Continued from Part 3:
Cerebus slips away to speak with the Seargeant-at-Arms by the doorway, giving explicit instructions that he and his men should observe carefully but allow the brawl to continue, only interrupting where serious injury is imminent. He nods to the manager of the dining hall to engage full damage control mode before bolting down the hallway and outside to join the fray; he really needed to wrap it up before everyone in the dining hall notices...Part 3.1 : You Don't Bring Me Flowers-group-therapy-thread/?action=dlattach;attach=514943;image)
Cerebus washed quickly and changed out of blood-soaked trousers; his second-favorite vest was at this point a lost cause. He returned to the dining hall to find cleanup almost finished, and with the help of the dining hall staff, nearly every patron had been restored to pre-brawl condition. Most had resumed their games and were gabbling and guffawing as thery bragged of their exploits during the diversion with gusto.
The few that remained displeased were being attended to by staff; there was little doubt the event would be remembered favorably. Cerebus' table had been closed out in his absence to the satisfaction of all involved, and he sat in elsewhere to continue the tournament without incident until only he and one other remained.Lord Julius drummed fingers on the table with feigned impatience; he hated to see the earth-pig appear at ease. Cerebus didn't even notice as he pulled out his chair; he was calculating the cost of the evening's excitement. Thanks to a number of patrons who gambled considerably more than the minimum buy-in, he was still well in the black. He chuckled softly as he seated himself.
"Well... aren't you just unbearably pleased with yourself?" the prime minister demanded.
"Cerebus has already had a good night." he snorted, shuffling and cutting the cards. "So, it would seem, have all our patrons."
"Yes... I heard many of them... entirely too pleased for folks who'd just been cleaned out." Julian responded with a chuckle of his own as he dealt.
"You know, we could make a regular thing of this... have a proper gambling club with membership and everything." Cerebus cajoled, looking at his down card and placing a pawful of chips in the center of the table. "It could actually be fun, not being at each other's throats ALL the time."
"I refuse to belong to any club that would have me as a member." the other remarked sharply, puffing on his cigar as he matched the bet. "But it could be... not horrible."
Cerebus raised the ante, "Stand." he said confidently. Julius snorted.
"All in." he replied, pushing his chips to the center of the table. Cerebus attempted to match with his pile, but came up short. Julian grinned, until the aardvark placed the contract on the table, still bearing both their seals.
"Last chance." Cerebus smiled slyly. "All the marbles, or...?" Julian stared at the earth-pig intently; his demeanor revealed nothing but profound contentment.
"Ehhh... lets keep to our agreement." he sighed, confounded. "DRAW. Split the pot, game over."
"Yes, game over." the furry warlord replied, putting the contract back in his vest pocket while they divided the chips. When they were done, Julius snorted, flipping over the hidden cards on the table. The aardvark's down card was a Mage.
"You had me either way." Julius slapped the table in annoyance.
"Cerebus certainly did." he snorted. "And you don't know the half of it."
"Ehhh?" the prime minister queried.
"The contract... in the interest of security and to make sure all our patrons make it home without being waylaid on the highway... it authorizes all payments in Tri-Crowns from both our cities." he chuckled, referring to the global coinage that each of the three city-states had agreed upon over a decade prior and then taken turns in sabotaging over the years to their own benefit.
"But Serrea... Duke Leonardi will nev..." Julius started.
"...Has already signed on." The aardvark interrupted. "He's been having "problems" with his money-changers. Seems he doesn't like how they manage the exchange rates between our cities; they never seem to be in his favor."
"But it will never work... we took over 60,000 crowns out of circulation here..." the Prime Minister argued.
"Actually, we put over 80,000 Tri-Crowns INTO circulation." the earth-pig replied. "and that's just you and Cerebus, between our bankrolls and winnings. Between all the players involved and side-betting, nearly 400,000 crowns changed from local currencies to Tri-Crowns. More than half of that came as gold and jewels from outlying areas and baronies; I expect they were looking to launder some of their plunder. Our Tri-City banks will have a surplus, and you stand to make another tidy fortune in just a few years."
Julius face-palmed. He was in business with the earth-pig, whether he liked it or not.
Cerebus' contentment grew tenfold, bordering on actual pleasure, as he spotted a particularly large and glittery emerald necklace in the pot. He stuffed it in his vest pocket as he turned back to Julian and spoke.
"Cerebus believes he will go have a bath."
mnem
" O Oysters," said the Carpenter "You've had a pleasant run!
Shall we be trotting home again...?" But answer came there none;
and this was scarcely odd, because... they'd eaten every one.
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Topic: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread (Read 18840809 times)