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Pathfinder – Shadow in the Sky: the Harrowed
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<blockquote data-quote="Ambrus" data-source="post: 4909039" data-attributes="member: 17691"><p>Mulling over the name Girri surmises that Lixi is referring to <em>Saul Vancaskerkin</em>. Rumor has it that he used to be a major player in the city's illicit power structure, but then tumbled down to the bottom somehow. Now seen as a small time operator, his recent acquisition and refurbishing of the Gold Goblin gambling hall is generally held to be a last-ditch bid to reclaim some measure of his former glory. <span style="color: Gray"><span style="font-size: 9px">OOC: Knowledge (local) 10</span></span></p><p></p><p>As the windows begin darkening with twilight, the last of the tournament's participants make their way through the hall's entryway, hand over the entry fee to the beautiful hostesses and sign the proffered soul contracts; bringing the total number of patrons in the hall to well over a hundred. The two succubi at the entryway pull the large wooden doors closed with a resounding boom that draws most everyone's attention. The rattling of the doors' locks can be heard throughout the hall as the crowd begins to quiet down. The demonesses then pick up the metal coffers into which they'd deposited the entry fees and, amidst whistles and catcalls from the crowd, sashay their way over to the raised dais. With a hand from the large shaven-headed guards stationed there, the succubi climb up and begin emptying the contents of their boxes into the overlarge chest. That done, the two guards slam the chest closed and begin securing it with a bevy of heavy gilded chains and padlocks. Throughout the hall all of the would-be winners' thoughts are firmly focused on the contents of that chest.</p><p></p><p>[imagel]http://img141.imageshack.us/img141/2059/saulvancaskerkin.jpg[/imagel]Then, on cue, more bare-chested male members of the staff emerge from the door to the kitchen carrying torches and walk in procession towards the dais. With all eyes now upon them, they set the various pitchfork-mounted straw 'heads' on fire. Some of the gathered crowd goes silent in expectation while others laugh, applaud or cheer the theatrics. A short man then climbs to the central podium and stands before the chain-shrouded chest with a demoness on each arm. He wears a formal suit, and his thinning black hair is slicked back. His left arm ends in a stump just above the wrist, and affixed to it is a bronze cap from which protrudes an oddly shaped key. Girri, standing relatively close by at the Ghoulette table, is momentarily mesmerized by the the man's odd appendage. A hand that's a key; the female harrower is struck by Saul Vancaskerkin's uncanny similarity to the Locksmith. Might he hold the keys she needs to unlock her destiny as suggested by the Harrow? The man bows before the crowd and clears his throat before speaking.[imager]http://img413.imageshack.us/img413/7103/thelocksmith.jpg[/imager]</p><p> </p><p><span style="color: Teal"><em>“Welcome, one and all, to the Gold Goblin Gambling Hall and your chance to cheat the Devil and win back not only your soul but all of his gold as well.”</em></span><em> He says this last as he pats the large chest before which he stands. <span style="color: Teal">“I'm Saul Vancaskerkin proprietor of this fine establishment and your host for tonight. I hope you found your reception by the Devil’s lovely temptresses suitably entertaining.”</span></em></p><p></p><p>This is met by a general murmur of laughter and a few catcalls.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: Teal"><em>“Let’s take this moment to thank Old Scratch himself for attending this event. Not only did he loan us these lovely, dark angels, but he also emptied the deepest vaults of Hell itself to provide the gold for this tournament.”</em></span></p><p></p><p>With this, Saul directs the crowd’s attention up to the imp in the birdcage. At the sudden attention, Old Scratch flies into a flurry of rage, banging the cage bars, spitting, howling, and screaming vile epithets in Infernal at all assembled. His theatrics are received with guffaws and even a smattering of applause. As the crowd dies down, Vancaskerkin continues.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: Teal"><em>“Of course, he plans on replacing what he loses in gold with the souls of those of you who don’t win. The tournament rules are quite simple—as you play, you’ll earn more chips. And with those chips, you’ll be able to bribe your way out of the current Hell you’re trapped in, working your way down deeper until you get to Old Scratch’s treasury. Currently, all of you are Old Scratch’s prisoners in the first of the Hells, Avernus. If you want to work your way down to the ninth circle, you need to win games and more chips. Golden eyes, silver teeth or copper hearts, these bits of flesh and bone are what the devils use in Hell for currency, and they’re what you’ll need to pay in order to bribe your way into the next layer of hell. The first player to win a game after reaching Nessus not only keeps his winnings for that game, but also earns back his soul and the ten thousand silver coins that the Devil put up for this tournament. You can, of course, decide to cash out your winnings at any time you want, but if you do, or if you run out of money entirely… well, that means Old Scratch gets you.”</em></span></p><p></p><p>Vancaskerkin grins evilly and the caged imp cuts loose with another profane tirade. <span style="color: Teal"><em>“And that earns you the Devil’s Mark and an escort out of the game hall until the tournament is over. What, you ask, exactly is this Devil’s Mark? Well, it’s something too utterly horrible to even contemplate. The forfeiture of your very soul, it is. But I suppose I can show you what it is—gods know I more than deserve the Devil’s Mark. In fact, better make it two. Ladies?...”</em></span></p><p></p><p>With that, the two succubi accompanying him lean over and each firmly plants a kiss on Saul’s cheek with her ruby-red lips. When they pull away, their lip rouge has left clearly visible prints in the same shocking red on his cheeks. Saul beams as he cries out, <span style="color: Teal"><em>“The Devil’s Mark, everyone!”</em></span> which is greeted with a flurry of shouts, catcalls, and hoots. <span style="color: Teal"><em>“Now, let’s cheat the Devil and take his gold!”</em></span> which prompts one more rabid flurry from the imprisoned fiend above, and with that, the tournament begins.</p><p></p><p>Across the table from Girri, Lixi announces loudly to those clustered nearby: <span style="color: Purple"><em>"Ladies, Gentlemen; please step up and place your bets for our first spin of the Ghoulette wheel!"</em></span></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Ambrus, post: 4909039, member: 17691"] Mulling over the name Girri surmises that Lixi is referring to [I]Saul Vancaskerkin[/I]. Rumor has it that he used to be a major player in the city's illicit power structure, but then tumbled down to the bottom somehow. Now seen as a small time operator, his recent acquisition and refurbishing of the Gold Goblin gambling hall is generally held to be a last-ditch bid to reclaim some measure of his former glory. [COLOR="Gray"][SIZE="1"]OOC: Knowledge (local) 10[/SIZE][/COLOR] As the windows begin darkening with twilight, the last of the tournament's participants make their way through the hall's entryway, hand over the entry fee to the beautiful hostesses and sign the proffered soul contracts; bringing the total number of patrons in the hall to well over a hundred. The two succubi at the entryway pull the large wooden doors closed with a resounding boom that draws most everyone's attention. The rattling of the doors' locks can be heard throughout the hall as the crowd begins to quiet down. The demonesses then pick up the metal coffers into which they'd deposited the entry fees and, amidst whistles and catcalls from the crowd, sashay their way over to the raised dais. With a hand from the large shaven-headed guards stationed there, the succubi climb up and begin emptying the contents of their boxes into the overlarge chest. That done, the two guards slam the chest closed and begin securing it with a bevy of heavy gilded chains and padlocks. Throughout the hall all of the would-be winners' thoughts are firmly focused on the contents of that chest. [imagel]http://img141.imageshack.us/img141/2059/saulvancaskerkin.jpg[/imagel]Then, on cue, more bare-chested male members of the staff emerge from the door to the kitchen carrying torches and walk in procession towards the dais. With all eyes now upon them, they set the various pitchfork-mounted straw 'heads' on fire. Some of the gathered crowd goes silent in expectation while others laugh, applaud or cheer the theatrics. A short man then climbs to the central podium and stands before the chain-shrouded chest with a demoness on each arm. He wears a formal suit, and his thinning black hair is slicked back. His left arm ends in a stump just above the wrist, and affixed to it is a bronze cap from which protrudes an oddly shaped key. Girri, standing relatively close by at the Ghoulette table, is momentarily mesmerized by the the man's odd appendage. A hand that's a key; the female harrower is struck by Saul Vancaskerkin's uncanny similarity to the Locksmith. Might he hold the keys she needs to unlock her destiny as suggested by the Harrow? The man bows before the crowd and clears his throat before speaking.[imager]http://img413.imageshack.us/img413/7103/thelocksmith.jpg[/imager] [COLOR="Teal"][I]“Welcome, one and all, to the Gold Goblin Gambling Hall and your chance to cheat the Devil and win back not only your soul but all of his gold as well.”[/I][/COLOR][I] He says this last as he pats the large chest before which he stands. [COLOR="Teal"]“I'm Saul Vancaskerkin proprietor of this fine establishment and your host for tonight. I hope you found your reception by the Devil’s lovely temptresses suitably entertaining.”[/COLOR][/I][COLOR="Teal"][/COLOR] This is met by a general murmur of laughter and a few catcalls. [COLOR="Teal"][I]“Let’s take this moment to thank Old Scratch himself for attending this event. Not only did he loan us these lovely, dark angels, but he also emptied the deepest vaults of Hell itself to provide the gold for this tournament.”[/I][/COLOR] With this, Saul directs the crowd’s attention up to the imp in the birdcage. At the sudden attention, Old Scratch flies into a flurry of rage, banging the cage bars, spitting, howling, and screaming vile epithets in Infernal at all assembled. His theatrics are received with guffaws and even a smattering of applause. As the crowd dies down, Vancaskerkin continues. [COLOR="Teal"][I]“Of course, he plans on replacing what he loses in gold with the souls of those of you who don’t win. The tournament rules are quite simple—as you play, you’ll earn more chips. And with those chips, you’ll be able to bribe your way out of the current Hell you’re trapped in, working your way down deeper until you get to Old Scratch’s treasury. Currently, all of you are Old Scratch’s prisoners in the first of the Hells, Avernus. If you want to work your way down to the ninth circle, you need to win games and more chips. Golden eyes, silver teeth or copper hearts, these bits of flesh and bone are what the devils use in Hell for currency, and they’re what you’ll need to pay in order to bribe your way into the next layer of hell. The first player to win a game after reaching Nessus not only keeps his winnings for that game, but also earns back his soul and the ten thousand silver coins that the Devil put up for this tournament. You can, of course, decide to cash out your winnings at any time you want, but if you do, or if you run out of money entirely… well, that means Old Scratch gets you.”[/I][/COLOR] Vancaskerkin grins evilly and the caged imp cuts loose with another profane tirade. [COLOR="Teal"][I]“And that earns you the Devil’s Mark and an escort out of the game hall until the tournament is over. What, you ask, exactly is this Devil’s Mark? Well, it’s something too utterly horrible to even contemplate. The forfeiture of your very soul, it is. But I suppose I can show you what it is—gods know I more than deserve the Devil’s Mark. In fact, better make it two. Ladies?...”[/I][/COLOR] With that, the two succubi accompanying him lean over and each firmly plants a kiss on Saul’s cheek with her ruby-red lips. When they pull away, their lip rouge has left clearly visible prints in the same shocking red on his cheeks. Saul beams as he cries out, [COLOR="Teal"][I]“The Devil’s Mark, everyone!”[/I][/COLOR] which is greeted with a flurry of shouts, catcalls, and hoots. [COLOR="Teal"][I]“Now, let’s cheat the Devil and take his gold!”[/I][/COLOR] which prompts one more rabid flurry from the imprisoned fiend above, and with that, the tournament begins. Across the table from Girri, Lixi announces loudly to those clustered nearby: [COLOR="Purple"][I]"Ladies, Gentlemen; please step up and place your bets for our first spin of the Ghoulette wheel!"[/I][/COLOR] [/QUOTE]
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