spells for instance, would probably be quite legal.
A Stoneskin spell? Don't concern yourself with the component cost, Quertus, let me pay for that. After all I have the most to gain by this and, besides our champion, the most to lose.

 

[Seonaid]

Narcelia waits to see how much the others can contribute.

 

[Pyrex]

(Oops. Posted to wrong forum)

 

[metrostar]

In Laral's luxury box:

Laral stares at Jena and growls at her, “I want you … to go see your former owner. Remind your former mistress of what she lost when she sold you to me. And find out who her new friends are.”

"As it pleases you, Master Laral," Jena says as she crawls to kneel between Laral's muscular legs. She tosses her luxurious hair back, arching her body towards him and tilting her face up to him as he reaches down to detach the leash from her collar.

She stands, allowing you a better look at her. Her gem-studded slave collar is of the highest quality. The collar's studs and loops are made of expertly worked platinum. Finely wrought, intricate platinum chains hang down from the collar, delicately wrapping the slave's upper body in a spiderweb pattern, coming together in an 'O' ring below her breasts. Her G-string is made of the same fine platinum chains and high quality leather. The aristocratic females of House Millithor recognize her strappy sandals as being on the cutting edge of Menzobarrenzan fashions.

Jena approaches Lady Yyssiriryl, but instead of kneeling before her, she embraces her. Their lips seek each other's, and they come together in a passionate kiss, their scantily clad bodies pressing closely together. Then Jena pulls back and asks "Does that remind you of what you lost when you sold me to Master Laral, Lady Yyssiriryl? Did you not enjoy possessing me? Were those diamonds," Jena gestures at the beautiful necklace glittering in Lady Yyssiriryl's cleavage, "worth trading me for? Master Laral considers it a cheap bauble, compared to what he gained in return." Your eyes, drawn to the platinum and diamond necklace, appraise its value at about 200,000 gp.

Looking at the members of House Millithor, Jena says "Lady Yyssiriryl, will you tell me about your guests? Master Laral is curious."

OOC Be gentle with me! I'm new