| Logs |
2000-03-23
| Starfall |
| Realms |
Retired
| Reality Fault |
General Info
 |
Gambling at the Silver Talon
After getting the earrings, Alex and Dimitri decide to kill two bugs with one stone and see if the casino serves lunch. They retrace their steps to the Horn and Hart, and find the Silver Talon easily enough after that. The building looks unpretentious from the outside, but inside it is opulent and hushed, appearing to be a very serious gaming venue.
Alex paces alongside Dimitri, looking around in fascination, her left ear occasionally flicking unconsciously at the new weight. When she remembers it she almost glows with happiness, glancing surreptitiously up at her brother and beaming to herself.
Dimitri pushes open the door, his ears rising at the venue's fine outfitting. He takes a few steps in, a slow and easy pace. He glances down at his sister, nods, and sees if he can spy the merchant fur they saw before. Alex straightens a little when Dimitri glances down at her, her tail still slightly fluffed from the excitements of the day. She also looks around intently.
There are tables with various card games in progress, a few roulette wheels, and a dice game towards the back. The nondescript fellow who was talking to the raccoon is in the middle of a game at one of the card tables.
Alex realizes she has no idea how to play most of these games, although she's glanced at them disinterestedly at some of her father's balls. She wonders curiously if her brother is a gambler. Oh wait, he must be if he annoyed one of Pravinchandra's whelps. She grins delightedly to herself... maybe this will be fun to watch!
Dimitri quietly pads through the room, looking here and there, until he sidles up behind the merchant's card game. With a silent smile he watches, to see what games are being played and what the stakes might be. At midday, the stakes don't look particularly high... but having spent a large chunk of funds on the jewelry, there isn't enough for more than a hand or two at the tables if he has bad luck.
Alex's ears suddenly tilt back a touch in worry as she realizes how little cash they currently have... what about lunch? Dimitri looks to Alex and shrugs, "Do you wish to play... or eat?"
Alex opens her mouth to say 'eat' firmly... then pauses, thinking... then she essays a cautious, "Um... what do you want to do, Dimitri?" He did, after all, just buy her a wonderful gift! -even if she is hungry enough to eat a horse, she thinks... cards will take a while, she realizes. Maybe, if he wants to gamble, she could convince him to try something relatively fast... like... she looks around thoughtfully, "Um... maybe we could try something new today? Like um... that? The roulette wheel?" She points.
With a dry chuckle Dimitri hands Alex the last of their coins. "Go and try. We don't have enough to play my kind of game. Besides, you just might have beginner's luck, bratling. As for gambling away our last coins, well, Carroll would be horrified, so it's even better."
Alex blinks at the coin... then grins a little bemusedly at Dimitri, "Um... okay? Will they give me instructions on how to play there?" She grins at the comment about Carroll.
Dimitri looks down, "You place your coins on either a color... or a number. Of course the number pays more.
Alex nods, studying the coin in her hands, and repeats, "Number pays more... okay..." Well, she thinks, at least we'll have lunch after this, maybe? She walks over and watches the wheel for one turn, to see what folks do... then when it's time to lay down her money she puts the coin down on a random number. She crosses her fingers under the table's edge, and thinks fiercely at the roulette wheel, don't you DARE steal my lunch money!
Dimitri laughs as he watches Alex concentrate. He stands behind her, resting his scabbarded sword tip on the floor, and leans on the blade. Alex flicks her ears and smiles slightly when she hears Dimitri behind her... and then she goes back to concentrating on the wheel, you BETTER behave yourself, wheel!
The croupier starts the wheel, and the ball skitters around and falls into a slot, "32." He smiles at Alex and adds a stack of coins to the one she placed.
Alex tilts her head back to beam up at Dimitri, "Lunch! You hungry?" She reaches for the money -- then looks suddenly thrilled when she realizes how much of a stack she has! She beams at the croupier, "Thank you! Is that all there is to it? May I give a tip?"
The chinchilla at the wheel nods briefly and smiles. "Certainly, madame." Alex happily hands the chinchilla a 5 LD coin.
Dimitri looks at the coins, and then he smiles, "A bit of meat, bread, and cheese would go good right now. Unless the sound of coins clinking has suddenly driven away your hunger?"
Alex collects up the money, beaming cheerfully up at her brother, "Food first, please? And then you can gamble all you want, Mitya, is that okay?" She wonders suddenly if maybe they could win back the money spent on jewelry... Carroll couldn't possibly be mad at that, could he?
"Alex, we need a whole lot more money before I could sit down at a place like this..." Dimitri settles in next to Alex, "Maybe upon our next trip at port? It's not the stakes, on the line the stakes were just as high; just not in coin."
Alex looks badly torn... she nibbles on her lip, thinking... then takes a deep breath, "Okay, Mitya, let's try it again then!" She takes a 2 LD coin out of her heap, so they don't end up with less than they began with... then quickly, before she changes her mind, puts the remaining 63 LD on another single number! Her tail's quite fluffed at this point, although she doesn't realize it, and her ears are so pricked forward to pay attention to the wheel that the tips are quivering! She scowls at the wheel warningly... it had just better behave itself again! Dimitri stops and then just spins. His ears go up, and he just hopes Alex didn't put it on the same number...
The croupier smiles as Alex returns, and starts the wheel. He looks a bit surprised when the ball skitters into the slot, "17." He places a few coins and 4 plaques on Alex's stack... two round red ones with '100' on them, and two oblong green ones bearing the designation '1000'.
Taking a step back, Dimitri's hackles raise, and he takes a heartbeat to glance, to seek. To divine the mood of the room, and to see if anyone's taken notice of such a reckless bet. Especially those who look like they belong here. Alex lights up! "Oh, yay! Um... are red and green thingies good, Mitya?" She beams at the croupier, "Thank you very much!" and cheerfully hands him a 10 LD coin this time before gathering up her coins. "Okay, definitely lunch now, yes? And after that you can um... gamble at whatever game you wanted to try, Dimitri?"
The croupier is not smiling this time, but doesn't look too upset. "Place your bets, ladies and gentles." The crowd is routinely placing the red plaques on their bets, and though few place them on single numbers, Alex's bet is not out of line. The house did not actually lose much money on that spin, if any.
"We might need help getting that back, bratling. You just cleared over two thousand. Let's have a good lunch."
Alex is curiously examining a green plaque as she moves over to stand next to Dimitri... she looks up at him, then gets a stunned look, "I DID?! WOW!!" She laughs and hugs him happily around the neck, bouncing up on her toes to reach, "That's great! Carroll can't possibly be mad now!"
Dimitri lays a finger to his lips. "You did. Now come, before they expect us to lose some of it." With a strong paw behind her back, Dimitri drags Alex towards a table, where some good food may be gotten... Alex beams excitedly and patters happily along with Dimitri, "So how much do you need to play your game, Mitya?" She happily splits up the pile once they're seated and pushes half over to Dimitri. The rest is neatly tucked into her money pouch, and then out of sight.
Dimitri slips the last into his own pouch, looking across. "I play cards, mostly. And this should get me into a game. What I'm not sure is how vicious the games here are... and the problem is that there's only one way to find out."
Now that she knows what the wooden plaques signify, Alex notices that most of the furs here are dealing with stakes even larger than what they just won. This is a very high-level casino, hidden away out of sight. Probably the sort of place that attracts the well-to-do of society.
Alex studies Dimitri's face thoughtfully... she'd never realized gambling was so dangerous! She looks around at the place quietly, and it looks so innocent on the face of it... She nods firmly, turning back to Dimitri, "Then you'll just need someone to watch your back, yes?" She adds curiously, "I thought gambling was mostly done at night though, Mitya?"
"Aye, usually. And the stakes get higher as the night goes on. Especially after folks start dropping out. The other thing about the card games though..." Dimitri looks back across the table, "Is that the card games are much more socially oriented... rules and etiquette about watching the other folks, pack dynamics, and being able to read the other furrs."
Alex says, "Oh. Hm... that I don't know how to do yet. Hm..." She thinks for a while, then tilts an inquiring ear at Dimitri, "Could you teach me enough so I could watch your back for you while you game?"
Dimitri looks back, serious. "It depends, Alexandra..." He pauses, considering. "You know you did very well at the roulette table, like a natural."
Alex brightens, looking pleased, "Thank you, Mitya! But um... how can you be a natural, if all you're supposed to do is pick random numbers?"
Dimitri softly growls, "Most folks lose money on the tables, Alex. You must be lucky."
Alex laughs delightedly, then grins and lightly puts a small paw on top of his big one resting on the table, "What a funny thing to say, Dimitri... considering I'm getting to do the most wonderful job in the world, with you and the rest of my family... the only thing that could make it more perfect was if Daddy was back and the family name was all safe and sound again!"
Dimitri leans back and just gives Alex a mischievous look "Gotcha."
Alex looks puzzled, "What?" She blinks... then laughs again, "Oh, don't try to tell me all this is because I wanted it so! If that's the case, then how come I didn't get the big mare on my 12th birthday, instead of that disgustingly fat little pony?"
Dimitri sets his other paw atop hers, "No, it's how you lit up, bright as fireworks on the festival night! The most important thing about a game of cards is not to let your opponents have a clue to what you are thinking by the tilt of your ears, a glance here and there, the ruffle of your fur. And in return, to be able to read all those tell tale signs from them. You, dear bratling, are as vivacious as a peacock going courting, and they'd eat you alive."
Alex says, "Oh." She blushes faintly, "Sorry... but I wasn't thinking of playing, silly! I was thinking of watching your back! I just won't look at your cards, how's that?"
Dimitri smiles quietly. "I do tend to keep my cards close."
Alex says, "Okay, good. So... what should I look for, then, as a warning sign? What sorts of things show that someone's thinking of attacking you? Is it different in cards than in other types of dueling?"
Dimitri laughs, "It's like noticing when someone knows they are going to hit you hard, or to tell a feint from the truth."
Alex frowns thoughtfully... then nods slowly after a bit. "Okay, I think I can do that. So... when do you want to go play cards?" She tears into her food voraciously when it arrives, just on this side of manners -- she's hungry!
Dimitri foxes down his sandwich, every now and then wiping his muzzle with the back of his paw. He, however, devours his food at a careful pace. As he does he leans back to look at the crowded card tables, seeking one that befits the amount of money he has. Start small... and work one's way up.
Alex brightens mid-meal, "Do we have to dress up some too? I have a really pretty embroidered padded leather vest I could wear?"
Dimitri looks back, "Dress up? It depends. Some tables yes... some tables just worry about the color of your coin."
Alex sighs, looking faintly disappointed... then just nods and continues eating, "Then I guess we can start whenever you want, Mitya, once lunch is done, okay?"
Dimitri furrows his brow, his ear flicking. "On a small table. We don't have quite enough yet."
Alex says, "Er... we don't have enough to start on even a small table?!"
Dimitri shakes his head, "A small table, perhaps. For maybe a hand or two, if we don't do well. Do you think we should try it anyway?"
Alex brightens excitedly, "Sure! I want to see you play, Mitya! Or would you like me to try to win another roulette thingie first?"
Dimitri pushes back from the table and stands, gathering up his sword. With a final straightening of his whiskers he makes his way lazily through the gaming hall, until he finds a small, low-stake table. Then he quietly haunts, watching the play and the players, waiting for one to leave and an empty seat to open up.
Alex happily follows her brother. When she realizes he's going to be a while, she glances around curiously for what's near her... maybe she can try another coin or two while she waits for him to start. The low-stakes tables are towards the front of the room, near the craps table. There are also roulette tables down the center of the room, so that none of the card tables is very far from one. Alex watches Dimitri waiting for a moment... then wanders to the nearest roulette table and stands so she can still watch him, in case there's any problem. She smiles at the croupier, and lays her little red 100 chip on a number. Maybe she can get Dimitri some more money, so he can play on a table of his choice. She crosses her fingers under the level of the table, come on, little wheel! you be good for my brother, okay?
Dimitri watches Alex out of the corner of his eye. His ears definitely track her. Alex looks up, slightly worried... is there something she should be noticing? Why's Dimitri looking at her like that? She looks around once, making sure no one's moving up on him or her. Doesn't look like it. Odd. She returns her full attention to the little wheel.
The croupier starts the wheel. "No more bets, please..." The wheel spins, the ball skitters and bounces several times before stopping. "21." He places 5 red and 3 green plaques on Alex's bet.
Dimitri just blinks. Alex beams happily, "Thank you, sir!" and collects up her winnings again. She gives him a 10 LD piece, and patters over to Dimitri, "Look, Mitya! Will this help you start on the table you want to start on?" Several of the regulars watch with some little interest as Alex trots back to her brother. She couldn't possibly be cheating with such an innocent manner, could she? Alex bounces slightly, happily on her toes, extremely pleased that Dimitri's going to get to play where he wants!
Nodding, Dimitri motions Alex back, shifting his position to wait beside the table where the merchant plays. His dark gaze, however, follows across the crowd, before he patiently studies this table's patrons, and how they play.
One of the players at the table soon gets up and leaves, having lost a particularly close hand. Dimitri slides into the vacated spot and sets the 5 green chips in front of him. Alex beams excitedly, and steps so she can see the entire table, as well as cover Dimitri's back. Dimitri nods quietly, folding his paws together, to crack his knuckles once. He settles back in the chair and pushes the proper number of chips towards the enter of the table. "Deal this one in, aye?" Alex's ears flatten for a second, and she winces, as Dimitri cracks his knuckles... then she grins wryly and her ears perk up normally.
The house dealer nods. "Number 3 has the deal. Seven card stud, milord?" The player in position three nods. The dealer flips the cards out, starting with position 4 and going around the table, two face down, and one up... Dimitri sets his cards in front of him, just turning up the corner to see them. The cards mean nothing to Alexandra. She watches the people with fascination.
Several hands go by, the house dealer taking his cut of each pot, and the regular players sizing up the newcomer, and vice versa. After an hour the stack of chips in front of Dimitri has grown considerably. One player gets up and leaves, having run out of chips. The big winners seem to be Dimitri and the furr they first saw at the Horn and Hart. Alex is considerably less bouncy by now, but still quite pleased at how well Dimitri is doing.
Dimitri smiles quietly as he gathers up his chips, "Best to end the day while a step ahead." The big black fox nods to the merchanter across from him. "I wouldn't want to have to be owing you by the end of the day... though I am curious, does that happen often? The Dunbarton guard... winning so much from you? Are they that..." He pauses, looking for a word, "...good?" Alex tilts her head curiously, watching the merchant-type.
The professional gambler, a rabbit, looks at Dimitri with narrowed eyes. "What?" The others at the table look... uncomfortable. Alex steps quietly back, giving Dimitri some space, and making sure she has space also.
Dimitri slips his chips into a pouch, his head turning, his three-ringed ear flickering. "He said you owed him a gambling debt..." One heart beat, two, "...though it's hard to see a guard being that skilled in cards."
especially one that silly and young Alex thinks in amusement.
The rabbit shrugs. "He got lucky one evening. These things happen." The dealer and the other players look a little less uncomfortable, but still nervous, especially after he adds, "Not that it's any of your business." Alex smiles quietly and steps back a little further... that greatsword has a wide swing, and she likes room to move too. And this way she can see who's behind them better. She's no more than at most 5 feet from Dimitri now.
Dimitri looks back, his gaze even and very still. His words, however are edged, flat and cool. "Just someone new in town, trying to discern the lay of the land..." Dimitri sets his paws on the table as he stands. "Especially when it was a bit... obvious.."
The rabbit just watches Dimitri as he stands. "One should be careful when arriving in a new town, I agree." He nods to another player waiting to take a seat. "Good day to you."
Alex steps forward, glancing at the rabbit with a thoughtful expression, then looks up and taps Dimitri's arm gently, "Shall we go?"
Dimitri nods quietly, "Cash out and take our leave... I can live with that." Dimitri nods down to the rabbit, smiling, predator to prey. "And good day to you too." The gambler nods absently, already concentrating on the new player.
Alex gives Dimitri a puzzled look, and follows him away from the table... when they're far enough away she stands on tiptoes to whisper to him, "Are you trying to start a fight with him, or not?"
Dimitri shrugs quietly as they walk down the street. "Not really. Just seeing what can and can't be talked about. Besides, we found out one very important thing, bratling."
Alex looks faintly disgruntled at hearing there'll be no fight... then she grins and shrugs her shoulders, pattering along next to Dimitri. "Oh well... I guess I was just wondering why you didn't talk to him like that in private, if you didn't want a fight. So... what'd we find out?"
Dimitri continues down the road, quiet, "...that the Dunbarton guard... lies."
Alex nods, looking unsurprised, "Well, we knew that... the rabbit just confirmed it, no?" She skips a few cheerful steps, looking pleased, "And we also found out -- roulette is easy!"
"Beginner's luck," Dimitri reaches out to just tease Alex's ear.
Alex giggles, then yips as her ear's tweaked! She grins up at Dimitri mischievously, then sticks out her tongue!