Drake wonders if he knows who the real Amylarn is.  When he thinks she is not disguised, she could be so.  He will begin to make a mental note of here costumes and personalities for future reference.

To Drake the armored man is hiding something, and from his actions, it has to do with the poisoning of the dwarf.  Not being a particularly lawful-type, Drake does not call him on it, but will try to remember him, as well, just in case they should run up against him while in town.  Drake, as usual, does not worry about the stranger's hand going to his hilt.  Very few in the land can draw their sword faster than he.

Drake would just like to go in and see if Durken is inside, but he walks slowly to ensure that Amylarn isn't accousted any further from the drunk. While passing he asks, in a friendly manner, "Durken Shark inside?".  It won't hurt to know before they enter, should these men even know.

The man snorts laughter until his face is red as Armylarn's price.

What, you want me to bring you some hair from Elminster's beard, too!  No offense hon, but I'd give you five in a shot, ten if I was more drunk than I am.  But no woman in Iliptur is worth 50 golds!

As Drake walks by and asks if Durken Shark is inside, the men respond "yes".  One goes so far as to say He's on a roll tonight, too.  Gamblin' drinkin', sayin' things were gonna be goin' his way for a while.  And it sure looks like Tymora kissed his blonde head, too.

Most I seen him smile in a long time.

The three set off for other pursuits, and you enter the rough bar, looking for Durken.

Denira decides to stay and minister to the dwarf, as she knows that her masked face will cause too much fuss and attention inside.


Thick smoke fills the room and for a minute your eyes are darkened, but when they adjust, you can make out several callgirls plying their trade (a few of whom give Amylarn sour looks), men throwing dice or flipping cards or tossing darts, and a tall half-orc with one eye serving drinks at the bar.

He nods as you enter, indicating he will take your order and your coin when you are ready.  In the meantime he goes to speak with a robed man at the far end of the bar.  The robed man has a hood over his head, so you can not make out any features.  He is big, though, bigger than the half-orc by at least a head.

Durken Shark is playing cards with a halfling woman with long red hair and bright green eyes and a thin and pale man with very little hair and a crooked nose.  He wears three thick gold rings on each hand and he has brass bracers with silver inlays in the form of skeletons on them.  It is clear that while he does not pay much for his clothing, he spends his money on jewlery, someo f it possibly magical.

Well Ardo, are you going to bet or fall asleep behind your cards? Durken teases.  The halfling lass giggles and the thin man sucks at his big teeth, ignoring the taunt.

After a solid minute he tosses in three gold coins and sits back.

The lass tosses in three coins and then follows with a platinum piece.  Ardo curses and thows down his cards.

Durken laughs and squints at the halfling.

Well, if I knew you were playing with your own money and not your father's, I'd figure you had any hand beat the way you tossed in that platinum.

So I think you're full of Otyugh spit.

He meets her bet and raises it by three more platinums.  He leans back on his chair and smiles, the cat catching the canary.

The woman shakes her head and shows her cards.  Three green dragons.

But Durken has better: three wands and two wizards.

She groans and starts to shuffle the cards.

Ardo counts his small pile of coins and grumbles in a reedy voice that the next game will be his last unless he wins something back from "The Shark".

Durken sees you looking at the game and waves.

Come join the fun. I may be called "The Shark", but I don't bite.

The halfling maiden hisses with laughter and says NOW who's full of otyugh spit!?

There are three free seats at the table.

Durken looks at Amylarn for a bit, but then pays attention to his large pile of coins.  He starts sectioning them off : golds in one pile, platinums in another, silvers in another.

There are no coppers on the table, and a few small gems are in Durken's pile, too. They have probably come from the halfling.  She has three small garnets in front of her along with some golds and silvers left.

============================

<green>OOC: Oh boy, a fantasy poker game!

After watching the last round of betting, Drake wonders if he has the funds to join such a game. He just got paid for the last job he did and was rather looking fond to eating.  But Durken is the reason they are here and he just invited Drake to sit next to him. This is the best chance to gain some information. Hopefully Durken does not recognize Drake as a guard from the funnel, especially since he might be drunk.

Drake nods in acceptance an sits down and keeps things light "I don't have that much to take." and he pulls out a stack of 40 gp.

Durken eyes the gold coins Drake sets on the table and grins.  You've got enough for at least a few hands of fun, sir.

The big man reaches over the table and offers a handshake.

Durken Shark, and you....?

OOC: Not to squash RPing, but I want to get the game going, so...

Introductions are made and those who wish to sit and gamble can do so.


OOC: There is room for any who want to join in.

The one-eyed half-orc at the ban points with his thumb over to the table, and a slender woman with tanned skin and raven black hair nods.

She goes to the table and asks if anyone wants a drink or food.

Durken orders another "Dark Amber" ale, and the halfling woman orders some more "fish fingers".

In front of her is a dish of crumbs and a single golden finger-shaped piece of fried fish.  She gulps it down and gives the serving girl the dish.  And bring more katsauce, too, Myrana.

The woman nods and looks to Drake for his order as the tall bald man shakes his head.

Licking the fingers on one hand and deftly dealing cards with the other hand, the halfling says Umm...what the hey, dragons are wild and can be any suit.  A gold is all it takes to join this game.

Durken groans and mutters Why not just make this a game for kiddies?

====================================

OOC: Whoever is in, take a gold off your PC's sheet and let me know you're gaming.  I'll deal your hands next!

And don't worry.  While some of my NPCs may well cheat, <b>I</i> don't!

I'll walk you though this if you need.

=====================================

As the cards are dealt, Amylarn notices that two men are eying her from either side of the room.  One is a burly man with dark hair and a long moustache and chisled features.  He wears clothing that reminds her more of a woodsman than a city dweller.

The other man is a thin fellow with baldling grey hair and a thin beard.  He wears simple garb and has ink stains on his right hand.  He sits at a table with scrolls and parchment and several ink pots on it.  A pen rests in one of the pots.

Several other rough-looking men are in the bar, but their attention seems to be on matters in front of them: games of chance or conversations between each other.

The only women in the bar are Amylarn, Myrana (the black-haired serving girl), and the halfling woman playing cards with the Shark brother.

OOC: We'll say Bethany is outside with Denira.

And soon both may be out of the region unless they post soon.

Posters who are even slower than I am...now THAT's bad!
This message was last edited by the GM at 09:06, Sun 26 Nov 2006.

Drake tosses his gold on the table, I'm in

He waves away the serving girl, he has no money to waste

OOC:  Now that I know which of the party members I can count on for backup, I can make a decision on what to do.

Amylarn surveyed the room and people within. The eyes she felt on her were to be expected. The large figure in the dark robes was not terribly surprising. But what grabbed her attention and held her spellbound were the card game and the empty seat that was waiting for her. There was no way to know if the chair had been arranged by Tymora or Beshaba but Amy would take the seat either way. She knew she was about to abandon the plan she had made before walking into the Blue Drake but it couldn't be helped. Besides, with only Drake and Elodir around, if things got rough she would want to be close to them.

Playing cards capitalized on several of the blonde's favorite subjects and finest skills. Amylarn's foremost interest was learning secrets and each time a hand was dealt, every player at the table had a brand new secret for her to try and learn. Sure, they were small, short lived secrets but they could be quite profitable. And judging from the shiny valuables in play this game had the potential to be very profitable.

Remembering to stay in character, Amy giggles in a way to suggest that might be her most common method of communicating. "I gotta few coins. Got 'em from a trader from the ports I did. Says he was off back to meet some people in Arabull. Is this nuff to play?" Reaching into the coin purse hooked on her belt, she produced five platinum tricrowns and ten golden lions, all coins with the stamp of Cormyr on them. Seeing no one object, Amylarn took a seat and flipped her hair from in a flirtatious way. "So what game is this?"

Durken smiles and nods Oh, you have more than enough to play, my dear.

The halfling rolls her eyes and says Your eyes fall out of their sockets one more time and Constance will think you're a zombie and -

The gaunt man clears his throat loudly and gives the short lady a cross look.

She shrugs and looks around for the barmaid.

slow'n a snail in the snow...I could starve and they'd never know it over here...

===========================

OOC: I'm getting the game set up and should have it done for later on Sunday.  We'll play it in a seperate thread.  I'll let you know when to post there.

The poker game thread is set up.  Those in the game, take a gold off your sheet and post there once.

I will post for the NPCs.

As I read back over the game thread here, I see that some of what I posted is not really reflective of poker, but was done on the fly.

The REAL rules we will follow are in the poker game thread.

"Well. . .  I suppose I could give this a shot, then. . .  Never played before, but perhaps Tymora shines upon me tonight?" Elodeir said after a moment of contemplation - he didn't really have very much gold, certainly not compared to the Shark, and it truly was his first time playing this game.  Still, it seemed like fun, and maybe, just maybe he could earn some gold, as well?

With that, he took a seat, placed a golden coin in the ante, and placed fifty more on the table - almost everything he had.

A young elven woman walks into the Blue Dragon Tavern with a soft smile and a bag of jingling coins in her hand.  Spying the group playing cards she walked over to them and politely asked, "May I join once this hand is over?"

==================================

FROM DM:

Durken Shark, the burly blonde man who seems to practically lord over this small smokey tavern, smiles wide and pulls a chair over, moving a bit to give room at the table.

Sure.  If you count your coin fast enough, you can even get in on this hand.
This message was last edited by the GM at 05:56, Sun 03 Dec 2006.

Placing a gold in the ante and fifty more on the table, Elodeir waited for cards to be dealt to him, whispering a silent prayer to Tymora for his cards to be high.

Drake slids his his gold into the pot.  He has played cards many times and learned early from his father. Maybe he will be able to gain some of those gems for himself.

Nov 28  Drake sees he is up first, He taps the table, relinquishing the opportunity to lead the betting and passinging it to Amylarn to deside. ("checking" - if that is allowed)

Amylarn made a show of looking around at everyone else to see what she should do. She knew very well how card games are run but had no intention of letting anyone, especially The Shark, know that. As each of the others had done she took a gold coin and lightly tossed it into the ante pile. "Oh! Lotsa money all around! This'll be fun." She flipped her hair back and grinned a broad grin at anyone who would meet her gaze. "Can I gitta card with a picher on it too?"

Not wanting to overstep her bounds with the group of strangers, Amylarn doesn't presume to answer Shaeria's question.

OOC: 08:37, Today: Amylarn rolled 8 using 1d20+7. Appraise gems on the table.
Okay, so obviously I'm SO in tune with my current disguise, I can't even think straight enough for a simple appraise check.

DM Mike: Do I need to roll a seperate appraise check for every gem or for each person's gems or what?

========================

FROM DM:

Durken raises his right eyebrow and smiles at Amylarn.  My!  What a pair!

The halfling lass smacks at her teeth and rolls her eyes, looking over the cards in her hand.

OOC: One check per person's gems, we'll aay.

"Of course you may, fair lady.  May Tymora shine upon you tonight," Elodeir answered the newcomer at the table, and offered her a smile before he received his cards.  "Ooh!  A pair!  Now, let's see if I've got any other sevens hidden under here, huh?" he said to no-one in particular, and took a look at his hidden cards.  "Hm...  Not bad at all," he mumbled, and grinned.


=====================

FROM DM:

Durken looks over at Elodeir's cards and nods.

Hate to say it, but your pair's got her's beat.

Cramming another fish finger dipped in katsauce into her toothy mouth, the halfling with the cards looks around the table.

Wanna let the new gal in the hand, or get bettin' and playin'?

Sitting gracefully, Shaeria smiles her thanks and replies, "I've got 50 here in my coin purse."  While waiting for cards she takes them out and sets them in even stacks on the table before her.

The halfling smiles, flipping through her cards and looks around at you all one last time.

Okay boys and ghouls - h'yuk h'yuk - dragons are wild and can be any suit.  That'll make some of us here very happy and others....well...?

She shrugs and looks to Drake (who is sitting first to her left).

It's your turn, handsome.  Toss out a bet.

Playing her part, Amylarn looks down at her chest and then over at Elodeir with a curious expression. Then, as if noticing the half-elf’s cards for the first time she giggles. ”OH! A pair a cards! Aah see. Sevens bettern twos right?” She leans down to put her eyes close to the surface of the table and then lifts the edge of her cards to see the ones that are face down. To any curious looks she explains, ”If I pick ‘em up somebody might see ‘em.” and then she leans down and checks the cards again as if to make sure they were still the same as a moment ago.

---

OOC: Are we able to make sense motive checks on EACH of the other players as they make their bets? Six sense motive checks in a row? Are we trying to sense whether or not the person is bluffing with their cards? Or are we trying to get a general sense of how good they think their hand is?

The bet passed to him, Ardo purses his lips, looks at his cards, licks his thin lips, then throws a gold coin into the pot.

In for a pound...

It does not take much observation to tell that the thin man is not too pleased with his hand, but he at least thinks he has something in it worth sticking in the game for.

He looks over to Amylarn, awaiting her bet.

=============================

OOC: So others know you have edited your poker game post, please post action/reaction type posts here.

The ditzy blonde checks her hidden cards still on the table once more and then fiddles with her hair for a moment while she thinks. "Hmmmkay. Aah'm gonna put in fer two okay? That'll be one fer his," Amylarn slides in one coin,  "and one more fer me to bet okay?" and then slides one more coin into the pot with a big grin.

OOC: 12/03/06 - Updated Poker Hand thread

With a slight shrug and a wide smile on his handsome face, Durken flips a gold coin onto the table's center.

OOC: Edit to his post in the poker thread.

Shaeria is next.

This message was last edited by the player at 22:23, Sun 03 Dec 2006.

OOC:

Huh?!?

The new PC, Shaeria has to place a bet next, not one of my NPCs.

Not sure why the game has stalled, since a player has to act.

Maybe she is not here to post?

I will send her a PM.

The newcomer folds, wishing to see a hand of the game played before joining in.

She smiles, and no one seems to take offense to her bowing out.

Durken nods to Elodier, indicating it is his turn to play.

"Two gold, is it?  Sure, I'll play," Elodeir said, and placed his coins in with the rest. . .

OOC: to keep things going
Drake tosses in his cards, not comfortable with them vs. the bet.