[Location] Treasures of the Sea

[Cascade]

"I don't," Raleaph replied with a grin. The Nuit had misunderstood him. He had been speaking about his own 'curse', and nothing else. However, he let it go, and waved at the man. "Fine, thirty gold mizas... take them, then." Raleaph waited until he got the payment, and then allowed the man to take the bones in his possession. The shopkeeper turned around with a content smile on his face. Thirty gold mizas for an animal's leg bone? One couldn't even make a decent armor from those. In the end, Raleaph thought he won. Receipt for Rayage : - 30gm + Leg bones of a Cheetah (Femur and Humerus)

[Cascade]

Bob Barton The moment the man entered the shop, the shopkeeper instantly knew that this person was like him. Raleaph knew that the twins had blessed this man as well. He watched this person go through the items, and he wondered what exactly Bob was looking for. When Bob went over to him, Raleaph took the deck. His eyes trailed from the man and to the cards as he shuffled it in his hands and picked a card by random. The shopkeeper took a glance at the card he had taken and smirked. Without even telling Bob which card he had taken, he swiftly put it back in the deck. “This is a valuable card deck,” said Raleaph. “It used to be owned by a Konti fortune-teller... and I will not let it go for less than twenty gold mizas. Wait, okay... I'll let you have it for ten golden mizas, but that's a steal, so you'd better take it.” Raleaph grinned at Bob, and he acknowledged the fact that they had both been touched by Kelwyn. The shopkeeper was used to telling the stories, but this time, he wanted to listen. “Perhaps you should tell me your encounter with the twins instead?” he asked with much curiosity.

[Bob Barton]

Sadly it looked like Raleaph had nothing else special today and did not want to tell Bob about their mutual friends. Only business today then, but the midget could not help but wonder if he was missing something from the man's display with the cards. To him it was just some curiosity that appealed to the gambler in him so telling him that "its a fortune telling deck?" did not mean much except that it might have some other way of being profited off that Bob would not be able to use. Unless he made a konti friend as slimy as he was. The odds of that though would be just like relying on Kelwyn.

Kelwyn was not the first thing on his mind when the shopkeeper talked about price. Bob had no way of telling that the deck really was valuable enough to be twenty or that he was really getting a discount when it dropped to ten. If Raleaph planned it he really planned it well because when he asked about Bob's encounter, Bob dropped his guard. He only thought about how lucky he was that he was going to save ten mizas for retelling of what happened. Ten might be cheap for how epic it was but maybe next time he can use this newfound mutual connection for more benefits? He can only wait until next time to find that out.

Going to tell the entire story which Raleaph might not really care about except the exciting bits pointed out in his voice here, Bob started from the start. Even before he got into the scene where "my friend got into trouble with the wrong trouble" which was not as exciting as the part where "I had to go and bail him out" since Bob was the main character making a stupid sacrifice of his hand he put on the table to "those greedy bastards." Then came the stupendous part that "the twins suddenly came to get me out" and the really hilarious part that "it must really sting to be those guys now that I think about it."

"Did you like that?" Bob asked the shopkeeper once he was finished with the whole thing. "How about you tell me something if you're up to it?" Bob asked looking from the man to the deck of cards and then the spot behind the counter.

[Cascade]

Bob Barton Raleaph nodded. Bob’s story was vague, and he didn’t really pick up many details from it. This was fine with the shopkeeper, though. He made use of vague stories, filled them up with his own phrases, and reused them when he could. “What do you want to hear, eh?” asked Raleaph, returning his question. Did Bob want to hear something special about the card deck? “If you must know, these cards have a life of their own… and the deck is incomplete. All the previous owners have taken a part of it. Its cards are useless when not alone, its previous owner even said it was cursed when held together. Death follows the deck holder, but those who hold only one card are rewarded.” He had heard that some of its previous owners had died when they insisted on carrying the deck, and not just one card, around. That was the reason it was with Raleaph, because he was a person that couldn’t be touched by death, and it was safe in his shop. But Bob didn’t know this, and Raleaph didn’t care if the man would believe the curse of the cards. There was a twinkle in his eyes as he picked up one of the card. He showed Bob the face of the card. It was the Three of Wands. “The Three of Wands. Personal fortitude and strength of character... it bears the solitude of leadership. Rumors are if I carry this by itself, it will guide me. And every time I pick cards from this deck, this is always the first one I get.” He put the card back in the deck. “It’s still ten golden mizas even if you take just one card.”

[Bob Barton]

The current owner of the deck, or so he claimed gave pretty detailed explanation about the deck. Maybe a even little bit too detailed. On one hand it could be fabricated and on the other it could be real. Bob could not decide on which. Still he was a gambler and if Raleaph talked about luck Bob was all for going against it because only the biggest risks grant the biggest rewards. If only one will give the rewards what about all of them? Oh death? That was no reward at all. "So why aren't you dead yet?" Bob asked. There had to be a reason, one that he could use if he decided to take it all.

Taking the deck and looking at them, he felt they never lost their charm. The prospect of cheating Dira made him want it more since it might mean he had stronger luck. Shuffling the cards, Bob asked Raleaph to "tell me about the first owner. The fortune telling konti named..." whatever. Bob was just trying to pull it out if he could. The more important question was "Did the curse get her?" or was it something else? Looking at the first card, he put it back and asked somemore. "Is it possible to get rid of this curse somehow?" Then he took the card again. It was the exact same one and "uhhh...hmmm..." interesting. Bob could only take Raleaph's word that its the same card since he never got to see the first time Raleaph drew from the deck.

Bob shuffled the deck one more time and drew. This had to be more than coincidence. "What does this card mean?" he asked showing it to Raleaph. This settled it though. This deck must really have some power in them in this world full of gods and magic, both of which Bob knew. But the cards...they were beautiful. Sighing Bob made a remark what "a gambler needs a whole deck to play..." which was true since he only wanted the cards to have a few games. "Maybe we can come to some sort of an arrangement?" Bob suggested after thinking it though a bit. If Raleaph really is safe from the curse "I'll take this card first but if I ever come back and still want deck, you can give it to me if you have it?" Otherwise "you can show me something else of interest and I'll get that and...you give me this card as a present?"

The idea made Bob chuckle a little. Even if Raleaph agreed to the first, it was only a gentleman's agreement and the man would not have any obligation to keep the deck for Bob. As for the second...yeah...right... But Bob still started counting his coins anyway. The worst was he would end up buying the whole thing right?

[Cascade]

Bob Barton “The name of the first owner? Oh, I can’t tell you that,” replied Raleaph. It was strange, for her was always so candid about his stories, but he seemed to refuse to tell Bob about something which seemed so mundane. The storekeeper quickly brushed the topic of the Konti’s name away. “The first owner is long dead now, and yes, the curse got to her.” Who knew if he was telling the truth? “Of course the curse can be broken. All curses may be broken, and anything is possible…” said the storekeeper with a huge grin. “You should know that, considering you were touched by the twins.” Raleaph looked at the card Bob had picked. It was the Five of Swords. The man seemed to think about it for a while. He wasn’t a fortune-teller, though he did have some knowledge about the meanings of the cards. Mostly, he knew scattered keywords. “Action, sacrifice, and strategy... it symbolizes victory by surrender, success earned through personal degradation, and a temporary victory tainted by dishonor. Look, you can take this card, or you can take the deck… and you can come back after how long and see if the other cards are still around. What will it be?”

[Bob Barton]

Sigh. Raleaph just had to make things hard for Bob but in a way it helped Bob a little. He might not want to tell the name because the konti might have had a name that Bob would recognize, whether it was good or not. If that was the case then Bob really might have some reason to be suspicious because it will mean that the curse is that strong or it could mean that the benefits from having it even if just one card can be very good. Seriously, why is it not possible for Bob to keep the whole deck?

Bob really does not know what the man was playing at. At first he was suggesting something like the curse of the deck was not something Bob wanted on him. After that he had to play with his words, hinting that the curse can actually be broken. Especially...maybe...because the twins were helping him somehow? Bob felt at the mark he had as he started to make a decision. Either to keep the whole deck or take just his card first. Trusting that Raleaph would keep the rest of them for him instead of selling it to the next unsuspecting person that liked how pretty the cards looked.

And the card Bob picked, it was ominous. Like an omen. Action..."should I take it...?" Sacrifice..."all or just one?..." Strategy..."keeping it here might make me feel safer...but I might lose it..." Ah what the hell! Bob took out the ten coins. Surrendering to Raleaph to win his prize even if he knew he was not getting a good enough deal out of it. It was degrading really, Bob Barton paying to get something that is rightfully his as a gambler. However, there is no way he was going to go for just a temporary victory. That would be a complete waste.

Taking a card from the deck which turned out to be his card...again...he told Raleaph that "I'll be back. Keep that deck nice and safe for me." With that he got what he wanted today. Sort of.

[Cascade]

Bob Barton “Splendid,” answered Raleaph as he took the ten coins as his own. The storekeeper saw that when Bob took a card, it was, as expected, the Five of Swords. “Thank you for your purchase.” With a nod, Raleaph took back the incomplete tarot deck and put it aside. He seemed to empathize with Bob’s curiosity. “I can’t promise that nobody else will take the deck, or that nobody else will take cards from it… but I’ll remember your words,” he said. With that, he bid the man good luck, as he wondered why anybody would want to be accompanied with the card Bob had taken. Ledger : - 10 GM + The Five of Swords (Card) - When a person has this card with him, he will be urged to act with brashness and selfish ambition that will hurt many people. And while this may lead the holder to temporary victory, it will cause those around him to alienate him.