Belthor gets Scammed!

“So should we go in, or…?”

Belthor intentionally trailed off before he had to come up with an alternative option. Irolt had said they’d need to meet up with Franza before looking for the Resistance Base in town. He would have been just as happy to leave the dog to their own devices for a while if they needed privacy.

“I mean, we should. Right?” The half dwarf kicked at the dirt outside the establishment with his boot while he thought it over. “Even if Franza is, er, busy… we should still reserve our rooms. Get some dinner. It’s been a long day.”

That was an understatement. Belthor had nearly lost his life to some sort of cult a town over, and he hadn’t even had the worst of it. “I could go for some dinner.”

“So, we go in.” Irolt said decisively, although he made no motion to follow through. It was clear he was uncomfortable with what they might find inside.

It’s not like it will be the end of the world if we see Franza flirting.

The thought actually sounded a bit entertaining if the dog’s flirting was anything like their fighting.

Irolt was spared the risk and Belthor the amusement, as the dog came walking out of the inn, alone and dejected. “Oh, hey guys.”

“How’d it go?” Irolt asked cautiously.

“There was nobody there,” Franza said flatly.

Irolt tried and failed to hide his relief that there were no courtship stories to be told. Unfortunately that still left them with a mopey dog, who was less charismatic and less likely to lead them on the diplomatic route out of trouble should a situation arise. Irolt seemed to be thinking the same thing.

“So, what can we do to, er, cheer you up?”

“Well, if sex is out…” the dog trailed off.

“It seems to be,” Irolt said emphatically.

“...then something shiny would be nice. Or money. I like money.”

Belthor was not about to part with any of his own coin.

“We could probably get you some money,” Irolt pounced on the idea.“Could you sell something? Do you still have that toothpick I gave you?”

“That won’t work, then I’d be losing something.” The dog pouted. “Plus, it sounds like work.”

“Well, let’s see if we can find you a bounty board. We do a bounty or two, you can keep the money, how about that?”

Belthor was about to say that if he did a bounty he was keeping the money, but Irolt quickly silenced him with a look. It turned out not to matter. What they found was much better than a bounty board, in any case.

“Try your luck!” Called a finely dressed stranger from the end of the street. He was standing behind a game table with three cups on it.

Winning at a chance game seemed much easier than doing work, and the dog’s ears perked up at once. Belthor, as someone who was known to tangle on the shadier side of things, knew how easy it was to manipulate a chance game. Still, he found himself almost as tempted as his furry friend.

It’s not like people come to a town called Irolladice to do honest labor.

“Step on up and try your luck! Try your luck! What if there’s a ball under one of these cups?”

What if there isn’t?

Unusually suspicious pitch aside, the three party members were all on the same page for once. Franza’s paw grasped at Irolt’s forearm eagerly. “We gotta play, Irolt. We gotta get that cash.”

Irolt stepped forward. Belthor knew he wasn’t much of a gambler, but it made sense that he be the one to play the game. He had the most skill and focus, which were the traits needed.

All I could do would be to steal the ball, and that seems counterproductive.

“I want to play,” said the half dwarf. “How do I start?”

“Put your five silver up on the table,” said the proprietor.

“Perfect,” Irolt replied, turning up the five coins.

“You can double your winnings every time,” the man explained as he began to spin the cups around. When he stopped, Irolt pointed to one with confidence.

Belthor was surprised when the man lifted it to reveal a red ball sitting underneath. He’d honestly expected there to be some sort of trick to the whole thing. “You got it,” cried the man. “You got me, buddy.”

Franza leaped up to the table next. “I want to do it!”

Belthor understood immediately that if this was an honest skill game, requiring focus, that Irolt should be the one who kept playing. There was no time to say anything before Franza approached the table.

“If you put down ten, you can win twenty.”

And again, before Belthor so much as had his mouth open, the dog had put down another five silver. They chose the cup on the far right, only to find it was empty. Irolt stepped in before too much pouting could be done.

“I’d like to continue.”

“You want to keep it going? Twenty silver?”

“I just have the ten.”

How much did he spend at that blacksmith shop?

Belthor knew it shouldn’t be his primary concern just then, and he kept his eye on the game owner as he answered.

“Ten silver is just fine.” There was something shady about his smile, just as there was something shady about the town. He never got the impression that he was seeing the whole story, and that darker motives were lurking just below the surface.

Again, Irolt chose the winning cup.

Belthor was feeling better about the whole situation being legit, but not good enough to leave Franza’s next attempt to chance.

That’s what my luck spell is for, after all.

Belthor wasn’t one of those elves who relied on magic or turned to casting frequently, but he did know one spell well enough to cast discreetly. With a small gesture of his hand he cast luck on Franza, who was quickly able to point to the correct cup.

The man’s smile widened as he forked over the silver. “You guys are pretty good at this. Can I interest you in The Big Round?”

That sounds like a bad idea.

Belthor’s game was stealing from people straight up like a professional, but he knew enough about the swindling business to know that something called ‘The Big Round’ was probably the perfect time to strike.

“What’s The Big Round?” Franza asked, tail wagging.

“Fifty down, and I’ll quadruple your winnings.”

“Quadruple?” They didn’t seem to know the word.

“Two hundred silver,” the man clarified.

There was no longer any hesitation, the dog’s eyes had practically doubled in size as they slammed fifteen silver down on the table. “Together?”

This guy is definitely up to something.

But then again, Irolt hadn’t lost a single round, and they still had the luck spell working for them - at least he hoped they did. Plus, Franza’s excitement was infectious, and he couldn’t deny that the idea of winning back so much silver so easily was tempting.

Plus, it will cheer Franza up. I’ll be doing a good thing by winning all this silver. It’s a win-win.

He placed another fifteen silver on the table, leaving Irolt to chip in the remaining twenty which he did without any complaint.

He watched the cups spin intently, as all three of them held their breaths. When they stopped, Irolt chose quickly and with so much confidence that Belthor was certain at first they had won.

But the cup was empty.

Disappointed, he slipped his hands into his pockets only to find that they too were empty. Panicked, he looked to the others.

“Do either of you have any money?”

Irolt shrugged. “That was all my silver.”

Franza checked their bag to find that they too were completely devoid of currencye. They looked almost as panicked about it as Belthor felt.

I had to steal hard for that money.

“How did this happen?” Franza demanded. “What did you do?” But as they rounded on the man with the game, they found he had vanished right along with his scam and his collapsible table. “How did he do that?”

There must be a small crew, Belthor decided. The cup and ball game is just a distraction, and once the victims have all their attention on ‘The Big Round’ the pickpockets strike.

Irolt said the same thing with a touch more brevity. “We got scammed!”