Hell Bend

Locales found within the main city centers; primarily Inside, Riverside, and Skyside.
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Re: Hell Bend

Post by Gold »

[Influential MERChant]

A weird look very briefly crosses Solenoid's face when Tina calls Frigate a tinhead.

"I don't see anything wrong with that plan. We just need to figure out where to go first. If I was a gambler, which direction would I go in... crap, I'd pick randomly, wouldn't I?"
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Re: Hell Bend

Post by Ironsmith »

[MERC Mission (I've run out of quips)]

If Tina thinks they're looking for a tower of neon and light-up displays, she's going to quickly be disappointed. The only building in the entire neighborhood that has such a thing is the Havnaught, and it's pretty clear even from a distance that's the case (casinos don't usually use "complimentary breakfast" and "rooms cleaned daily" as selling points).

But, with enough patience, the MERC crew will, in fact, eventually find the building they're looking for; a run-down little place with a set of stairs leading down to its door, blocked by a large man in a suit. Next to him, there's an engraved sign that reads:

FREE DRINKS!
LOOSE GIRLS!
BIG $$$$$!!!

CRIMP'S CASINO AND BAR
OPEN ALL HOURS
CREDIT WELCOME

The bouncer will, of course, not be willing to let them in right away. If they approach, he'll stand in the doorway and say "Sorry, ladies. And sir. I can't let you in without paying the ante. House rules."
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Re: Hell Bend

Post by Earl of Purple »

Bending Hell for MERC

Frigate's got some familiarity with brothels and gambling dens, what with being a sailor with rather limited expenses for his pay. Whilst he's got no desire or ability to sleep with someone, prostitutes are often willing to help polish those parts of his armour he couldn't reach, if he paid. So long as they did so on the ground floor, anyway; Frigate has had bad experiences with ladders and stairs.

"Aye? An' what be th' ante? An' how much instead t' get a chat wi' Crimp hisself?" Frigate isn't particularly scared of the bouncer, since he has got pistols and he doesn't think the bouncer does. Although cast lead balls might not stop a demon as effectively as they stop a more mortal person.
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Re: Hell Bend

Post by Murkus »

[MERC Work]

Well, this was disappointing. But she supposes she shouldn't be surprised with the state of the neighborhood. How hard could it really be to get the demons to leave this place behind? It was mostly a dump...

"What the big guy said," Fettina pipes, facing the bouncer squarely. Not much to add to that.
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Re: Hell Bend

Post by Gold »

[MERC... MERC... uhhhh....]

Solenoid, too, has been on the wrong side (the inside) of a casino a few times in her life, due to having a low maintenance cost and a high paying job. As for prostitutes, they can be invaluable sources of information should her target be the type to pay for one.

Solenoid resists the urge to point out that if they have to pay to enter then the drinks aren't free, and without anything to add she just nods her head. She's not afraid of the bouncer at all, since she has her sniper rifles. She's going to be kind of annoyed if the guy says weapons aren't allowed in, though.
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Re: Hell Bend

Post by Ironsmith »

[MERCs on a Mission]

"First thing's first." The bouncer holds out his hand. "Your weapons, please."

Guy must be psychic or something.

"The ante runs at [amount, loosely equivalent to $1000/£900]." The bouncer continues, rolling on a fingerless glove with a series of short spikes attached to the palm. "And I can't guarantee you'll see the boss at any point. If you want to get his attention, best to be a high roller, if you catch my meaning." He shrugs, and then adds, "Of course, most of the folks that come by here don't exactly have that kind of money just laying around. Fortunately, Crimp's has a very generous loan program. If you need money for the ante, we loan it to you, and take some sort of asset as collateral. When you pay it off, you get your collateral back. Simple as."
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Re: Hell Bend

Post by Earl of Purple »

Listening to Queen and Freddy MERCury

Frigate pulls out one pistol, carefully removes the flint from its mechanism, and pockets it before handing it over and doing the same to its mate. He'll also hand over the brass cutlass, though that doesn't get any treatment to prevent its use against him. "Take care o' them, they be in many ways me siblings. Now, what's that in bullion?" Frigate a key out of a pouch and inserts it into thin air, a solid chest manifesting around the key as Frigate unlocks it.
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Re: Hell Bend

Post by Murkus »

[Lord MERCury smiles upon us!]

"Bouillon?" Fettina leans over toward Solenoid, lifting her hand to hide her mouth, "He knows we're not trying to stock their kitchen right?"

Fettina only spreads her hands at the request for weapons. Her spear's gone! Lookit! And she doesn't think it would do much good to confiscate it to begin with.

"Do you guys take digital payments?" Fettina will chime at the doorman.
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Re: Hell Bend

Post by Gold »

[How can MERCury be a Lord if they're a Liquid at Room Temperature?]

Solenoid is kind of annoyed. This is reflected in her expression as she unloads and clears her sniper rifle and railgun before handing them off to the bouncer and saying "Don't void the warranty."

"Should be about three fifths of an ounce," Solenoid says to Frigate in regards to the price of bullion.

To Fettina, she responds "They named a food after bullion?"

She would offer to chip in, having brought a little dia along with herself, but it looks like these two already have it sorted.
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Re: Hell Bend

Post by Ironsmith »

[The Puns Make Me sMERC]

"...Very well." The bouncer holds up a device resembling a credit card terminal to Tina, and with a little finagling, they'll be able to process the appropriate payment. If she and Frigate are collectively able to pay for Solenoid's entry, the lot of them will be given a number of poker chips, and promptly admitted into the casino.

Which isn't any more glamorous inside than out. The interior consists of a series of tables which are host to various games of chance; card games of various flavors, a half-dozen different sorts of dice games, and several chessboards along the back of the room, which seem to have wagering rules spliced into regular play. Despite the drab nature of these games (compared to modern casinos, at least), the place seems to be rather busy tonight; there must be a hundred clients here tonight, most of them demons, but with a few notable exceptions (somehow a tiefling managed to sneak in, and there's a drow in the corner that's working up a particularly large pile of winnings). Various scantily-clad incubi and succubi patrol the tables, offering drinks to anyone who doesn't have one, including the new arrivals. Apparently, the motto here is "service with a smile and a wink", as all three of the mercenaries receive some rather un-subtle flirtations upon being given their drinks.

No signs of either Gnash or Crimp, or at the very least, no obvious indications which of the many demons in the room are supposed to be them.
Last edited by Ironsmith on Nov 03, 2022 1:09 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Hell Bend

Post by Earl of Purple »

I Want To Ride My Bi-MERC-le

Frigate does not have soup cubes. He has gold and silver bars, thirty centimetres long and five wide and thick, stamped with the symbol of an anchor entwined with serpents. Once he's taken however many he needs, he closes the chest, pulls the key out of the lock and the chest disappears again, before the key is put back into the pouch it came from.

Frigate takes the drink and looks at it curiously, before trying to give it back. "Here, missy. I be lackin' a mouth, the grog be wasted upon me." Even if she doesn't believe him- Frigate is, in fact, talking, after all- his helmet does look to be bolted in place.
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Re: Hell Bend

Post by Murkus »

[Getting MERCky]

"Holy shit!" Tina exclaims when she sees Frigate's bullion bricks. She's definitely never seen that sort of bullion before! Heading down, Tina appraises the place with a curious eye. "Not bad, as this sort of place goes. I like it!" She decides. She makes eyes at her server and takes the drink gratefully, downing it in one go. Not that it does much for her. She could lose the chrome and let her liver become mortal again, if she wanted to get a buzz on, but she decides that seems pretty stupid while on the job. She does fold up her wings, the large extrusions shrinking and disappearing into her back. They're kinda unwieldy indoors.

"So should we actually play something," she asks the others, "Or just look for likely doors and places where we might find the boss?"
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Re: Hell Bend

Post by Gold »

[MERC In The House]

Solenoid chuckles at Tina's surprise. Is this really her first time seeing that much gold in one place? As for the building itself, she says "Been a long tine since I've seen a casino with this much activity."

She tips her hat to the waitress as she recieves her drink, which she also immediately downs, something she can do because she does have a mouth. As with Tina, it won't have any effect on her.

Solenoid leans in close to whisper something to Tina. "Psst. I'm great at these games. You'll find me at a dimly-lit table with a tired-looking dealer." she says.

Then, addressing the group properly, she declares "You two can go on ahead, or follow me if you'd like. I'm gonna try my hand at some of the games around here and see if I can rack up enough of a hot streak that someone important takes notice. Wish me luck, and stay in sight." before heading off to try and find a table like the one previously described. If there aren't any particularly off-the-ball dealers, she'll settle for a free blackjack table.
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Re: Hell Bend

Post by Ironsmith »

[Gamblin' MERCs]

The waiter seems mildly disappointed by Frigate's decision not to drink, but gracefully takes the "grog" back anyway. So he's not going to get sloshed and make some poor financial decisions. That's fine. There are always other incentives.

While Frigate and Tina have a moment to discuss strategy, Solenoid makes her way over to a blackjack table. None of them are empty, but she is able to find one that only has two other players; a succubus in a surprisingly conservative floor-length dress, and an incubus in a setting-inappropriate cowboy hat. The trio (dealer included) nods to Solenoid as she arrives at the table.

"Ladies, sir, place your bets." The dealer (another succubus in a blazer and bow tie) instructs, shuffling together what appears to be an amalgamation of six standard decks. The other demons dutifully set forward some modest wagers, and if Solenoid puts down her own chips, the dealer will busy herself distributing cards to each of them. As it happens, Solenoid is in the position furthest right on the table, meaning she goes first.
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Re: Hell Bend

Post by Earl of Purple »

How The Turn Tables: MERC

"Lookin' for doors without havin' permission t' go through them be likely to get us kicked out. So mayhaps we should get involved in winnin' and gettin' attention that way. What be your thoughts?" The problem here is, Earl doesn't actually know many card games. Most of his points in knowledge: card games went on the collectible variety.
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Re: Hell Bend

Post by Murkus »

[Blackjack! And MERCers!]

"If you're any good, I say go gamble. I'm pretty shit at cards, so I'd better just try to scope the place out," Fettina declares, though quietly, to Frigate after Solenoid has moved to her mark. "Without doing anything that'll get us kicked out."

And that she'll do. Scanning the room, the side doors and exits, looking for interesting places or portals.
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Re: Hell Bend

Post by Gold »

[MERC of the Cards]

Solenoid nods back to the succubus and cowboy hatter (she appreciates a good hat when she sees one) before taking her seat. She takes a very quick peek at the number of decks in play before setting out a modest wager of a few of her own chips.

She looks at her cards. Two sixes. An annoying hand, because if she takes the hit she could get unlucky and be dealt a face card, but everyone knows you don't split sixes. "I'll take a hit," she says after a short moment.
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Re: Hell Bend

Post by Ironsmith »

[Getting MERC'D]

Tina's search for doors turns up a couple of interesting results. There's the one they came through, which isn't as unhelpful as it might at first seem; not far from there, there's a locked side room, probably a coat check or something like it in another life. There's a window that leads into there from here, and Tina will be able to see a sundry arrangement of various trinkets and glass jars filled with unidentifiable red liquid. There's another door at the back of the room, right next to a window about the right size to pass serving trays through, still used for that purpose (though mostly just alcohol these days). There's a couple of doors in the back which are marked with the standard male/female symbols; probably bathrooms or maybe changing rooms. Finally, there's another doorway near them that leads to a set of stairs going upward, which is of course roped off. Not guarded, though; it wouldn't be too difficult to get up there, but with the number of people in this room, she'll probably be spotted if she tries it.

-

Solenoid's premonition comes true immediately; the succubus dealer puts down a card in front of her, flipping it over to reveal it to be the Jack of Clubs. "That's bust." She says with a little shrug, raking in Solenoid's wager.

"I thought you said you were good at this game." The succubus in the dress taunts, before turning back to the dealer. "Hit me." She says nonchalantly, receiving a five of hearts for her trouble. "I'll stay on that one."

"Same." The cowboy incubus says dryly. Hard to argue with his reasoning; he's sitting on a 20 already.

The dealer flicks out one last card, which comes out to be an eight of clubs.

"...Well, that's annoying." The succubus in the dress mutters as her counterpart collects his winnings and prepares to leave. Turning to Solenoid, the succubus sighs and shrugs. "Tell you what, lady. Since my boyfriend bowed out about ten minutes ago, this hasn't been as much fun. What do you say we make a little side bet, between the two of us, hm? Whoever walks away with more winnings tonight (starting now, obviously) owes the other... mm, let's make it interesting and say 'a favor'." She grins.
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Re: Hell Bend

Post by Earl of Purple »

FriGate Scandal of MERC

Frigate's going to go have a look at some roulette wheels, since Earl knows how they work even if he's got no idea how poker does. (At least, Earl thinks he does.) Frigate's quite careful moving through the crowd, since if he bumps into anyone they're going to notice. He's not exactly light. Speaking of, hopefully if there's a basement or cellar underneath this floor, the ceiling of it has been properly reinforced so Frigate doesn't find himself downstairs unexpectedly.
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Re: Hell Bend

Post by Murkus »

[MERC MERC]

Fettina will sidle over to a spot where she can be near the roped-off exit. Maybe she can use a distraction of some kind to make her way up there. For the time being, she'll just observe the comings and goings, particularly those coming or going via the stairs. Maybe she can charm or schmooze her way up there with the right person.
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Re: Hell Bend

Post by Gold »

[In This MERConomy?]

Solenoid purses her lips as she allows the dealer to take her wager. Looking to the succubus in the dress, she shrugs and says "Well, gotta shake off the rust first."

She glances at the cowboy-hatted incubus on her way out, before turning to the succubus again. ""Y'know what?" she begins, smiling. "I'll take that bet. Could be nice to spice things up a little."
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Re: Hell Bend

Post by Ironsmith »

[A MERC Cellars Out]

In a proper establishment, maybe Frigate wouldn't have to worry about that. But Crimp's is in a building that hasn't had an inspection in years, and almost nothing has been done to maintain the integrity of the floor. Which wouldn't be a problem for anyone weighing less than a ton or two.

crrrrrrk

And that's all the warning he'll get before the floorboards give way under him, depositing him in a cellar below the main floor of the building, to the raucous laughter of the patrons upstairs.

The cellar itself is much safer in that regard. Frigate will find himself almost exactly in the center of an area covered upstairs by four wooden support beams, against which are stacked shelf after shelf of green glass bottles, filled with what is presumably wine or some other alcoholic drink. The cellar looks to be about half empty, based on the number of bottles still in the shelves.

Also down here? A very startled-looking incubus, who stares at Frigate wide-eyed. "...Um. Sir. You, um... can't be down here, sir."

-

If Tina was looking for a distraction, one of her comrades falling through the floor was probably it. She'll be able to make her way upstairs without being seen if she wants, though she also has the option of slipping in with a red-faced incubus making his way up the stairs (with liberal support from the succubus that's locked arms with him).

Ah, see, now here's where all the gaudy casino attractions are. The entire floor is lit up like a jukebox, colored lights rolling along the walls and floor while percussion-heavy music (she might recognize the song, Only Fit For Hell by Up Styx Creek, if she's familiar with that sort of music) plays in the background. It looks like most of the games up here are the same, except for the fact that the patrons are betting with small vials of reddish fluid instead of chips. Tina will also note that the staff up here is even less dressed than the demons downstairs, some of them even completely in the nude, and she'll witness at least two instances of a lucky high-roller trading in some of their winnings to make this state of dress more ubiquitous.

Finally, she'll likely note the curtained-off rooms near the back, into and out of which a few of the patrons and staff traffic semi-regularly, almost always looking a bit disoriented when they come back out. One of these rooms seems to be an exception, in that a pair of incubi stand guard outside of it, and it seems to be slightly larger than the others.

-

"Ha!" The fancy succubus laughs and plops down her chips as the dealer prepares another round for them. "Confident. Good, I like that. Makes winning that much more satisfying." She chortles, as the cards come out for the both of them. "So what's a pretty little thing like you doing in our part of town, anyway? Looking to get involved with a bad crowd?"
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Re: Hell Bend

Post by Earl of Purple »

Cellar Sailing

"Aye? Well mayhaps ye're cap'n should ensure their vessel be shipshape an' seaworthy. Since I didn't come down 'ere deliberately. Now, how do I be gettin' back up, an' what do th' steps be like? I hope they be sturdier'n the floor was." Frigate dusts himself off and checks his pouches and waist with his hands to make sure he's not lost anything in the fall. It'd be pretty unfortunate if something has fallen off, since his neck doesn't bend and it's correspondingly tricky to look down. Fortunately, he does still have his powderhorn, and it's intact, which would be a relief to anyone aware he had an extradimensional space filled with gunpowder.
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Re: Hell Bend

Post by Gold »

[The MERC's Holiday]

Solenoid places down her own chips, making a somewhat larger bet than last time. "It's never misplaced, I tell you that much," she grins to the succubus. Beckoning for the dealer to hit her, she answers "Well, I hear the highest rollers in this establishment get to meet some pretty important people. Figured that could be me," with a slight shrug. "Anyways, even girls like myself gotta have a little fun from time to time, you know."
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Re: Hell Bend

Post by Murkus »

[With MERCs like these...]

Fettina hesitates only for a second when Frigate plummets through the floor. When she hears his rather cantankerous-seeming voice float up from the gap, she knows he's probably alright, and decides to dodge past the rope at just that moment. She does her best, once she's up there, to look like she belongs... even going so far as to check if the high rollers have any special arm bands or henna skin-stamps to separate them from the common drib-drabs.

"Now this is more like it," says the angel, glancing around, scoping the place. She used to hang out in places like this looking for people to rob. Talking to the important people would just require a little extra effort.

She will try to suss out one of the high rollers who happens to be alone - one of the folk gambling with that red stuff. First she gives them a one-time passing by, just to get their attention, and if they seem interested in her (rather than an incubus or the like, perhaps) she'll smoothly make her way back to drift near them. "Hey, you play here a lot?" She'll ask, feigning innocence, even playing a bit dumb, eyes big. A lost little lamb, she is. Her arms fold behind her back, emphasizing the curves and shape of her body.
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Re: Hell Bend

Post by Ironsmith »

[MERC, Party of 3]
Earl of Purple wrote: Nov 10, 2022 4:54 pm Cellar Sailing

"Aye? Well mayhaps ye're cap'n should ensure their vessel be shipshape an' seaworthy. Since I didn't come down 'ere deliberately. Now, how do I be gettin' back up, an' what do th' steps be like? I hope they be sturdier'n the floor was." Frigate dusts himself off and checks his pouches and waist with his hands to make sure he's not lost anything in the fall. It'd be pretty unfortunate if something has fallen off, since his neck doesn't bend and it's correspondingly tricky to look down. Fortunately, he does still have his powderhorn, and it's intact, which would be a relief to anyone aware he had an extradimensional space filled with gunpowder.
"Um... uh..." The incubus stammers, reddening. "Well, I, um... you... can't be down here?"

He's kinda stuck on that point, isn't he?

"I, um, guess that means we'll have to take you out through the freight elevator." The incubus nods slowly to himself. "That sounds right, yeah. And, um... my boss is going to want to charge you for the floor."

As if punctuating the statement, a loose piece of timber falls from the hole above them and clunks against Frigate's head, likely not doing any real damage.
Gold wrote: Nov 11, 2022 9:20 pm [The MERC's Holiday]

Solenoid places down her own chips, making a somewhat larger bet than last time. "It's never misplaced, I tell you that much," she grins to the succubus. Beckoning for the dealer to hit her, she answers "Well, I hear the highest rollers in this establishment get to meet some pretty important people. Figured that could be me," with a slight shrug. "Anyways, even girls like myself gotta have a little fun from time to time, you know."
"No question about that." The succubus drones, waving her hand dismissively. "Listen, if you're here to try to meet with any bigshots around here, you're gonna need to do a lot more than just win. That's how you get the bouncers throwing you out before you bankrupt the place, not how you get a meeting with the boss." She smirks and taps her cards. "Voice of experience here, kid."
Murkus wrote: Nov 15, 2022 10:43 pm [With MERCs like these...]

Fettina hesitates only for a second when Frigate plummets through the floor. When she hears his rather cantankerous-seeming voice float up from the gap, she knows he's probably alright, and decides to dodge past the rope at just that moment. She does her best, once she's up there, to look like she belongs... even going so far as to check if the high rollers have any special arm bands or henna skin-stamps to separate them from the common drib-drabs.

"Now this is more like it," says the angel, glancing around, scoping the place. She used to hang out in places like this looking for people to rob. Talking to the important people would just require a little extra effort.

She will try to suss out one of the high rollers who happens to be alone - one of the folk gambling with that red stuff. First she gives them a one-time passing by, just to get their attention, and if they seem interested in her (rather than an incubus or the like, perhaps) she'll smoothly make her way back to drift near them. "Hey, you play here a lot?" She'll ask, feigning innocence, even playing a bit dumb, eyes big. A lost little lamb, she is. Her arms fold behind her back, emphasizing the curves and shape of her body.
Fortunately, there's no such tracker in place. Too much work, probably.

Tina's efforts turn up an incubus at a nearby craps table, who seems to have either forgotten to bring a shirt or lost it at some point. She might note that the incubus has quite a stockpile in front of him; taking away the sizes of the vials, he must have at least a gallon of... whatever this stuff is. He self-consciously crosses his arms over his bare chest as she approaches, glancing at the table and then back at her, shifting uncomfortably. "...Few times a week." He mumbles.

"Bap, you're in here every couple hours." The table's attendant protests.

"She asked if I played here a lot." The incubus replies, tapping the craps table. "And that's only a couple times a week. I do poker most nights."

"Hey, as long as you're having fun, who am I to judge?" The attending succubus shrugs and gives Tina a little "he is so full of it" look before addressing her properly. "Did you want to join, lady? Ante's three vials. If you don't have any, I'm sure the gentleman will loan you a couple."
Who're you? ...Don't matter.

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Here's to us!
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Damn few,
And they're aaaaall dead.
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Earl of Purple
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Re: Hell Bend

Post by Earl of Purple »

Basement Cat

"Aye? How much do it be, d'you think?" Frigate pulls out the key from earlier, inserts it into air so the chest materialises around it as he unlocks it and opens the chest, pulling out a gold bar. It's probably worth more than the floor, and hopefully more than a reinforcing beam in the middle as well. He'll close the chest, lock it again, and pulls the key out so the chest disappears as the key goes back into a pouch. "Now, lead on laddie to yon frightful elevator."
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Re: Hell Bend

Post by Murkus »

[Upstairs]

Fettina grins and winks back at the succubus, but doesn't criticize Bap herself. Hey, she's right. Who're they to judge? "Well sure, I guess, if Bap here will loan me some!" She'll try to drop into the chair next to him. She glances at the vials. Then she leans aside to whisper, "Just what is this stuff, anyways, Bap?"
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Re: Hell Bend

Post by Gold »

[Blackjack]

"Is that so?" Solenoid muses, raising her head slightly. "Well, you can't just say something like that without telling me what you've learned." she says, whilst taking a peek at her cards.
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Re: Hell Bend

Post by Ironsmith »

Earl of Purple wrote: Nov 16, 2022 4:24 pm Basement Cat

"Aye? How much do it be, d'you think?" Frigate pulls out the key from earlier, inserts it into air so the chest materialises around it as he unlocks it and opens the chest, pulling out a gold bar. It's probably worth more than the floor, and hopefully more than a reinforcing beam in the middle as well. He'll close the chest, lock it again, and pulls the key out so the chest disappears as the key goes back into a pouch. "Now, lead on laddie to yon frightful elevator."
"That... that will be quite enough, sir." The nervous incubus swallows, taking the offered bullion. "Right... right this way."

The demon leads Frigate to a large but mostly-empty elevator, which leads back up into the alley outside the casino. He's probably not going to get back in without going through the doorman again.
Murkus wrote: Dec 04, 2022 9:58 pm [Upstairs]

Fettina grins and winks back at the succubus, but doesn't criticize Bap herself. Hey, she's right. Who're they to judge? "Well sure, I guess, if Bap here will loan me some!" She'll try to drop into the chair next to him. She glances at the vials. Then she leans aside to whisper, "Just what is this stuff, anyways, Bap?"
"You've gotta be new in town." Bap chortles, scooping up a handful of vials and setting them in front of Tina. "Everyone who's anyone knows about Mulch. Guzzle down one of these, and you'll be riding the high all day. Or the low. Whatever suits you, I suppose." He taps his finger against one of the vials and grins. "And there's a certain minimum quality before Crimp'll take it as tender for a wager, so this stuff here? It's the good stuff. Abyss original. Aged to perfection. And best shared with a pretty lady friend, am I right?"

The succubus attending the table gives a little purr at that, rolling the dice around in her hands. "...Come bet?"

"Eh, don't come." He shrugs.

"If you insist." The succubus turns to Tina. "And you? You... do know how this game is played, right?
► If not
Gold wrote: Dec 10, 2022 8:36 pm [Blackjack]

"Is that so?" Solenoid muses, raising her head slightly. "Well, you can't just say something like that without telling me what you've learned." she says, whilst taking a peek at her cards.
"Sure I can." The succubus quips, tail flicking up to give Solenoid a teasing boop on the nose. "It's called a sales pitch, honey. And I need to know you're buying before I give up the goods, as it were."

"Hey, are you two bargaining or are you playing blackjack?" The dealer objects, tapping her finger against the table irritably.

"We can multitask." The fancy succubus replies dismissively. "...Although, I should point out, it's her move..."
Who're you? ...Don't matter.

Want some rye? Course ya do!

Here's to us!
Who's like us?
Damn few,
And they're aaaaall dead.
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