Post by Vio on May 15, 2015 7:43:08 GMT -5
In the shadows of Baraca Town, hidden in the back alleys on the far side of the harbour, a single tavern held a rather dark secret. In the backrooms, gathered around a simple wooden table, several men were hunched around with cards in their hands. In the table's centre, coloured chips were stacked high, while the faint wisps of cigar smoke circle like a flock of ghostly vultures. This was perhaps the most intense game of poker these men had ever played, each holding their cards close to their chests and doing their best to avoid giving their hand away to the opposition. The atmosphere crackled with an electrical intensity that pierced the silence, each and every one of them well aware that this was the final stand. The winner of this round would be the one to rake in the cash. One by one, they eyed each other from the shadows that clung to their faces. And then the first man made his move.
"Heh. Straight flush, boys," said the burly fellow with the cigar, tossing in his hand to reveal the Jack through to Seven of clubs. There was a distinct smile on his face, followed by the unanimous sigh of disappointment and some muttered curses. Two of the seven threw down their cards without care as they stood up and readied themselves to leave, revealing a two pair and a three of a kind. Another two had matching straights and, while clearly dissatisfied by the outcome, were not so aggressive about it. The sixth man grinned and bared yellow teeth, showing a full house that could very nearly have won him the game. But it was the seventh who chuckled, bringing silence to the scum.
"Sorry old man, but I got a surprise for you..." From beneath the brim of a broad hat, the amethyst eyes of Sunshaku Kasasagi met the dark brown hues of the apparent victor. Instantly, the burly fellow's face drained of colour as the newest face to join their little ring revealed his own hand; Ace of Hearts, King of Hearts, Queen of Hearts, Jack of Hearts, Ten of Hearts. The strange swindler in the suit had scored himself the strongest hand in the game. The royal flush. With the finger of a gloved hand, he pushed up the brim of his stetson to let the light illuminate his handsome face, bearing a clean white smile. Young as he was compared to these men, the man from Dance Island was no rookie when it came to the table, and Lady Luck was smiling upon him once more. All around, the shadows whispered.
"A royal flush? Impossible!""Bah! Beginner's luck!""No man's that lucky! I bet he cheated!"
"So," the conman interrupted smugly, "I guess that's fifty thou to me, eh?"
"Why you little-!" Aggravated, one of the sorest losers the street rat had ever met lunged for him, pulling out a shiv from his belt and brandishing it. Nobody tried to stop him. They did not need to. Before the figure could even make it half way across the room, Mister Sunshaku had lept from his seat and parried the blade with one of his own. A fine steel blade hidden within his cane of ebony and ivory batted away the smaller knife with ease, leaving the attacker rather speechless as the gleaming tip halted just an inch or two away from his throat. Still the swindler held a mischievous grin upon his face, one eyebrow raised tauntingly. The man got the message and stepped back, abandoning his knife and giving some space to the youngster.
"Anybody else wanna try that? No? Well thank you kindly!" With an elegant flicker of steel, Kasasagi sheathed his blade, twirling the cane effortlessly as if the sword itself never even existed. Never once did the subtle smile leave his lips, but his eyes took in all the details of the men around him. The fellow with the cigar was mostly definitely the most important of the men, the most experienced as well, but the rest were small fry. Except for the gentleman with yellowed teeth, of course, for he had an air about him. His figure was scrawny at best, his matted ashen hair the only other distinctive detail of him as he sat across the table eyeing the young suit. Definitely a man who knows what he's doing, thought the soon-to-be-thief. "Anywho! Let's get down to business, shall we?"
"Business? Pierre out front will sort out your cash, so get going!" grunted Mister Cigar, thumbing towards the door that led back to the front of house. With a tut, the youngster shook his head.
"Listen. Fifty thousand beri's a decent sum, but I've got much bigger things in mind. I'm looking for some extra hands to help me out, see? I was wondering if any of you kind folks would be willing to offer your services...?" Making sure to catch the eyes of the ones he was looking for and paying particular attention to the most important words, the clever criminal was setting himself up for what he intended to be his biggest heist ever. That said, it would be his first heist ever, but he wanted to leave his mark on the world sooner rather than later. And to do that, he knew he needed some helpers. There was no way that he alone was going to succeed, even if he did know exactly what he was doing (most of the time). Briefly, he remembered the chaos at the Pirate's Market, but waved it off. That was a completely different ploy that had dragged an innocent idio- young man into danger. This one, however, did not put anyone at risk. Nobody that didn't already deserve it.
Suddenly, interest seemed piqued as four sets of eyes looked to him. With a little muttering, two of the others decided against the idea and walked out. Good, he thought as he watched them leave. Those were the two he did not want in on this, because their casual and (as the game had proven) predictable nature could quickly cost them.
"What's in it for us?" Resting his feet upon the table, the ashen-haired man finally broke the unusual silence to which he had held for so long. This was indeed the first time Kasasagi had heard his voice and, despite his looks, it was a very deep and powerful baritone.
"Heh. Straight to the prize, eh? Well, let's sweeten the deal first. This fifty thousand? We split it," the thief told them as he gestured towards the stacks of poker chips, flicking his finger in a motion reminiscent of a knife to further emphasize his point. Explaining his plan would be simple enough, especially when he knew what details to withhold. They did not need to know the estimated value of the jewel he was after, so splitting the cash return from that meant a good fifty percent was coming his way. And if any of them took the fall for him on the way? Well, that just made things better in his eyes...Roin Finally got this out, but I feel it's not that great. Either way, it sets up the thread. Now it's up to Albion to set up your side of the story!