Tariss Sixpence walked through the town streets, making his way towards the nearest inn. At 6′ 3” and with the gray skin and white hair granted to him by his doppelganger father, he didn’t exactly blend into the crowd. Shuffling along, he waited for an opportunity, then slipped into the alleyway outside the in, walking into the shadows. With a few minutes of focus, his features and height shifted slowly.
When he stepped out of the alley, he was standing at an average 5’8”, with mouse brown hair and mahogany eyes. With this disguise, he blended into the crowd of humans outside the inn with no problem. He pushed up to the crowd outside the inn, worming his way through the cluster to make his way to the bouncer. He gave a nod as he entered, and moved into the inn proper.
Slowly striding into the inn, he tried to keep himself as inconspicuous as possible. Moving to the bar, he ordered an ale and shifted his weight. Taking the mug, he slipped the bartender a small platinum token along with the payment. The bartender nodded, and gestured a woman over from the back room. After a whispered exchange, she nodded to Tariss.
She turned, and he followed after her into the back room. Behind the bar was a staircase that went down, under the floorboards. The sound of coins clinking and quiet conversation wafted up along with a thick cloud of smoke. Tariss descended down the stairs, nodding in return to the bow the woman gave him.
At the bottom of the stairs was a half-orc, holding a scroll and looking bored. He raised his eyes as Tariss walked down the stairs, putting a hand up.
“Name?” the orc’s growling guttural voice rumbled up out of his throat, and Tariss held up the platinum token.
“Michael Rhassa.” Tariss let his normally soft voice take on a rough tone, as if he’d been smoking his whole life. He ran a hand through his hair in a nervous gesture, letting his limbs shake a little. “I-I’m sure I’m on the list, I got the token from one of Marcos’ m-men.”
The orc scanned down the list, obviously taking a bit more time than necessary, letting Tariss sweat it. Tariss allowed the shake to grow a little bit, and he shifted from one foot to the other uneasily. After what seemed like hours, the orc unclipped the rope that barred the doorway, gesturing him in. “Go on, don’t make any trouble.”
“Y-yes sir, I won’t.” He stammered out, slipping past the doorman quickly and heading through the doorway. He felt a shivering tingle across his skin, the magical ward that would keep out any not holding the marker that allowed them entrance. From the feel of it, a combination of a high level Burning Blood spell to keep the living at bay, and Turn Undead for the rest. An impressive enchantment, that just let whoever passed through know how high the stakes were.
As the changeling entered into the room before him, he saw the tables spread out across the room. Each one was piled with stacks of coins, mostly gold and platinum. At each table sat multiple players, and one dealer. Each dealer was outfitted in the colors of Marcos’ gang, pink and black. He shook his head, moving towards an open seat.
Sitting down, he nodded towards the dealer, drawing a bulging pouch of coins from his belt. Spilling them out onto the table before him, he picked up the cards passed to him. With a little twist of his will, the cards in the deck shifted imperceptibly. This would be a very profitable night.
********
Scooping the pile of coins off of the table and into his pouch, he gave a low, shaky bow to the other players, and a sly grin to the dealer. He had won a lot. Not every hand, but enough to triple his stating gold. Even so, the dealers wouldn’t openly protest against his unnatural odds. He knew enough to prove that every single deck in the room had been stacked, and enchanted for the house to win. Tucking his coinpurse away into his tunic, he headed for the door.
Moving up out of the basement room, he set a few coins on the bar, nodding to the bartender and grinning. Sliding out of the inn, he pulled the coinpurse out and weighing it in his hand. Tucking it away again, he slipped out into the street, hiding away in the alley.
With another quick focus of his will, he changed appearance again, his hair extending, long, silky and black. His ears lengthened, and eyes narrowed, turning luminous green. What had been a small, slender human entering the alley exited as a tall, graceful elf. He moved his way out down the street and headed down, moving back to his room across town and flipping a platinum coin into the air.
“Ah, another wonderful night ripping off rich old men. The rush is stunning.”
