Only I Can Use a Gun in a World of Magic

"I've got some news as well," Amon said under his breath. "Loose-lipped barkeep," he snorted. "Nothin' like Irene." 

"Right," Perona inserted. "Let's hear it."

Hadarai spoke for Amon, since the two had stuck together. "Cyren suggested that we might have to block all of the orbs, while in reality, we only really needed to block one or two."

Amon nodded. "There's just those two…" He gestured towards two game tables next to what looked like a high-security iron door. He did it in such a way that to the normal eye, it seemed as if he were just recommending what to try next, while in reality he was pointing at the locations of the surveillance orbs. "If we can block them, and get pastthe door, that right there is the employee lounge. The security room is housed there- if we can just get to it, then we can shut off all the orbs.

Grango scanned the cavern, freshly returned from his hot spring bath trip with Derrick. "There's just one problem: I don't see any balloons."

He was right. There were no balloons in the casino, either for cosmetics or up for sale. Indeed, it appeared that Cyren was mistaken.

The party stared blankly at one another, all except for Hadarai. "We can improvise. We'll just have to be quicker than planned. How do we plan on getting that door open? It looks like it would be locked."

At that point, Perona spoke up. "They've got a big staff, so shift changes happen every five minutes. Also- there's a stash of extra liquor in the employee lounge. I don't know about the bar you went to, but the one I checked out was running low."

Derrick, who had been temporarily untied by Grango, spoke up. "Derrick can distract the worker at the door."

Amon stared him dead in the eye. "We still haven't decided what to do with you yet. After this, we might just leave you with Cyren. For the time being, I know that if we let you go, you'll run off and escape somewhere, so I'll do the distracting instead. For now, just head to either table and wait till a staff member passes by."

Derrick deflated, as if his master plan had been foiled. 

"Sounds like a plan," Perona said. Then, she turned towards the table, her eyes sparkling. "Time to hit the tables! Let's go, bodyguard!" She grabbed Aralynn by the sleeve again.

As Aralynn was dragged towards the table by Perona, she spoke aloud, looking at the rest of the party who trailed behind them. "Are we sure that Perona doesn't have a gambling issue…?"

Hadarai snorted so hard that he immediately started coughing, almost choking on his own saliva. Amon smirked. 

"Oh, I'm pretty sure, all right," Grango laughed. Perona had already sat down at the poker table closest to the iron door and was chatting up game.

- - -

"FUCK YESSSSSSSSSS~ I'm cashing out." With that, Perona scooped up her tokens and left the table, heading towards the other game table where the rest of the party was sitting, ignoring the dirty glares directed at her from behind.

On her way over, she beckoned to Aralynn with a smile on her face. "Aralynn. Come here." She opened her traveler's pack and pulled out a bag full to the brim with tokens that she had just won.

Aralynn blanked and stuttered. "H-how many tokens are in there…?" 

Perona stuck her tongue out and made a victory sign with her spare hand. "If I counted correctly while we were playing, 250."

"TWO HU-"

"Oh, and they're platinum tokens, so it's worth 2500 gold pieces total."

"TWO THOU-"

"Shush, you're attracting attention…" Perona said with a grin.

Aralynn could tell she was practically glowing and bubbling, trying to keep her excitement contained. She just hoped Perona had the sense to keep those tokens safe. How does she keep pulling this off?

Now that Aralynn thought about it, maybe Perona had some kind of skill, something like Observant that helped her read people or spot patterns in the games. She recalled Perona's eyes flashing pink in their little conversation at the inn back in Calyr- and Perona had probably used many skills over their voyage without Aralynn noticing.

It could've been sheer luck too, or even a skill or ability that granted her such luck. Honestly, Aralynn wouldn't be surprised. Perona certainly had a silver tongue too. Was that another ability, or just natural charm?

Either way, Aralynn couldn't wrap her head around the fact that 2,500 gold was now sitting in Perona's backpack.

Aralynn spoke hesitantly. "Is there a reason you left the table? We both know that you'd have wanted to play more-"

Perona cut Aralynn off with a gesture, pointing to the door. A waiter dressed in the Devil's Hand uniform was approaching the door with an empty bottle in hand. 

Aralynn glanced briefly towards them and nodded. As they reached the table with the rest of the party, Aralynn walked up next to Amon. She thought of what to say for a brief moment before deciding to stick to her bit of being a bodyguard. She tried to phrase her words in a way that the party should get the gist of while seeming harmless in nature.

"My lady expresses that she'd like to get ready to leave. Dear lords, I hope you'll join us." Aralynn subtly gestured to the door with a hand as she bowed. She cringed inwardly from the sentence as the other players by the table turned slightly to look at her. Please get the gist, Aralynn prayed. Behind her, Perona played the part, acting visibly impatient.

Luckily, Amon seemed to get the gist and stood up from the table as Hadarai, Grango, and Derrick did the same. "If that's what the lady wishes, then I'll come along," he said. "Let's go, then. Just give us a moment to cash back what we have."

The rest of the party rose from the bench, their earnings more or less balanced between wins and losses.

As they started walking towards the iron door, Amon looked at the waiter, eyes narrowing as a faint red glow flickered across his irises. He spoke as they continued to walk, intending to be as inconspicuous as possible. 

"We'll need to time this just right. If we're too fast, he won't have opened the door yet. Too slow, and he's already through. Match my pace exactly." His eyes flicked to Perona. "I assume you're continuing with the 'lady of the hour' bit you have going on?"

Perona nodded.

"You're quick to catch on. I'll need you to act accordingly," Amon instructed.

"Of course."

Amon must've estimated the correct pace, as they reached the waiter just as he had unlocked the door and was about to head in.

"Excuse me!" Amon called out. 

"Oh- yes, what can I do for you, sir?" The waiter paused at the doorway. 

Aralynn could feel a different quality to Amon's voice as his eyes once more flashed a subtle red.

A skill or ability? Aralynn thought.

"I believe that the bartender was calling for your name. Something about the wrong bottle?" continued Amon.

The waiter looked over to the bar. "Shoot. Did I mishear what Kuiran asked for? I'll go check. Thanks."

"Oh- and one more thing."

The waiter paused. "Yes, sir?"

"My lady is feeling a bit noxious- is there somewhere she can rest?"

Perona played her part swaying slightly, bumping into Aralynn, who stood behind her.

The waiter seemed distracted, perhaps by Perona, or under the influence of whatever skill or ability that Amon had used.

"Just wait here- I'll be back. If it gets worse, head on in and tell them your situation, I'm sure that they'd be able to call for a healer. Now, if you'll excuse me…" he hustled, scuttling towards the bar.

Amon waited until the waiter was out of earshot. "Oh, no… Ms. Perona is feeling dizzy- whatever shall I do?" he said sarcastically. He gently pushed the iron door open. Amon did an over extravagant mock bow, chuckling to himself. "Please, after you."