Ugh. That smug lip-piercing. He's not bride material.

>I needed to decide where to place Feng in all of this.
I'd think we'd want him out of the way. Unless we need a dope to play off of at the table.

>I had to come up with a strategy to get him to the game tables.
Huh. Didn't plan on it being challenging to get the gambler to gamble. I was hoping we'd have a chance to see him play before we started.

...I suppose we could always bait him into it. An implicit challenge if we sit down and start winning. That gives him a chance to study us instead of the other way around, though. And we start out on his radar. Don't really like that situation.

He's probably waiting for a higher stakes table/game to win money at, or too busy flirting. The pause before we have to get to work is a good thing for us: We have questions to be answered before we start concentrating on the target. We need to learn more about the staff, organization and how the profit gets made, so use this opportunity. We also might want rope and chain handy for if this goes really right (or really wrong).

Exquisite Bride Obsession Meyichi 2015/08/10(Mon)13:02 No. 661493 ID: 5a02f7
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>>661396

”I’ll want you somewhere out of the way, once we make our move. If I put my elbows on the table, though, I want you to come over and play,” I passed Feng part of my silver, ”Lose to me.”

”R-right,” he’s obviously unused to the kind of attention that’s being directed at the two of us, but he pocketed the dinars discretely enough, ”And you’ll want me to use the mirrors to check under the table, right?”

”That’s right, but first…

>>661407

”… I want to know more about how this is set-up. How does Abel make a profit off of this?”

”Well, there are a few ways – each patron pays to get in at a table, people buy drinks, and there are some really good players that he has on his roll. They win and give part of the money to the boss, which is why he’s a problem.”

“Are there any here currently?”

“Um…” Feng scanned the crowd, ”I see two, the short man in the far corner, and the woman off to the right. There might be more, but those are the ones I recognize.”

“And the bartender?”

“He’s one of Abel’s men, of course. The drinks are more just to keep people around; with as much as water costs right now, we don’t make a whole lot of money off of it.”

With those questions answered, I was ready to make my move.

Mental note to check into getting a small stretch of the coastline to build a condenser and make money. There could be a double profit bonus if we can make it into a salt-pan and sell salt while we're at it.
What's your move, Mirth? Ideally we'd start by watching him play, but if he's not moving we gotta either wait, prepare more or make him start playing somehow. Y'know, I dare you to walk up, sit in his lap and say you've heard he's a big winner. Then ask him to show you how he wins. Playing a giggly drunk ought to be just perfect for getting yourself underestimated if you can stomach the lost pride, hah.

Ooh! Good call on the capelet. That's really works. It's very you. Well, this you, anyways.

>>661493
Let's try establishing bait or a challenge for him. Start playing, but bellow your ability so he underestimates you. Work to start establishing a pot to temp him into trying to take it.

Exquisite Bride Obsession Meyichi 2015/08/11(Tue)16:59 No. 661755 ID: 5a02f7
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>>661602

I bought a cup of liquor and took a seat at one of the tables without one of Abel’s players. The entry fee was modest enough, even considering the current size of the pot. It took me a handful of rounds to drive up the stakes, which lost me more money than I would have liked, but this was all for show. I drove out the chump players, leaving me only with those that were willing to play for big stakes.

I leaned in to the dealer, making a show of asking, ”Who’s that guy over there?” I pointed blatantly.

She looked over with a sour face, ”Go ask him yourself if you’re that interested.”

>>661596

”I will, then,” I rose from the table, crossing the floor to where the mark sat. Without preamble, I landed sloppily on his lap and said –

-------------------------

”- wait, just like that?”

“What do you mean “just like that?” It was the easiest way to get his attention, and I needed his attention.”

Kamai gestured, searching for the word, ”But don’t you got any, I dunno – womanly pride or anything?”

“If ya’ve got any pride left after what we’ve been through, it ain’t worth a single cowrie,” Lintha remarked sourly, ”Let him tell the damn story.”

I swear I heard the Ebon Dragon chuckle at that. Kamai collapsed into a moody silence, and I continued.

-------------------------

”Hey there, mister. I heard you’re a big winner,” his hands instinctively grabbed on to me to keep me from toppling over. I leaned in close, ”Tell me how you do it, hm?”

A grin split the man’s face, ”Well, before I go spilling my secrets, might I know to who they go? I’m Embattled Justice, of no other name.”

What an odd way to introduce oneself, “I’m Mirth, of several other names.”

“And what might those other names be, hm?”

I giggled, leaning in further, ”Come play me, and maybe later you’ll find out,” as my vantage changed, I caught a glimpse of the bartender, with a stormy look on his face. Only a few quick words from a frazzled Feng stopped him from intervening; still, he looked unhappy with my behavior.

I shifted my position again, letting my purse bump against his leg, ”I have a table going on over here – I think it’ll be worth your time,” I stood, taking a moment to feign gathering my balance, before pulling him up with me.

“Well, I’ve never been one to refuse such a pretty lady,” Justice rose with only enough resistance to grab his drink before I pulled him away. I could feel the jealous stares directed at us as I walked away, but he seemed to either not notice or not care.

I guided him to a chair next to my former seat, reclaiming it for myself. The dealer continued her sour glare, but I pointedly ignored it, turning to Justice instead, ”So, how do you do it?”

”Well,” he leaned in conspiratorially, ”To tell the truth, it’s all luck.”

I laughed, letting a hint of the great deal of doubt I had about that claim leak into my voice, ”Really, just luck?”

”I was born under a lucky star, and, ever since then, Lady Fortune has watched over me. Of course, her attention comes and goes, as does any woman’s, so it’s not something I can call upon as I wish, as much as I wish I could. Only when the stakes are truly dire does my blessing emerge.”

While it was probably possible that was the truth, the actual likelihood of it was far-fetched, and even if he was “blessed by a goddess,” it was more likely he was a god-blooded with spirit tricks that made him lucky. Still, if such were true, actually proving it would be difficult given I didn’t have the ability to sense Essence manipulation. I would have to be subtle if I was to catch him – or I could just try to take all of his money and forget about proving that he’s cheating.

He likely thinks it's true enough. Amusingly enough, Exalts aren't always aware of their own abilities, particularly purely reflexive ones like luck. My guess is he's using Essence and just isn't aware of it.

Test it out and try a few hands with trivial stakes. See if his luck is any better than usual when it's not important.

I sincerely doubt he's nearly drunk enough to tell the truth about it *here* if he were cheating or knowingly using magic. Think about it, if he were to say that it was all trick throwing they'd send the thugs to grab his purse, drag him somewhere private, rough him up, kick him out and update the banned list with a description (and maybe a picture too). His story is less than one full iota on the scale of reliable information.
We already know what the plan is; play, try not to play either too well or too badly, and start the study. If it is something that he only pulls out for big-stakes rounds that is already useful information we can use to predict his actions, which is our general goal. Remember to pretend to be drunk enough to excuse behaving inappropriately. Things we want to know include, first finding out what level of stakes he considers big stakes without either winning or losing too much, and trying to study his play habits. Our second goal is to find out if he merely cheats his own throws or other players' throws as well. Our third goal is to figure out as much as we can about when this happens and what sort of changes get made. Fourth, we want to know how it works and what his limits are.

>bartender stormy
Hmm. I'm guessing the gang has rules of conduct for this establishment, you're wearing their colors, and you're breaking them. (They don't allow whores here, and you're being pretty forward).

Well, that, or he's just annoyed you're macking on the cheater they all love to hate.

>could be telling the truth about luck magic
>just take him, or try to reveal how he does it?
I don't think we should immediately take him at his word.

Spend a few hands (rounds? rolls? whatever the term) studying him. Playing to maintain position, not to win or clean him, yet. See firsthand what you think- if you can catch anything that might be a cheating scheme, or it truly is beyond your ken.

Based on the results of that, we shift gears into beating the pants off of him (bonus points if he actually bets his pants) or in trying to engineer a scenario explicitly to expose said cheating.

>>661811
> beating the pants off him, literally

YES. Make strip dice happen.
... after a few feeler hands, of course.

Exquisite Bride Obsession Meyichi 2015/08/12(Wed)15:50 No. 661874 ID: 5a02f7
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>>661759

Do you think he’s an Essence-user and just not aware of his abilities?

I don’t know how other Exalted get it, but my Exaltation came complete with a mouthy instruction manual – I kid, don’t take too much offense. It is possible that he simply is a god-, ghost-, or demon-blooded. Their charms would likely be much more natural to the wielder than the powers of the Exalted, I suppose. When I spend too much energy, I can feel it begin to overflow – that’s what the anima is. Those whose gifts come with blood don’t usually have that problem, as far as I know.

>>661786

We began to play. I kept up the act throughout, continuing to pester him about his “divine heritage.” His story became more elaborate as he continued, making it obvious for the lie that it was. Once or twice I caught him in a contradiction, but I kept my comments to myself, instead staring at him raptly and nodding when appropriate. He was a great storyteller, even to ears as jaded as mine. I found myself more than once waiting for his next word before I realized it was my turn to roll – that behavior, at least, I didn’t have to fake.

Not to say I completely neglected my studies. It was obvious at the start that he was a skilled player, perhaps even more so than I; I did not have to purposefully lower my skill much in order to project the level of threat I wished to portray. The trick was losing enough to keep his interest but winning enough so that I didn’t lose all my money right away.

After a few dozen hands, patterns began to emerge.

He would pause in his story and begin to focus when the stakes got high – usually only on pots of fifty dinars or more. I left him to his concentration, taking the time to study him, myself. The lines in his face would deepen further, and his thick brows would drop down; he was more handsome when he wasn’t trying to smile, honestly. If there was any use of essence or sleight of hand, I couldn’t detect it.

We cycled through several groups of players, none staying too long once the trends became evident. They varied in skill from novice to expert, but their throws all seemed relative to their skill and whatever luck the gods saw fit to grant them.

It didn’t happen very often, but I began to take note – when the pot became really big, he would seem to win. I wouldn’t happen unless the total was over about one hundred dinars, but he always seemed to make out with the win. Sure, he lost a decent amount of the small hands, but the big ones always seemed to go to him. In all, I could see how this would be a big drain on the resources of the gang.

It was now past the hour of Resplendent Water, and the sun had slipped most of the way past the horizon. The interior of the room had cooled pleasantly. I chanced a glimpse at Feng and managed to catch his eye. The boy shrugged and shook his head – it seemed he hadn’t caught anything either.

If he only wins when the pot is past a certain size, you could make him look bad by gaming the pot, so every hand reaches that threshold. If it's an involuntary effect, it'll trigger every time. A man who wins every hand will be accused of cheating pretty damn quick, and they might even buy the alleged magic luck at that point.

Downside is we have to bleed money to do that, and probably can't afford to. Also, I'm not sure it meets our mission's standard of proof for finding his method, and it sure isn't taking his money. Plus, if it's not magic, or he can control it, he can simply back off.

The alternative is to start playing seriously. Start taking his money, if you can. That's one objective, and it's possible if you put him under pressure, the cheating he uses to tr and fight back will become evident to you.

We don't know enough for me to recommend either continuing with the original plan or following the amended plan here. Please sort out what has been going on with more detail. How does he win those big rounds? Do his rolls get better, other people's rolls get worse, or both, or neither? Do other players' judgment calls get better or worse during the rounds with big stakes?
Hypotheses to check/test:
-He's a really skilled dynast exalt, maybe using tiny disturbances of the air to control everybody's throws.
-He's another charming supernatural blood doing something like what Sienna does to make other players perform more poorly when it counts.
-He's using supernatural boosts to skill to improve his throws, essentially making trick throws that don't look like it because he is too skilled for it to be obvious.
-There is another, supernatural presence that is adjusting throws to his benefit. (I could see an invisible demon doing this if he is a skilled sorcerer, for example.)
-(Other)

The original plan was to start teasing at around this point to see if we can disturb him when he is doing whatever it is that wins him rounds. We've seen the machine working without grit in the gears, it could teach us more and test how much whatever effect is under his control by distracting him.
>>661882
These alternative plans of either making sure that every round triggers his cheating or just trying to out-compete his cheating with our own cheating seem risky and premature I think. We should keep them in reserve, but we shouldn't really go ahead with any final plan yet because you haven't told us exactly *how* he is winning the rounds during which he is cheating yet. Tell us how was he winning: Was it better personal rolls, other players rolling poorer, other players making poorer decisions, some combination, or something else?

>premature
I suppose that depends on how much time and funds we have remaining in the evening.

The other problem I see is if we let this go on too long, eventually he's going to get bored or satisfied, and want to leave with his winnings. (And/or the pretty little red-shouldered thing who's been flirting with him).

We have deadlines, and I'm unsure how close we're getting to them.

If we have margin for it, testing for specific cheating methods as you outlined seems reasonable.

>>661899
A lot of what I described as specific possibilities should be things we can already eliminate by having watched the previous games, so let's have Edge tell us about that. You are right that we don't want to lose more money, so that's why it's time for phase two, attempting to win semi-conventionally. This is where we start trying to win by messing him up with distracting teasing while he's 'concentrating.' In order to do that we must consistently raise the stakes to the level at which he cheats, which was the whole of one of those two outlined plans. Hopefully at this point we will either start winning, or catch him cheating while he's too distracted to pull it off with the same skill because he's distracted.
What we do from there depends on whether we manage to win or catch him cheating through distracting him while playing: If we catch him cheating that may suggest a particular plan to exploit that. If we can't catch him cheating but distracting him works to slow down his winning streak then we go for broke and combine the teasing with our own cheating. If we can't catch him cheating and distracting him doesn't work that's when we continue with the 'make everyone agree he's cheating' plan and make his wins pile up suspiciously.
The only danger with that plan I can see is that maybe he's already close to the level at which he wants to quit for the night. That would be a risk no matter which plan we choose at this point however, so I ignore it in favour of balancing against the risks of; 1) that someone else detects us cheating, and; 2) that our cheating doesn't work well enough to be worth the effort because he's a more capable cheater.

Exquisite Bride Obsession Meyichi 2015/08/12(Wed)22:21 No. 661946 ID: 5a02f7
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>>661882

Do you have enough money to play a large pot every time? Bulitar asked.

Not for very long, and that would likely drive others away quickly enough.

>>661888

It seemed to only be his rolls that are affected; everyone else, including myself, did as well as could be expected. If there were minute manipulations of the air, they were too small for me to notice, although it did seem a little chilly in here – I hadn’t gotten used to how cold it gets at night after being so hot during the day.

>>661923

Despite the chill, I loosened my capelet’s tie to reveal more of my shoulders. I changed my pose subtly to better accent my curves and reveal just a glimpse of my cleavage –

-------------------------

”You’re an awful bastard, Edge.”

-------------------------

With the trap baited, I took a long sip from my drink and continued to play.

Justice’s attention was certainly focused more on me, now. When he wasn’t rolling, his eyes were focused on some part of me or another, and only sometimes my face. I slowly pushed the pot’s value up, and another player left the table. It was just four of us, now.

Finally, the pot was at the point that I expected him to act. He rolled the dice, and… turned up three Shadows, ”Ach! Well, that’s the nature of luck, ain’t it?”

I won that pot, replenishing my purse considerably, though not as much as I would have liked. Another player rose from the table, and both my purses were lighter than they had been when I had entered; if I was going to act, I needed to do so soon.

>>661946
> pot is right where you expect him to win
> he gets a terrible roll
He's on to you...

I wonder if we could bleed him out by keeping the pot under his instant win value? That might be a bad idea if he really is on to you, though, and not just taking a loss on general principle. (And he probably is, considering the gang affiliation flags we're waving about.)

Hnnngh. The problem here is this guy is a smart cheater. He knows when to take a loss to make his cheating less obvious to the layman's eye. I dunno what to do about him.

Okay, so if it's strictly his throws that he's been affecting--and not anybody's mind or other throws--that suggests that we could win this unless he's got reserve powers or backup.
I can't tell if he's baiting us using a deliberately poor trick throw, you have to judge that. This comes down to your ability to read him and guess how much better he can do than this. We're as prepared as we're gonna get, you decide if you want to play it conservative and make him win versus trying to psych him out and out-cheat him. Do you think you can beat him? All else being equal, I say go for it.

Exquisite Bride Obsession Meyichi 2015/08/13(Thu)18:26 No. 662116 ID: 5a02f7
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>>661951

I worried for a moment that he had caught on to my scheming…

>>661952

… but no matter how charming he was, I had more confidence in my skills than I did his.

It was time to stop playing around.

I nudged the pot upward again, playing conservatively to get it within the value that I would expect him to go for it. On the final throw, I let a trickle of essence flow from me into my hand, nudging the dice as I wanted them – a ten, a near-perfect hand.

He scored a twelve.

What power could best the Ebon Dragon’s cunning? For a moment, the smile fell from my face as I pondered the baffling idea. Only if there were a more specialized power being used or a similar trick of stronger essence should I have lost.

I played more aggressively, promptly betting a large sum of money. The last of the players dropped out, leaving only Justice and myself at the table. My gaze bored into his, daring him to take the bait I had placed before him.

He matched my bet.

This time, I let thrice the amount of Essence I had used before power my charm. I felt my anima on the verge of revealing itself, but I had to know.

Both of our rolls totaled to twelve.

”By the spirits,” the dealer breathed out, ”That’s… that’s a tie; the pot is split.”

Justice’s gaze fixed on me, and I caught the briefest glimpse of realization in his eyes before it was gone with a smile. He stuck out a hand to me, ”You play impeccably, Miss Mirth. It was a pleasure tossing the bones with you; maybe we’ll meet here again?”

I reached for his hand, almost flinching as I touched his skin – it was bitterly cold, ”Indeed.”

I glanced over his shoulder at Feng – he instantly gauged my mood and nodded; whatever I was about to do, he would follow my lead.

He beat or matched us when we burned essence to win- that leaves no other conclusion than that he was spending essence.

(That probably means he's exalted? I'm not sure what else would draw even a low-level exalt who was trying, and had charms specialized for that thing. If he is an exalt- does the cold hands mean he's a death hero too? Unless that could hint at something else?)

>the briefest glimpse of realization in his eyes
And of course you both know what the other is capable of, and you both know the other knows.

Obvious risks: the gang is a threat if we disappoint Able enough (although this can be mitigated by abandoning the Mirth identity). Justice could be a direct threat, and ditching identities might not lose him. Justice is also a more indirect threat in that he could attack us by trying to expose us, and he compromises this identity as long as he's in play.

Alright: options.

We could bug out, and not pursue Justice, either on the grounds that this is less of an unfair contest than you were prepared for, or because we think he might be more useful in and of himself than our current in with the red gang and Sienna. Obvious risk is this means Abel will be less than pleased (might have to abandon the Mirth Identity), and that leaves Justice in play and aware of us.

We could try and expose him. If he is exalted, he spent essence a lot more frequently than you did there. If we can force him to spend essence and his anima to flare up. His status as a cheating magic thing will be revealed, the enforcers here will fall on him. Problem is then he has no incentive not to try and out us, and it puts us at ground zero of a fight the gang members in this building may not be prepared to finish.

We could try and follow him and confront him elsewhere (or try and arrange we leave with him- frame it so he can't refuse with this audience). Less problems of a confrontation with the gang, but we're in a direct confrontation ourself. Not our strong suit.

Guessing based on the chill touch, he's either an abyssal exalt or a water aspect dynast. The dynast possibility is much more likely. Either way, that's scary because he's apparently been either making substantial use of persistent effects or spending a lot of essence on winning, and he hasn't aura flared yet. That means that he's likely a powerful essence user and may be able to kill everyone in this bar with aplomb if he's willing to flare up.
What did his touch do to us? Odds are that he either gave us a freezing touch as a warning threat, or that it was both that and an impairment effect delivered by touch. Either way, it looks like he anticipates some sort of fight or confrontation here, and has prepared using means we are unfamiliar with. That sucks, I can't plan against that or give a detailed estimate of what he can do.
The odds of scoring twelve on two successive rounds is absurdly low, so we could theoretically accuse him of cheating. That sucks because if we accuse him of cheating he can counter-accuse us of cheating. Tactically I don't like this, going up against an unknown opponent with poor and uncertain preparation and unknown allies. What I'd ideally like to do is go tell Abel Akhar that his cheater gave us an icy handshake, probably making him a rogue water dynast. He really requires an organized attack or some other significant effort to be rid of. It's a shame we don't know how competent Feng is, if he were at least a heroic soul with skill at arms that might improve the odds in a fight a bit but... it's all so risky and we are not a potent combatant with our preferred weapon handy operating under our preferred conditions of range and visibility.
Your move Mirth, do you feel confident in your ability to get this water dynast to aura flare without us doing so? If you manage that do you think we can survive that? Are you willing to deal with the possibility this asshole will pursue us as a vendetta if we do? I doubt Abel would like it if we struck first without warning, so I don't see any *good* plan for what to do here besides chalking up a stalemate and hoping this convinces him to go gamble somewhere else. We have acquired a significant antagonist now.

Exquisite Bride Obsession Meyichi 2015/08/13(Thu)23:33 No. 662203 ID: 5a02f7
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>>662183

Discretion was always the smarter part of valor, and I had too much to lose without much to gain. I didn’t think he did anything to me by his touch, just that his skin was unexpectedly cold – likely the sign that he was a Deathknight or a Water-aspected Dragon-blooded. Either was far too risky to confront in a crowded bar.

Justice continued in a low voice, ”Actually, I think you might have convinced me to tell you my secret – well, more detail about it,” he leaned in closer, offering his hand again, ”How about we step outside and talk a bit, hmm – secrets of the trade and all that?”

I was inclined to follow him, if only to clear up what could potentially be a troublesome misunderstanding, but what would my story be? How much of the truth could I chance?

>>662203
IT'S A TRAP! Obviously. Question is, are you confident enough to spring it?

Sounds highly dangerous, if there's a chance he can detect use of essence.

>>662203
Following this lead is a risk, but so is staying in the dark about this guy. Trying to follow the lead also looks better to the gang than giving up (unless they decide you're colluding).

Immediate problem is Feng will try and follow. You can't discuss being magic superhuman monsters with an audience. And ditching your tail makes you look guilty. Unless we can signal to him to stay back, and that you're trying something? Really, he just needs to be out of earshot. If he still has eyes on us, we might still get paid if Justice does anything overtly magical in our presence. (There you go. You saw how he was cheating).

Second problem. What's our context for a story? It's one thing if he made us as an essence user. But say, should we even expect Justice to know deathlords exist? (It's not common knowledge, but would might as an exalt, or one himself). Lot of fiddly in universe details as to what would make a believable background.

We admitted to using a false name before, and we teased he might get another. We can be honest about our current task, at least that's obvious.

Probably want to maneuver as much as possible to get him to talk first- he *did* invite us to hear his secret, didn't he. Reevaluate after that?

You know, this looks like pretty much a textbook-perfect plan for a dynast hunting for anathema to go find one and isolate it. We need backup if we are to even consider accepting this invitation.

Exquisite Bride Obsession Meyichi 2015/08/14(Fri)14:09 No. 662363 ID: 5a02f7
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>>662249
>>662268
>>662334

My instincts screamed caution. My eyes flicked back to Feng, who was half-off of his seat, prepared to rush in should things turn out poorly – but I had no way of knowing exactly what it was he was capable of. I cursed myself for not asking earlier.

”Don’t worry,” Justice said, seeing my reluctance, ”We’re just going outside. Your friend can keep an eye on us.”

For some reason, his words calmed me. I wanted to believe him.

>>662319

”Fine,” I took Justice’s hand and rose with him. Feng stared at me in askance, and I made clear signals to him – “stay,” “watch me.” He looked unhappy but nodded.

We stepped out into the night. The air wasn’t as brisk now that it wasn’t confined to a small building, but it was still enough for me to cross my arms under my capelet – not for the first time, I was thankful for having it. We stepped across the path, still in clear sight of the doorway. I could see Feng hovering discontentedly at the door, but the roar from the room behind him would likely make it impossible for him to hear our words.

Justice crossed his arms for an entirely different reason, ”Sorry for the chill – I would offer to warm you up, but I can’t right now, even if you’d accept.”

“I’m fine,” I said, perhaps a bit more testily than I meant.

”Well, I think it’s probably pretty obvious by now what I’m doing, and what it is you’re doing, if all that red and your friend isn’t just for show,” he smiled, ”Guess I got a little too much attention from the wrong sort of people, hm? I should’ve known better than to stay in one place for too long, but the getting was good here; I got too greedy,” he sighed, ”But you’ve got me intrigued – I haven’t met many who can match me when I’m really trying to win.”

“You told me you were going to tell your secret,” I said sternly, rubbing my arms for warmth.

Justice laughed, ”True, true. Well, it’s just what it looks like – a little bit of magic to push the odds in my favor, or to take it all when I really try,” he shrugged, ”I imagine it’s not too different from what it is that you do, really. But, still, I’m a little curious about the exact nature of your trick, if you wouldn’t mind telling me. I’d be happy to share more details in return.”

exact nature?
This to me sounds waaaay to much like he's meaning to ask what essence type we have...Which...Infernal is the LAST answer we wanna give if he's one of the other groups, if I know my lore properly.
Soo...I'm thinking if we wanna be safe, we just say no to trading info and walk away.
Problem is...High chance he's not gonna let it go, and possibly he'll have the advantage in a fight, or even in just causing enough of a ruckus that the authorities get curious about us.
I think the good move here might be to lie about our type. I'd say we lie and say Sidereal but...Dunno if we even KNOW about those Sidereals.

The safe answer to give is a bullshit answer: Pretend to be one of Luna's Exalted. We're far enough from The Blessed Isle that those wandering around are something an experienced Dynast would expect and know not to mess with unnecessarily. However, I am uncertain of our ability to be convincing were we to try to deliver that line.

>Well, I think it’s probably pretty obvious by now what I’m doing, and what it is you’re doing, if all that red and your friend isn’t just for show,” he smiled, ”Guess I got a little too much attention from the wrong sort of people, hm? I should’ve known better than to stay in one place for too long, but the getting was good here; I got too greedy
We can cop to that. We took a job to catch a certain problematic cheater. You're not going to get credit for cleaning out his winnings, but maybe you'll still be able to swing scaring him off into getting paid.

(Whether or not we get paid for discovering his method depends on what Feng witnesses, what Justice tells us, and if we think the money is worth exposing essence stuff).

>what tell him

>Infernal is the LAST answer we wanna give
Ayup. Short of making up a lie that's somehow worse. I'm a nascent titan!

>>662382
Pretending to be a different kind of exalt is an option, so long as presenting as an exalt at all is something we're comfortable risking. (And so long as we're not called on to prove it by doing what we can't).

Although if he is exalted, and we matched him at an essence battle, he already knows.

The two obvious problems with a lunar guise in particular is we don't have an animal form (we're busted as soon as the situation would expect us to use one), and he'll then expect we can shapeshift. This means he'll be much more likely to make or connect other identities to us, since the thought will have occurred to him. The first we can work around, but the second is very unfortunate.

I guess that's the default choice though? We can't pass as solar, our powers aren't obviously elemental enough to be a dragon blooded, Siderals don't exist... I guess we could pass as abyssal? Advantage is there's less gotya problems than a lunar, but abyssals aren't exactly well liked. (Still better than being infernal, right?). Depends on how many rogues there have been, and how they're perceived, I guess.

(Honestly, I feel out of my depth, here. Coming up with a good lie seems like it would require knowing the lore better than I do).

Here's a stupid question, would it be a worse idea to pretend to be an exalt of some lesser god, or to just be a god-blood maybe?
Here's another dubious idea. We could try to talk this guy into paying back the Akhar family and apologizing:
"Indeed, the Akhar family wants their money back, and they hired a little god-blood like me to contest an essence user cheating their establishment on their own terms. But you're either an abyssal or a skilled water element dynast, aren't you? As much for the sake of their employees who would be hurt--and the innocent bystanders--as for you I'll give you this warning: Now that I've failed they'll be sending assassins if you don't apologize directly and make a satisfactory repayment. Time to hop a ship out of town quickly if you don't have enough of your winnings left for that."
What do you think Mirth, could you sell that threat?

Exquisite Bride Obsession Meyichi 2015/08/15(Sat)10:16 No. 662621 ID: 5a02f7
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>>662366
>>662382
>>662405

Several different possibilities raced through my mind, and I studied Justice for a long moment before answering, ”I’m a Chosen of the Moon; my abilities call upon Luna’s luck as my own.”

His brows shot up at that, ”One of the Moon – well, I’m lucky indeed to have met such an elusive creature,” he bowed again, ”As you’ve surely guessed, I have the Blood of Danaa’d within my veins, from Lookshy, originally. I call no Gens my own anymore, however.”

A Water Aspect, then. That made sense – I had heard those of Danaa’d were particularly slippery, ”So, what has a former noble of Lookshy tricking locals for spending money in a gambling den?”

He shrugged, ”The same reason I suspect you’ve aligned yourself with the folks in red – it’s not easy for people like us to make it alone. We need friends, or money, or enough power to keep away those that would rather see us dead. It’s a bit easier for an outcaste like me, but not by much.”

”Well, as you’ve guessed, you’ve worn out your welcome here. If they sent me to deal with you, there’ll be less friendly ones coming soon after. You should get out while you still can.”

Justice sighed, ”Yeah, I had a feeling that was the case,” he smiled, ”There’s another place I frequent, the Laughing Mare, that I haven’t spotted any people wearing conspicuous red in. I think I’ll play there and lay low for a while until the heat dies down – you won’t see me around here anymore. But if you’d like to try your skill against me again, we can have a real contest next time,” he winked, ”Maybe I’ll even earn hearing one of those other names you have.”

I chuckled, smirking, ”Maybe. I’ll see if I can’t stop by sometime.”

Justice nodded, ”Anything else I can do to make things a little easier for our friends, so they’ll know I’m honest, now?”

“Paying the gang back some of your winnings would be a good way to show you’re earnest,” I said.

He nodded again, ”I figured that’d be it,” he took out his heavy purse and counted out three hundred dinars, which he handed to me, ”There. That’s most of my winnings for tonight. Make sure it gets to the right people, okay?” his eyes held mine for a beat before they softened into a smile, ”It was a pleasure playing with you, Miss Mirth. I look forward to doing so again,” he bowed, taking my hand and placing a light kiss on my knuckle.

”You as well, Embattled Justice. I’m sure we’ll see each other again soon.”

With another rakish grin, Justice left.

I deposited the dinars in the more secure of my purses and turned back to the bar. Feng stood at the doorway, his eyes wide as he watched me approach – what was I going to tell him?

Not-Lunar quest is a go.

A lonely exalt in search of companionship / friendship / someone who can match him in a game in a potentially interesting angle to work.

The risks are I'm pretty sure he's stronger than you (the hands he won suggests he spent more essence without a flare-up), and that the more time we spend with him, the greater the risk we get caught in the lunar-lie.

>Feng stood at the doorway, his eyes wide as he watched me approach – what was I going to tell him?
Dump bag of winnings on him to keep him off guard.

Our friend had the sense to recognize what kind of game was being played tonight. You've got his winnings back. Not as satisfying as taking all of them, or exposing his cheating mid-game, but I very much doubt he'll be back. The ledgers here stop reporting losses, tonight.

I don't think it's worth outing him as dragon blooded. Justice is potentially more useful with his identity intact than the added bonus money we might get revealing the specific cheating method. Especially as we don't have hard proof, and revealing him comes too close to revealing us.

I think that chill effect is his anima flare if he's truly what he says he is: Maybe he's not so powerful, and soon would be a good time to attack him if Abel Akhar wants to take this further.
As far as talking to Feng, explain that was a dangerous bluff and you're glad he didn't call it. Ask what comes next, now that the job seems to be done. Ask him if the boss will want to organize an attack or if that's probably not worth the effort.

Exquisite Bride Obsession Meyichi 2015/08/15(Sat)18:40 No. 662783 ID: 5a02f7
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>>662638

I tossed the bag Justice had given me at Feng and spoke promptly, “Our friend had the sense to recognize what kind of game was being played tonight. You've got his winnings back; not as satisfying as taking all of them, or exposing his cheating mid-game, but I very much doubt he'll be back. The ledgers here stop reporting losses, tonight.”

Feng just barely caught the bag but quickly pocketed it, ”O-oh, that’s good. Um, here’s the dinars you gave me,” he passed my bag back.

>>662708

I took it, tying it once more to my belt, ”That was a dangerous bluff; I’m glad he didn’t call it.”

“S-so you aren’t a – n-nevermind.”

I eyed Feng, ”So you overheard that, did you?”

He ducked down sheepishly, ”J-just a little bit. Sorry, my ears are just really good.”

… Suspicious.

”So, what now?”

“W-well, that’s up to the boss. He said if you finished up, you could meet with him again tonight or during the heat of the day tomorrow, if you’d rather then.”

With how late it was, I suspected I only had time for one more thing before I needed to head back to the inn. I could either check in with Abel and get my money, or pursue any of the other leads I had as Edge.

>So you overheard that, did you?
Well, that takes the decision of exposing Justice out of our hands. On the plus side, that means we get paid for figuring out how he did it (probably).

>Sorry, my ears are just really good.
Through a noisy crowd, and far enough away that the practiced sneak and liar, and the older more experienced dude believed it was safe to talk openly?

Hmm. That is suspicious. Especially with his ears are covered. Could it be he's a lunar himself? If his ears are his tell, that would explain the hearing, why he keeps them covered, and his interest all in one go.

>what do
I don't think we're in a rush to meet up with Abel (or explain exactly how we did that). Picking up our money later gives us an excuse to get another job, too.

Hmm. Not sure what other Mirth-leads to follow up on, though. A Justice follow-up can't happen immediately. Sienna isn't around. That really only leaves Feng, if you want to hang out, or follow up on suspicions.

As for Edge-leads? Hmm. Probably too late to see Graceful Blossom. Myria's probably open, if we wanted to investigate her further, but we don't have a pretext for needing her services. Amaranth would probably be happy to see us, but we don't have a reason. Hmm. That leaves returning to our original plan- seeking out employment. Even if we've got a line as Mirth, we should still have a front-job for Edge to survive off too, right? Or a real one, if we can play multiple angles at a time.

"No hon, I'm not a Lunar. I'll have to ask you to trust me on that because I can't imagine your boss offering me enough to consider being his courtesan. Speaking of your boss though, whether I visit him now or tomorrow depends on whether you think he wants to follow up and chase that water exalt, and if he wants my help for that. I'd insist on being better armed for that than just throwing knives though.
"Also, it's interesting that you've been wearing a hat with earflaps in a town where it gets very hot. I won't ask, but I will say that if you're doing that to hide a tell it's a little conspicuous."

We have just spent time dealing with the criminal element AND a terrestrial exalt with unknown acquaintances: I think we should spend some quality time getting lost and changing appearances until there's no way someone could follow us home. I'm also curious if we made enough of an impression on Graceful Blossom that she's called on us or left a message when we were out. If worst comes to worst, we have bored auntie/uncle Amaranth to entertain with stories of our blundering incompetence: He/she did promise us help in exchange for entertaining stories.

Exquisite Bride Obsession Meyichi 2015/08/16(Sun)12:09 No. 662999 ID: 5a02f7
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>>662802

"No, hon, I'm not a Lunar. I'll have to ask you to trust me on that because I can't imagine your boss offering me enough to consider being his courtesan. Speaking of your boss though, whether I visit him now or tomorrow depends on whether you think he wants to follow up and chase that Water Exalt, and if he wants my help for that. I'd insist on being better armed for that than just throwing knives, though.”

Feng looked surprised at “courtesan,” but he recovered enough to answer, ”I don’t know what the boss wants to do, but I don’t think he’ll want to chase after that guy. I-I mean, he said he’s not gonna come back, so it should be fine, r-right?”

>>662787

I nodded; that made sense, from what I had read of Abel. A lot of the Mirth leads were dead for the moment, unless I wanted to hang around Feng. It would probably be wise to use some time to cycle through some faces to make sure I wasn’t followed back to my inn. But first…

"Also, it's interesting that you've been wearing a hat with earflaps in a town where it gets very hot. I won't ask, but I will say that if you're doing that to hide animal ears, it's a little conspicuous."

Feng freezes.

By the Yozis, I didn’t actually think I was going to be right.

”I-it’s not animal ears! I’m n-not a Moon Beast!”

“Feng, never play cards – you’re an awful liar.”

He worried at his hands, looking unhappy. It was a long moment before he reached up and removed his bandana.

Exquisite Bride Obsession Meyichi 2015/08/16(Sun)12:09 No. 663000 ID: 5a02f7
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What was revealed wasn’t a tell, but instead a growth of brilliant amethyst sprouting from the tips of Feng’s ears.

”I – when I was really young, my da and me lived near a place where the Dragon Lines crossed and the energy of Pasiap was really strong. He says that’s probably why I ended up being a Dragon-blooded. B-but before I Exalted, all the energies changed my ears to be like this – they aren’t Aspect Marking, I swear! I’d have to be, well, way too strong or old or something to have something like that. I-it’s just a Wyld mutation, but if Dynasts or Legionnaires saw it and found out I was a Dragon-blooded, they’d definitely snatch me up. I… I don’t want to be a soldier. I like living here in Chiaroscuro with the boss and everyone. So that’s why I hid them. S-sorry I didn’t tell you earlier – the boss said I should keep it a secret from everyone…”

… The Maidens must be laughing.

Ooooh-hohoho...
Ladies and gentlemen, I propose we hold on to this tip...Almost might be worth trying to make him our bride and spiriting him away, and Definitely our-back up if something goes wrong with Graceful Blossom...

>I don’t think he’ll want to chase after that guy. I-I mean, he said he’s not gonna come back, so it should be fine, r-right?
Probably not. Abel struck me as more practical than vindictive, but I've only met the man once.

>>663000
Man, this town is just lousy with the exalted, isn't it? I we're going to need to significantly adjust upwards our expectations and estimates of the capabilities of those around us. I'm putting much better odds on Graceful Blossom, Myria, and Sienna being exalts that previously. Heck, Crimson too.

>S-sorry I didn’t tell you earlier – the boss said I should keep it a secret from everyone
There's no need to apologize. Your boss was completely right- that is something you should keep to yourself, and not immediately share with a stranger you were set to watch.

Being more than you appear can be useful, Feng. The trick is to not let on, or bring up something you have to cover for. The easiest lie is one you never have to speak. Try not to tell people when you overhear things you're not supposed to.

Don't worry about your secret spreading. I've no wish to see the ranks of Dynasts or Legionaries swell.

...you know, the ears are kind of cute. (Yes, we scared him, now fluster him).

>>663008
Yes, I think we have another possible angle to play. Though I'd feel guilty dragging him into a mess when all he wants is to stay in the life he's protecting now.

Blackmailing someone into marrying you so they can avoid military service seems very much like the Ebon Dragon's thing. Also, this gang defines itself as a family, and what better way to join the family than a wedding?

Crack a smile and giggle something about "what a coincidence that all three of us in this little alley were exalted by the favor of one dragon or another, and for one reason or another concealed our gifts, it must be fate that we met thus" and then pop the question.

>>663033
Inxay on the eingbay exaltedyay.

>then pop the question.
Way, way too soon. We'd have to work him over for longer than this.

Plus, if Abel is at all protective of his people (or at least a potentially valuable dragon blooded working for him) he'll probably react badly to what looks like us Feng doing something stupid or our stealing / exploiting Feng (and/or abusing Abel's generosity). I don't think we're in a position where we want to anger or offend Abel if we want to keep using this identity.

The maidens are laughing at you looking for a bride and tripping over a boy who would probably be an easy lay now that you know about his ears? They are worth considering, how much do they know about what you are and what you do?
Yeah, he should cover those ears back up in public. Unless you want to either meet with Abel now or tease Feng more it's time to leave though: We haven't given enough thought to what kind of story we'd tell Feng about who and what Mirth is yet. Here's a suggestion for a new secondary objective: Have Feng wrapped around Mirth's little finger, doing your bidding. If you like this objective, I suggest you blow him a kiss and wiggle your ass when you walk away so that he's staring with lust at your backside.

Exquisite Bride Obsession Meyichi 2015/08/17(Mon)13:57 No. 663420 ID: 5a02f7
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”Laughing Maidens? I haven’t heard that expression.”

Kamai answered for me, ”It’s when fate does a funny thing that’s too coincidental to be happenstance. Since the Maidens draw everyone’s fate in the stars, they must be giggling when they put that in.”

Lintha frowned, ”That’s dumb – none of us have got fate in the stars of Creation any more.”

”It’s an expression,” I said, sighing, ”Don’t dwell on it.”

-------------------------

>>663008

This was useful information, and definitely something I could use to my advantage. I would have to keep it in mind, regardless of what my plans ultimately ended up being. While I thought of what to say in response, Feng passed me back the bag with my other clothing. I reached inside and wrapped my scarf around my neck again, feeling more secure with it close by.

-------------------------

”What’s the deal with that ratty old thing, anyway? I never see ya without it.”

“That’s another story – let me finish this one first.”

-------------------------

>>663017

”There’s no need to apologize. Your boss was completely right – that is something you should keep to yourself and not immediately share with a stranger you were set to watch,” I smiled, ”Being more than you appear can be useful, Feng. The trick is to not let on, or bring up something you have to cover for; the easiest lie is one you never have to speak. Try not to tell people when you overhear things you’re not supposed to,” I put out my hand, ”Don’t worry about your secret spreading. I’ve no wish to see the ranks of Dynasts or Legionnaires swell.”

Feng’s eyes filled with something like admiration, and he nodded enthusiastically as he retied his bandana, ”You’re really good at this, Lady Mirth. Almost like – n-nevermind.”

I let it slide with enigmatic smile; let him think whatever he wanted to think, “… You know, the ears are kind of cute.”

That got him blushing. He stammered out some nonsense before finally deciding on a quiet, ”Thank you…”

”Let Mister Akhar know I’ll be by tomorrow at midday. I’ll see you again, then,” I winked and blew him a kiss, adding an extra sway to my hips as I turned away.

> Intimacy gained towards Feng

-------------------------

Taking the time to switch through a few faces and backroads took more time and essence than I would have liked to spend, but the surety with which I walked back towards the inn made it worth it. I was wearing my other face again, like a favorite garment returned to after a long time away.

This late, the only person still up would be Amaranth, or I could just go back to the inn and get an extra hour of sleep.

>>663420
>Lintha frowned, ”That’s dumb – none of us have got fate in the stars of Creation any more.”

Speak f'y'rself! Loom-Snarling Deception weaves a false-but-functional thread into Fate as an intrinsic part of the disguise.

>That’s dumb – none of us have got fate in the stars of Creation any more.
Well, unless the maidens planned ahead for the bits they wouldn't get to oversee directly.

>What’s the deal with that ratty old thing, anyway? I never see ya without it.
I guess we're getting the scarf though this mission unless we want to cause a time paradox.

>midday
Back to Mirth pretty quickly. Although I guess we still have the morning to do Edge-stuff.

>another intimacy
Welp, we've officially got multiple irons in the fire.

>This late, the only person still up would be Amaranth, or I could just go back to the inn and get an extra hour of sleep.
Hmm. Well, I certainly don't see anything to be gained by verbally sparing with her, it would mostly be for our own amusement at this point. The only currency we have to trade she might be interested in is the personal secrets of the two dragon blooded we discovered, and I'm not so sure I want to do that right now. I'd rather find uses for them in our plans than let them become tools in hers.

I have to agree there's no point in just *giving* Amaranth information about two terrestrial exalts without getting something comparably useful and valuable in exchange: We can only guess how she would make use of that information in ways that would come back to haunt us or use up our opportunities. Unless you can think of something you want from him in exchange for that information I'm more interested in the chance Graceful Blossom at least left a note for us.

Exquisite Bride Obsession Meyichi 2015/08/17(Mon)17:50 No. 663472 ID: 5a02f7
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>>663434
>>663457

Knowing about a pair of Terrestrial Exalted was valuable information, something that I shouldn’t just pass on to Amaranth without a good idea of what I wanted in return. Since nothing came immediately to mind, I continued on my way.

Before I retired, I checked in with the innkeep, but no messages had been left for me. Pity.

Once in my room, an intense weariness overtook me. I got as far as stripping off my outer layers before the motivation left me, and I collapsed on my mattress. It was not long before sleep claimed me.

-------------------------

He wasn’t like the others; he might have been young, but his eyes were ancient. He remembered all of it, every blow exchanged until the last one fell who he used to be. It was too heavy a burden for such a young man. I reached out to him to welcome him as our companion, but he always stood distant. After everything ended up how it did, I wondered – did he perhaps have an inkling of what was to come?

No, certainly not. None of us thought that they would betray us.

It was nothing but blood and screaming, interspersed with bright flashes of sorcery. I saw too many familiar faces on the opposite side. Perhaps it was pity that was what truly brought us down. They thought we were monsters, but we weren’t monstrous enough to kill them all.

-------------------------

Something pulled me from my dark dreams. Before stood a Delzahn woman, beautiful and nude. I recognized her by her deer feet and sunk into a bow. Some small part worried that this is how it ends for me, if the rumors were true of what she does to men.

”I heard the most curious thing,” said Mara, as nonchalantly as one would discuss the weather, ”I was speaking with Fortune’s Fool, for whatever reason I decided to tolerate her presence. Gumela came, and they started talking about stars of all things – stars! We are limitless beings with infinite time, and they discuss astrology.

“Janequin had saw an interesting constellation the last time she was summoned to Creation, and Gumela quickly plotted it against the Malfean sky. He was delighted to find a wonderful snarl in the Loom where it had been. The two of them went on for some time about its particular qualities and exact degrees of tangledness. I looked up to see what all the fuss was about, and, sure enough, there was a knot. But I recognized those stars as those that belonged to my Master.

“Those stars were yours.”

Exquisite Bride Obsession Meyichi 2015/08/17(Mon)17:50 No. 663474 ID: 5a02f7
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“I thought it would be prudent to inform you, so that you might be ready for whatever it is this forebodes. I look forward to the result of your mission – no matter how it ends, it’s sure to be interesting.”