Open [The Kelp Bar] Talk Fast and Don't Blink

[Demitri Maebourne]

47th of Spring, 515 AV The Kelp Bar was the seediest of seedy joints on East Street. The interior was dimly lit, with seemingly ancient chairs and tables and a collection of worn, scraggly sailors. It was the type of place where looking at someone too long would almost definitely earn you a black eye. In all honesty, it may have been the only place in Zeltiva where Demitri felt at home. She sat in one of the less rickety chairs at a low table, shuffling a deck of cards lent to her by a less nefarious-looking patron. She wore a plain shirt and pants, clearly worn after a year of overuse, tucked into a pair of tall boots. Her hair hung freely in her face, short and black and curling off in every direction; her eyes were dark, her smile somehow both playful and menacing. ”Stammer and Blush, fellows?” Recieving a few discrete nods from the other players at the table, she grinned and dealt, five to each of them and three for all to see. She was familiar with the Zeltivan deck, not uncommon in Sunberth, but often needed to remind herself of the differences. “Scrolls,” “quills,” “ships,” “water.” The highest card was God, followed by Mountain, and then… Poet? She caught herself in a tense expression, looked up quickly to see if anyone had noticed the change. This wasn’t an average game of Blush like she had played when she was a teenager. She was out of practice, and she had forgotten how to keep herself composed. Brushing off her nervousness as cavalierly as she might brush some dirt off of her boot, Demitri smiled and took a moment to look around. It was a late spring evening, and the atmosphere of the place was an odd mixture of calm and dangerous. People didn’t walk into the Kelp Bar expecting anything different; still, the newcomers always seemed to be left speechless when they walked in and all eyes turned to them. The native of Sunberth had experienced the same thing when she first came here; if not for her past experiences with this sort of crowd, she likely would have turned tail that very moment. Still, she couldn’t help but chuckle when she saw the reactions under the glare of ten to fifteen rugged seafarers. It was her favorite thing about this dismal place. Having placed a few copper mizas on the table, she laid down the next card and took a swig of ugly green kelp beer, immediately grimacing at the rank liquid. She still hadn’t gotten used to the stuff- she probably never would. It certainly wasn’t worth the seven silver mizas she’d had to cough up for lack of a half-nilo. Still, it was strong alcohol, and was perhaps another part of the Kelp Bar’s charm. Really, at least half the population of Sunberth spent all of their time in the bars and taverns. She had for the most part avoided the allure of potent alcohol, but oddly enough this fishy liquor conjured up a bit of nostalgia, memories of having a mug of ale with old friends and then robbing blind the nearest passed-out drunk. Her grin widened- it had always been so easy, hadn’t it? She placed the final card. Note"Stammer and Blush" seems kind of like Texas Hold 'Em. The lore is just "Card Games" if you wanna look it up. I was thinking we could just do rolls to see who gets lucky and who doesn't; anyone up for a game?

[Anouk]

"No men, no alcohol, no drugs and no gambling."

Anouk smiled faintly as she remembered her mother's strict rules. Niva had been utterly concerned for third-born daughter's wellbeing when Anouk departed for Zeltiva, despite the fact that her eldest daughter now resided in Sunberth, of all places. Zeltiva was a much... safer place, with laws and every safe guard that Sunbeth lacked. And yet, Anouk had had to promise her mother that she would remain pure, abstinent and free from a gambling addiction. So far, she had abided all rules bar the one pertaining to alcohol: Kelp beer was practically a local cuisine, so she'd simply had to try it.

In fact, she rather liked the strange taste of the stuff, and it had reminded her of home with its saltiness. And so Anouk once again found herself in the Kelp Bar, sipping daintily at the murky green liquid from a half-dirty tankard. If she paid less attention to the questionable smears and stains on the glass, her experience of the Kelp Bar was really quite pleasant.

Oh, and I must remember to breathe through my mouth, not my nose. She noted mentally to herself as a particularly stinky sailor slid past her with a toothless smile. The fellow remained at her side, talking loudly to his friend who undoubtedly smelt just as bad as he did. For want of cleaner air to inhale, Anouk moved away from the bar and to the side of the tavern.

A curious game of cards caught her eye. A group of men, and one female, sat at a table with two cards lying face-up in the middle. Anouk noticed how the suit was different to the cards she and her sisters had played with back in Mura. There was no pearls, no lily, no image of the Goddess Avalis. A frown creased the Konti's fair brow as she watched the game develop further. The dark-haired female was clearly the dealer of the game; she laid a third card in the middle of the table before the game continued. Her curiosity was piqued, and Anouk knew she would not be able to leave the Kelp Bar without investigating this mysterious card game further.

Sorry, mother, she thought guilty as she came to this final decision.

It was the other woman who Anouk approached. "Excuse me," she said in a mild manner that was so out of place in the Kelp Bar, that one of the other men at the table snorted with rude laughter, "what are you playing?"

oocHope you don't mind me jumping in

[Demitri Maebourne]

OOCOf course not! Point of an open thread! X3 The girl didn't seem like the type to come here. She was well-kept and had a quietness about her; Demitri immediately expected she was Konti, a sight she rarely saw, even in a hub of civilization like Zeltiva. Before she approached she had been sipping at a mug of kelp beer, and the Sunberth girl was surprised to see that she didn't dislike it. "Excuse me," she said, likely the most polite person Demitri had ever encountered on East Street. "What are you playing?" The girl grinned brightly at her, her overt friendliness a stark contrast to the atmosphere of the place. "Why, Stammer and Blush, of course," she exclaimed. "Would you care to join?" Silent as ever, the other players finished betting and laid their cards down. Demitri did the same and a disappointed frown marred her previously cheerful expression. She'd gotten three of a kind, but the triumphant bloke next to her collected the pot of mizas and nilos with a full house, three Mages of Scrolls and two Mountains of Quills. She sighed and shook her head. At least she'd only given up a handful of copper. She looked back up at the quiet girl, seeming to somehow immediately switch from the epitome of disappointment to the happiest person in the bar. "If you don't know the Zeltivan deck, I'd be happy to teach you. Have you ever played this game?" She looked back at the patrons who sat with her, all as stoic and unnapproachable as ever. "I'm sure these fine gentleman won't mind." The Konti girl also didn't seem the type to have ever played Grace, let alone Stammer and Blush. She stood looking at the cards with an uncommon level of curiosity. Demitri supposed there weren't as many thugs and swindlers where she came from; she'd only heard stories about the beautiful Konti Isle, but no place was wracked with crime like Sunberth. She ran over the differences in the Zeltivan deck once again in her mind. Scrolls, quills, ships, water. God, mountain... mage... poet. She could handle this, couldn't she? Sure, she could! "Pull up a chair, Miss... ?"

[Keeta]

Keeta sat alone at a table in the Kelp bar, a sheet of bark paper spread out on the table before her, the corners weighed down with smooth ocean pebbles to keep it from curling. Carefully she dipped a quill cut from a seagull feather in a small bottle of ink, and wrote carefully in a flowing script:

The once was a girl from Ravok
Who had quite a thing for a Haddock...

The poem went on from there, arriving quickly at a ribald if anatomically unlikely conclusion. Keeta sat back and admired her work, sipping delicately at her kelp beer, and action that motivated a series of comic grimaces to parade across her features. When the ink dried, she rolled the paper up, and leaning back in her chair, inserted the poem into the coat pocket of a man at an adjacent table whose attention was lost in conversation with another man that sat with him. Literature would never die on Keeta's watch, not if she could help it.

It was then she caught a snatch of conversation on the other side of her. Stammer and Blush? That sounded like just the game for her. She spun neatly around, pivoting her chair on one of its rear legs.

"I'm in!" she said. "That is, if you still have room for a beginner with money to lose."

[Anouk]

Stammer and Blush. The Konti had heard of the game, and had played the less complicated version, Blush, with her sisters. Though she was sure she would be able to follow the other woman's instruction, Anouk felt that it would be wise to sit the first game out to ensure that she knew what she was doing.

"Ah. Yes. I'm Anouk." She extended a dainty hand towards the other woman, for once not caring about the images or sensations that would follow upon their shaking hands. The female seemed kind, and Anouk hoped that any desires she might sense would fall in a similar line. "I have played..." She waved her free hand in the air, trying to translate the word 'Blush' from Kontinese to Common. Oh, come on Anouk. She said the word mere ticks ago! With a frustrated sigh, she gave up, "the easy version of this game. But I would appreciate if you could explain the deck to me, please."

The Konti retrieved a free chair and placed it beside the dark-haired woman. "In Mura, the Goddess Avalis and God Laviku are highest two cards. It is... different here?"She smiled fainty at the end of her question, hoping that her Common tongue was no too foreign-sounding, and more importantly that she had made sense.

Another woman appeared to the Konti's side, also keen to start playing the game. "Perhaps if I watch you all play the first game, I can join the next?"

After all, if she was going to bet even a copper coin, Anouk did not want to give her rivals a win that was too easy.

oocIt's Anouk's Konti gift to sense what a person most desires when she touches them, but if you don't particularly want her to know Demirtri's desire, feel free to just ignore her offer to shake hands

[Demitri Maebourne]

OOCDuly noted! ^^ I guess her greatest desire would be... finding her father? Finding a better life? "Anouk" introduced herself with that same lightness and femininity as before, extending a hand which Demitri took cheerfully and shook with a grin. "Lovely to meet you!" She certainly hadn't spoken an exorbitant amount of Common, but she managed surprisingly well for a foreigner. The black-haired girl tried her best to look reassuring as the Konti's speech slowed, caring more about the rudeness of misinterpreting her words than about how exactly they were pronounced. "The easy version" must have been Blush, and she nodded profusely, sorting through the deck as Anouk pulled up a chair. When she spoke, Demitri chuckled, and her nodding became more emphatic. "Very different, I'm afraid," she replied. "We were familiar with the Zeltivan deck in Sunberth, but learning to play cards here was like learning a whole new game!" She wondered for just a moment if the Konti girl would judge her for the place she grew up, but she brushed it off quickly. It was already said, and besides, it wasn't as if she was sketchier than the other patrons of the Kelp Bar. Just as she'd finished going over the Zeltivan rules yet again in her mind, another slightly out-of-place sort of girl called to them. "I'm in! That is, if you still have room for a beginner with money to lose." She whipped her head around to look at the source of the words, mood even more bright and merry with the potential of more participants. She wondered for just a moment if she was under-qualified to be teaching anyone a single thing about gambling... Nah! "Now, that's the best kind of player," Demitri grinned. She looked back at the other participants; one of them got up, two seemed to be waiting impatiently, and the last- the one who'd lent her the deck of cards- was getting drunker by the moment and had probably forgotten they were playing. She paused for a moment, then chuckled to herself and decided they could wait. Besides, they wouldn't have stayed if they weren't hoping to get something out of these two newbies. "I'm Demitri. Come on over and I'll show you the rules!" The child of Sunberth laid out four unique cards, describing each as she set it down. "The four suits are scrolls, quills, ships, and water. The highest is God-" she pointed- "followed by mountain, poet, and- sorry- mountain, mage, and poet." She exhaled in slight embarrassment, but continued to wear a confident smile as she shuffled the cards back into the deck and began explaining the rules. "Five cards each... share these three... straight... flush... full house..." In truth she couldn't recall all the rules of Stammer and Blush- specifically what hand could beat another. A particularly annoyed player filled in the blank spots for her every so often, speaking in a calm but unapologetically irate tone until it seemed they had covered everything. Finally Demitri handed the deck off to one of the original participants- his turn to deal. She looked at Anouk, then to the new player. "Make sense?"

[Keeta]

Keeta rotated her chair nimbly about on one of it's feet and slid it over to the other table, sitting down upon it.

"Keeta Asymptote," she said, nodding in greeting to the assembled persons.

It seemed rather a bad omen that she had just been writing poetry and now it turned out that poets were of the lowest rank. Still, it wasn't as if she was swimming in cash, so how bad could it really get? She allowed one eyebrow to arch questioningly at the grumpy person who filled in the details of the rules. No doubt he would be over aggressive in his bidding, she knew the typ.

"Clear as a clear thing wrapped inside a different clear thing," she said brightly. "Deal about and let us see who stammers and who blushes."

[Anouk]

The other woman brushed Anouk's hand, and the Konti's mind was instantly full of emotion, hope, and the sense of something lost. Visually, the blurred shape of a faceless male faded into her view, but disappeared again the instant the physical contact with Demitri was broken. Like always, Anouk was left slightly muddled at the waves of foreign desire that had momentarily overcome her. This other woman was seeking someone, but Anouk had not maintained contact long enough to learn more.

How sad.

She pushed the thoughts out of her mind, catching onto the latter half of Demitri's sentence. "Sunberth?" She repeated slowly, almost dumbly. The city of lawlessness, as it was known. Anouk wondered whether she should be wary of this woman; the people of Sunberth were portrayed as thieves and pickpockets. But she seemed friendly enough - was that just a ploy? The Konti decided to not allow herself to be so pessimistic, and to assume the best of people until proven otherwise.

Aother woman joined the table, and the Konti swung around in her seat to face the newcomer. Anouk grinned in response to her honest, and somewhat comforting, words. "I'll contest you for the place of beginner," she retorted, sliding her seat noisily to the left to make room for the other woman.

She fell silent as Dimitri explained the hierarchy of cards. The woman went slowly, much to Anouk's appreciation. God, mountain, mage, poet. She repeated the order in her head over and over, trying to imprint it in her memory. Not that it would help her win, but at least she'd be able to play. Eventually, Anouk smiled and nodded encouragingly, "I think I follow, yes," a pause, "but I don't fancy my chances."

[Demitri Maebourne]

The newer woman, Keeta, seemed the endlessly cheerful sort. She maintained a bright and airy expression, and Demitri couldn't help but match it just a bit. Anouk seemed somewhat wary of her- perhaps it was the "Sunberth" comment- but she still struck the thief as a friendly and open sort of person. She worried for them a bit in this game- didn't want them to bet their entire savings- but decided it would still be a great deal of fun. Keeta indicated she understood with a joyful, albeit odd, response. Anouk did the same, seeming somewhat uncertain but eager to learn by doing. "I'm sure it'll make more sense after this round," she said, attempting a comforting tone. "Until then, just watch and learn!" The man to her right finally dealt, this time including Keeta. He continued until each of them had two cards, then laid out three in the middle- all of them face down until the first bets were placed. OOCI just realized that I was saying the wrong number of cards, I'm sorry! .__. Demitri looked at her pair; it was a mountain of quills and a poet of water. She wrinkled her nose, not thinking to maintain a straight face under the eyes of the other participants. This combination likely wouldn't do her much good. Oh, well, she glanced at Keeta to see how she'd reacted to her cards, hoping that the girl understood straights and flushes and other combinations. Then she placed a bet of two copper mizas and set her cards face down on the table. The dealer turned over one card. God of ships. She didn't bet on the first pass, but resolved to call someone else's so long as it didn't go to high. He did the same with the second. Mountain of ships. Demitri glanced down at her hand yet again. Pulled back a small frown as she tried to keep a straight face among the more experienced players. Exhaled. She doubted she'd get more than a pair in this go-around. Still, she'd stay in as long as it didn't cost her more than a silver miza. She looked at Anouk to see if she understood what was going on, then again at Keeta to see if she had decided to stay in.

[Keeta]

Keeta slid her cards close to her, bending up the edges to peek at them as if she expect a tiger to lunge out from underneath them. Her eyes widened in delight, and she let loose a quick and somewhat muffled squeal. A two of ships and a two of quills. Low cards, but here were two of them, and so together they would march defiantly against her enemies and pull their beards!

She tossed two coppers into the pot, forbearing to raise.

"You're a Konti unless I very much miss my guess," she said to Anouk. "Welcome to Zeltiva on the behalf of the buttered toast." She spoke this last in heavily accented Kontinese, which she had recently picked up the rudiments of. She was still at a stage of learning in which she often unknowingly substituted words, it being her habit to speak on bravely even if on uncertain ground.

"How is sunberth anyway? I was born there myself, but it's been some years since I've last been there. Does that man with the enormous blue turban still sell fritters at the market?"