21st Bell - 62nd of Winter, AV 515 - Tall Johnny's Casino
The air was hot and humid tonight in Tall Johnny's Casino. Smoke and sweat hung heavy in the air, you could taste the last person that sat at your stool last and they all stunk of the same foul mixture; alcohol and piss in equal parts. The hearth fires burned high tonight in the casino and the alcohol flowed freely from barrel to patron as they all sought to stave off the cold weather that had plagued Sunberth these last few days. Erik was grateful to have pulled guard duty within the Casino tonight, his old bones felt the cold that he had often shrugged off in his youth and while the rabble of the casino were uncouth and unruly, they were fair less dangerous after several pints of ale or cider than the sober cutthroats that prowled Sunberth's alleyway.
"Go on, in the gut, in 'is gut" He muttered to himself, keeping a closer eye on the cage fight then his job as the two brutes slugged it out in the ring. "Go on, go on. Ah, you stupid cunt!" He curse once more as one of the brawlers received a heavy left hook to the jaw and promptly staggered backwards in a stupor before hitting the fall entirely. "Bah, thank Xyna I didn't put my day's wage on that thick moron" He muttered before turning back and walking over to patrol the Casino section.
While the blood sports catered to the man in the street, here in the casino section were desperate and the decadent men of the city. A bit of booze and a bit of blood helped most men relax after a day of hard work, but the few wealthy men of the city liked to gamble with fools who risked every copper they could place to their name with the hope of striking it lucky. Here Erik paced up and down the tables, ready to remove a player that out of luck and coin or even worse; a cheater. Of course Erik didn't really have to sniff it out, even now he could feel Tall Johnny's gaze linger on every bet, play and bluff made by all the gamblers.
"Bet or Stand gentlemen?" A nearby dealer inquired. Portraits, a quick way to empty your purse, might as well just toss your coin in the closet gutter Erik thought as he reminisced the many evenings he walked away from the table broke and bitter. He watched with interest, eyeing up the poorest looking gambler on the table with each play he made as the dealer continued to dispense the cards with each request. A couple of the gamblers went bust with the third card dealt, though money didn't mean much to men willing to wear velvet and silk in public who simply laughed off the loss while the poor man pushed his luck, sweating profusely like a man with a date with Ol' Queen Kova.
Bust Erik thought as he watched the gambler reveal his blind card, the Whip condemning his to a loss as he was forced to watch his money dragged away from him with hopelessness in his eyes. "Wait!" He said loudly, his voice cracking with desperation as the tone picked up the attention of Tall Johnny and his ire. "Double or nothing" He offered as Erik stepped over, resting a hand on the man's shoulder.
"I think you should cut your losses" He said, trying to his best to keep the man calm while making the blade that rest at his hip as prominent as possible, making it clear he could lose a lot more than his coin if he got too rowdy.
Erik watched the man look between his coin and Erik's blade as a bead of sweat meandered down the side of his worried face. "No, no. Please, just let have another hand" The man begged, his eyes pleading with the mercenary but Erik had already looked away and instead sought the guidance of Tall Johnny. Erik wasn't suprised to see the man turn his head away from charming some gullible patrons and turned it Erik's way as if he knew the guard wanted his approval. He simply nodded at Erik before turning back to his small attentive audience before making some quip that filled the tables with roaring laughter but Erik has already turned back to the desperate gambler.
"Please, I can win it back, just give me on-" He begun to beg but Erik stopped him in his speech as the mercenary's finger clasped the gambler's sweat sodden temple and slammed his head down on the table. Bang. Bang. Bang. Three times his head struck the surface of the smooth wooden table, Erik could feel the resistance in the man's movement falter with the first impact. The next two just made sure there would be no resistance from the rest of the gamblers.
With no objections he wrapped his arm somewhat tightly around the dazed man's neck and kicked the stool out from under his rear, letting the man slump against Erik as he started to drag him towards the entrance of the Casino without even giving him a chance to get on his feet. Some looks were thrown his way as he dragged the half-conscious man out the establishment and he could feel the festivities somewhat drain from the premise but a new set of fighters in the ring and a fresh mug of booze would quickly rectify that problem.
He released his firm grip on the man's throat before raising his boot and stamping down the back of the gambler's knees, forcing him to crumple to the ground. He opened the wide, scarred wooden doors to the rest of Sunberth before grabbing the man by the back of his shirt and chucked him out into a mound of snow. A couple of curious blue faces peered round. The beastly Akalaks, both clad in thick fur, cocked a quizzical eyebrow at him. "Bastard went bust, didn't wanna leave with some dignity" Erik explained as he stood in the doorway, feeling the cold winter air roll over his body "If he doesn't move in the next coupla chimes, drag 'im to 'is feet and kick 'is arse down the road" He added before closing the doors shut once more.
The air was hot and humid tonight in Tall Johnny's Casino. Smoke and sweat hung heavy in the air, you could taste the last person that sat at your stool last and they all stunk of the same foul mixture; alcohol and piss in equal parts. The hearth fires burned high tonight in the casino and the alcohol flowed freely from barrel to patron as they all sought to stave off the cold weather that had plagued Sunberth these last few days. Erik was grateful to have pulled guard duty within the Casino tonight, his old bones felt the cold that he had often shrugged off in his youth and while the rabble of the casino were uncouth and unruly, they were fair less dangerous after several pints of ale or cider than the sober cutthroats that prowled Sunberth's alleyway.
"Go on, in the gut, in 'is gut" He muttered to himself, keeping a closer eye on the cage fight then his job as the two brutes slugged it out in the ring. "Go on, go on. Ah, you stupid cunt!" He curse once more as one of the brawlers received a heavy left hook to the jaw and promptly staggered backwards in a stupor before hitting the fall entirely. "Bah, thank Xyna I didn't put my day's wage on that thick moron" He muttered before turning back and walking over to patrol the Casino section.
While the blood sports catered to the man in the street, here in the casino section were desperate and the decadent men of the city. A bit of booze and a bit of blood helped most men relax after a day of hard work, but the few wealthy men of the city liked to gamble with fools who risked every copper they could place to their name with the hope of striking it lucky. Here Erik paced up and down the tables, ready to remove a player that out of luck and coin or even worse; a cheater. Of course Erik didn't really have to sniff it out, even now he could feel Tall Johnny's gaze linger on every bet, play and bluff made by all the gamblers.
"Bet or Stand gentlemen?" A nearby dealer inquired. Portraits, a quick way to empty your purse, might as well just toss your coin in the closet gutter Erik thought as he reminisced the many evenings he walked away from the table broke and bitter. He watched with interest, eyeing up the poorest looking gambler on the table with each play he made as the dealer continued to dispense the cards with each request. A couple of the gamblers went bust with the third card dealt, though money didn't mean much to men willing to wear velvet and silk in public who simply laughed off the loss while the poor man pushed his luck, sweating profusely like a man with a date with Ol' Queen Kova.
Bust Erik thought as he watched the gambler reveal his blind card, the Whip condemning his to a loss as he was forced to watch his money dragged away from him with hopelessness in his eyes. "Wait!" He said loudly, his voice cracking with desperation as the tone picked up the attention of Tall Johnny and his ire. "Double or nothing" He offered as Erik stepped over, resting a hand on the man's shoulder.
"I think you should cut your losses" He said, trying to his best to keep the man calm while making the blade that rest at his hip as prominent as possible, making it clear he could lose a lot more than his coin if he got too rowdy.
Erik watched the man look between his coin and Erik's blade as a bead of sweat meandered down the side of his worried face. "No, no. Please, just let have another hand" The man begged, his eyes pleading with the mercenary but Erik had already looked away and instead sought the guidance of Tall Johnny. Erik wasn't suprised to see the man turn his head away from charming some gullible patrons and turned it Erik's way as if he knew the guard wanted his approval. He simply nodded at Erik before turning back to his small attentive audience before making some quip that filled the tables with roaring laughter but Erik has already turned back to the desperate gambler.
"Please, I can win it back, just give me on-" He begun to beg but Erik stopped him in his speech as the mercenary's finger clasped the gambler's sweat sodden temple and slammed his head down on the table. Bang. Bang. Bang. Three times his head struck the surface of the smooth wooden table, Erik could feel the resistance in the man's movement falter with the first impact. The next two just made sure there would be no resistance from the rest of the gamblers.
With no objections he wrapped his arm somewhat tightly around the dazed man's neck and kicked the stool out from under his rear, letting the man slump against Erik as he started to drag him towards the entrance of the Casino without even giving him a chance to get on his feet. Some looks were thrown his way as he dragged the half-conscious man out the establishment and he could feel the festivities somewhat drain from the premise but a new set of fighters in the ring and a fresh mug of booze would quickly rectify that problem.
He released his firm grip on the man's throat before raising his boot and stamping down the back of the gambler's knees, forcing him to crumple to the ground. He opened the wide, scarred wooden doors to the rest of Sunberth before grabbing the man by the back of his shirt and chucked him out into a mound of snow. A couple of curious blue faces peered round. The beastly Akalaks, both clad in thick fur, cocked a quizzical eyebrow at him. "Bastard went bust, didn't wanna leave with some dignity" Erik explained as he stood in the doorway, feeling the cold winter air roll over his body "If he doesn't move in the next coupla chimes, drag 'im to 'is feet and kick 'is arse down the road" He added before closing the doors shut once more.
