Mysterious Gods, Part 7: It’s All Skill
The exterior of THE DELMONT was impressive, but the interior was on a whole new level. Red carpet lined the floors, the walls gilded with dark mahogany and white-gold paint. Slots, Roulette, Poker, Blackjack, and games the pair had never even seen before covered the casino floor. They couldn't help but be awestruck by the scale of it all. “I don't think I've ever seen anything like this...I mean, I've never been in a casino before anyways, but...wow.” Cygni said, Velis nodding in agreement. “Same, I've been in one or two in my life, but this is definitely something else.” he replied.
Velis scanned the room, formulating a plan on attack. Bodyguards lined the walls, vigilantly watching the floor, and more patrolled the rows of games, keeping an eye out for cheaters or hustlers. “This may be even harder than we expected...” Velis whispered as a guard walked by.
“Yeah, I didn't think security would be so tight...” Cygni replied, “I can so some really subtle magic, time isn't particularly flashy as long as I'm not sprint around.”
Velis thought for a moment, “Well, Lynaea grants me a pretty wide range of powers. I can do some basic healing and holy energy stuff, but my real specialty lies in Truth magic. Detection, calling bluffs, keen perception, things of that nature. Not to mention that all of that is not particularly flashy either.” Cygni stared at him with an annoyed expression. Velis, confused at the look, said “What?” “You mean to say, your specialty is LITERALLY IN CHEATING AT CASINOS, AND YOU DIDN'T MENTION IT UNTIL NOW?!” Cygni whispered, almost verging on shouting.
“I never thought of using them that way! I tend to try and stay on the right side of the law. Is that really such a bad thing?” Velis explained, but his defense fell on deaf ears.
Cygni decided that Poker would be their best bet to start. The pair scrounged up what money they could between the two of them, and started with a small pile of chips. The low stakes table was their first target. Their fellow competitors were two women that appeared to be on their honeymoon, a depessed looking man in a shabby tweed blazer, and what appeared to be a hyper intelligent sheep and what appeared to be his butler. The cards were dealt, Cygni looked at their hand, hiding it from Velis. “Hey, why can't I look?” Velis asked, disappointed.
“Trust me, I have seen you flirt. You are a TERRIBLE liar. You'd do more harm than good.” Cygni stated, ignoring Velis' protests that he wouldn't mess things up.
The first few hands went by without a hitch. They decided not to press their luck, only taking sure bets. Up about by about twenty percent of their starting chips, Cygni decided to go big on her next solid hand. The dealer reshuffled, and dealt a new hand. Not bad, she thought, two pair is a decent start. The standing woman in the couple to their left giggled, and slid in a few more chips. “We raise.” Cygni glanced at Velis as she reached for their own pile of chips. His eyes glowing ever so gently, he gave a slight nod and continued scanning the table. Good, they're bluffing. Let's see if I can make them sweat a bit. Cygni raised herself, confident in her luck. The sad man sighed, but called, as did the sheep. BAHHHHHH. Cygni threw back the sole non-matching card, and looked at the new one. Nice! Full house, we've got this. The couple folded, as did the depressed man. The sheep stared at Cygni, stone faced, and went all-in. She turned to Velis, looking for reassurance, but all she got was a look of terror and confusion. Cygni called, shaking, palms sweating. I will not be beaten by a farmyard beast.
The dealer tugged as his collar, the air charged with the intensity of the game. The players revealed their hands, and Cygni closed her eyes. The sheep flipped its cards, one at a time. 10 of spades, Jack of Spades...their hearts raced. Queen of Spades, King of Spades...the world seemed to come to a halt. In what seemed like an age, the final card flipped...5 of hearts. Cygni heaved a sigh of relief, as if the weight of the whole world were lifted from her shoulders. Velis continued to stare, perplexed. “Frankly, I'm still baffled as to how the sheep flipped its cards on its own.” The sheep hopped down from its chair, called for its butler and stormed out of the casino.
Cygni raked in their winnings, pleased with how the first round went, but she sincerely hoped they would not all be like that. Lucky for them, the remaining two players at the table fell easily compared to the sheep. Walking away from the table, Cygni counted their winnings. “Not bad, a little over double what we started with! We'll be meeting Mr. Delmont in no time.” Velis nodded distantly, but it was clear to her that something else was on his mind. “What's wrong? I don't think they're suspicious of.” she asked.
“I don't know. Something about this place...something is off. I can't quite put my finger on it, but it feels...familiar? Maybe I'm just imagining things...” Velis kept scanning, looking for something to hint at what may be happening.
Cygni pat his back, “Well, just keep your eye out and lets head to the high rollers table. It's probably just nerves.”
“Yeah...nerves...”