Hell's Bailiff - Chapter 3 Part 5
edited September 28th to change Shady into a halfling
Hell's Bailiff - Chapter 3 Part 5
Back at the special auctions, the two dragons were gone now, and replaced by two formidable pit fighters. Well out of my price range, of course. The doppelganger, Anastrianna, sat quietly on her auction block. She was in her grey, featureless doppelganger form, and looking confused and distracted.
I had been briefed on the result of the psychic surgery: She was, as best as they could manage, de-traumatized. As her faculties and shapeshifting ability hadn't been damaged, they were holding me to our agreement to purchase her at the (steep) reserve price. I handed over the coin in a pouch. The illithid slaver didn't even bother to count -- he just briefly scanned my mind for deceit.
:I'm sure you will enjoy your purchase: he communicated to me telepathically with a wiggle of his tentacles. :The usual loyalty locks are in place. She will do whatever you desire.:
"Thank you."
Anastrianna looked at me warily when I sat next to her.
"So you own me now..." she almost whispered. "I don't-- that is, please don't make me do the tail thing on myself. Please?"
"Alright," I agreed. "But you know, I met this tiefling who was really into it when I handled her tail."
Her eyes widened in alarm.
"Okay, okay! No tail thing!"
"... Thank you. So what do you want me to look like?"
"Um... Nothing specific right now. How about an Eladrin? Your name is Anastrianna, isn't it? An Eladrin name?"
The recognition stunned her. "...How did you--?"
"I asked the illithid to find out. He said your name was buried. But it was still there. It's an Eladrin name, isn't it? Is that who raised you?"
She nodded. "Anastrianna... It's been so long. It doesn't feel like my name."
"Do you want a different name?"
"No! No... I think I remember my parents a bit. They were very nice to me." Whatever faint memory had been triggered by her name made her smile wistfully.
"So how do you feel? After they, um..."
For lack of any better way of explaining it, I wiggled my fingers -- like how the illithid like to wiggle their tentacles when telepathically speaking or using their formidable psychic powers.
"I feel strange actually. I know something happened to me in the past. And I'm pretty sure it was very bad. But I just can't remember. When I try, I remember something else entirely. Something about clowns... and flowers... well, it's a ridiculous image. I feel... I don't know what I feel. Like I'm forgetting something horrible but at the same time I want to know the truth of it, even if it would be painful to know. Isn't that silly?"
"Maybe. But you're not alone, I'm sure. The truth often hurts."
We sat quietly for a while. Then she touched me on my hand gently. "Thank you. For making me forget."
I patted her hand. "Don't worry about it."
"So what do you want to do first? You know... What kind of woman do you fancy?"
My penis stirred at the possibilities. But I had to focus. I stood up -- that is, I stood up off the auction block.
"We'll talk about that later. For now, could you maybe change into an Eladrin, or whatever else is comfortable for you? I'd rather not everyone know there's a shapeshifter working for me."
She easily shifted into a beautiful Eladrin woman as she got up. Her boobs were a bit on the flat side, though, which was fair considering that anything much larger would have outlined her nipples through the small tunic she had been provided with. Her butt was also nice, but subdued in size, to fit the rather small loincloth.
"How's this?"
"You look gorgeous."
She smiled shyly.
"First, let's get you some proper clothes. Then, I have an assignment for you."
*
Breileina hadn't gotten any leads on my mentor. I decided to drop it for now and call it a lost cause. I'll have to try to scry for him -- but that's later, when I got back to his estate.
Anastrianna came back to the inn with a small wardrobe of two outfits plus a third which she wore instead of the rags she started with today. She was in dressy casual wear, there was a tantalizing gown for evening wear, and a practical travelling outfit. I had her change into her evening wear. Ursa was with us, and similarly dressed. I briefed them all on what I knew about Adam Garius so far.
"You want to do business with him?" Breileina frowned.
She had expressed her displeasure before, and Ursa was on her side this time.
I sighed.
"Alright, honestly, yes, I would do business with him. But not just anything. I'm sure he has legitimate connections. And with the kind of money he's said to have, I'm sure that's a lot of connections. For right now, I'm after something else -- but I don't want to make him my enemy in the process."
"What are you after?" asked Ursa.
"Well... I was thinking of those elf girls. And what's in store for them."
"You're going to buy them off him?" asked Ursa.
"I might be able to buy two, but he'll hold on to the priestess unless he has no choice but to give her up. If I can win at the gambling tables and force him to ante her too, then I've got a chance of winning her. But not if he gets supernatural help to win at dice. Look, it's all a long shot and I'm not going to lose my pants over this one. I'd also not like to make him my enemy if I can..."
"How are you going to do that? Won't he be upset?"
"Yes, but he can't hold it against me if he wanted to gamble with me in the first place. And I have an idea to come up aces -- Listen closely..."
*
We made our way to the casino. The Alphaks cult big shots were all the buzz there: They hadn't bid successfully against Adam Garius, so they had a lot money and were having a great time, enjoying the celebrity if not a lot of winnings.
The Alphaks cult had lent me some serious money to play my gamble. I offered them business connections and assurances of future profits in trade as collateral, but really they were curious for the chance at some payback against the uppity Adam Garius. It'd be my first time meeting with Garius, so despite my plan, I was still going to play it by ear -- on the off chance he turned out to be a nice guy to do business with. Breileina and Anastrianna had drifted in at different times in different guises and were mostly fending off rich old farts wanting to buy them drinks and going for cheap feels. Ursa was with me. She was too conspicuous and had been seen with me too much to bother disguising that we knew each other. Besides, if things turned really sour, I wanted her muscle right next to me.
I went up to Garius and slipped one of his bodyguards my card and let them know the reason I wanted an introduction. Garius sized me up and then nodded to his secretary, a stunning hot young thing with gorgeous raven black tresses that I couldn't help but start mentally undressing right away. She had the intriguing and sultry name of "Shady", and was quite demurely dressed except for the long slit up one thigh in her tight Ochalean dress of red silk with gold trim. She came over, gently took my hand and escorted me over.
I've always had confused feeling for hin, or halflings as they are often called. They are basically half-sized humans. Like a person miniaturized into half height. I've slept with only one in my time, and it was an awkward affair because it felt like I was having sex with a schoolgirl. And on top of that, it was a really tight fit. She had been positive about it at the start; and she did her bravest, gritting her teeth and gripping the sheets so hard she shredded them, but halfway through she just couldn't take it anymore and wriggled off my penis. She was sore for a couple of days after that.
Anyway, none of that had anything to do with my ability to appreciate a gorgeous woman, hin or otherwise. And Shady was gorgeous, even if her makeup and hair hadn't been as impeccable as it was.
Garius and I talked about connections in Thyatis, and the possibility of doing business. He put on an air of being singularly unimpressed and condescending only to give me a name to look up, and to mention him for "special consideration". I thanked him, invited him to look me up in Thyatis, and got up to leave. As I expected, he asked me to join him for a few hands.
While his secretary and Ursa looked the odd couple sitting side-by-side and chatted amiably, we played a few rounds with steadily higher stakes. Garius wasn't a particularly good player to this point but I couldn't be sure whether he was bluffing or just not very good. He did cast a quick glance to one of his underlings, a chubby fellow who wasn't as big as the rest of his bouncer detail (all burly 7-footers). That fellow slipped out as quietly as he could. Breileina and Anastrianna went in pursuit as surreptitiously as they could.
The stakes went up. Garius lost more than he won. I think he got impatient. He was probably waiting for his luck to turn, which would have signified that Asmodeus was favouring him after his crony spilled some hapless slave's blood. I could see his eyes scanning the entrances. His man wasn't back yet. I was a bit worried myself as Breileina and Anastrianna weren't back either.
I let him win a few and our piles of gold were now more even.
"Now that we're warmed up... How about we play at my league?" he asked.
He put down a trade bar and motioned the dealer to change his stack of gold into trade bars, indicating that his minimum bids weren't going to be less than 100 gold a pop. We were in the big leagues now, all right. One hundred gold was maybe a small house in the suburbs.
There are coins and there are trade bars which are really more tokens of value than actual value in precious metal. Traders use them for big transactions. For really big transactions -- shiploads of cargo, for example -- you could either use a handful of trade bars or certified letters of credit (clocs) where you could pen in whatever amount you needed.
I motioned the dealer to do the same for me. Hopefully unbeknownst to Garius was the few extra bars I had in my jacket -- a secret stash I had from the Alphaks cult, who had now drifted over to express "idle interest".
"Excellent," Garius smiled when the dealer slid my converted pile to me. "Not everyone can play at this level," he said, and gave the Alphaks cultists just a hint of a sneer.
They didn't say anything but continued to watch.
His man wasn't back yet -- I could see him scanning the crowd now and again. I stopped letting him win and we played normally. He really wasn't that good -- probably too much of relying on his handicap and playing large bets. Still, he didn't sweat.
His man still wasn't back and time was going by. I got a promising hand. Time to play my game. I really didn't want his man to have finished doing what they normally do to win: I didn't like my odds if the Hells were dealing his cards.
"I hear you have a reputation around here. High roller -- and big winner," I let slip. "Do you always win?"
"Always," Garius smiled. His bravado was back now that he was recollecting past victories.
"Well, you can't beat the rules, though," I said, and deliberately anted more than his pile. Boorish of course, but I was just making a point, right?
The Alphaks cultists snickered. Garius frowned.
I moved to pull back my trade bars, then made a show of thinking of something else... "Unless you want to throw something else in the pot? You know, I'm still curious about that trio of elves you outbid me earlier today. You bid seven bars for them, if I remember correctly."
I threw that much in the pot.
"Go on, Mr. High Roller Big Winner," taunted the woman in the duo that led the Alphaks cultists.
A crowd was gathering, and their murmurs amongst themselves was drawing even more of a crowd. The dealer looked inquiringly at Adam Garius.
Garius nodded. The dealer gave him a piece of paper, Garius wrote down an I.O.U., and put it in the pot.
The dealer dealt more cards. My hand hadn't improved, but I wasn't counting on my hand to win. Garius was easy to read: With a glance he motioned one of his bodyguards. The fellow drifted off, presumably to find Garius's tardy cohort. Of course, that didn't necessarily mean he had a lousy hand, but he didn't pay much attention to it either, which suggested that it probably wasn't anything to write home about.
I had to act faster now. I had to close this game before Garius's man came back and they drew more cards.
"Sorry, old chap, but I think my hand isn't as strong as it could be for this pot. I threw in a couple of trade bars. He couldn't ante up, so he'd have to fold. "Look, I know it's poor form, so tell you what, I take the girls, you keep seven bars. And we play another hand."
And that was my plan: To trick him into bidding the girls then forcing him to fold. Offer him a fair trade so neither of us loses too much face, but hold onto the girls. Plus, he walks away with what he paid for them in the first place.
Garius's eyes lit up all of a sudden. Shit. His man was back.
"No, 'old chap'," he smirked. "Let's keep going."
"Um... Sorry to ask, but how, exactly? You're a bit short on trade bars at the moment."
"Maybe he'd like to wager his other acquisition," said the male lead of the Alphaks cult.
What an idiot. Maybe he didn't notice that Garius's man was back, which meant his sacrifice to almighty Asmodeus was complete and luck was in the cards from now on. My only chance had been to win with the rules that said if you can't match the ante you fold. The way Garius was talking, he was obviously up to something.
"Humph. That'd be too rich for even you, as I recall," was Garius's comeback. "No... I'll throw in my lovely Shady. She's worth at least two trade bars more than your Goliath escort."
"WHAT?!" both women exclaimed in unison.
"Ursa's no slave! I can't bid her!" I exclaimed.
"Then you'll have to fold, won't you?" Garius snickered.
"Adam! You can't be serious!" shrieked Shady. "I'm not a slave either!"
"But you'll do as you're told!" he snapped.
"You worm! I can't believe that you-- that you think of me as chattel!"
She stormed off, but a sharp gesture from Adam and one of his bodyguards grabbed her by one arm. She whipped around with trained form and back-kicked the man in the stomach. Combined with a twisting motion from her hips, her blow landed with good force and almost doubled him (and revealed a gorgeous length of bare leg as well). But he kept his grip and with easy strength threw her down and kept her on her knees by twisting her arm behind her.
"We'll have a private chat about your insubordination later tonight, my dear," said Garius.
"Not if you lose, you idiot!"
Garius sighed. "Surely you've been with me long enough to know that I never lose. Not in the end."
I shot the dealer a look. He threw up his hands in innocence even as a couple of illithid came over. I could sense them probing minds.
"That's a rather suspicious statement, Mr. Garius. It sounds more certain than luck of the cards," I said.
"Oh but it is. Of a sort. Of course, if you won't wager your lovely companion, we won't have to test it, will we? 'Can't beat the rules', as you say." He had an intensely irritating, smugly triumphant, smile -- the sort that's guaranteed to make anyone see red.
I couldn't bid Ursa. However good the cards looked, I wouldn't have risked her. Right now, all I stood to lose was gold and be in some debt to the Alphaks cultists. They knew that was a possible outcome and (maybe) wouldn't do anything nefarious to me. I pulled out a couple of trade bars from my pocket and threw them in.
"That should cover it," I told him, and motioned the dealer to deal. But Garius stopped him.
"Are you serious? I assure you she's multi-talented. And in the obvious ways," said Garius.
He rather crudely flipped over her skirt where it was slit down her delicious thigh. It revealed a silken thong and such firm and delicious thighs that my manhood jumped to attention immediately. Shady struggled but the bodyguard pressed down painfully, making sure she was immobilized unless she wanted her arm ripped out of elbow and shoulder.
"You like that sort of thing, don't you? I think she's worth at least another trade bar. You must have another one in your jacket, I'm sure."
Oh, shit. He had me figured out. He knew my vice. And he knew I had a secret stash, which meant he knew I was in cahoots with the Alphaks gang. Did he know about Breileina and Anastrianna too? I didn't see either of them. Oh, gods.
Well, at least I didn't bet Ursa. I pulled out the remaining two trade bars. I'd have to beg Ursa to lend me money to pay the teleporter fee. This was going to wipe me out.
Ursa had a resigned look on her face. I slowly put the trade bars in the pot. Garius motioned the dealer to deal.
My luck with the cards still hadn't improved. I couldn't imagine what Asmodeus would give his favoured. That Garius raised one brow in surprise was a good sign.
Time to show our hands. We both had only one pair each.
He had nines.
I had queens.
"Impossible!" Garius blurted.
Honestly, I was thinking the same thing.
The crowd murmured, probably thinking Garius had somehow arranged to cheat. I could instantly feel the illithids probing quite deeply into our minds. Garius growled and shook his head to shake off their influence, but they made no motion to eat his brain or summon their guards, so they must have been satisfied that he hadn't been cheating. Not in the usual way, anyway. Still, they discussed something among themselves, but left in the end.
Garius was red-faced and flabbergasted all at once. His bodyguards looked to each other uncertainly. Garius looked around and furrowed his brow. I looked around to see what he was looking for. Only the absence of his chubby cohort came to mind immediately. That neither Breileina nor Anastrianna were there was sadly reinforced.
"Well... I guess it's all mine, then," I cautiously said and slowly collected the winnings. I slid Garius a few bars -- much more than enough for him to pay his teleportation fee. "A token of goodwill. I hope we can do business again sometime."
Garius's eyes seethed.
"Regular business. In Thyatis, I mean."
Then he realized I was letting him at least save face outside the casino and he took the bars.
Shady shook herself free. Her eyes shot daggers at Garius. She smoothed out her skirt and turned to walk away, but the casino guards converged on her, backed up by an illithid.
"You can't be serious," she gasped. "I wasn't his to-- Agh! No-- NO!"
She collapsed clutching her head. No doubt the illithid wriggling his mouth tentacles was doing their psychic surgery on her.
"No! Stop!" I intercepted.
:Hmm?: the illithid questioned me with telepathy.
"Leave her alone. It's alright. We'll... negotiate something. You didn't--?"
:Not yet. But I will not do this for free later.:
"I understand."
Ursa and I helped Shady to her feet. Garius and his party had already left. The casino staff dispersed the crowd.
"Thank you," said Shady.
"Did they hurt you?"
"Gods, I feel slimy. In my head. That's the best I can describe it... I think I'll be fine, though. I think you stopped them just in time."
"Look, you're not my slave," I told her. "But you don't exactly have anywhere to go. Come with us. We'll figure something out."
She looked at me, right in the eyes. Then nodded. "I don't know if you're any better than Garius, but at least you had the decency to stand up for your friend."
"Yeah. Thank you for that," Ursa smiled at me.
Anastrianna came up from behind, scaring the life out of me. I was never so glad to see her.
"What happened? I was so worried!"
"I didn't know how long it would take chubby to, you know, perform a sacrifice," Anastrianna explained. "So I waited until I was sure he was thinking his guy was late or something. Then I wouldn't reappear too early."
"Smart girl!" I beamed. "But what happened to Breileina?"
"She had to play decoy for me to get the drop on chubby and knock him out. She got him to turn around by asking him a question. After that, she made herself scarce so she wouldn't be linked to any of this. She's waiting back at the inn and lying low."
I pulled her tight and gave her an exuberent kiss. "You're brilliant!"
*
Later that day when we had dispersed to pack and get ready to leave, Ursa came to catch me alone for a bit.
"You could have just as easily let the illithids do their mind thing on Shady," Ursa said to me. "Then she'd have to obey you, like any other slave. Even in bed. Why didn't you? You do like 'that sort of thing', don't you? And I know you were mentally undressing her the moment you saw her."
I looked at Ursa sadly, and she was rather taken aback. "Is that all you think I'm about?"
"So far... I guess. Well, no. You did save the elf girls from a gruesome fate... You know, nevermind I asked. I'm sorry. I just-- I can't figure you out."
I thought about what she said for a while before replying. "Don't worry about it. I don't think I've got myself figured out either. The gods know I've done worse. A lot worse."
Ursa looked at me strangely, and not without a hint of wariness -- was it outright fear? -- in her eyes. But let it go for now.
*
I sent Breileina and Anastrianna ahead to Shraek by teleporter, and Ursa and I followed after we collected the bewildered but relieved elf girls. From thence, we went to Thyatis.
The Alphaks cult would follow up with me another time to collect their loan and a share of the profit. When, I wasn't sure, but eventually -- That I was certain of. Meanwhile, I had some work to do with smoothing things over with Garius without him being wise to how we sabotaged his usual ploy to get luck at cards. And I had to get Ursa set up. I figured I'd kill two birds with one stone by letting Ursa and my major domo figure it out -- tapping the contact Garius gave me and making enough profits for everyone that Garius might be inclined to convince himself that it really was fluke I won. It would also give Ursa a chance to play trader at higher stakes than she'd had before -- which was what she wanted.
There was still no word about my mentor but I still had no leads. Scrying in Thyatis turned up nothing, which was doubly worrisome.
(to be continued)
Hell's Bailiff - Chapter 3 Part 5
Back at the special auctions, the two dragons were gone now, and replaced by two formidable pit fighters. Well out of my price range, of course. The doppelganger, Anastrianna, sat quietly on her auction block. She was in her grey, featureless doppelganger form, and looking confused and distracted.
I had been briefed on the result of the psychic surgery: She was, as best as they could manage, de-traumatized. As her faculties and shapeshifting ability hadn't been damaged, they were holding me to our agreement to purchase her at the (steep) reserve price. I handed over the coin in a pouch. The illithid slaver didn't even bother to count -- he just briefly scanned my mind for deceit.
:I'm sure you will enjoy your purchase: he communicated to me telepathically with a wiggle of his tentacles. :The usual loyalty locks are in place. She will do whatever you desire.:
"Thank you."
Anastrianna looked at me warily when I sat next to her.
"So you own me now..." she almost whispered. "I don't-- that is, please don't make me do the tail thing on myself. Please?"
"Alright," I agreed. "But you know, I met this tiefling who was really into it when I handled her tail."
Her eyes widened in alarm.
"Okay, okay! No tail thing!"
"... Thank you. So what do you want me to look like?"
"Um... Nothing specific right now. How about an Eladrin? Your name is Anastrianna, isn't it? An Eladrin name?"
The recognition stunned her. "...How did you--?"
"I asked the illithid to find out. He said your name was buried. But it was still there. It's an Eladrin name, isn't it? Is that who raised you?"
She nodded. "Anastrianna... It's been so long. It doesn't feel like my name."
"Do you want a different name?"
"No! No... I think I remember my parents a bit. They were very nice to me." Whatever faint memory had been triggered by her name made her smile wistfully.
"So how do you feel? After they, um..."
For lack of any better way of explaining it, I wiggled my fingers -- like how the illithid like to wiggle their tentacles when telepathically speaking or using their formidable psychic powers.
"I feel strange actually. I know something happened to me in the past. And I'm pretty sure it was very bad. But I just can't remember. When I try, I remember something else entirely. Something about clowns... and flowers... well, it's a ridiculous image. I feel... I don't know what I feel. Like I'm forgetting something horrible but at the same time I want to know the truth of it, even if it would be painful to know. Isn't that silly?"
"Maybe. But you're not alone, I'm sure. The truth often hurts."
We sat quietly for a while. Then she touched me on my hand gently. "Thank you. For making me forget."
I patted her hand. "Don't worry about it."
"So what do you want to do first? You know... What kind of woman do you fancy?"
My penis stirred at the possibilities. But I had to focus. I stood up -- that is, I stood up off the auction block.
"We'll talk about that later. For now, could you maybe change into an Eladrin, or whatever else is comfortable for you? I'd rather not everyone know there's a shapeshifter working for me."
She easily shifted into a beautiful Eladrin woman as she got up. Her boobs were a bit on the flat side, though, which was fair considering that anything much larger would have outlined her nipples through the small tunic she had been provided with. Her butt was also nice, but subdued in size, to fit the rather small loincloth.
"How's this?"
"You look gorgeous."
She smiled shyly.
"First, let's get you some proper clothes. Then, I have an assignment for you."
*
Breileina hadn't gotten any leads on my mentor. I decided to drop it for now and call it a lost cause. I'll have to try to scry for him -- but that's later, when I got back to his estate.
Anastrianna came back to the inn with a small wardrobe of two outfits plus a third which she wore instead of the rags she started with today. She was in dressy casual wear, there was a tantalizing gown for evening wear, and a practical travelling outfit. I had her change into her evening wear. Ursa was with us, and similarly dressed. I briefed them all on what I knew about Adam Garius so far.
"You want to do business with him?" Breileina frowned.
She had expressed her displeasure before, and Ursa was on her side this time.
I sighed.
"Alright, honestly, yes, I would do business with him. But not just anything. I'm sure he has legitimate connections. And with the kind of money he's said to have, I'm sure that's a lot of connections. For right now, I'm after something else -- but I don't want to make him my enemy in the process."
"What are you after?" asked Ursa.
"Well... I was thinking of those elf girls. And what's in store for them."
"You're going to buy them off him?" asked Ursa.
"I might be able to buy two, but he'll hold on to the priestess unless he has no choice but to give her up. If I can win at the gambling tables and force him to ante her too, then I've got a chance of winning her. But not if he gets supernatural help to win at dice. Look, it's all a long shot and I'm not going to lose my pants over this one. I'd also not like to make him my enemy if I can..."
"How are you going to do that? Won't he be upset?"
"Yes, but he can't hold it against me if he wanted to gamble with me in the first place. And I have an idea to come up aces -- Listen closely..."
*
We made our way to the casino. The Alphaks cult big shots were all the buzz there: They hadn't bid successfully against Adam Garius, so they had a lot money and were having a great time, enjoying the celebrity if not a lot of winnings.
The Alphaks cult had lent me some serious money to play my gamble. I offered them business connections and assurances of future profits in trade as collateral, but really they were curious for the chance at some payback against the uppity Adam Garius. It'd be my first time meeting with Garius, so despite my plan, I was still going to play it by ear -- on the off chance he turned out to be a nice guy to do business with. Breileina and Anastrianna had drifted in at different times in different guises and were mostly fending off rich old farts wanting to buy them drinks and going for cheap feels. Ursa was with me. She was too conspicuous and had been seen with me too much to bother disguising that we knew each other. Besides, if things turned really sour, I wanted her muscle right next to me.
I went up to Garius and slipped one of his bodyguards my card and let them know the reason I wanted an introduction. Garius sized me up and then nodded to his secretary, a stunning hot young thing with gorgeous raven black tresses that I couldn't help but start mentally undressing right away. She had the intriguing and sultry name of "Shady", and was quite demurely dressed except for the long slit up one thigh in her tight Ochalean dress of red silk with gold trim. She came over, gently took my hand and escorted me over.
I've always had confused feeling for hin, or halflings as they are often called. They are basically half-sized humans. Like a person miniaturized into half height. I've slept with only one in my time, and it was an awkward affair because it felt like I was having sex with a schoolgirl. And on top of that, it was a really tight fit. She had been positive about it at the start; and she did her bravest, gritting her teeth and gripping the sheets so hard she shredded them, but halfway through she just couldn't take it anymore and wriggled off my penis. She was sore for a couple of days after that.
Anyway, none of that had anything to do with my ability to appreciate a gorgeous woman, hin or otherwise. And Shady was gorgeous, even if her makeup and hair hadn't been as impeccable as it was.
Garius and I talked about connections in Thyatis, and the possibility of doing business. He put on an air of being singularly unimpressed and condescending only to give me a name to look up, and to mention him for "special consideration". I thanked him, invited him to look me up in Thyatis, and got up to leave. As I expected, he asked me to join him for a few hands.
While his secretary and Ursa looked the odd couple sitting side-by-side and chatted amiably, we played a few rounds with steadily higher stakes. Garius wasn't a particularly good player to this point but I couldn't be sure whether he was bluffing or just not very good. He did cast a quick glance to one of his underlings, a chubby fellow who wasn't as big as the rest of his bouncer detail (all burly 7-footers). That fellow slipped out as quietly as he could. Breileina and Anastrianna went in pursuit as surreptitiously as they could.
The stakes went up. Garius lost more than he won. I think he got impatient. He was probably waiting for his luck to turn, which would have signified that Asmodeus was favouring him after his crony spilled some hapless slave's blood. I could see his eyes scanning the entrances. His man wasn't back yet. I was a bit worried myself as Breileina and Anastrianna weren't back either.
I let him win a few and our piles of gold were now more even.
"Now that we're warmed up... How about we play at my league?" he asked.
He put down a trade bar and motioned the dealer to change his stack of gold into trade bars, indicating that his minimum bids weren't going to be less than 100 gold a pop. We were in the big leagues now, all right. One hundred gold was maybe a small house in the suburbs.
There are coins and there are trade bars which are really more tokens of value than actual value in precious metal. Traders use them for big transactions. For really big transactions -- shiploads of cargo, for example -- you could either use a handful of trade bars or certified letters of credit (clocs) where you could pen in whatever amount you needed.
I motioned the dealer to do the same for me. Hopefully unbeknownst to Garius was the few extra bars I had in my jacket -- a secret stash I had from the Alphaks cult, who had now drifted over to express "idle interest".
"Excellent," Garius smiled when the dealer slid my converted pile to me. "Not everyone can play at this level," he said, and gave the Alphaks cultists just a hint of a sneer.
They didn't say anything but continued to watch.
His man wasn't back yet -- I could see him scanning the crowd now and again. I stopped letting him win and we played normally. He really wasn't that good -- probably too much of relying on his handicap and playing large bets. Still, he didn't sweat.
His man still wasn't back and time was going by. I got a promising hand. Time to play my game. I really didn't want his man to have finished doing what they normally do to win: I didn't like my odds if the Hells were dealing his cards.
"I hear you have a reputation around here. High roller -- and big winner," I let slip. "Do you always win?"
"Always," Garius smiled. His bravado was back now that he was recollecting past victories.
"Well, you can't beat the rules, though," I said, and deliberately anted more than his pile. Boorish of course, but I was just making a point, right?
The Alphaks cultists snickered. Garius frowned.
I moved to pull back my trade bars, then made a show of thinking of something else... "Unless you want to throw something else in the pot? You know, I'm still curious about that trio of elves you outbid me earlier today. You bid seven bars for them, if I remember correctly."
I threw that much in the pot.
"Go on, Mr. High Roller Big Winner," taunted the woman in the duo that led the Alphaks cultists.
A crowd was gathering, and their murmurs amongst themselves was drawing even more of a crowd. The dealer looked inquiringly at Adam Garius.
Garius nodded. The dealer gave him a piece of paper, Garius wrote down an I.O.U., and put it in the pot.
The dealer dealt more cards. My hand hadn't improved, but I wasn't counting on my hand to win. Garius was easy to read: With a glance he motioned one of his bodyguards. The fellow drifted off, presumably to find Garius's tardy cohort. Of course, that didn't necessarily mean he had a lousy hand, but he didn't pay much attention to it either, which suggested that it probably wasn't anything to write home about.
I had to act faster now. I had to close this game before Garius's man came back and they drew more cards.
"Sorry, old chap, but I think my hand isn't as strong as it could be for this pot. I threw in a couple of trade bars. He couldn't ante up, so he'd have to fold. "Look, I know it's poor form, so tell you what, I take the girls, you keep seven bars. And we play another hand."
And that was my plan: To trick him into bidding the girls then forcing him to fold. Offer him a fair trade so neither of us loses too much face, but hold onto the girls. Plus, he walks away with what he paid for them in the first place.
Garius's eyes lit up all of a sudden. Shit. His man was back.
"No, 'old chap'," he smirked. "Let's keep going."
"Um... Sorry to ask, but how, exactly? You're a bit short on trade bars at the moment."
"Maybe he'd like to wager his other acquisition," said the male lead of the Alphaks cult.
What an idiot. Maybe he didn't notice that Garius's man was back, which meant his sacrifice to almighty Asmodeus was complete and luck was in the cards from now on. My only chance had been to win with the rules that said if you can't match the ante you fold. The way Garius was talking, he was obviously up to something.
"Humph. That'd be too rich for even you, as I recall," was Garius's comeback. "No... I'll throw in my lovely Shady. She's worth at least two trade bars more than your Goliath escort."
"WHAT?!" both women exclaimed in unison.
"Ursa's no slave! I can't bid her!" I exclaimed.
"Then you'll have to fold, won't you?" Garius snickered.
"Adam! You can't be serious!" shrieked Shady. "I'm not a slave either!"
"But you'll do as you're told!" he snapped.
"You worm! I can't believe that you-- that you think of me as chattel!"
She stormed off, but a sharp gesture from Adam and one of his bodyguards grabbed her by one arm. She whipped around with trained form and back-kicked the man in the stomach. Combined with a twisting motion from her hips, her blow landed with good force and almost doubled him (and revealed a gorgeous length of bare leg as well). But he kept his grip and with easy strength threw her down and kept her on her knees by twisting her arm behind her.
"We'll have a private chat about your insubordination later tonight, my dear," said Garius.
"Not if you lose, you idiot!"
Garius sighed. "Surely you've been with me long enough to know that I never lose. Not in the end."
I shot the dealer a look. He threw up his hands in innocence even as a couple of illithid came over. I could sense them probing minds.
"That's a rather suspicious statement, Mr. Garius. It sounds more certain than luck of the cards," I said.
"Oh but it is. Of a sort. Of course, if you won't wager your lovely companion, we won't have to test it, will we? 'Can't beat the rules', as you say." He had an intensely irritating, smugly triumphant, smile -- the sort that's guaranteed to make anyone see red.
I couldn't bid Ursa. However good the cards looked, I wouldn't have risked her. Right now, all I stood to lose was gold and be in some debt to the Alphaks cultists. They knew that was a possible outcome and (maybe) wouldn't do anything nefarious to me. I pulled out a couple of trade bars from my pocket and threw them in.
"That should cover it," I told him, and motioned the dealer to deal. But Garius stopped him.
"Are you serious? I assure you she's multi-talented. And in the obvious ways," said Garius.
He rather crudely flipped over her skirt where it was slit down her delicious thigh. It revealed a silken thong and such firm and delicious thighs that my manhood jumped to attention immediately. Shady struggled but the bodyguard pressed down painfully, making sure she was immobilized unless she wanted her arm ripped out of elbow and shoulder.
"You like that sort of thing, don't you? I think she's worth at least another trade bar. You must have another one in your jacket, I'm sure."
Oh, shit. He had me figured out. He knew my vice. And he knew I had a secret stash, which meant he knew I was in cahoots with the Alphaks gang. Did he know about Breileina and Anastrianna too? I didn't see either of them. Oh, gods.
Well, at least I didn't bet Ursa. I pulled out the remaining two trade bars. I'd have to beg Ursa to lend me money to pay the teleporter fee. This was going to wipe me out.
Ursa had a resigned look on her face. I slowly put the trade bars in the pot. Garius motioned the dealer to deal.
My luck with the cards still hadn't improved. I couldn't imagine what Asmodeus would give his favoured. That Garius raised one brow in surprise was a good sign.
Time to show our hands. We both had only one pair each.
He had nines.
I had queens.
"Impossible!" Garius blurted.
Honestly, I was thinking the same thing.
The crowd murmured, probably thinking Garius had somehow arranged to cheat. I could instantly feel the illithids probing quite deeply into our minds. Garius growled and shook his head to shake off their influence, but they made no motion to eat his brain or summon their guards, so they must have been satisfied that he hadn't been cheating. Not in the usual way, anyway. Still, they discussed something among themselves, but left in the end.
Garius was red-faced and flabbergasted all at once. His bodyguards looked to each other uncertainly. Garius looked around and furrowed his brow. I looked around to see what he was looking for. Only the absence of his chubby cohort came to mind immediately. That neither Breileina nor Anastrianna were there was sadly reinforced.
"Well... I guess it's all mine, then," I cautiously said and slowly collected the winnings. I slid Garius a few bars -- much more than enough for him to pay his teleportation fee. "A token of goodwill. I hope we can do business again sometime."
Garius's eyes seethed.
"Regular business. In Thyatis, I mean."
Then he realized I was letting him at least save face outside the casino and he took the bars.
Shady shook herself free. Her eyes shot daggers at Garius. She smoothed out her skirt and turned to walk away, but the casino guards converged on her, backed up by an illithid.
"You can't be serious," she gasped. "I wasn't his to-- Agh! No-- NO!"
She collapsed clutching her head. No doubt the illithid wriggling his mouth tentacles was doing their psychic surgery on her.
"No! Stop!" I intercepted.
:Hmm?: the illithid questioned me with telepathy.
"Leave her alone. It's alright. We'll... negotiate something. You didn't--?"
:Not yet. But I will not do this for free later.:
"I understand."
Ursa and I helped Shady to her feet. Garius and his party had already left. The casino staff dispersed the crowd.
"Thank you," said Shady.
"Did they hurt you?"
"Gods, I feel slimy. In my head. That's the best I can describe it... I think I'll be fine, though. I think you stopped them just in time."
"Look, you're not my slave," I told her. "But you don't exactly have anywhere to go. Come with us. We'll figure something out."
She looked at me, right in the eyes. Then nodded. "I don't know if you're any better than Garius, but at least you had the decency to stand up for your friend."
"Yeah. Thank you for that," Ursa smiled at me.
Anastrianna came up from behind, scaring the life out of me. I was never so glad to see her.
"What happened? I was so worried!"
"I didn't know how long it would take chubby to, you know, perform a sacrifice," Anastrianna explained. "So I waited until I was sure he was thinking his guy was late or something. Then I wouldn't reappear too early."
"Smart girl!" I beamed. "But what happened to Breileina?"
"She had to play decoy for me to get the drop on chubby and knock him out. She got him to turn around by asking him a question. After that, she made herself scarce so she wouldn't be linked to any of this. She's waiting back at the inn and lying low."
I pulled her tight and gave her an exuberent kiss. "You're brilliant!"
*
Later that day when we had dispersed to pack and get ready to leave, Ursa came to catch me alone for a bit.
"You could have just as easily let the illithids do their mind thing on Shady," Ursa said to me. "Then she'd have to obey you, like any other slave. Even in bed. Why didn't you? You do like 'that sort of thing', don't you? And I know you were mentally undressing her the moment you saw her."
I looked at Ursa sadly, and she was rather taken aback. "Is that all you think I'm about?"
"So far... I guess. Well, no. You did save the elf girls from a gruesome fate... You know, nevermind I asked. I'm sorry. I just-- I can't figure you out."
I thought about what she said for a while before replying. "Don't worry about it. I don't think I've got myself figured out either. The gods know I've done worse. A lot worse."
Ursa looked at me strangely, and not without a hint of wariness -- was it outright fear? -- in her eyes. But let it go for now.
*
I sent Breileina and Anastrianna ahead to Shraek by teleporter, and Ursa and I followed after we collected the bewildered but relieved elf girls. From thence, we went to Thyatis.
The Alphaks cult would follow up with me another time to collect their loan and a share of the profit. When, I wasn't sure, but eventually -- That I was certain of. Meanwhile, I had some work to do with smoothing things over with Garius without him being wise to how we sabotaged his usual ploy to get luck at cards. And I had to get Ursa set up. I figured I'd kill two birds with one stone by letting Ursa and my major domo figure it out -- tapping the contact Garius gave me and making enough profits for everyone that Garius might be inclined to convince himself that it really was fluke I won. It would also give Ursa a chance to play trader at higher stakes than she'd had before -- which was what she wanted.
There was still no word about my mentor but I still had no leads. Scrying in Thyatis turned up nothing, which was doubly worrisome.
(to be continued)
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