70th of Winter, 510 A.V. A single man sat at a single table in the middle of the Tavern. He was a shady looking fellow, an extremely thin man with large buck-teeth that overlapped his lower lip. Dark and wispy strands of black hair fell in front of beady eyes, and his overly thin face combined with all of his other features to remind an onlooker of one thing. A rat. Even whenever the man let out a chuckle, it came out as something of an amused squeaking sound. The way he hunched over the wooden table that he alone occupied, the way he managed manipulate things with his long and spindly fingers... It was all enough to remind someone of a sly pesty rodent. There was a single chair across from him. That was where the players of his little "Game" sat. The Game was rather simple. In front of the man was three cups. Under one of the cups, the man would put a shiny gold Miza. He would quickly move the cups all about, and then when he stopped their movements, he indicated for the player to choose the cup the Miza was under. If they chose right, they won their bet back, plus a few Mizas. If they guessed wrong, then they simply lost their bet. There was also one other option, and because of the addictive nature of the Game, it was a popular option. You could opt to continue on. Continuing on involved simply moving on to a harder version of the Game, one that had a higher payout. He simply added another cup, and moved the containers a little faster. You could continue on as long as you wanted, to a maximum of ten cups. Magically, even at that number of cups, the man was able to move them at near impossible speeds. He was truly talented. Perhaps a little too talented. A member of the Icewatch was in a nearby corner of the tavern, and by request of the owner, was trying to keep a close eye on the Game. Quite a few patrons had lost a good number of Mizas to the Game, and quite a few of the patrons had swore that they had chosen the right cup. He refused to lift the cups to reveal which one held the coin, too. He said it was a trade secret, but the Icewatch Guard was betting that there was some kind of Sleight of Hand involved. With the speed that he moved those cups, it would be easy for him to somehow slip the coin up his sleeve or something. It was proving hard to catch the skilled con artist though, if that was indeed what he was. There were four losers gathered around the table at this point, and they were also keeping an eye on the man, angry about their losses. None of them were managing to catch his trick, though. Until a stranger sat down. A tall and rather young-looking man, a somewhat peaceful smile on his face, his handsome features shining brightly at the rat-like human across the table. The con stared back, his eyes wide with disbelief, the other four Vantha also staring with a dumb-founded look on their faces. The Icewatch member stared too, blinking. A blind man had just sat down at that table. The whole tavern was watching now. What was this? The man was obviously blind. He had white medical bandages wrapped around his head, keeping his eyes hidden from view. What else where they there for, but to protect damaged eyes? The whole entire tavern was quiet, but the con gathered himself first, letting out a little chuckle. "Feeling lucky, friend?" The blind man merely nodded, that same smile still on his face. The con snorted, and held out his hand. The blind man reached into his wool cloak, and pulled out a large sack, one that had to contain at least a hundred Mizas. He dropped it on the table, once more rendering the con silent. This was crazy. A rich blind man was betting that much gold on a single tavern game? the con chuckled again, but this time, there was a tone of disbelief to it. "I am impressed by your bravery, but I don't think I can match such a hi-" The blind man interrupted, his voice soft and friendly. "You don't have to. Go straight to ten cups. If you win, you get the gold. If this one wins, you repay the lost gold that you cheated these fine gentleman out of." The room gasped a bit, a few of the patrons shocked at the sudden accusation. The Icewatch Guard simply watched, not so sure what to do now. He wanted to stop the blind man, but he didn't want to give away the fact that he was here, and watching. The con hadn't noticed him yet. The con snorted, anger flashing across his features. A nasty grin snaked across his face, and he dealt out the ten cups, flashing the gold coin he was using before he place it under one of the mugs. "Fine, blind man. Have it your way." Like lightning, he was off, his hands flickering the cups all around each other. The dizzying display was hard to see, practically impossible to follow. The blind man simply sat there, cocking his head to the side, raising an eyebrow at the proceedings. A moment passed, and the cups stopped, the con leaning back with a smirk to his brow. Standing, he bowed, mockingly offering his hand out toward the cups. "Please, choose. Ovek be with-" The blind man interrupted, tilting his head up to aim his face in the direction of the risen con. "Your hand. The left wrist. The one you are extending. You hid the coin under that sleeve. The same sleeve you have been slipping it under all afternoon." The con blinked, his words interrupted, a bright flush flooding to his cheeks. "How dare-" Suddenly, the blind man moved, interrupting again, snapping a hand out faster than anyone could track. He caught a hold of the extended wrist of the con, and quickly twisted, slamming the wrist in one direction, then the other. At the same time, a sweep of his other hand knocked all the mugs aside, revealing nothing to be under them. The golden coin fell from paralyzed fingers, the con letting out a yelp of pain. The crowd gasped again, unbelieving. Magic had to be at play here. The Icewatch member was the only one who was able to move. He jumped forward quickly, grabbing the con, who stood there, dumbfounded. The Icewatch member searched him quickly, and found his winnings, tossing the bag at the four losers still sitting there. Admist the silence, and among the stares, the blind man rose, and went back to his table in the corner. There he sat, a meek look on his features, his face blazing a sudden red as he realized that all of the attention of the taven was now on him. He ducked his head, and sipped from his mug of water, curling up as if to hide. |