Sleights of Hand and the Art of Burglary [ Silver | Treven ]

[aideyn]

The Singing Seagull was a rambunctious inn and tavern. It boasted two buildings, both two stories tall. One was the inn, the other the tavern with a lofted second floor where a few tables could look down upon the rest of the bar patrons. They were connected by a courtyard in which someone had cobbled together a small stage opposite an outdoor bar. It was clear as day that they had at one point been separate businesses and she had idly wondered when they had merged when she had set her eyes on it for the first time.



It's clientele were... colorful, to say the least. If someone had told her a week ago she'd soon find herself sat among four rough and tumble hooligans cheating at a card game without getting her lights punched out, she would have laughed and called that person a drunk. Though, a week ago she had been half a world away from here. The North Blue was an entirely different animal it seemed. It would take some getting used to.



Ashing her cigarette off the side of the table, she smiled coyly at the man who was on her left. He had time before it was his turn again and it seemed she had pegged him correctly as a card hoarder. He had swapped his cards from his left to his right hand a few times, his free hand dipping below the table frequently. It seemed he was ready to spring his trap, whatever it was. She'd fold this round then. She too was the type to hold out for favorable cards and she hadn't gotten what she needed for a good hand just yet.



Her brown eyes shifted to the man across the table from her. He and the woman directly to her right were colluding, she was sure. Counting cards, keeping track together. They had come to the table separately, but the signs were there. There was little she could do about them. Their signals were too numerous for her to have cracked their code yet. And the hoarder on her left had already been burned from an incorrect guess as to the meaning of their gestures. She wasn't keen on suffering his same fate.



The man who sat between them had been the easiest to figure out. He had marked the cards. It was probably his deck after all. His eyes had been a bit too keen on the top corners of his opponents hands. The moment she had noticed his attention she had adjusted her grip on the cards, cutting off whatever marks he had placed on them. The others at the table had followed suit shortly afterwards. He was the only one playing even close to the straight and narrow now. He didn’t look particularly happy about that fact, but he kept his mouth shut. It seemed he at least, was out of the game for good despite still sitting at the table..



Callia took a long drag on her cigarette before she ashed it off the side of the table again. She’d keep the six from this hand, it’d fit nicely with the seven and eight from the same suite she’d already accumulated in the sleeve of her coat. Two more cards and she’d have a straight flush to play whenever the pot worth winning finally appeared.



Eyeing the four again she smiled and shook her head slightly. She’d not been prepared for this. She hadn’t quite believed her luck when she realized that everyone at the table was blatantly cheating in their own ways.



Another thing she hadn’t been prepared for was the chill of the North Blue. A lot of her funds had been eaten up by equipping herself properly when she had arrived. But now she had a black coat that, while worn, still had a soft lining as well as sturdier trousers. Her boots at least, had been serviceable enough to keep. She might even look respectable, looking clean and well dressed for once.


The thief was being treated well enough as a patron of the inn right now, though she doubted that would continue if they realized that she had spent most of her remaining funds on booking her room. But if she could double what she had with her now in this game, she’d consider this a night well spent. It beat pick-pocketing in a strange town when it was so damn cold outside, that was sure and certain.



Setting that aside, she folded just in time for the man on her left to raise. Grumpily, the man between the two colluders folded as well. Though it appeared he was more permanently out than she was. Shoving his chair out from the table and pocketing his meager earnings he didn’t even look back towards his marked cards or the other players at the table. His pride would be stinging from being so handily out cheated.



Callia kept her wolfish grin internal. She’d been waiting for him to bow out of the match ever since she had learned that it was his deck. She never sat down at any table without her own deck of cards being readily available to her. And with less cards and players in play, the likelihood of duplicates being face up on the table at the same time would decrease as well. She’d keep her legal--well, legal-ish straight flush up her sleeve for a bigger pot, but she could use her own cards to start making the others think that she had used up her 'big move' so they’d feel more comfortable about increasing the pot. It’d screw up the colluders as well, since if there were multiples of things floating in the deck, there’d be no way for them to keep count any longer. They’d make mistakes.



Though she guessed there’d only be a few rounds left in total anyways, the three players left looked like they were jittering despite being motionless. She wouldn’t want to wear her welcome too thin. She’d only been in town for less than a day after all, and she’d paid for her room for the week. It’d be a shame to have to look elsewhere for lodging.



She took a sip of her rum as the dealer, now the woman on her right rather than the card-marker, started to pass out everyone’s new hands once the man on her left had raked his winnings to his portion of the table.

[Greil9]

Taking in the salty ocean air, a well-dressed young man stepped off the ship with a wheeled suitcase in one hand and a covered pet cage on the other. The vessel he chose to travel on had been a rather luxurious one, making the few days trip from his home a comfortable one. Though with the amount of funds on him he couldn't afford such luxury in the future. Securing a ticket with his family funds was simple enough, but from then on he had to make due with his own savings.

The reason he had chosen this as the first destination of his travels was that the first clue given to him by his master was a rather straightforward one. Supposedly an old antique pipe the old man once lost at gambling was now being held in the collection of a local entrepreneur. Within that pipe was a hidden compartment pointing towards his next step in becoming a true bearer of the name Great Zarazel.

Though the day was still young as the well-dressed young man pulled out a silver pocket watch to check on the time. "Already past noon? I guess a lunch wouldn't hurt before I try and find that pipe." Though the kingdom he landed upon was unfamiliar to the apprentice magician, finding a place to get food shouldn't have proved too hard. Assuming he'd go for lower cost and quality to save his funds for the long road ahead. After all, he had no idea how long this trip would take.

It didn't take long until he found a cheap-looking tavern and inn combination. "Screaming Seagull? That's... quaint." However the appearance also spoke of potentially having a cheap meal, though how the food tasted in a place like this he wouldn't know. 

Stepping inside, it seemed like people didn't dress quite as well as he did. In fact even the common man he was familiar with had better dress code. However not wishing to judge a book by its cover just yet, the young man passed by the people and walked to the counter. Not really knowing what most of the foods at offer were, he tried to order something as familiar as possible. Fish n' chips seemed to just be fish and fries, both something he had at least had before. Having made his choice, the man behind he counter just grunted before turning away. In the hopes his order was heard, Simon walked over to the nearest free table.

While waiting for his meal to arrive, the young man lifted his pet carried on the top of his luggage and lifted the cover slightly. Immediately two small rats scurried over towards the light, squeaking at their owner. "Hey guys, it's lunchtime. Hope you don't mind eating in the dark. I'll let some light in as soon as I find my lodgings, so just hang on a little while."
The animals would most likely not mind, as rats had far better vision in the dark than any human would. Still they both seemed to prefer light, so it was better to find a place to keep the pair for a while. Reaching to a smaller pocket on his bag, he dug out a small packet of food pellets, pushing some of them through the bars. Both rats immediately dug their teeth to the food offered, though neither tried to take from the other. They were used to living together. Though hearing approaching steps, Simon covered the cage again. People didn't seem to care for rats in public places. Apparently the young mans own food had arrived. While not looking too appetizing at first glance, he was hungry enough to bite down nonetheless. 

For some reason many people seemed to be eyeing the young man as he tried to enjoy his meal in peace. Or as much as there was to enjoy in the somewhat greasy food presented to him. Tasty as it was, eating it somehow felt like each bite was going against his better judgement. It certainly wasn't as healthy as the meals back home. Hopefully it'd be over soon and he'd be able to leave the hostile-feeling environment. However relief soon arrived by two far friendlier men taking a seat, even if the clothing on neither matched the kind of standard he was used to. While at first the magician was nervous about what they might attempt, they took a pleasant tone as the larger of the two men asked "You new in town kid? You look like you ain't from around here."

Feeling like trying to stay in good terms with the only trustworthy-seeming people, the young man replied "Actually I am. I just arrived from Micqueot on a small trip. Name's Simon Silvers."

"Micqueot, huh? Well, you've come from far away. Gotta be quite a different customs around here."

"Well, I've yet to properly see differences. Unless we count the cashier here, you're the first people I've talked to on this island."

Pointing towards a larger table across the room, one of the men said "Well, if you wanna get friendly with us, the best way is playing cards. That's how you get people to talk to you and get to know them better. You do know how to play cards, right kid?" 

Dealing with cards constantly had left the magician with enough knowledge of the most basic games and their rules, even if using the cards for that purpose never really interested him. Even if he was considering taking the offer due to curiosity, he was yet uncertain due to having no actual experience. "I'm familiar with the rules, yes, though I'm lacking in experience."

"Well, only one way to mend that. Go ahead, take a seat over there. Though they're gonna be playing for money here, but it shouldn't be all that much."

This especially caused the youth to hesitate. Potentially losing money to a game he had never played hardly sounded like a good long-term move even if he was curious.
"I'm not sure. My travel funds are limited and-"

"Hey, no problem. I'll pay your first two hands to get you started. Besides, if you win you'll be able to travel in style. Trust me, people don't like to pick on the new guy, they'll go easy on you." This was a complete lie. No one here cared if the new player got cleaned. In fact most of the people present were hoping for that. Sticking out in the wrong way like that in this establishment was not a good idea, since the rich yuppie kid being cleaned completely would have been the greatest amusement for them. Not to mention the rich folk pissed these people off by their mere presence. All they had to do was get him to the table. And unfortunately not knowing any better, he took the bait.

"Well, I guess it could be fun." Though the possibility to better learn the local customs was on his mind, Simon had a secondary objective: trying to ask around about the man he was looking for. Unaware of the true intention of the game, Simon finished his meal and rose form his seat, heading for the table where cards were being dealt. Waiting at the side until a hand as finished, he then leaned over the table asking "Excuse me, would you mind if I joined in for the next one?"

[aideyn]

Callia heard the newcomer before she saw him. Despite the general din of the tavern, things had become strangely hushed a few minutes before. It was obvious now that the general attention of people had been drawn to whoever was walking up behind her now. The difference in volume was enough that she could hear a single set of footsteps, followed by the sound of something rolling on wood and very muffled… squeaking? Carefully the thief loosened the straps that held one of her flat daggers in the sleeve of her cardless hand.

Had the movement of the card-marker been a signal? Was she about to be robbed? She’d been moderately successful so far, but she hadn’t won enough or flashed enough beli to be worth the trouble of a bar fight, had she? Or did they think she was an easy mark? Her eyes darted to the faces of the card players, whose expressions were full of... barely concealed glee. Confused and surprised but still on edge, she decided not to draw her blade yet.

And then the person behind her spoke, and things fell clearly into place.

"Excuse me, would you mind if I joined in for the next one?"

The hooded enthusiasm made much more sense now. The voice was proper and polite, the thief could practically hear the wealth dripping from every composed syllable. Before Callia even had a chance to turn around to get a proper look at the poor sap who’d wandered into a thieves’ den, the woman on her right had gestured towards the card-marker’s vacated seat, with a honey-sweet “Why of course hun, the more the merrier!”

The woman who’d spoken to him was younger than Callia, probably no older than eighteen, with vivid blue eyes and plum colored hair that ran loose over her shoulders. She tucked one lock of it behind her ear, averting her eyes from the newcomer as she did so. It was so overtly flirty that Callia had to bring her mug up to her mouth to hide a grin. Had she ever been so blatant in her intentions when she was that young?

It was clear to her, if not anyone who was watching, even if the man left the table with his money, if he took this woman up on her offers, he’d find himself robbed blind when he woke up. But she couldn’t begrudge the girl, rarely did such a stately looking mark fall directly into one’s lap after all. And he did look stately.

His clothes were clean, not just relatively so. There wasn’t a visible patch or stain on them, but the more damning sign that he was rich was just how ludicrously well they fit him. Like they had been tailor made just for him. She’d seen people wear well-cared for clothing before, of even finer material than the newcomer’s, but there was no mistaking how fitted clothing looked versus finery bought off a rack.

As the man made his way towards the indicated seat, which would put him squarely across from her, he was treated to introductions from her fellow gamblers. A nicety she hadn’t been afforded when she sat down. She drank deeply from her mug to hide her grin. Money made all the difference on how you were treated. Though in this case it was a very surface level nicety he was receiving.

If he had any idea what that nicety was actually costing him in return, he’d probably have turned on his well-shod heel and not looked back.

Callia filed away the names of the other three players. The woman introduced herself as Harumi while carefully dealing him out a hand. Harumi’s secret partner in colluding introduced himself gruffly as "Ken.", while her fellow card hoarder "Zuzen Sadiki", cheerfully ordered the newcomer a drink.

Ken was broad shouldered, solid seeming as a brick wall. The cards looked especially ridiculous in his enormous hands, but he appeared to be the right kind of no-nonsense to balance out the human butterfly he had for a card-counting partner. She mused idly if they were in a relationship, or if they were blood siblings. Ken's hair was a deep brown color, but his eyes were blue, though not nearly as striking as Harumi's.

Zuzen was dark-skinned, with muddy brown eyes and surprisingly white teeth that he bared freely in friendly smiles. At odds with his cheerful demeanor and rakish posture, his black hair was cropped so close to the scalp as to almost be non-existent, with a mess of blade-given scars around his hands. The only other visible scar ran from the corner of his smiling mouth past the corner of his right eye till it was obscured by his short hair. Despite his affable-appearing nature, he had been the reason she herself had been nervous about coming to the table. He did not look like the sort of man who would lose gracefully, though he had done so many times since she sat down with no problems.

To balance out Harumi and Zuzen’s eager cheer, she modeled herself after Ken’s lukewarm response, and when it came to her turn to introduce herself, she offered the newcomer a reserved smile and nod, “Callia.”

It was a good, natural seeming balance of congeniality. It wouldn’t do for the sheep to realize he was surrounded by over eager wolves, after all.

She used a few moments of the table’s distraction to stash the next card for her straight flush safely away and re-tighten the restraints on her sleeve dagger. After patiently waiting, it seemed the large pot that everyone had been saving their winning maneuvers for was finally close at hand. Though from the look Ken and Zuzen flashed her while Harumi fiercely flirted to distract the newcomer, it was clear what they planned to do.

She offered them a barely perceptible nod as she drank deeply from her mug. Though to anyone unaware, it would look like she simply bobbed her head slightly while she tilted her drink back. She’d play along of course.

She almost envied the streak of ‘luck’ this rich young pup was about to have.

… Almost.

[Greil9]

The entire table seemed friendly enough. Even if the staring earlier gave a somewhat hostile impression, the rich boy chalked it up to an unfamiliar culture. High society did have different standards from what he knew. To him it seemed like casting away his presumptions might have been the best idea. As he took a seat around the table with the luggage and pet cage behind his seat, he introduced himself. "Simon Silvers. Pleased to meet you all."  

Since everyone else was placing their starting bid on the table, the young man turned towards the man who earlier offered to pay his first few games, pointing towards where he had just stood. "Now this gentleman-" However as he turned around, the man was nowhere to be seen. Even though Simon tried his hardest to spot the man, which shouldn't have been difficult considering his size, he couldn't even catch a glimpse of him. Meanwhile the other players were looking at him expectantly most likely waiting for his starting bid. "Okay, never mind." Glancing over the money gathered at the middle, Simon could tell each player had placed 1,000 berri to start the game. Considering how little this was for the don of a rich family, he merely shrugged the supposed "free game" off and placed his own bet. Money that small wasn't worth raising a fuss over, especially with how he had been treated so far.

As the cards were laid on the field, Simon raised them to his face while most of the other players seemed to keep them close to the table. For a first hand it seemed remarkably good: two queens already, spades and clubs. Considering he had at times killed time with a few random hands, the magician knew just two matching cards was a good start. As he put down the other three cards, them being a 2, 4 and 7 of different symbols and therefore near useless, he announced "I'll take three cards." Though as his eyes were taken off the cards briefly, Simon thought he saw one of his companions slipping out a card from under the table. While even he knew this was most certainly cheating, he dismissed it as his own delusions. He was always taught to look for such movements, so it stood to reason he'd be seeing something like that even where it didn't exist. Even if that wasn't quite how it should work, the young man didn't want to believe the worst of the people who had treated him well despite only just joining in. 

Not that he had much reason to, as one of the three cards dealt back to him was the queen of hearts. With his hand improving, Simon was unable to let off a small tell on his face. Though this did give him confidence that he might actually win the first round. Yet this was only because he as not yet familiar with the true nature of the game he had signed up for, nor had the stakes been raised to where he'd feel the price of naivete.