Chelsie places a few silver pieces on the counter and takes the dice. "Nine, so close... I guess I can try once more." Her second roll comes up eight. "And now I'm back where I started!" She smiles, pleased to have broken even.

OOC: As I went to roll the dice, it occurred to me you should require players to place their bets in the dice roller description (like I did here). Since you usually roll dice before writing up a post, it would be easy to roll a few times and just happen to place a larger bet on the winning roll...

07:58, Today: Chelsie Primrose rolled 9 using 2d6.  Dragon's Dice for 3 sp.
07:59, Today: Chelsie Primrose rolled 8 using 2d6.  Dragon's Dice for 3 sp.

Cocking his head curiously at the thrown cubes, Nutcracker gave it a try himself after seeing how Chelsie did it. Interestingly enough, he almost duplicated her rolls. But still no one took a drink. So this wasn't one of those games. Then again, most of the time the satyrs liked to take a drink or ten and then run around. No one was running here. Maybe they needed help. So he started to take a drink after his rolls.

OOC: NGL I did laugh when the rolls came up almost the same.
11:49, Today: Nutcracker rolled 9 using 2d6.  Emulating Chelsie.
11:48, Today: Nutcracker rolled 6 using 2d6.  Emulating Chelsie.

"Now there's the spirit!" exclaimed Carmen, watching as the two players lost, then regained their bets.

Wendel watches the others playing dice and looks like he has to hold back from giving it a go himself. There was a reason Luna handled the finances and he rarely kept any coin on his person. "I uhm, I'm going to go check on Victor. If we're really doing this we should all be at a hundred percent before we head out."

He gets up and leaves the establishment with a "See you all back at Smith's."

Carmen watches as the tavern life passes by slowly. She hadn't had a serious gambler in a long time, and the drinks....well, thankfully they were freezing cold and we'll preserved.

Where were all the adventurers returning from their patrols?

Victor wanders into the Dragon's Den having recently come in from the cold and delivering the fishmen's sacrifice to Smith for burial.

It is pleasantly cosy in here and, without the pressing need to rest ahead of an imminent sacrifice of the innocent, Victor is looking forward to a stiff drink before he turns in.

OOC: After any post Under The Moonless Sky revels Victor will wander over to the Frosthide Inn to rent a room for a long rest. -3GP living expenses for the long rest and a level up!

Chelsie follows Victor in. "So, Carmen, what do you have to warm a girl up?"

She orders a meal with wine, as well as a shot of spirits, letting some warmth sink back into her worn out body. As she starts to feel better, she takes a try at the dragon dice. "I've got 5 gold pieces here. That's right, a real bet this time. Now give me those dice!"

She rolls 9.

"Ah, so close! But fortune says not today, Chelsie!" She loses the roll, but she's still feeling warm and giddy from the spirits and the wine.

"Your turn, Victor, you roll the dice now." She looks at the paladin, waiting to see if he'll join the game.

OOC: -6gp & 7 sp for a shot of spirits, a pitcher of wine, a comfortable meal, and dragon dice.
Then Chelsie will also head to the Frosthide (-3 gp) to rest and level up.
07:59, Today: Chelsie Primrose rolled 9 using 2d6 with rolls of 6,3.  Dragon's Dice, 5 gp wager.

Victor likewise ordered a meal and a shot along with a mug of ale, and enjoys the warmth of it.

When told it is his turn Victor shakes his head, "One should only gamble if they can afford to lose, I won't be playing. You enjoy your game though."

-1gp 5sp 5cp for meal and drinks.

Carmen was pleasantly surprised to see her tavern filled up with adventurers, even if they were only the ones she had just spent the past few hours with. "Now now Victor, don't be a spoilsport. Whats a few gold between friends." she smiles and gives him a nod, as if she actually acknowledges his decision to be a fair one. "Gods, my bones feel chilled to the core but poor Chelsie looks like she's got the rattles." she says, watching as the shake of the dice is fitful and random.

"Believe it or not, the warmest place in this establishment is actually the stables. I doubt you would want to spend much time in there though. I really haven't spent much time cleaning it out lately."

She senses the need to have a few sessions with her prestidigitation spell coming on in the future to get it spick and span once more!

"Hear that Victor, you're being a spoilsport," Chelsie says, teasingly. But then her face abruptly turns very, very serious. "Actually, I admire your restraint. Gambling can get you in trouble if you don't know how to say no, so good on you! See, I'm stopping now, too, because I just lost five gold pieces. Five gold pieces! No way I can lose that every day."

She sips at her wine as Carmen talks about the warmth of her stables.

"Oh Carmen, it's plenty warm in here. Those spirits really hit the spot, I tell you! You run a nice establishment here. Perfect place to warm up after an adventure."

OOC: So it would appear that tipsy Chelsie is pretty chatty, and kind of flirty. It's sure fun to be surprised by your own character in play.

Victor raises an eyebrow at the teasing but soon laughs it off, content with the full belly and the warmth of the drink and atmosphere.

"So I missed the other night, I was a little worse for wear I'm sure you'll agree, what brings you to Smith's Gambit?" he asks the pair.

"Research! And ruins. A colleague of mine was exploring these ruins and asked for my assistance, but I couldn't find anything. Then I found out he didn't survive. When my friend Eithan decided to travel here, I decided to follow and see what I could find out."

"What about you, Victor?"

Nutcracker enters the tavern to see everyone else is there already drinking and playing dice. A hot meal did sound good after the cold journey and then a good long rest to shake the cold from his bones.

Setting down the four remaining sacks of gold on the counter, he also divided out the smaller pouch into five piles of 15gp each and then placed the single gold piece in front of each pile from the denied payment for the burial. "Take the poor soul's earthly remains, to the temple of Kelemvor, if you don't mind. Keep the coin, paying the temple ain't your responsibility." They all knew Smith's voice. "One for you, and one for each of your teammates. And this one...is to divide among you, as a thank you for returning the unused magical bolts."

Sitting down while collecting his pile of coin, Nutcracker ordered a good meal and a pitcher of wine. He slid forth a whole gold coin and refused any change. Money was useful, but a nuisance sometimes.

OOC: Everyone gets their 100gp payment, bonus 15gp each for the return of the bolts, and 1gp from the refused payment.

"I left the Order of Khepri to conquer the Rimewood and erect a temple of Lathander here in Smith's Gambit... Oh look, Nutcreacker has returned."

OOC: This is clearly not the whole story.
07:42, Today: Victor Iusticia rolled 6 using 1d20+3.  Deception: Half Truths.

Carmen smiles at the comments by Victor. "Stay long enough and you'll get your erection....what did you do? Burn down your old temple and you're starting anew as far away as you can? Somewhere so cold that your fires of passion can't do any harm?"

She thanks Nutcracker for the gold. It was curious to hear him mimicing what Smith had said, but then she also knew how well the talents of mimicry could aid her. "Such a talent for voices." she says jealously. "If only I had your talent....I could go so far."

"Anyway. On to business. Tomorrow I intend to take a stab at mapping out an unexplored area of Rimewood. It seems like all other tasks are taken so far, so if we want to earn good money that's where the action is at. We could encounter literally anything, so bring your best bag of tricks and sharpest swords. Are you all interested?" she asks.

Wendel had been mostly quiet after their arrival back in town, thoughtful perhaps. He didn't want to deny Carmen her hospitality of inviting them all back to the Dragon's Den and so found himself eating a decent meal here but still avoiding any alcohol. It had never turned out well for him before. He listened to Chelsie telling her story and noticed Victor dodging the probing questions again but stayed silent through it all. With Nutcracker's return and the distribution of coinage yet again, Wendel took his share hoping that this might be enough to along with what they'd already saved to get Luna's enterprise up and running soon.

When Carmen states her plans for mapping the unexplored areas of Rimewood he finally speaks up. "I would be interested, I've a few new things I've been thinking up that could be especially useful." He doesn't elaborate though and allows room for others to speak their minds as well.

OOC: Having a heck of a few days. Trying to get caught up.

Wendel spends 5sp on a meal.

Definitely down for some exploration!

While Nutcracker didn't particularly believe that was everything Victor planned on in the area, he also didn't particularly care unless it involved large-scale destruction of the area. The drink and meal were enough to help alleviate the chill lurking from that frigid water, but a little more rest would be good before setting out on another journey. But he was quite excited to get to explore this area more.

"Mapping out an unexplored area of Rimewood. Encounter literally anything." Even though Carmen had just said it, it was the easiest way to confirm that he wanted in. Until he had some rest and his head cleared up, repeating what others had just said was the simplest way to communicate.

OOC: 1gp deducted for food and drink from previous post.

Nutcracker rolled 9 using 2d20+2, dropping the highest dice only.  Insight w/Exhaustion

No worries, Wendel. Take care of RL first.

"I can join you for that," says Chelsie. "Maybe we'll run into more of these ruins that brought me here. But first, I will be purchasing some warmer gear."

OOC: I'll still be exhausted 1, unless the wobbly time of in town means I can take 2 long rests before leaving, but disadvantage on ability checks isn't too terrible for a day.

Carmen is again astounded at the response from Nutcracker.

"You say everything word for word perfect. Can you mix parts of prhases? Maybe we should practice some useful phrases, like "Help, I'm dying" or "Yes, that would be wonderful" or even "You look beautiful as ever today"." she says, smiling at the last one.

"Okay okay, I admit it....I just like the sound of the last one. It might never be useful."

Izayah, back in town for once rather than seemingly never-ending line-up of quests he's been on, was looking to relax. He had once thought about learning to brew himself and start up a tavern, or at least supply them with ale - but that seemed like a long time ago. And too much trouble to do and might keep him away from adventurning.

He paused inside the door and looked around slowly, his first time laying eyes on the place. He gave a half-shrug, with a quick look of "It'll do." on his face before he stepped further in. At the bar he asked, "Ale, please."

"Coming right up. Some of the best cold ale to be found on this side of the Rimewood." replies Carmen, taking the money of Izayah. "Anything new happening? Stories to be told or the likes?" she asked, hoping for some interaction between her and the newcomer.

Izayah let out a small chuckle and smiled at the asker. "Ohhh I wouldn't know where t'begin!" He rubbed a thumb on his chin a couple times, looking up and thinking. "I been deep in the Rimewood few times now. Fought some orcs, three dif'rent types o'wolves - each bigger'n more powerful'n the last ones, winter wolves're tough - water elemental thing, nasty lil' kobolds an' their damn traps, helped a fairy get home..."

He quickly held up his hands defensively. "Not all by my lonesome, mind you. I'm smarter enough t'always travel with others, an' I ain't jerk enough t'try an' take credit for things I had help with."

He paused and shook his head. "Aw, now, look whatchu did. You got me talkin' an' made me ferget my manners!" He dipped his head at her, "Izayah Hamadrell, atcher service. Don't know I've had the pleasure of a proper introduction with you, ma'am."

Victor doesn't respond to Carmen's jibe, instead content to fade into the background as the distractions of gold and newcomers arrive.

He merely smiles and nods when the others discuss exploring the environs around Smith's Gambit, indicating his interest in joining them.