A Mind Altering Experience (Jhui)

by **Sayana** on June 5th, 2015, 3:33 am

Summer 18, 515 AV – The Spinning Coin

Between various wedding preparations Sayana had been missing some of the great fun she’d had last spring scouting about and looking for rumors within the city. Today she wanted a bit of time for herself to enjoy the excitement of uncovering secrets and getting cozy with the shadier types. She also had a sneaking suspicion of where to find those. At Syliras’s one and only place for gambling, the Spinning Coin.

Sayana had never actually been there, but after being in Syliras for a year, she at least knew the main gathering places for people. She was about to head off directly there, but then wondered if people might treat her differently if they knew right away that she was the dancer at the Rearing Stallion. Maybe they might not be so open, or maybe they’d be more open. Still, it’d be fun to try something a little different. She went to her mirror and put generous amounts of black khol around her eyes. She avoided her usual red lip pomade and took off her copper arm bands. Her rings… no, they would stay. Same with her lakan and other daggers. She wasn’t about to go all the way. But she would put on her dark purple cloak to conceal her arms. Or at least until she found it unbearable and had to move freely once more. One last thing she did was pull out her comb to part her hair differently so more would fall into her face. It was all a rather simple sort of disguise and not enough to really hide her identity but it was something.

The Eypharian left with her hood drawn up and she weaved through the winding corridors of the Maiden District. It was sort of like an act, keeping to the shadows and trying to choose routes that were less busy. Of course the main streets would have been quite busy and so she thought she’d avoid a lot more notice by going the indoor route almost entirely to the gambling hall. When she reached the warehouse district she’d have to step outside, but she could still keep to the shadows of the walls. Granted, she did get a few looks especially from a couple of knights but she tried to slow her pace to avoid seeming like a threat or a criminal. It seemed like there was more to it than just wearing a darker cloak.

Nevertheless, she arrived at the Spinning Coin with relative ease and stepped inside without much hassle. She still wore her red outfit underneath the cloak but she was able to wrap up her other arms within the cloak so only parts of her mid arms were revealed. But even as she walked, the flash of metal could be seen at her hip since she wanted her daggers in clear view should anyone think to pick a fight.

“Ahh glad that’s been cleaned up,” Sayana spoke a little dramatically as she clapped her hands and slid into a seat at one of the card tables. “It was looking kind of hairy.” “What’s this?” Asked one of the patrons at the table. “Oh, just a knight who thought he was good enough for two. I had to give his mistress a stern talking to.” Sayana replied in an offhand manner. “But tell me, what’s the game you’re playing?” Her lips curled into a grin as there were a couple of mutters in regards to her made-up rumor. Seems like a good story always made a good sale.

“We’re playing Portraits, sweetheart. Want to join in?”

Secret :

by **Jhui** on June 5th, 2015, 9:54 pm

Tal ran a hand through his hair, his bright blue eyes scanning his room for anything he'd forgotten. He could see nothing, except for his brother's halberd. He didn't know whether he should grab it: he doubted he would use it, but Jhui always had it strapped securely across his back, Knights walking about or no. Jhui was a certified nitwit, but could hold his own with that barbaric pointy thing. "First off, I'm not a nitwit. And second, my halberd is not barbaric. It's a weapon of destruction, a thing of beauty and you should respect it." Tal rolled his eyes; Jhui's love for the thing was bordering on obsession, downright unhealthy. He had considered getting the thing melted down and made into a nice ring, or even a necklace. "Tal, if you touch my halberd, I swear to Wysar...." Well, that was answered.

Tal grabbed his cloak, letting another glance sweep the room as the fires from the hearth sent shadows dancing across the walls. He contemplated dousing it, but decided against it; if it was still going when he got back, less stuff for him to do. If it burned out, oh well. "Lazy, good for nothing...." A small smirk spread across his face as he shut the door, drawing his cloak about him.

"So, where to today, Jhu? I don't think Syliras can get anymore fun." Giving his brother a mental huff, Jhui remained silent, obviously not knowing what to do, either. He was still thinking they should have left for Sunberth for the Summer, but quite obviously, they hadn't: they still needed enough money for a carriage. Tal was thinking they could get it and leave the season after next, since he wanted to mess with a few more Knights and Squires before leaving; they were always the best to hypnotize, and gave good information. At least, he thought they did: he was yet to be good enough to extract anything extremely useful.

"Let's hit the Spinning Coin. Perhaps we could earn some free mizas from the dealers." Obviously, when Jhui said "we", he specifically meant Tal. While he wasn't going to go hypnotize anyone, he figured going to the gambling building was better than doing nothing.

A few chimes later, they walked into the Spinning Coin, looking around at the various games and whatnot. He was about to go check out one of the animal fighting, since those were sometimes amusing, the glint of a dagger flashed from across the room. Obviously, he looked, but found more than he thought he would. Strapped to some woman's hip was a Lakan, and she so obviously not an Akalak. Neither he nor Jhui ever figured out why one of their kin would give their precious Lakan to anyone, so naturally he went to find out more.

"While you're at it, deal me a hand, too."

by **Sayana** on June 5th, 2015, 11:00 pm

“Portraits, sure thing. Adds up to twenty-one?” Sayana confirmed quickly and the man beside her gave a nod in agreement. The Eypharian looked curiously as a newcomer arrived. He had Aren’s dark blue skin but he looked younger. His face not as hardened from experience. Of course, not that Aren looked old, despite his hundred years or so but still there were subtle differences.

Even so, the dealer had already dealt out two cards per person, one face up and one hidden, and was beginning to go around to each seeing if they wanted more. Sayana flipped up her hidden card. It was a four and the face up card was a seven. Within the folds of her cloak she did a quick count of her total upon her fingers to reach eleven. “Here’s a gold miza,” Sayana stated as she placed down the coin. Her odds looked good since any face card would bring her to a sweet twenty-one.

“So anything interesting happening up by the harbor? The last big thing was all the svefra who showed up late spring.” Sayana said as she partly tried to make casual conversation and partly wanted to know if anything special or even unsavory was going on. “Well there’s the recent construction projects but that’s all throughout the city,” one man spoke up before his comrade gave a hiss as he had to fold his hand. “There’s also been talk of the Iron Works expanding but those are only rumors.” Curious. It seemed like the city was rebuilding quite a lot. Now if there was some way to benefit from that… Yet suddenly it was her turn.

“Alright, give me a card,” Sayana said and the dealer flipped up a six. A six? Really? The disgust on her face showed clearly. A six would bring her four short of the mark… seventeen. “Hit me again,” she said as she played recklessly. Queen. “Fold.” Now where was that queen when she needed her? Sayana flicked her coin to the middle of the table as she leaned back in her chair. She was about to reach all her arms above her head when she realized she was attempting to be unobtrusive.

“So what brings a nice young Akalak like yourself here? Money? Entertainment? Or just a place to get out of the sun and enjoy the view?” Sayana asked as she turned her attention to the blue man in the chair next to her. She put one arm on the table to cup her chin in her hand and flicked her hair to one side to expose her neck. Her cloak mostly concealed the fact that she was pregnant but there were also two rings, one on each of her mid hands. One ring had a brilliant dark blue stone, and the other a deep red stone.

by **Jhui** on June 7th, 2015, 7:23 am

Tal kept his eyes on the woman for a second, until he turned his eyes to the dealer as the cards came out. He'd never played this game, Portraits, before, and he doubted he would ever play again after he got the information he needed. Well, he didn't need it. At all, it being completely irrelevant to any of his plans while he was in Syliras. He just wanted to know, and what Tal wanted, he found ways to get despite his skill (or lack thereof) as soon as he possibly could, and he liked to work quite fast.

He removed his cloak, folding it length-wise in half and draping it over the back of a chair. Pulling it, he sat, keeping an eye on his cards though flashing the woman a look once every little while. He followed the example of those around the table, trying to seem like he knew what he was doing. He took the card that was face-down and flipped it over, revealing its identity. While this was a two, the card that was already faced up was a five. Using the trick his father taught him to add, which was tapping his leg and having the hidden brother count each tap, the found the total after a chime. "We've got seven. What number do we need again?" He looked around, watching the people finish counting their cards and talking. "Well, the guy said something about twenty-one, so I'd think we need that much.

Nodding unconsciously, Tal thought for a second, trying to see how much he had to get. He knew it was more than ten, but not how much more than that. "Figure it out later. I think it's time to bet, now. He blinked, watching the woman placed down a gold miza. Slipping an arm behind him to the concealed coin purse, he brought out two, placing them onto the table. He kept his face as serious as possible, and hoped they didn't need to ask anyone about anything.

He listened to the small talk about Svefra showing up in the harbor and some other rumors. He wasn't really paying attention, as he was trying to figure as much of this game out as he could on the fly. The woman asked for another card, so he guessed he would do the same thing. "Card, please." Short, sweet, and to the point. He was promptly given one, which turned out to be an eight. And they needed twenty-one, it seemed. He was about to ask for another, when the woman called for a "Fold". "What's a fold in this game?" Tal gave a mental huff at Jhui, as if he should know. "Try it! Tal brought a hand up to rub his temple slightly, to look as if he were thinking. "Fold." He did exactly as she had, putting his coins into the middle of the table before setting his cards down.

“So what brings a nice young Akalak like yourself here? Money? Entertainment? Or just a place to get out of the sun and enjoy the view?” Tal cleared his throat, about to tell her the truth, though shortened. "My ma and pa brought me out here. Wanted a change of scenery, is all," he spoke in his softHe shrugged, lacing his fingers together and looking at her. He guessed he'd start on trying to get his answers, since he wasn't really one to answer questions about his life.

He looked straight into her eyes, as he found his bright blue irises helped with catching and keeping one's attention. He wasn't that good as of yet in Hypnotism, but with a little creativity, he could accomplish much. First, he went with a non-Hypnotic technique he'd learned from his ma: asking questions. "Why a blue and red ring?" Using his small ability to its maximum potential, he attempted to bring about an Emotional Response. If she kept eye contact with him, he'd try to bring her Happiness up some, as he found happy people answered more questions. He wouldn't know if it worked or not; only time would tell.

Hypnotism Note :

by **Sayana** on June 7th, 2015, 7:28 pm

His answer to her question confused her at first. Why would his ma and pa take him out gambling… Oh. He’s new to Syliras. And this is why he came to the city. The dealer began collecting up the cards and someone collected the winnings from the center of the table. Sayana glanced up coyly at the Akalak and his brilliant blue eyes caught her attention. They weren’t the bright yet warm yellow eyes of Aren but they were no less striking.

She started a bit at the mention of the rings. She looked down at them and fingered the luscious stones so elegantly placed. For a moment she felt a little guilty about her flirtatious manner while so openly displaying her rings but as she caught his eyes once more, all she could think of was the excitement of the approaching wedding. “They are engagement rings, wedding rings,” Sayana replied in a hushed tone so that only he might hear. Yet her tone depicted the happiness she felt at the event looming so near. “Red for me, blue for him,” she continued as she gestured to the two rings. Then adjusting her cloak, she slipped out her high left hand from beneath the folds. “And a diamond for our union.” Upon her high left, there was one last exquisite ring that held a diamond within it. Quickly she slipped her high hand away and brought a finger to her lips. “But shhh… They don’t know me here.”

It wasn’t like she truly had to keep her identity or race hidden, but it was like a new game for her to play and she was curious what the outcome might be. The next set of cards was dealt out and she got a Page flipped up and a… seven in her hand. Her face fell. Stupid sevens. Sayana then leaned in close to Jhui. As he looked at his card she managed to sneak a peek. At Tree! Another face card. That would get her to twenty. “You should switch cards with me so I might be able to win this round,” she whispered as she glanced up quickly to see what the others at the table were up to. “I’ll return you a favor,” she added attempting to persuade him. “But quick.”

Should he agree, she’d try to stealthily switch cards while keeping an eye out for anyone watching. Hopefully they’d be too busy with whoever’s turn it was to get more cards to notice the quick switch.

OOCHope you don’t mind me picking some of the values of the cards. And the hypnotism is fun so far =) Lots of people use the ‘suggestion’ technique to plant ideas into people’s minds. Sometimes those people even use a different font to identify it as hypnotism versus spoken word.

by **Jhui** on June 8th, 2015, 5:13 pm

Tal nodded, glancing around the table once to make sure their conversation wasn't making them miss anything. He wanted to win some money, though he also wanted to know where that Lakan came from. He was never good at prioritizing. "But.... Why does she have both of the rings? Isn't her partner supposed to have one...." He brought a hand up to tap his chin as he listened to her, while Jhui made his own "observation". "I do hope you're not asking me, because I so obviously don't know. Humans will be humans." Tal brought a hand up to tap his chin, readying a comment aimed at her rings, when she revealed her third arm. He tried to not act so surprised, to keep his bored, calm mask up.

He nodded when she mentioned them not knowing her, which confused him slightly, but he pushed it to the back of his mind. Now he wanted to know how many arms she had, since he now knew she was Eypharian. He vaguely remembered hearing or learning about them once, but he forgot most of the details. "Do her kind have four or six arms?" This was meant just as a small question to himself, but once again, Jhui thought it was aimed at him. "I don't know! Expect me to know everything, sheesh. You're supposed to know this." Tal's lip raised in a small smile as Jhui got more and more pissed, which was always a funny thing. Of course, when Tal got pissed, it was equally funny to Jhui.

"You should tell me more of your significant other. He seems interesting." He didn't actually know if he was interesting or not; all she'd told him about were the rings. He turned away from her slightly as the cards came, watching as the deck was shuffled and everyone got two cards. The face up card this time was a three, and once he pulled the face down card up, he saw it to be a Tree. Sayana saw it, too, seeing as she whispered into his ear. He studied her for a split second, before laying his card back down, giving a small nod. He figured he'd keep her favor for later. He was absolute rubbish when it came to sneaky things, so he wouldn't even try.

He watched as the people around them conversed to the people behind them; it seemed frequent gamblers always got a second opinion. He figured if she wanted his card, he'd let her do it. The dealer seemed to be watching everyone like a hawk, though. If she was caught, that would be her problem. He waited for the switch, to see what his new card would be and whether he would get another card or not.

OOCI'm fine with that.

Also, instead of changing the font, I changed the color of the text to show where he's Suggesting (orange). I'm gonna add that info to my signature soon, but just letting you know beforehand.

by **Sayana** on June 8th, 2015, 6:34 pm

“My man? My tall blue man?” Sayana replied with a grin. “He’s kind of like you, but older and piercing yellow eyes. Not like your blue ones. He’s strong, and deadly with his scythe. Even wields magic.” She quickly covered her mouth as if she had spoken in error. “I probably shouldn’t have told you that,” she whispered. “But it’s true.”

With his nod at her preposition to switch cards, she waited until the dealer had his back turned. Quickly she reached stealthily for his card with one of her low hands and put her own card face down in front of him with her mid hand. When the dealer turned back, it seemed as though he hadn’t noticed anything and she let out a soft sigh of relief. However, apparently one of the other players at the table had noticed something. “She’s cheating! She swapped cards with him!” The man called out with an accusing finger pointed at her.

“No I’m not cheating!” Sayana retorted back. “I was just switching the cards back because he swapped them first. I’m the one trying to play by the rules.” Her presentation was a little flustered but she was quick to respond to the claim against her. All she had to do now was convince the dealer that it wasn’t her that was cheating. So much for making a new friend.

She looked back to the Akalak with a hint of guilt in her eyes. Still, what could he do? Especially under the strong watch of the knights. The most that could really happen was that the dealer kicked out both of them. From the table or from the establishment entirely. Though out of the corner of her eye Sayana could see a looming figure approaching the table in which the ruckus had been caused. He seemed entirely human but even just his presence sent shivers down her spine.

OOCI thought it needed a little more conflict

by **Ball** on August 29th, 2015, 3:35 pm

And the grades come rolling in.

Overall Comments

So short, I could only give so much. It was a good read, please mark your grade request as done

Sayana

Experience Points.

Disguise	+2
Investigation	+1
Persuasion	+1
Busking	+1

Lores.

Jhui: Akalak New in Syliras

Notes: I gave the busking for the end sleight attempt. Sorry I couldn’t award more.

Jhui

Please PM me for grades when you return

Template Credit: Edric Wingard

Closed A Mind Altering Experience (Jhui)