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Archives: New Marmo Republic

Chapter 7: A Late Night Gamble

    After several hours, Elianna was still unable to sleep. The princess tossed onto her back with a frustrated sigh and stared at the canopy over her bed as she thought. I can’t do this all night! I promised Itoya, but those mercenaries are probably pretty pissed... I promised them too. “Ugh!” Elianna sat up in bed and glanced toward the seat under her room’s window. It looked solid, but her secret garb was hidden behind a panel underneath it. Well, he doesn’t have to know...I can be back in the morning, and I’ll just say I couldn’t sleep if I’m tired, Elianna convinced herself.

    The princess slipped out of bed and went to the seat, then pried open the panel. Inside the hidden little cubby hole was her commoner’s outfit folded neatly with her knives on top. Elianna gave into the desire to escape, and eagerly stripped out of her nightgown and redressed in the clothing. Once she donned the garb of Elayne, the princess began the stealthy trek out of the castle.

* * *

    Princess Elianna, disguised as the rogue Elayne, strutted into the Mercenary’s Inn with the confidence befitting the persona. She paused after entering the common room, and scanned the tables for her gambling partners from the night before. The men were at a far corner in the back of the room, casually playing a card game. One of the men noticed her and jerked up his chin in greeting. Elianna went to meet them with a sly grin.

    “Hey boys!” she greeted them and sat down at the empty chair which seemed to have been reserved for her. A few grunts greeted her and the men glanced back and forth between themselves. “Ready to try and win back that gold?” she asked with a wink.

    “Somethin’ like that,” one of the men grunted. “We gots someone who wants to try his luck against yers, but not out here in the open. He got a lotta gold to wager, and ain’t wantin’ a scene being made down here in the commons.” The man nodded towards the stairs. “Th’gent is in his room all prepped-like ready fer the game with ye, if yer not gonna chicken out.”

    Elianna didn’t suspect anything was out of place, but she was a risk taker. She snorted. “Hmph! Me? Never!” she replied. “I’ll see this friend of yours. Sounds like he’s got a lot to lose,” she said with a wink.

* * *

    Linda watched the newcomer. “Hmm... I am glad that another woman came into this inn,” she said, picking up her wine and sniffing it. She looked at Edwin and smiled. “Edwin, does the wine taste good?” she asked, watching him. “I only tasted it twice in my whole life,” she said, sniffing it once again.

    Gaidrich had been dozing in his chair when the new arrival brought him around. Glancing over towards the young woman, Gaidrich swiftly pegged her as a rogue. Or maybe not? Something seemed a little off about her, but nothing he could put his finger on. Shrugging, Gaidrich turned back to the ale in front of him. Maybe he’d just been awake too long.

    Ultarik was startled by the new woman’s entrance, she seemed a bit young for this place. Getting another ale, he kept an eye on the room for a moment. If those men could be beaten by a mere girl then obviously luck was not on their side. “She must have a lot of luck, and a lot of confidence. Still, she seems rather young...”

    Edwin had been enjoying talking with Ultarik, Gaidrich, Linda and Zira. Tasting the wine, he smiled at Linda. “It is not bad, I have had better wines but far worse. It takes time to truly be able to enjoy the different taste of wines, well, let me say for me it was.” Tilting his head slightly, Edwin watched the conversation between the new lady and the men and shook his head slightly with a frown. He did not like the talk the men where doing. Then again, he could be over thinking since all that had happened earlier. He was a little down since he did not have the money to take the chance at the game himself as well.

    “You can’t expect to get good wine in a place like this,” Zira said with a shrug. “I like a fine elven wine, but to get a bottle outside of a forest costs a good bit of money.” The dark elf took another sip anyway; red wine was her drink of choice, and no matter how poor it was, she preferred it to ale or beer.

    She glanced across the room at the girl who had caught everyone else’s attention. She was indeed young, but she was at least sixteen, and if she was a thief, then she probably got an early start. However, she seemed...clean. Her hair was shiny and well kept, and her skin was pure. Not many thieves could take care of themselves that well—though maybe she was just one of those lucky human girls with naturally good skin. Zira turned away in disinterest and took a sip from her goblet. “Thieves and mercenaries start young sometimes, if they’ve lost everything,” she replied to Ultarik.

* * *

    The men snorted and the one who did all the talking lead the way upstairs with the other men trailing slightly. “C’mon then, follow us,” he grunted.

    Elianna followed the mercenary without hesitation. She was confident she could defend herself if any trouble arose, but she was too confident for her own good. Without Itoya to watch her back and think about the risks, she was prone to getting herself in trouble. She loved the exhilaration of danger, but she rarely thought of what could go wrong. Were Itoya with her, he wouldn’t have allowed her to go off with these men, nor would he even consider the both of them going with them.

* * *

    Gaidrich huffed softly into his mug. From what he could hear and see, the men were setting this young lady up for some unpleasantness. Finishing his ale with a gulp, he sat up straighter in his chair and rolled his neck to wake himself further. Something told him he wanted to be alert now.

    Ultarik thought about that. He’d always been one for action over thinking, however. Still, it did make sense; he already had experience as a warrior when he became a mercenary. “She still has a lot of confidence in herself, though she does not look like she has suffered much in life. If she had I’m sure it would have shown in how she carries herself, when I was her age I was already able to fight in battle.” He stretched his back and took another swig of his ale; he was going to keep his wits about him tonight.

    Linda stared at the wine then tasted it. She blinked and tasted it again. “It tastes funny,” she said, blushing and tasting the wine again. “I would like to taste that elven wine you were talking about,” she said towards Zira. She tasted the wine again as she listened to Ultarik talk. When he was done, she put down the goblet and listened to the conversation that was going on between the young girl and the gamblers.

    Nodding his head slightly, Edwin smiled. “Yeah, I have only been lucky to taste elven wine once, but that was years ago. Through I would love to have another glass one day” At the moment he was a little distracted and not liking the feel he was getting from the group heading upstairs with the lady. Shaking his head slightly. Looking over at Ultarik as he was talking, he could understand. He waited to see what was going to happen.

    Gaidrich glanced around his table mates. While relieved that they were all picking up on the bad vibe coming from the men, he thought it wouldn’t do for them all to be sitting here, looking wary and alert. “For myself, I find elven wine a tad overrated. Dwarves, on the other hand, know how to brew a good drink,” Gaidrich spoke softly, nearly drawling. His attitude and posture seemed totally relaxed.

    Flora listened to Edwin then Gaidrich. She yawned as she waited to see what will happen next. A serious look was appearing on her face as she watched them go up the stairs. “Hmm...” she said, getting ready to say something, but she stopped herself before it came out.

    “I don’t like to indulge in stronger drinks too often,” Zira replied. Everyone was talking about drinks, but it was obvious that everyone was focused on the girl. “Too many bad experiences,” she added, absently. The dark elf had been willing to ignore the girl, but the situation was starting to look bad. No matter how skilled the girl was, she couldn’t possibly stand up to a band of mercenaries if they had some unsavory plans. Zira wasn’t going to stand by and let her be raped or murdered or whatever these men had planned. Perhaps the girl’s confidence was misplaced.

    “This doesn’t look good,” she said softly, letting the subject of wine and liquor drop. The thief had left the room with the mercenaries. “I’m going to go see what’s going on. If you hear a fight, you’d better come up to help,” she told her table mates. The common room was nearly empty now, so there weren’t many people who would see her disappear. Raising her fingers to her lips in a summoning gesture, she cast a spell; “Spirits of invisibility, let thy form become my own.” The dark elf faded from sight. Invisible, she left the table, but she stepped heavy enough for her companions to hear so they would know that she was going.

    “If there is a fight, I’ll be the first one there. It is rather unfortunate that they must start that way. The stronger the drink the better, mind you the ale here is quite good tonight,” Ultarik replied. He kept his weapons nearby, now all he had to do was wait and if a situation arose he would back up Zira as quickly as he could.

    Edwin only nodded toward Zira as she used the spirits to turn invisible. Dropping his fingers down to touch the hilt of his sword Edwin shook his head. “I am hoping this is not going to turn out into a fight, but it is better to be safe then sorry.” Finishing his glass of wine, he placed it down on the table. If it got to bad then he would be up there with out a second thought. He sighed softly before looking to Linda. “Well, at least things are not boring tonight...”

    Linda looked at Zira as she disappeared. She smiled a bit as she watched everyone get ready for a fight. She listened to Ultarik as he spoke and also to Zira’s footsteps. She laughed a bit. “You’re right Ultarik. I totally agree with you,” she said, then looked at Edwin and put on a small smile. “Yeah, I am so glad for that,” she said, then slightly looked up at the room. She felt her mana running through her body as she patiently waited.

* * *

    The ruffians led Elianna to the room where their gambler lay in wait. When Elianna entered the room she was greeted by a well groomed man with shoulder length purple hair.

    “You must be the woman I heard about. I am J. Alastair Silverstein, your opponent.” He tipped his head to her and pointed to a seat across the table from him. “I’m sure that you’ll be a pleasant challenge, miss...?”

    Elianna had been a little anxious as she went upstairs, but once she saw there was indeed a gambler waiting for her, she was relieved. “Elayne,” she said, answering the question he left hanging. She sashayed to the chair, then sat down across from him casually. “You might want to say a little prayer to Cha Za if you hope to beat me Jay, because he’s usually on my side,” she taunted, and gave him a wink.

    Jet snorted, “I don’t believe in currying favor from the gods to increase my chances.” He began to shuffle the deck, making sure not to stack the deck just yet. “We’ll start with a standard bet of 2 gold, unless that’s too rich for your blood.”

    Elianna chuckled. “Fine by me,” she said, then slipped her hand into a pocket and pulled out two gold coins, which she flicked onto the table

* * *

    Zira stepped quietly upstairs so none of the gamblers would hear her. The invisible dark elf had followed the mercenaries to one of the rooms, and waited outside the door. She pressed herself flat against the wall next to the door jam, them pressed her ear to the door. As she listened, she could hear the conversation inside. So far, it seemed to be nothing more than what it was promised to be. They were talking about gambling, cards were being shuffled, and coins hit the table. Maybe it was nothing to concern herself with, but she would wait a little longer, just in case.

* * *

    Jet dealt the hands face down on the table. “This is a simple game of poker, Jokers wild. Opening bet will remain at two gold. You’ll be given one draw per hand.” He cracked a smile. “I hope your skill is as good as your mouth is, otherwise you may be heading to the poor house.”

    Elianna slipped her hand off the table and spread the cards in her hand in front of her. Her expression revealed little more than the fact that she was merely pondering. She had a pair of sevens, but the rest of the cards were useless so far. She could try for three of a kind, which was risky with only a one card draw. Brazenly, she laid a two of spades face down, and waited for what the draw would give her.

    Jet took a gander at his cards, not that he needed to. The first hand would be his losing hand, so he’d make every effort to lose, but make it look good. He had nothing anyways. Ace high. With a small satisfied smirk he dealt a card to Elayne.

    Elianna raised her eyebrow at her opponent as he smiled. That’s one hell of a poker face, she thought sarcastically. She pulled the new card to her and added to her hand. To her pleasure, it was indeed another seven. Her luck was as good as ever. She barely concealed the glimmer in her eye when she got the card she was hoping for, but otherwise, her face was straight. “Raise you four,” she said, tossing in four more gold coins.

* * *

    On the other side of the door, the invisible dark elf drew back with a frown to herself. It seemed to be exactly what they said. They were just playing a game of poker. Zira walked away, back to the stairs, not bothering to mask the sounds of her steps on the hardwood floor. As she reached the top of the stairs, she dismissed the invisibility spirits and became visible again as she returned downstairs.

* * *

    Alm finally awoke and made his way back to the Mercenaries’ Guild bar. “Funky sleep,” he muttered. Alm made his way over to the table with Linda and the others and took the empty seat where Zira had sat. “So, how’s life?” he asked the table, after having invited himself to their table.

    Linda smiled and looked around to see who she can talk to. Her eyes went from Edwin to Gaidrich and then stopped at Alm. Her smile became bigger as she watched him. “Hi Alm. How are you doing?”

    “Good to hear,” Alm nodded. “I’m doing right fine, if I do say so myself. Just feeling a bit chipper after that nap. Couldn’t explain for the life of me why my head hurts so much...Oh well, another mystery for later solving, as they say, although I can’t be sure who ‘they’ are. Perhaps they are remains of the consciousness of the ancient old ones, the ones who gave birth to the gods, or perhaps the gods themselves. Or it could have been that blind beggar I saw down the street. Either or is good enough for me.”

    “Good to know you’re doing well. Did you get a good sleep?” Ultarik replied having been keeping alert for any signs of trouble. Hopefully the girl was not in over her head here. Then again, Zira was keeping an eye on the situation.

    Linda smiled at Alm. I can explain why your head is hurting so much, she thought, giggling a bit. “I am glad to hear that you’re well, little one,” she said, looking back up the stairs as she finished her sentence. I hope everything is going well up there. The mana is running through my body so quickly. I need to relax more, she thought as she sighed and continued looking up the stairs.

    Gaidrich followed Linda’s gaze up the stairs. Nothing yet, neither men nor girl nor dark elf. With a soft huff and a roll of his right shoulder, he turned back to the table. “Maybe you need a drink to ease the pain in your skull,” Gaidrich said to Alm. “What would you have? You do drink, I assume?”

    “I don’t drink...ale,” Alm muttered. “I’m more partial to drinking the blood of my enemies and washing it down with stale well water, maybe a little algae bloom. After a small snack of blood and stale water, I usually go to eat the ears just lightly sprinkled with paprika and a hit of rosemary. It helps to soften them a bit. Although there really is no nutritional value in eating ear, it does help build strong jaw muscles, as the tough, chewy cartilage hardly goes down smoothly.” He cracked a small smile and mussed up his blond hair. “I kid, I kid. I’m a grassrunner, not a cannibal. We eat vegetation...and despite the fact that I’m ‘of age’, I do not partake of alcohol, mainly due to it messing merrily with my head.”

    For a moment, all Gaidrich could do was stare at Alm with mounting alarm. Then, his brain caught up with the grassrunners statements and he relaxed, grinning broadly. “I see. Well, it’s good that you’ve learned moderation. You drink water then?”

    “I drink milk, water, asp venom, though only on that one occasion...” Alm nodded. “But I’m not all that thirsty. Right now I’m just enjoying the ‘ambiance’.”

    Zira returned downstairs, visible again. She was ready to tell her dining companions that there didn’t seem to be any trouble with the girl, but to her dismay, the grassrunner was back. With a groan, she continued back to the table. “Welcome back to the waking world,” she said dryly to Alm. “Now, if you would kindly vacate my seat...”

    “I guess I could move,” Alm said hopping down from the seat. He looked around the commons for another unoccupied seat that he could drag over to the table, but most of them were too large for him to move. With a small grunt he plopped himself down on the floor. “I’m still here,” he announced just so everyone knew he was on the floor. Being on the floor at his height was dangerous. Many a foot could step on him.

    Zira may have been annoyed by the grassrunner, but she couldn’t help feeling a little bad for her rudeness. He was acting so helpless and pathetic now, so she gave in. Getting up, she grabbed a chair from another table and fit it in at their already crowded table. “Here you go,” she said to Alm, defeatedly, then sat back down in her own chair.

    “Thanks toots,” Alm grunted, getting up onto the chair provided for him. “Anyone like playing coppers? Usually you play with silvers, bouncing them off the table and trying to get them into the glass, but I only have coppers...” He removed the few coins he had with a grubby hand and placed them on the table. In all the excitement before, Alm had forgotten that he had stolen from a few patrons earlier in the day, but that was in another pocket.

    “I play. I can’t wager much though. I’m kinda strapped after my last job,” Gaidrich spoke to Alm, but his eyes were on Zira. “So, it all seemed alright?” the merc asked the dark elf.

    Zira nodded. “They were just playing a game of poker, like they said,” the dark elf replied. She folded her arms under her breasts and leaned back in her seat. She wasn’t interested in playing Alm’s game. She was still a little concerned about the girl, but normally thugs would just jump someone as soon as they had them behind closed doors. Why go through the motions of playing a game?

    “Want me to go check up on her?” Alm asked. “I could do the whole ‘I’m a poor lost child looking for my mommy’ bit.” He shrugged. “It works on a lot of people. And while they are distracted, I could slit their purses, steal all I can and run back down here and split the cash five ways.”

    “No stealing,” Zira warned Alm. “But if you want to check on them, I think that might make everyone feel a little better.”

    “You think there’s more to it Zira? I didn’t like the look of things, but what if she loses? Then she could be in trouble. Be careful in case there’s more thugs up there. I don’t want to have to get involved in another bar fight, I’ve seen too many already.” Ultarik was not sure was really going on, Zira sounded at least a little relieved it was as they said. The thugs were probably just protection for a wealthier player, he’d seen those sorts keep strong protection.

    Gaidrich, subdued now that his hunch seemed to not be panning out, watched Alm head upstairs. “Here’s hoping they don’t chase him right back down,” he muttered. Some thugs took a dim view of children.

    Shaking his head, Edwin was just sitting back watching everything. Just about everything that was going on about this girl and the game was still bothering him deep inside but there was nothing to prove that this feeling was worth anything. “We can only wait and see what happens. I think personally there is something hidden within all of this...” he said, finishing his wine and placing the glass on the table.

    “Who wants to bet our little grassrunner friend gets distracted by something shiny or busty?” Zira said pessimistically.

    Edwin chuckled, shaking his head slightly, “Sure, I will take that bet. I am expecting him to get in trouble before getting distracted.”

    “I’ll take that bet too,” Ultarik answered over his drink, he was watching the stairs to see when Alm would return.

    Linda sighed as she took a sip of the wine, then she closed her eyes and thought for a while. Setting her glass down on the table, she opened up her eyes. “I hope I get good rest tonight,” she said, blushing a bit as she thought of a nice soft bed to sleep in. She looked up the stairs and then at the people around the table. “Hmm... I am not really into gambling, I guess,” she said giggling softly.

    “Put me down for distracted. In fact, I’d be surprised if we see him again tonight,” Gaidrich huffed. The mercenary cracked his neck and gave himself a slight shake. He was getting tired after his long day, but his instincts told him that this was no time to sleep.

    “To each their own Linda,” Edwin said, keeping his eyes focused on the stairs. Actually, it was more of expecting the outcome of what was going to happen. Running his fingers through his hair, he shrugged his shoulders; there was a nagging voice in the back of his mind that there was something out of place with that girl. Something simple he had to be overlooking, especially since no matter how good she was there were only few reasons to have a private game like this and none were good for the one invited. “Zira who was winning the game?”

* * *

    Jet’s face continued to display that same smirk. “I’ll see your four, and raise you another two,” he responded, throwing in six gold coins into the pot. Things are going smoothly, he mused silently.

    I guess he must have a good hand, Elianna mused as she observed Jet’s smile. Maybe I should quit while I’m ahead, she thought. A girl like Elayne wouldn’t bet too high and risk what little gold she has if he obviously has a good hand. She laid her hand down on the table, revealing the three sevens. “Three of a kind,” she stated, looking rather displeased at Jet’s lack of tact when it came to bluffing.

    “Well that beats me.” Jet laid his horrid hand down on the table. “I’m impressed, most people wouldn’t have called my bluff.”

    Elianna pulled the small winnings over to her. He was just bluffing, quite a dramatic bluff at that. “How about we get serious? Five gold to start?” she asked, flipping five of her winning coins back to the center of the table one by one.

    Jet shuffled and dealt the cards. He still needed to lull her into a false sense of security, so he didn’t bother stacking the deck just yet. “Five gold? Very well. I have more than enough gold to spare another five.” He scowled inwardly at his cards. Two pairs. He could leave it to chance and see if she could trump the rather poor hand, but it was better if he won a bet. It would seem a little suspicious if he lost all the time until the end.

    Elianna took her new hand and studied it for a moment. It was a high amount of hearts, but no pairs, only one high card. She arranged them a bit to make sure whether or not she could make a straight flush, but not quite. Taking a lone spade out of her hand, she laid it face down to accept another card. She could only hope it was another heart to fill out her hand and make a flush.

    Jet dealt her a card and discarded a full pair. Taking up two new cards he was happy that there was nothing of worth there. The hand, once two pairs, now was reduced to a single pair, the lowest ‘winning’ hand allowed.

    Elianna picked up her new card, hoping for a heart, but she ended up with a pair. She had a nine of hearts in her deck already, and now she just received a nine of spades. She tossed in three more gold coins. “Raise you three,” she said, her eyes examining her cards, nonplussed. He wasn’t overacting his bluff, but she couldn’t entirely gage his hand until he bet.

    Jet put in his three gold and responded with: “Call.” The rest was up to her, if she could beat his pair of nines then it was all for the best. “Let us see if that deity of luck is on your side with this hand as well.”

    Elianna raised her brow after he laid his cards down. He had the other pair of nines. She laid her hand down. “Well then, it appears we have a draw,” she said.

    Jet nodded. “So it seems.” He cut the deck in half. “Draw a card. High card wins.”

    Elianna drew her card and slipped it back across the table. She waited for him to draw his, then she would flip hers over.

    Jet pulled a card from the middle and without dragging it too close to him, he flipped it over with his fingernail. He wasn’t too surprised to see a deuce, but decided to look rather disappointed regardless. “My, my. I think in cases like this I don’t even need to see your card to declare you a winner, miss Elayne.”

    Elianna chuckled, mildly amused by her opponent’s comment. She flipped her card and revealed a King. “Well, there we go,” she replied, then pulled her winnings to her.

    Jet smiled as she took her winnings. There was no point in being a sore loser, since the next hand would have her losing so bad that she’d be forced to try to flee, or give up the charade of being a normal thief. He collected the cards and shuffled them. He dealt her a straight, Ace high, and himself a pair of eights. He’d discard them to get his royal flush anyways. “Allow me the chance to attempt to win my hard earned gold back,” he said politely with a soft smile.

    “Alright then, give it a shot,” Elianna replied with a smirk. She picked up her cards and found she had a great hand. She looked at her cards seriously, concealing her glee.

    Jet played the same over-bearing grin he first had as he passed the pair of eights off for the remainder of his Royal Flush. “Your bet?” he asked.

    “Twenty gold,” she said, tossing her previous winnings into the pot, and adding a few more. She was confident, and now to see just how confident he was...

    Jet’s grin didn’t leave his face. This was his bluffing face after all, the bluff of having crap cards. “I see your twenty, and raise you another ten,” he said, allowing his hand to shake slightly as if afraid that she’d call his bluff.

    Elianna noticed his grin and shaky hand. He pulled the grin bluff before. He had to be acting. She only had forty gold to play with, beyond her winnings. “I’ll see your ten, and raise you six,” she said, tossing sixteen gold into the pot.

    “I see your six and raise you another four,” Jet said slowly. He kept the grin on his face. Hopefully she’s buying this farce. The quicker she falls in the trap the quicker I can get out of this rat hole.

    “I’ll see your four and raise you another four,” Elianna said and tossed in eight gold. He had to have a good hand, but she was counting on her luck holding out.

    Jet soured a little. “I’ll see your four and raise you another ten.” He tossed the gold into the pot but kept his overzealous grin up.

    Elianna couldn’t go any higher with what she had. “I’ll see your ten,” she said, tossing in her last coins. Cha Za help me!

    “So you call then?” Jet mused, his lips curling into a full blown smile. “Play your cards then.”

    Elianna laid out her hand with a smirk. “Straight flush, ace high,” she announced.

    “Royal flush,” he played his hand. “Although, my dear princess, that is the least of your worries.” He tapped the floor twice with his foot, the men came bursting into the room and grasped her arms and legs while she was still seated while another man gagged her.

    “You see, Princess Elianna, no matter how smart you may have seemed, a real rogue would never, ever play high money.” Jet gave the men a curt nod and let them take her out the window way. He scooped up the money and dumped it into his purse as a young elven child came up to the room looking around.

    “What’s going on here?” Alm asked, putting his grubby hands on his hips.

    “We’re just playing a game here,” Jet lied. “Here’s a gold piece. Go buy yourself some candy.” Alm’s eyes lit up with childish excitement and he took off downstairs with a gleeful cheer. Jet cursed his bad luck.

    “Hurry it up,” he barked at his men. “That wasn’t a child.” Fucking grassrunners, he cursed silently.

* * *

    Alm came downstairs holding a shiny gold coin in his hands. He made his way over to the table and crawled up onto his chair. “Look what I got!” Alm exclaimed proudly holding up the gold coin. “I got distracted, so I went around in all the rooms. I found a lot of junk, but nothing really worth anything to keep. Then when I made it to the room where they were playing the guy gave me a coin to go buy candy. While I don’t appreciate the sentiment of seeing me as a child, I’m rather appreciative of the offer.”

    Well so much for that bet, Gaidrich thought gloomily. He’d been wrong so often today. “So you saw the game?” he asked Alm. “How’d it look? Everything on the up and up?”

    “I’m not much of a gambler, but I’m pretty sure that the game was over,” Alm stated, stroking his hairless chin. “She wasn’t in there, and he was just packing up. I’m pretty sure that she probably left out the back. Or maybe out the window. I did see some guy leave out the window, so maybe she went out that way too.” He grinned. “But who cares about that! Look at the coin...it’s so pretty and shiny. I’ve never held a coin so shiny before.”

    Linda looked at Alm and smiled. It seems that he’s more of a child than a man, she thought to herself as she took a next sip of her wine. He is so odd. She set her glass down and looked at the group. “That is odd. Hmm... I hope she is alright,” Linda said, looking at the coin.

    Edwin jumped up and grabbed the hilt of his sword. “Zira, I am heading out to see if I see what is going on. There is something fishy about all this and I need to get some answers,” he said and looked over to the others. He really wished he was wrong, that the girl was just slipping out to avoid to being seen losing money, but he had a sinking feeling it was not that.

    Seeing Alm come back admiring a coin, Ultarik managed to avoid laughing out loud. Still though, he listened to the information that the grassrunner had to offer. “I hope that nothing happened to her,” Ultarik said. “What did the guy look like? It seems strange for someone to be doing that after a game. If you need support, give me a holler before things get rough.” Shaking his head at Alm and his coin, he thought him interesting, so easily distracted and yet so observant to the situation.

    Alm gave a questioning look to Ultarik. “I thought I told you once that muscle doesn’t think well. Hush. Your useless banter has made my brain dull.”

    “I don’t know,” Zira said, and stood as well. “Why go through all the trouble of playing a game if they were just going mug, or rape, or kidnap her? I’ll go check with you though. You don’t know the room, after all.” The dark elf walked to the stairs, leading Edwin behind her.

    “Wai... dammit,” Gaidrich interrupted himself as Zira and Edwin headed up the stairs. Shaking his head, the mercenary stood up from his chair. “Be careful,” he muttered after the two. Crossing to the inn’s front windows, Gaidrich peered out into the night, seeking anyone who might have been trying to slip out.

    Alm shrugged. “Don’t worry big guy,” he said to Gaidrich. “She may just be a great big dark elf girlie, and he may be a sugar-high child wanting to tap that hot dark elf ass, but that doesn’t mean that they’re in any trouble.”

    “It’s not them I’m worried about,” Gaidrich replied, still looking out the window. “If something is up, and they come upon those men without warning, the girl could get hurt.”

    “The girl is fine, I’m sure,” Alm stated. I’d have her half-naked and rubbed down in ginger oil. Although that Linda-babe would be a fun partner as well. Hell, why choose? That’s why the gods gave me inhuman stamina. Goddess bless the girl-girl-boy relations of the bedroom! The lewd little grassrunner let out a small perverted chuckle at his train of thoughts. “Alright! Threesome!” he shouted at the top of his lungs standing up on his chair.

    Linda watched Zira and Edwin walk up the stairs, then sighed softly as she looked at Alm. “You’re such a small pervert, Alm,” she said, giggling as she stood up and stretched. She sighed as she felt a bad feeling in her stomach. “I hope everything is okay up there,” she said softly as she picked up her staff.

    “I’m not actually all that small,” Alm admitted. “Height wise I’m actually a giant amongst my people, and as far as my third leg goes...” Alm gave Linda a sly wink. “You can find that out if you ever manage to get me in bed.”

    Gaidrich sighed and shook his head. Being insane is no excuse for being vulgar, he thought.

* * *

    Zira led Edwin to the room that she had scouted out earlier. She heard no noise within, but she gave a knock to check. There was no answer, or a sound in reaction. With her hand on her sword hilt, she slowly opened the door.

    The room was indeed empty. Zira wondered if it was the wrong room, but the evidence was there. Cards were spread on the table and the window was wide open. Zira quickly crossed the room to look out the window into the stable yard. There was no one there either. Maybe this wasn’t the innocent game she thought it had been.

    “I have a bad feeling,” Zira said. “This window isn’t exactly an easy exit that people would take to leave. I think she might have been taken.”

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