07 Rounders

As Mickyl and Burble work on tracking down the owner of the mysterious limo, Dette heads off to her meeting with the mayor of the City of Ottawa, Jim Watson. She is surprised to find not only an uppity assistant (Von Charles) but also a small bundle of fluff, a chimera that can't help but hurl insults and jabs at her while she talks with the Mayor.

Dette promises to spearhead the effort to get to the bottom of the events at athletic events in the city, but reinstating them would be the best way to root out the issue and keep people safe. As the mayor leaves to get "someone she should meet", the chimera grows a massive body out of its fluff, threatening to knock out Dette. The mayor returns with a sluagh, Candace Cantilly, a liaison to the police who is immediately hostile towards the clurichaun. Dette provokes her into throwing the first punch, which turns into a full-on assault; the mayor calls for security and paramedics to take Candace away, the sluagh vowing revenge on Dette "and her weak friends too".

Back at Yan's, Burble is having trouble reconstructing Konaz's device, although he *is* able to determine how it functions, and that the technology is quite advanced. Mickyl has found an ad online for those who "need help getting out of trouble, whose luck is on the rise"... sounds like the mysterious Duke to her! Knowing Burble's propensity for poker playing, she signs him up for a trip to "the Tables". The trio also learn that the Mayor made good on his promise to reinstate athletic competition!

The next day, the trio gather outside of Lutte, where Benjamin Burble, alongside an eshu, are whisked away in the Escalade limo. Mickyl and Dette follow close behind, and end up at the Casino du Lac-Leamy. The eshu introduces herself as Tala when Burble makes small-talk, and he nearly gets his head torn off by the redcap driver when he asks for more information. Trying to follow the limo into the VIP parking for the casino, Mickyl lies through her teeth about Dette's relationship to the Mayor of Gatineau, getting her in.

Stepping out of the limo, Tala is suddenly dragged away by the redcap, with the handsome satyr stating it is for his safety... Benjamin Burble's that is. They know his name! He is taken through a chimerical door to "The Tables", where he is asked to wait for his game to start. The lavish room is filled with beautiful silver touches, but only two tables: one for roulette, and one for poker, where three trolls are losing to a goldfish pooka.

Dette talks her way into the mortal VIP area, ending up playing blackjack with some Ottawa-area celebrities... until she is summoned to a phone call. "The Duke" tells her that she has been invited to the game, and to ask to be taken to the basement. The clurichaun sends a quick text to Yan to make sure he knows where she's gone, then is escorted down.

Back downstairs, Mickyl tries and fails to get through the door (perhaps through a judicious use of Guest List). When she slams on the door and demands entrance, the satyr serving Burble, Gilles, takes a blowgun and shoots a dart through the door at her! Luckily, Mickyl's quicker, and manages to avoid the dart *and* slam the blowgun back through Gilles' mouth, forcing her way in and taking him out.

Dette enters the room to see Burble watching Mickyl standing over a bloodied Gilles, just as a new game is about to begin...