Aug 12, 2019
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fancy bells (on twitter)
Table Talk
A single lamp hung over the dealer’s table like a dead man on the gallows. Everything else was shrouded in darkness. Rose approached, pulling out one of two chairs there, and sat down. She stared daggers into the shadows across from her.
“Deal.”
A match was struck and erupted into flame, hovering at the end of a long cigar. With a single draw, the tobacco glowed brightly, and a cloud of smoke filled the air. The dealer leaned forward.
He was different every time she came here, and she came here as little as possible. For this hand, he was looking quite dapper. Dressed finely with bowler hat tilted to one side, he had foregone the usual moustache for long sideburns and a tuft of hair under his bottom lip. He could hold other forms, some of which were far more intimidating than this.
“New look?”
“Ah, Miss Byrne, what can I say? I'm indecisive. What brings you my way, if I may ask?” His voice put her in the mind of sickeningly sweet bourbon. Rose nearly had to choke back her own gorge.
“You may not. I merely require a little...insight.”
The dealer nodded, cigar poking out of his smug face. From his vest pocket, he placed a single black poker chip on the green felt between them. “You know the stakes,” he bleated.
Rose huffed, clutching a hand to her bodice and pulling away as if drawing something from it. Her fist clenched tightly, drifting to the table where upon relinquishing her grip she dropped a poker chip of her own. He picked it up, fingers notably and grotesquely long, admiring it's deep red hue.
“You have to win that first, you know. That is, if you win.”
With a biting grin formed around his cigar, he placed it back. A snap of his fingers, and a deck of cards appeared in his other hand.
“You're being very terse today, almost downright rude.” Cards rippled together. “Something very important must be happening out there.”
“Nothin’ you should fret about. Just checkin’ on someone.”
He slid a card to her, then one to himself. “Someone like...Marshal Hurless?”
Rose huffed again.
He slid her another card, and another to his own hand. “So huffy today. You're right. It's none of my affair. How have you been as of late?”
“Fine. Thank you so much for askin’. Might I inquire as to the source of your newfound concern?” Venomous sarcasm dripped from her teeth.
He dealt them both a third card. “Now, now, Miss Byrne. You and I both know how much duress you've suffered lately. Especially at the hands of the pathetic entity known as Jack o’ Nines. Thinking he could just have you.” He bellowed loudly with laughter. Rose was not laughing.
“I don't belong to anyone.”
Their fourth cards were dealt. “Oh? Not even your lover? That wolf in shepherd's clothing? How about that gunfighter? He seems to care about you, too.”
Rose glowered. She received a devilish smile and a puff of smoke in response. “I think you're just talkin’ foolishness, now.” A fifth card slid to her hands.
Six, Eight, Nine, Ten, Ace.
Rose’s face locked as the game began. She knew better to let the facade crack even a little. On the inside she scowled at her hand. Garbage. She plucked a pair of cards from what she held and tossed them to the center of the table. He did the same.
Eight, Nine, Nine, Ten, Jack.
She tasted the bile on her tongue.
She flourished her cards onto the felt, expressionless to the last. The dealer looked to his hand, to Rose, then to the black poker chip on the table. Rose went for it.
With speed the likes of a lightning bolt, the whole game changed. Her adversary slapped his hand on the table, a pair of Jacks with a King kicker, and with equally blinding haste wrapped his long, now claw-like fingers around her wrist. His other hand grasped her throat, like talons digging into her flesh. Her mouth suddenly flooded with the stomach-churning taste of blood, heat, and dirt all mixed together.
“Sorry, Miss. Looks like you lose.”
His eyes burned and glowed like the end of the cigar clenched tightly between his teeth, his lips peeled back in a snarl befitting a ravenous coyote. He stared straight into her mind and her soul. Her head started burn.
That's when everything went white.
Rose suddenly gasped. Her head pounded with searing pain as she looked around to the blurred world around her. She flung out a hand to steady herself against the nearby rain barrel tucked between the general store and saloon. A few breaths and she righted herself.
Peeking back around the corner of the building, she could see Gabe, James, and Howell still dealing with the Marshal. Everyone else just walked on by without so much as a second glance. As her vision cleared, she prepared her magic once more, pausing once to the sound of a soft whisper singing in her ear.
I'll be right here. Waiting. And know this: your soul will be mine.
She shook it off, her shoulders tensing. Cards appeared in her hand, surrounded by an eldritch aura as she cast her spell the old fashioned way.
Things get spooky(er) in Beckett, OR on tonight's Halloween episode of Uncanny Valley! Come watch our Storyteller try and murder us all while we cry and eat too much candy on @savingthrowshow 's Twitch at 7:30pm pst! . #uncannyvalleyshow #uncannyvalley #savingthrow #savingthrowshow #chroniclesofdarkness #theonyxpath #tabletopgaming
Why are my friends and I dressed like late 80's and early 90's kids????? Guess you'll have to jump on Saving Throw's Twitch channel tonight @ 7:30pm to find out.
Tonight at 7:30pm pst come watch some of the people I love in Uncanny Valley on @savingthrowshow! I'm really excited that they are playing Chronicles of Darkness and the last two games have been exciting to watch. Everyones characters are unique and fun to watch. So if you're intrigued, tune in on Saving Throw's Twitch tonight and watch the game! Seriously, it's a lot of fun ❤️ #uncannyvalley #savingthrow #savingthrowshow #tabletopgaming #friends #funtimes #hopenoonediestonight
Starting next Tuesday the 19th at 7pm, I'm part of @savingthrowshow's new show, Uncanny Valley. Come watch me be a complete tabletop rpg newbie and learn with me! Will I remember all the complicated mechanics of the system? Probably not. Am I 100% committed to being the best 13 year old Scout from the 1980s I can be though? Absolutely. If you're intrigued and want to meet my character and the rest of the crew, tune in to Saving Throw's Twitch channel starting Tues the 19th at 7pm for our adventures! . Bonus costume secret: my troop number is a shout out to my own Girl Scout troop when I was growing out! . #savingthrow #savingthrowshow #uncannyvalley #tabletopgaming #cosplay
These are the faces of two girls whose DM just threw a monster made out of flame throwers, a wood chipper, and several dead puppies at. Why, Steven? Why? . You can come watch us play Chronicles of Darkness and dodge all the machinations of evil that Steven throws at us every week on @savingthrowshow. We stream live on their Twitch on Tuesdays at 7:30pm PST. . #uncannyvalley #savingthrow #savingthrowshow #uncannyvalleyshow #chroniclesofdarkness #tabletopgaming
Secret's out now - the character I play on @savingthrowshow's Uncanny Valley is the Beast. She's a unicorn and the scariest, most brutal member of the team. She'll hunt you down, eat your soul, and not get a drop of blood on her pretty white dress. Clipclop, bitches 🦄🔪 . I had such a blast playing our first game last night! It was amazing and genuinely stressful for about 3 hours and I can't wait to do it again next week and see what new supernatural monsters we'll face! Our dm @stevenjpope22 is endlessly creative and I'm incredibly grateful he let me play as a very unconventional creature for a Beast. Working out how a unicorn can fit into the Chronicles of Darkness and still be a scary force to be reckoned with has been really fun!! I'm looking forward to playing out the juxtaposition of a seemingly squeaky clean, sparkly character who occasionally gores people's intestines out in a fit of blindingly righteous rage. . #uncannyvalley #savingthrow #savingthrowshow #chroniclesofdarkness #theonyxpath #tabletopgaming #cosplay