The Irishwoman

The Irishwoman

**The Irishwoman** is a basement gambling den for locals and money laundering operation on the side, secretly owned by Moira Faust. The operations take place within a small, non-descript, three-story brick building in a less affluent portion of town. As far as Moira’s concerned, this is a modern temple to her. Not that anyone else knows it. The owner of the place, Ben Agosti, is an Italian chap, who manages with help from his wife, Lucia. Since the pair are from Italy, no on is entirely certain who the name of the place is referring to, and they've long since stopped asking. It serves as a dead drop, if you're an underworld sort who needs to find the elusive Mo Faust. And rumor has it, if the Gull can't find Mortimer Tod for you, Ben Agosti can.

## Operations

The Irishwoman is only really known to the neighborhood boys, keeping it out of sight of the bigger criminal enterprises, with its patrons expected to keep to lower bets, a cap on the chips they can get in a night, to keep them outta trouble with the missus. Or mister. Or their roommate. That’s not to say that tempers never rise or the betting never starts to get out of hand, just that there’s a usual crowd with the usual grudges. It’s still a seedy neighborhood, grime in the mortar, smoke staining the brick. The only liquor is in flasks brought in by patrons, the smoke curls heavily around the electric lights, and the green felt always has the feeling of the next flush. Gambling is just as illegal as liquor these days.

### Front room

The street façade is that of a neighborhood place where dominoes is the primary game of choice, though there are a few chess boards and backgammon games running at any given time. The price of a membership is low or you can pay at the door for a single day.

### Upstairs

Upstairs is a series of small apartments for those down on their luck and needing a little time to get back on their feet. The quarters are cramped, but there's a roof over their heads and a mattress with sheets on the beds. Lucia has been helping with the operations of this quasi-way house as needed. She's never been one to let a man go hungry if she can help it. Rent is covered by an anonymous benefactor, though people are expected to leave to make way for others when they have enough to live elsewhere. There's always someone waiting for a spot.

### Behind the wall

This gambling house doesn’t need to make money. Frankly, it could hemorrhage it for all Moira cares. This isn't about money, it's about her worshippers finding her.Moira is not the only woman in this back room, but she is certainly unmissable when she enters, no matter what she’s wearing. But don't cheat in her building or you'll end up with a special scar on your forearm, even if she isn't there, it's Irishwoman policy to mark a cheater. Do it a second time, you'll get a matching one on the other side. You don't get a third chance for redemption.

There's another back room with a concrete floor and one table inside. This room is exclusively used for private business and anything more than garden variety criminal activity.

### Ben's Office

This is not entirely what you would expect of the office of a deeply Catholic man. There's a desk, account books, a phone. There are also two small displays that can only be called altars, dedicated to decidedly non-Catholic saints.

The first of these altars is made of braziletto wood, with a pair of dice, a penny, a small orchid in a pot, and a candle that has been lit a number of times.

The second is a black marble cutting board with a small aperitif glass on it, a jar of lemon curd with a bone-handled spoon, and a potted poppy.

* A round of cards at **the Irishwoman**.
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## Associated NPCs

* **Carl Abenante** is an Irishwoman regular.
* **Louis Ricci** is an Irishwoman regular.

#### Benvenuto "Ben" Agosti

**Benvenuto "Ben" Agosti** has known Moira Faust for a few years now. The diminutive redhead had walked into a room full of gangsters and mobsters, a room full of middle-aged men were only a hair from each other’s throats one moment, the next they were staring in bemusement at the silver coin flipping off nimble fingers, manicured nails looking as though they’d never done a day’s labor in her life. Of course, Ben was well aware how much size could be deceiving, hand tightening on his son’s shoulder to keep him in his seat. The elder Agosti had Lucia, after all. Benvenuto knows in his bones, the woman is on her own side, and he’ll be on hers for the rest of his life. Not like him and Lucia, nothing like that. But he's been leaving offerings for Lady Luck his whole life, to bring his wife and children to the States, to get out of tight spaces, for his sons to survive the war. This is her coming to collect, he’s sure. Not that he minds paying, there's perks to that life. He's in his mid-sixties and keeps one eye on Mortimer Tod. Not because he's afraid of the man, but because he's spent his life doing Mortimer's work, and he knows it. Ostensibly, they're an ordinary immigrant couple, very Catholic and very upright citizens. One must remember that for all Benvenuto looks like a grandfather, his sons and nephews are *connected* in the Italian way, as he once was, before Moira offered him his own form of retirement after strolling into a détente between Camorra and Caso Nostro, offering them a neutral space to parlay moving forward. This is what the very back rooms are used for now. That and money laundering.

He's fond of Mortimer, enough to keep a steady supply of limoncello on hand in case it's necessary. And to ask a favor even Death is inclined to oblige.

#### Lucia Agosti

   **Lucia Agosti** is an Italian wife, which means everyone knows she's running the show and no one ever leaves her company hungry. From Bari, Italy, Lucia does her shopping with Hester Casella's housekeeper, Mariana Olivetti. There's an occasional dispute over fennel (with Lucia being firmly in the camp of less being more) and pepper flakes, with no clear victor. But they get along otherwise. The couple is in their mid-60's, with three sons (Antonio, Luca, and Vincenzo) and two daughters (Caterina, still in Italy, and Francesca). Don't be fooled by the fact that she's even shorter than Moira - both god and mortal will meet the end of her wooden spoon if they begin to display too much self-pity or negativity. Her baking merits even Hester and Mortimer's approval.

### NPC Gallery

* left
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## References

1. ↑ Wikipedia - Camorra [1]
2. ↑ Discord - the Agostis and Moira Faust [2]
3. ↑ Wikipedia - Bari [3]