Episode 207 - Beginner's Luck

## Synopsis

The group emerged from the lifts on the casino floor. All around them were all kinds of betting machines and tables, packed with all sorts of wealthy looking patrons. At the far side of the floor was a large restaurant named *"Silvertons"*. Serinepth suggested that they try and earn more money by gambling, which Bou was very on board with. They walked around the tables, trying to find any games they knew. They noticed that while there were many dice games, they couldn't see any card games on the main floor. Bou noticed a table playing a dice game gamed *"Chock Block"*, well known for not needing much money to play. Bou, as well as Mira and Serinepth, walked up to the table while Integrity observed the rest of the room. The dealer greeted them, and passed over two six-sided dice. The dealer explained the rules of the game, and Bou started to play.

On their first turn, they lost the only chip they had. Bou quickly suggested they go double or nothing to try and salvage this. He rolled again, and just as it seemed he would lose everything again, Integrity came over and used her *Mage Hand* to flip one of the dice to the side they wanted. The dealer congratulated them, slid over four chips, and asked if they wanted to keep playing. Bou handed a chip to the three students, then gave the dice to Integrity. All the group placed their bets, and the game began. With some more cheating, they were able to earn a lot more money before the dealer died of disbelief from a heart attack. Another dealer came over, apologised for the mess, and gave them vouchers for a free meal at the restaurant while they cleaned up.

The group walked over to Silvertons restaurant, handed over the vouchers, and were escorted to the bar while a table was arranged for them. Behind the bar was a large cylindrical aquarium, highlighted with pink and yellow lighting, filled with crustaceans of varying sizes. A very rude bartender quickly took their drinks order and left them alone. They decided they would divide their chips and split up to look around casino, maybe earning more money in the process. From the other side of the bar, a gaunt looking figure stood up and walked over to them. He asked what they were looking for and sat down next to them. The group were obviously wary and avoided his question, instead asking who he was and what he was doing there. The man introduced himself as Kreshol, and he had nothing to go back to outside Duplicity. He warned them that getting money out of the casino was much harder than putting it in. They were able to ask him more about the casino in exchange for telling him that they were looking for someone and it was personal. They learned that cheating would likely result in them being forced to wear the chains around their necks and work forever at the casino, and they would be killed if they messed up too many times. Bou asked if they knew anyone named Quent Perciminpale, to which the man smiled and said he didn't often ask people for their names. He finished his drink and left them alone.

The worker from the front desk came over to the group and told them that a table was ready for them, in fact their presence had been requested by another patron. He gestured to a small, well-dressed imp at his feet before bowing and walking off. The imp told them that their master had seen them in the casino, and wanted to talk to them. They followed the imp upstairs to a private room, finding its master eating one of the crustaceans from the aquarium below them. He was a green and brown skinned fiend in extravagant clothing, with tiny wings in place of his ears. The imp introduced him as Count Haktul of the Plane of Lem. The group gave a slight smile as the Count invited them to join him at his table. He told the imp to watch the door, then said he had business to discuss with the group. He congratulated them for their amazing luck in the casino, particularly in how no one caught them.

Mira asked what he wanted, the Count told them that he wanted to amass wealth and eat the finest food available. He admired their brazen cheating, saying that the fiends didn't take kindly to those who did. He told them that the Fiend of Avarice had wronged him, and he wanted to group to assist him by killing them. The group were shocked and asked how they could possibly accomplish that. Count Haktul told them that the fiend was a very private man, rarely seen with others if at all. He also told them that killing the fiend would free many of the workers in the casino, and for good measure he threw over three casino chips each worth one-hundred-thousand gold pieces each. Serinepth and Bou were very taken by this offer, while Mira and Integrity could feel the anger and resentment coming from the Count towards the Fiend of Avarice. Mira asked if there was anything else he could tell them about the fiend, Count Haktul warned them that Avarice was extremely manipulative, endlessly patient, and greedy beyond comprehension. Integrity asked how many other groups had attempted this, but the Count said he would only tell them if they accepted. Bou told him that they accepted his generous offer, after which the Count thanked them and told them that they were the fifteenth group he had sent to do this.

The imp escorted them out and congratulated them on a successful audience. The group tried to figure out how they should find Avarice, not wanting to befall the same fates as the previous groups. Serinepth said she would continue to cheat at the games until she was eventually taken to the back rooms, at which point the rest of the group could try to sneak in after her. Mira suggested that she could cast *Invisibility* on them to help them sneak around unseen. Bou gave her his loaded dice, and they all left the restaurant for the casino floor. Before they could find another game to play, two large hands appeared from thin air behind Serinepth and grabbed her shoulders. Two of the large fiends emerged from invisibility on either side of Serinepth, and asked if she had loaded dice used to cheat at the Chock Block table. They told her that they had ways of knowing what the dice should have rolled, and they knew they shouldn't have rolled as they did. One of the fiends wrapped a silver chain around her arms and started to drag her off towards the back rooms. She tried to protest, but one of the fiends slapped her and ordered her to stop talking.

Bou slipped into the crowd and began to discreetly follow them, Integrity and Mira disguised themselves as some of the workers in the casino. As they approached the back wall, two large marble doors appeared and opened for the fiends. Mira and Integrity quickly followed them through, Bou following behind them much more conspicuously. They found themselves on a massive iron platform, the heat even more unbearable than in the casino. Both the fiends turned to see the intruders, drew their chains, and demanded they submit.

## Trivia

Rules for Chock Block:

* The player bets on either a number from 1-12, evens, or odds
* The player rolls 2d6
* If the numbers rolled satisfy the players initial bet, they win
* Rolling both dice either even or odd gives a 2x return
* Rolling the number chosen on a single dice gives a 3x return
* Rolling the number chosen as the sum of both dice gives a 6x return
* The Duplicity Special: The dealer rolls an additional d6, and removes all dice from the table with the same number rolled