Hmm. Time to remind this woman of her duty and distract her from the brief hiccup in protocol for his colleagues. Kriv placed 150 gold in the indicated place, clinking the coins.
"An emissary?" He thinks for a moment but Arus was persuasive and so he lets the aqua-man come on board.
When Sindar walks up and announces himself the captain says, "We've contracted our musicians for today. We do not need another bard aboard. They have an exclusive deal."
When Jaliera states her case, and sites that she's an owner of the mine, there's a look of doubt there. "Why are you here... really?"
He looks astonished. "I am not a traveling minstrel, I came to play. I guess the Pearl and Pipe will allow me to give away my gold there." He shrugs and gives the Captain a moment to take it in. Should he still say no, Sindar will turn and walk away. He really doesn't have to get on to the boat, though he is sure he would learn information should he do so.
"Ah! Yes. I heard. Phandelin. Of course, of course. Come right in. We welcome Phandelin gold!" he says as he welcomes Jaliera aboard.
The captain looked confused about Sindar's reply. He had just told the bard that there were musicians here to play. Then he had some sort of revelation "Oh. You mean wager, did you not?" OOC: "Play" is rather ambiguous here but it's perfect for roleplay Sindar gets to roll again. Like Jaliera, you need to beat a 10.
The captain smiles, "Ah. We would be happy to take your gold. Come aboard sir and I hope that you have a good time."
When Arus explains that he's from under the sea, the Captain says, "I've met tritons before. Few on land. Welcome aboard sir. I hope that you enjoy the games."
With the five all on board, they all meet up with the woman that is exchanging their gold for chips.
Kriv was first to exchanged his gold for chips and handed her 150 gold pieces which she put into her back. In return she counted out the chips for the dragonborn. "One hundred", as she handed him one black chip, "One twenty five" as she handed him a green chip, "One forty five" as she added four reds to the stack and "this makes one fifty" she said, as she topped it off with five white chips.
One of the guards next to her said, "The casino is to your left, the dining hall is to the right."
"Who is next?" the woman asked and one of the guards replied, "The blue man, Madam Ming."
For Bern and Davorar
The trio watch their friends make it on board with little trouble. All seems calm. The boat looks different than other boats at night because of the amount of light they can see coming from the ship. Most other boats have small lanterns. This boat is lit up from inside like a bonfire.
OOC: How much are each of you exchanging? Also, to save some time, the chips are worth... White 1 GP Red 5 GP Blue 10 GP Green 25 GP Orange 50 GP Black 100 GP Gold 1000 GP
Last edited by Neptune; Thu 13/05/2115:44 UTC. Reason: Moving forward
He maintains an air of wolfish interest, seawolfish.
Getting close to the Captain might open doors below decks, both proverbial and literal, but that would require a longer term subterfuge.
Arus is aware that the party are only tarrying in Yartar a few days. He has to make his move tonight, find out what he can about the casino and its shady backers. If they are the Kraken Society, what's their game?
So he answers the Captain's question with a casual tilt of the head. Emissary? That's one way of putting it.
Arus thanks the man and approaches Ms Ming...
[Actually, how much cash does Arus have!? We never got around to defining it.]
The foreign woman smiles at Jaliera but the young rogue can tell it's a polite, grit-your-teeth smile. She hands Jaliera the chips and says "Good Luck".
He approaches the queue and waits his turn. When he is offered his choice, he exchanges 100 gold for whatever the lady wants to give him. He can always make changes again later. He saw the look for Jaliera and doesn't want to give a similar impression. Much of what he wants to establish is perceived by those around him. He expects to lose the money one way or another, which is why he exchanges the minimum. Obviously, he would prefer to hang on to his gold, but that is not how gambling works.
Though his stomach always beckons he looks to see what the others might choose. For himself, he turns left to head to the casino. He wants to look the games and area over as well as where the musicians will perform and drinks be served.
Jaliera will pop her head into the dining area. She is not hungry but wants to know what might be available later. She also wants to see who is in there before heading for the casino. She knows she looks young and inexperienced and has confessed curiosity about the place, so she wants to play that to her advantage.
He makes straight for the casino with an assortment of chips to the tune of 100 gp, exchanged with the inscrutable Ms Ming. As Arus sees it they've met the captain and the accountant, one managing the ship, one managing the casino. But the casino's either a front or convenient place of business for the agency that has embroiled itself in Yartar politics.
Storn and Ming might be involved, up to their eyeballs even, but they aren't likely to have the full picture.
It's the lady in the purple dress that Arus most wants to find. Lady Atalia. She's the one singled out by Lord Artan.
The triton stops a waitress with his most debonair smile.
"I'll have a blue kaorph... and salt the glass. Thank you." Drink ordered, he stalks the tables.
He elects to head to the dining area first, getting a feel for the vessel and its arrangement. What paths would the feckless human lordlings have taken, their appetite for gluttony or profligacy dominant? Who was looking for easy marks?
She steps aboard and looks to both sides, then moves towards the dining area. No rush to wager and it is just as easy to listen in while people eat as while they gamble.
He let's out a unintended held breath of relief as he watches all of their comrades gain entry to the casino ship without any obvious trouble from his perspective.
"Well Bern, looks like everyone got on. Think we should just walk around a bit not to look too obvious?"
In hindsight he wonders if they should have brought some fishing poles to look somewhat the part of being here.
The entrance to the dining hall is at the forward end of the boat. The door opens to a crowded room which has seven tables. Each table can seat up to four people and there are very narrow, winding avenues that need to be navigated to reach the ones towards the stern. The room is decorated wit white gossamer curtains, lush purple tablecloths, precious-looking silverware, and gaudy crystal chandeliers. The room is already crowded with no empty table. A wooden spiral staircase leads up from here.
Zhu and Kriv enter but Jaliera just pokes her head in to see what it was about but then decides to go into the casino, separate from Arus and Sindar, acting solo.
The head waiter approaches them, "Sir, Madame, please, have a seat," he says as he ushers them to two adjacent seats at an already occupied table. An elderly couple, dressed in their finest, are sharing a bottle of wine, seemingly by themselves, are seated there.
Sindar and Arus turn aft, towards the casino. The large cabin has been transformed into a gambling hall, the centerpiece of which is a gold-plated wooden sculpture of a goose that rests on a table in the aft end. Glasses of fine wine, free for the taking, are arrayed around it. An unflattering portrait of a fat, foppish, grinning man hangs on the wall across from a wooden spiral staircase that leads up. Most of the floor space is taken up with tables of card games. The room is crowded. As soon as the pair enters, they see something that interests them. A beautiful woman, with long black hair, cropped short on the sides, clad in a gorgeous purple dress and is adorned with a stunning necklace set with black stones around her slender neck. She matches the description of the woman that Lord Artan had mentioned. The woman is sitting at a table playing some sort of a board game against a white-haired noble.
Last edited by Neptune; Mon 17/05/2113:11 UTC. Reason: Clarified who goes where
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Sindar gets to roll again. Like Jaliera, you need to beat a 10.
]
