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 Posted: Fri May 15, 2009 8:25 am
Firyal was a little ashamed to admit that it hadn't even occurred to her to make use of the advantage Numenor presented. Some card player she would be. Ah well, it was just a game, and as long as Conomor did no more than glare at her she would manage well enough. After giving it some thought, she decided that without having trained Numenor specifically to tell her what was in another person's hand, it would be much too complicated of a concept for the firelizard to grasp right away. It usually took her several sevendays to train the bronze in a new skill, though that could vary depending on their mutual interest in the training process and the complexity of the skill.
"If it will reassure you, I can keep my firelizard where he is, or send him outside. I'm sure he'll enjoy having the freedom of the Gather," Firyal said to placate the Starsmith. She wasn't foolish enough to say that she hadn't considered cheating with him, even though it was the truth. No one would believe it. Particularly not anyone who knew how obedient Numenor was.
She smiled at the Greenrider, Lanakirene. She wasn't personally acquainted with the girl, but it was rumoured that her dragon - Isonth? - was one of the sweetest-natured dragons in her clutch, and considering how many foul-tempered beasts had hatched at that time, a pleasant one was noteworthy. Besides, Lanakirene was someone who had always seemed pleasant, practical, and competent, in Firyal's experience, and those were good traits to have around a Weyr. Firyal certainly preferred people like that to the girls who came in hoping for a gold and expecting to be treated as though they had already Impressed.
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Posted: Fri May 15, 2009 9:11 am
Conomor gave a slight nod of his head and smiled to Wei as he handed over his bet. "Gilden will stay where she is, don't worry..."
Firyal. He lowered his gaze, uncertain of how to react to her presence. He'd been trying to avoid her and Veyes since that incident at the lake. He supposed he'd just ignore her for now, he wasn't about to get up and leave just because she'd walked in. Honestly, although he disliked the girl as a thief, he couldn't summon the same venom for her as he could for Veyes. Fair, probably not, but he couldn't change the way he felt.
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Posted: Fri May 15, 2009 9:27 am
"Mhhm, almost enough, now. Decent number. We'll see if anymore folks show up in the next few minutes and then we'll start," F'sey announced, talking to no one in particular as he began to shuffle the cards, listening to the idle chatter as he watched the players shuffle about. Mostly women, hm? Odd. And here he was, thinking it was the men that'd be the gamblers. Well, they were probably off with the runner racers, or something.
Wei caught his attention, speaking to C'ren despite the fact the rider was trying to sleep. (Heh, being here probably assured his roommate absolutely no rest, it seemed.) Clearing his throat, he addressed the Starsmith. "The only lizards who will be allowed in here are mine and C'ren's. Neither of us are playing." A toothy smile. She'd be fun to gamble with, sometime. The tricks up his sleeve were endless; the firelizards were one of the easiest tricks in the book.
Spying Lanakirene, he nodded to his weyrling before addressing the small group. "Yes, if you could all get your lizards out, that would be excellent. The only ones here will be my pair and C'ren's pair. They'll be floating around."
Of course, just to be contrary, the bronze and blue belong to F'sey kindly floated right out the of the tent, more then willing to follow the crowd and see what they could steal from the vendors.
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Posted: Fri May 15, 2009 9:40 am
Conomor smiled and gave a slight shrug. "Fair enough." He could see how the ruling made sense; a lot of sense. Not everyone was honest after all... though even after her display at the lake he didn't think Firyal would cheat given the chance. Much as he hated what she and Veyes had done, he felt it had been stupid rather than malicious. Didn't make it easier to forgive. Ah well. Clicking his tongue to gain Gilden's attention, she had been peering about at her strange surroundings with great interest, he gave her a mental push. Outside. She could sit on top of the tent in the sun and wait for him.
Chirping cheerfully, the gold flitt hopped off his shoulder and fluttered outside. She would have preferred to stay with him, but soaking up some sun with her fellow flitts sounded like fun too.
Rolling his shoulder as the familiar weight of his little friend vanished, Conomor turned back to the table with a smile. He hadn't played cards in quite some time, and honestly he was looking forward to pointlessly wasting a couple of marks and just having some fun. He had to cast his eyes down as he came to Firyal's seat at the table, though. He still didn't know how to act around her. Still, he wouldn't let her presence spoil it for him and despite what she had done he hoped his didn't ruin it for her either.
They didn't deserve the way some candidates had been treating them, none of them did.
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Posted: Fri May 15, 2009 9:47 am
T'ka too found it odd that most of the people in here were female. It seemed a little odd, but...whatever. Coincidence, circumstance, who cared. Certainly not T'ka. She just looked over her nails, seemingly in her own little world. The notion of flits cheating was actually quite amusing. Daeok would be useless, as he would get up on their shoulders and obviously look like he was peeking. Xythe, however...Xythe might be able to prove useful. Not that she would have a chance to try it, since now all of the little things were being kicked out. Tood bad, since T'ka enjoyed watching the fat blue trying to show off to Xythe.
Xythe, upon recieving attention, fanned her wings a little, trying to egg Vox on. Why, two queens in the room, and the blue was showing off to her! Xythe's version of an ego was big enough as it was, the fact that she had attracted male attention wasn't helping. She trilled sweetly, waving a forepaw in Vox's direction. She loved attention.
Fortunately for T'ka, she know had a reason to kick Xythe and Daeok out, before they got into trouble, and before Xythe led that poor little blue on any more. Upon hearing the command, Xythe looked quite sulky. Just when things were getting good! And Daeok looked crestfallen that he had not been able to procure food.
Feigning apathy, Xythe leapt into the air and flew up a little before shooting out of the tent, off to go get into other mischief, no doubt. Daeok took his time leaving, practically dragging himself across the table before gliding away, sullenly. T'ka rolled her eyes. Silly flits. Oh well; she was a little anxious to get started. Keeping Haanyath waiting too long was never a good thing.
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Posted: Fri May 15, 2009 9:51 am
At Wei’s words, C’ren sent a glare over at F’sey. Did everyone know that trick except for him? It was bad enough when ‘Sey had pulled it on him, never mind how long it had taken the younger Greenrider to catch on. C’ren’s own retaliation to that little trick had been to use the dragons.
Well, since F’sey had decided there were enough people after all, C’ren slowly sat down once more, still trying to get rid of the boot print. Sharding ‘Sey. He’d get back at him once they were back at the weyr, that was for sure. “If anyone cheats, their bet will be automatically forfeited,” C’ren chimed in, making himself as comfortable as possible. Those words were directed towards Firyal and Con, not because of their past theft (C’ren hadn’t heard of that, beyond the very basics), but because they kept glancing at each other. And deliberately avoiding one another. Ha. That looked like a trick to him.
Pyrite, losing interest in Numenor since he was well-behaved, went back to her owner and draped herself on one shoulder. Although C’ren would be loathe to admit it, La had won herself a few points by complimenting the little Gold. Ceylith and Pyrite, the ladies of his life, were probably his big weakness, pride-wise. Vox was just… well… Vox. “Yes, well… thank you,” he mumbled at La. “Her name’s Pyrite. Where are your lizards anyway, ‘Sey?”
Vox let out a mournful chirp at the loss of Xythe; it wasn’t often that a female actually responded to his attention. They all wanted the larger browns and bronzes. Or, at the very least, a blue that could actually stay airborne long enough for a Flight. Spreading his own wings, he fluttered back to C’ren, on the basis that his owner might have, by now, forgotten about the whole diet thing.
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Posted: Fri May 15, 2009 11:16 am
F'sey's nod to her made La smile slightly; she wasn't sure why, but she couldn't help from being glad that the new Weyrlingmaster was on relatively friendly terms with her. Or at least that he didn't hate her.
The glare C'ren sent to F'sey when Wei spoke was interesting; La raised an eyebrow at it. Was there some sort of meaning behind that? Would she have to keep an eye on F'sey's lizards if they managed to return to the tent? She considered it and then shrugged. There weren't altogether that many people in the tent, and there were rather a lot of eggs. Hopefully she'd be able to snag one. When he told her the name of the little gold, she smiled. "Pyrite. That's really pretty. I like it." She gave him a short nod and idly scratched under the edge of the kerchief wrapped around her head.
In hindsight, shaving off her hair as a preemptive measure against the lice outbreak was probably a bad idea, but what was done was done. Her attention returned to the table. Firyal's smile back at her earned a cheerful nod, and La watched her and Conomor's reactions to each other with mild interest. This probably had something to do with whatever it was that had gone down the night of the Feast. She had no interest in that sort of thing, and thus was perfectly content to leave it alone.
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Posted: Fri May 15, 2009 11:55 am
Firyal shrugged the shoulder Numenor was perched on and gave him a mental nudge. Happily he launched himself from her shoulder and fluttered toward the outdoors. He loved the excitement of the Gather. All those people, and things for him to investigate! And there were so many new firelizards to meet. Part of him wanted to follow Gilden or Pyrite, but he decided against it. Although he was sure they would be wonderful friends, he didn't want to follow them like they were in a fair. He was an independent creature. Except for his human, of course. She wasn't as clever as a firelizard, but he was fond of her.
Firyal watched her bronze companion depart before turning her attention back to the other players. She didn't know any of them well enough to have any hope of determining what sort of tells they might have that could give her cues as to their hand. She used to think she was observant, but recently she'd met some people who put her skills in the area to shame. She had nothing on anyone who was Harper-trained. Still, it was a game, and it wasn't as though she had to spend her marks on anything in the Weyr.
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Posted: Fri May 15, 2009 1:05 pm
Smiling a bit more broadly now, - Wei might have gotten just a bit too much enjoyment by pointing out the obvious potential for scamming, but she did always get a kick out of any sort of intellectual accomplishment, - the Starsmith put in her bet and waited patiently for the first deal. Meanwhile, she had an opportunity to size up the other players. It was important to observe them now, and establish a baseline for their behavior. Once the cards were dealt and everyone's game faces were on, it would be too late, and she would only be able to catch hints of who was bluffing and who wasn't by guessing and luck.
It seemed like she should start up some sort of chatter with someone, Wei realized; but everyone here was unfamiliar. Not like too many people in Ista were familiar yet, anyway, though, so maybe she ought to just....
"So, most of you are from the Weyr?" It didn't take too much to guess. Ista Weyr seemed to have more flitts-per-person than she'd seen anywhere else, even at Fort; the lizards must breed like crazy in the tropical heat, or some such thing!
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Posted: Sat May 16, 2009 2:06 am
Why, today was a fine day indeed to be a harper! A finer one even to be a harper at Ista's Gather. A little flit had told Vera that there was a game of cards to be had, and where there were cards, there was also Vera. More than that, though, was the prize of the game itself. The idea of having just one of those firelizard eggs was more than enough to part her from her mark. If she could win one of those eggs and hatch herself a firelizard (of any color, of course!) the process by which her messages were relayed would be expedited. There was, of course, the appeal of the little beasties themselves-- the ability to convey their emotions to their owners, surely! And that fascinating knack for discovering relevant gossip.
The creatures were just exactly like small dragons, she'd heard. Seeing as how she was now the proud cousin of a dragonrider (for all that she had not seen him in years) she felt herself an expert on the subject... at least in jest. She tossed the redhaired greenrider a mark, and took a seat at the table, glancing furtively about herself. Alas, but if only she'd been there before they arrived! They might well have settled into their usual gaming habits by now, and that would do her no good. Taking in the chatter, she awaited an opportunity to add to it in some small way.
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Posted: Sat May 16, 2009 7:24 am
F'sey nodded to the harper as she entered, one more. What was that now? He counted heads. Six, seven? Something like that. A few more than there were eggs, but that was fine. People would just actually have to play well, and that was kind of the point. Breaking out the cards and sitting at the head of the table, the red-haired weyrlingmaster began to shuffle his cards as he waited for the rest of the members gathered to settle. It still baffled him that there was only one male in the lot, but perhaps it was the prize, he reckoned. Maybe men didn't like firelizards.
It didn't explain the Queen sitting on C'ren's shoulder, really.
Cards sufficiently shuffled, F'sey cleared his throat and surveyed the group. "A few rules. As C'ren said, if we catch you cheating, we'll toss you out, no refund." Of course, if you were good enough to not get caught, all the power to you, F'sey thought silently, but that didn't need to be said. "We'll have five hands. In the event of some sort of tie, the folks tied will have a face off. I will not be playing, just dealing. If you mark or bend my cards, I will kill you. Savvy? Good."
F'sey dealt five cards to each. "Let's play."
[[ OOC Setup: To keep your cards private, I will use an off-site random number generator and generate five numbers between 1 and 13. ( 1 - Ace, 2-10 - numbers, 11- Jack, 12 - Queen, 13 - King. ) I will take a screen shot and send you a PM. You return with a PM to tell me which cards you are discarding. You will post with your character doing whatever they do betting wise, and I will send a return PM with a screenshot of however many cards you received (0-3, but no more). After everyone has received their cards, hands will be shown. (Recap: Deal (Sou PMs you your hand, you send Sou a PM with what you are dropping), bet, new cards (Sou PMs you back with new cards), show hands.
In this game, you start with ten points. Each hand antes 1 point. We will play five hands. At the end, points will be tallied and places will be awarded. Highest points will get first pick, and so on. Sixth and seventh get nothing, sorry. :[
In the event of a tie at the end, you will have a sudden death to determine who comes out on top, one hand.
You will have a time window posted when a deal is made to respond to a deal. If you do not, you forfeit the hand. (1 point.) You forfeit one point for each turn you miss. If you are completely inactive, you will not be eligible for a flit. :[ The exception to this is if I am late, and do not make it in the time window and you beat me, you still keep your hand. :'D
As far as bets you, you can raise, though only one at a time, and you can fold if you don't feel good about your hand. Once you run out of points, you are out. (If many people run out and say, you made it to the final three, you are still in third place and you still get a flit egg.)
Finally, please tally your points at the end of each post. Thank you!
Questions? Ping me! <3
TIME STAMP ON FIRST DEAL: You have until Sunday, 6 AM EST. If everyone finishes before then, you get another hand sooner. >3 < ]]
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Posted: Sat May 16, 2009 1:12 pm
(is it to late to join?)
Ren had been hanging back from the gathering to start with, he didn’t know why he had been drawn to this tent, gambling really wasn’t his thing. Although sometimes he had played friendly games with his brothers and a few times in the taverns for free drinks. So maybe it was nostalgia but more likely it was the idea of the prize, a fire lizard. Not nearly as good as your own dragon of course and he knew that still…a friend and compassion. Hanging back by the doors he watched, took in several faces that he knew but more that he didn’t.
Conomor was there, and the older girl who he had seen only once on the day he would rather forget still he thought of her as friendly and approachable enough. He reached into his leather belt pouch and felt it heavy with marks, the money that had been given to him by his father before he left. It was a gesture of how much faith the man had in his son, that he hadn’t expected him to return, although he would always have a home there he knew.
He blinked suddenly, looked up and shook himself as a firelizard flew past the door it woke him from his day dream to the reason why he had come here only to realise that they had already started the game! He bit his lip. Shards, if he was going to join It would have to be now, and then he caught sight of Conomors beautiful golden queen and his mind was made up, he bolted inside and towards the organiser of the event holding out several marks of a flat palm towards him “CanI joinpleaseisittolate?” he blurted words comeing out in a jumbled rush. His face bright red as he draw all eyes at the table towards him, “ugh…I have money.” He finished lamly hoping he could still join
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Posted: Sat May 16, 2009 5:42 pm
For his part, C’ren ignored just about everyone. Except for F’sey. The redhaired Greenrider got glares, as if C’ren hoped that he might make his roommate’s head explode. Oh, he had heard what F’sey hadn’t said. He heard it loud and clear. F’sey had the loudest silences of anyone he had ever met. They occasionally had cheater grudge matches, the pair of them. C’ren’s response to F’sey’s cheating had been to cheat right back. Unfortunately, it hadn’t worked, a fact that the younger Greenrider was still sore over.
Eventually, he switched his attention to the gray-eyed Harper, vaguely recognizing her from the Gather. Now his curiosity was piqued. Tilting his head to one side, he asked curiously, “You’re a Harper right? Then maybe you can answer this question… what’s with the mass exodus from Harper Hall?”
Referring, of course, to the vast migration of former Harper apprentices from Harper Hall. He figured that there must be something wrong over there. And it was worth it to ask. That and idle chatter during poker was the best part of the game. You sat and chatted and watched your opponent’s eyes. He wasn’t playing, but the basic idea still stood.
Ren got a glance and then C'ren looked over to F'sey; it was really his decision if the late-comer could join or not.
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Posted: Sat May 16, 2009 6:00 pm
Wei fussed over her cards she was dealt them, examining them one at time, assembling from them a picture of what she might expect. There was an unmistakable gleam in her eye as she received the fourth card, widening with the fifth. Now, let's see, she probably wanted to....
Glancing up to take stock of her competitors, she pulled free one card from her hand and slid it, face-down, to discard. With a selfish smile, she pushed in her ante for the round.
[Points: 9]
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Posted: Sat May 16, 2009 6:05 pm
[Late post. Sorry Ferret. Let's see if I can't cover all of this.]
Kyatara quickly dropped her hand and the jerky to her lap looking chastised. She hadn't meant any harm. She swallowed hard and focused her gaze on the table in front of her. She didn't know much about poker. Most of what she did know was from watching the male Candidates play at meal times. She sort of wished that she had paid a little more attention now.
She waited paitently watching others come in after her, trying her best to place names and faces. She didn't recognize many of them and couldn't remember seeing most of them. She vowed then and there to try to get out a bit more.
She peeked at her hand a swallowed hard as she waited for the betting to start. Shaking her head she pushed three of her card across the table to discard. As she watched the three cards coming back to her she wrinkled her nose. This would get her nowhere. "Fold."
[Points: 9]
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