From being an Abandoned who had rarely left the Hollowed Grounds, to embracing the call of adventure, to dying and being reborn first as an Ascended and then as an Ancient, Maea has gone through quite the amount of changes in her life. One thing remains common, though, in her attempts to find out just where she belongs; she’s always had a craving for knowledge which has brought her to so many places and to meet so many people here in Caido. We can’t wait to see what else is in store for her!
Congratulations, Maea!
Credits
Court of the Fallen was created in October of 2018 by Odd, Honey, and Crooked.
Skinning and hosting by the epically talented Kaons, and functionality fanciness by the coding magic of Neowulf. If you ever see either of them around, make sure to show them some love!
This was not one of Theo's more elaborate scams, but he had the sleight of hand to run a mean shell game, and it would do in a pinch. He had already earned two nice necklaces -- one of shells, one of silver -- from disgruntled passersby, items that he now offered as prizes should anyone manage the impossible feat of finding the little ball under one of the three cups he shuffled along a smooth board. Of course, the ball actually spent most of its time in Theo's sleeve, flicked there as his quick hands switched the cups to and fro.
Of course, many of Kaiholo Port's other rogues were wise to his game, but so far they'd let him proceed unhindered. Theo knew that if he got too bold or too successful, someone might come over to scuttle his efforts, and that could mean trouble. So one more prize, maybe, and then he'd move on.
The evening was peaceful enough that Sam had thought he might find some peace by wandering out into it now that the sun was down; he had been taking walks down onto the beach and port to try and clear his head after his disastrous meeting with the Voice. Something about the sound of the waves and the glint of the sun on the water soothing to it's soul even in this tumultuous time.
On his way down into the port, he heard vaguely a man yelling about something or another, a lady? It wasn't his business, so he didn't bother sourcing it..until he accidentally met the man's eyes as his gaze wandered. Sam panicked, sure that now he'd be expected to stop and play whatever game was being offered: in his current state of constant anxiety he wasn't sure he wanted to.
"S-sorry--" He began, holding up his hands and trying to walk away, when a bustling passer by knocked into him as he wasn't looking where he was going. With a little yell, Sam collapsed onto the ground in front of Theo and his shell game.
Theo jumped up as his latest mark (looks anxious and sad, not the best target for a quick score, but get him talking and maybe he'll decide he needs a friend) tumbled to the ground. "Whoa! You all right, mate?"
Stepping over his game, Theo leaned down and offered Samuel a hand up, grinning. He knew quite well that Sam had been in the process of trying to escape his scam when he fell. But now: "Of all the games you could have fallen down at in all the port, you had to trip over mine ... That's pretty portentous, if you ask me. You ought to at least stop for a round -- don't want to argue with Fate, do you?"
Though, given the stranger's miserable expression, Theo rather suspected he was already arguing with fate -- and losing.
Only a week prior, someone coming to help him once he'd fallen over would have made Sam smile. Now, it just made him want to sink into the floor, the idea that he was being noticed and seen in his weak and disgusting state horrifying. Saying something incomprehensible he picked himself up quickly, held up a hand and shook his head to Theo's offer of help.
Stuck by sheer confusion he listened to the man's pitch, blinking at the game and the set up. "I..um.." He knew from Zeph that most of these things were absolute cons, but now he was trapped and did not know how to refuse: what if Theo carried a knife or had powerful friends? Paranoia in full force, he forced himself to grasp his hands together and nod.
"O-Okay. Do I ha...have to p-pay something?" He asked, hoping he might be able to get out of it by not having much to give.
Wow, this guy was incredibly nervous and miserable. Theo smiled, trying to set him at ease. "It's a wager. You put something up, and if you can find the lady" -- Theo opened his hand and set the little wooden ball hovering above it with his telekinesis -- "you get your bet and mine. If you don't, both items are mine. I'll wager this."
Theo set out the shell necklace he'd won earlier. It wasn't the best prize he had on hand, but he hoped relatively low stakes might set his customer at ease.
Sam, in his slightly distant mental state, only had one question about the game: "Why...are you c-c-calling the ball a lady?" It seemed redundant. The ball didn't even look like a lady.
He didn't really want the shell necklace, but due to the aforementioned fear he found himself nodding in agreement to the suggested wager. As for what he had on his person...Sam hummed and reached into his bag, rummaging around for a moment. Despite his panic and fogginess, he did at least have the presence of mind to choose something that was not that valuable to him. A quill with a beautiful feather, but one that had been terrible for writing with, often splitting or spilling the ink.
"This." He put down the black quill, the feather shining green and blue where light hit it.
Why did he call the ball a lady? It was just a tradition, as far as Theo knew. He shrugged. "It sounds more appealing than 'find the ball,' I suppose. Think there's an old legend about seeking a princess in three castles ..."
If there wasn't, Theo would happily make one up.
He ooh'd appreciatively at the sight of the quill. Didn't matter to him if it didn't write well; it was pretty, and that meant he could trade it well. "That's a nice one. Let's see how you do."
First Theo held up the ball as if to make it clear that it was just a plain old ball, then he placed it under the middle cup. "Just try to follow the cup with your eyes as I switch them."
With his setup complete, Theo started moving the cups back and forth. His hands and the cups moved faster than the eye could follow, and somewhere along the way, he flicked the ball up and into his sleeve -- aided by his telekinesis.
Sam, had he been in better spirits or maybe simply a more bold person, would have said the immediate thought that came to mind, that he quite liked the sound of finding balls -- but anyway. He didn't ask for more details on the story as he might have done once either; he just wanted to get away from this painfully chipper man and his game, which he was sure was rigged.
Having read many stories about tricksters and con artists, Sam knew it was unlikely the 'lady' was going to be in any of the cups. Still, he obediently watched and tried to keep track of the ball, but after a certain point it became impossible to tell where it was. "You d-do that very quickly."
After a pause, he looked between all three cups. "...What if the ball i...isn't in any of them?"
05-19-2020, 07:19 PM (This post was last modified: 05-19-2020, 07:19 PM by Theo.)
Theo
Theo's usual grin widened as Sam commented on his speed. "That's what makes me good at it, friend."
But he raised an eyebrow when Samuel questioned the game further. "Now, that would make me a scoundrel, wouldn't it? I assure you, the ball is there. If not, well then, the game would be rigged."
If there was an ironic twinkle in Theo's eye, well, a little irony never hurt anyone. He stopped the cups, letting the three of them rest in a line in front of him and flourishing his hand over them. "What do you say? Do you hear our princess calling out to you?"
Sam was well aware that the dock was crawling with scoundrels and didn't doubt at all that Theo could be one. With a sigh he played along for the moment, looking over the three cups and trying to quieten his suspicions.
Narrowing his eyes, Sam thought of something. While he was painfully shy like this, wanted nothing more than to leave...there was something appealing about the distraction of proving this man's game to be fake. "C...Can I lift the cup myself? Then...then ch-check the others?" He held out a hand towards the cups, waiting for the permission.
05-20-2020, 02:52 PM (This post was last modified: 05-20-2020, 02:52 PM by Theo.)
Theo
Oh, damn it, he's clever. Theo had figured such a sad-looking man would be an easy mark. His mind raced, trying to find a way to get away with this. It sounded like his customer would be on the lookout for any messing with the cups, so trying to put the ball back under there might be a challenge, even for Theo's telekinesis-aided sleight of hand.
Of course, getting caught wouldn't be the end of the world -- he'd just have to move on from this particular ruse, and he'd earned enough already to be satisfied with that. Or he could refuse Sam's request -- that would confirm his suspicions, but what could he do about it, besides take his business elsewhere? He definitely didn't look like the type to beat Theo up for his deception.
"Now, it sounds like you don't trust me." Theo gave Sam an exaggerated frown. He'd see if he could dissuade Sam before giving an absolute yes or no. Stalling, perhaps, but stalling was one of Theo's specialties. "We just met and already you're impugning my honor? That's not very friendly of you."
Theo had found Sam's ultimate weakness: social awkwardness. At the implication that he didn't trust the shady stranger on the well-known criminal port, Sam stood up straight and shook his head, immediately remembering where he was and who he was, that he didn't want to get beaten up in a dark alley by Theo's thug friends he surely had. "No! N-No. Sorry. Um..."
Obediently now he looked between the three cups, pretty sure that he'd be wrong no matter what. After a moment he pointed to the leftmost one, a random guess, wanting to get the game over with more than anything else. "Tha-that one."
Oh, good. That had been a close one. Theo's grin got even wider in relief, and he tipped over the cup to show that it was empty. Then he picked up the right cup and, as he turned it over, slipped the ball back in, so that he could show Sam that it had definitely been there the whole time and he'd just picked the wrong cup. "Ah, too bad. Guess fate's not in your favor today."
He held a hand out for the quill, still smiling. "Of course, your luck could always turn, if you want to try another game."
Theo didn't expect agreement; this guy did not look like he believed in luck at the moment. But he had to try, didn't he?
It didn't come as much of a surprise to see the cup was empty, Sam having predicted it would be. With a sigh he nodded, handing over the quill and wishing he was brave enough to call out the rather obvious con artistry going on.
The suggestion of another game at least was something he felt able to deny, thinking that letting Theo con him once was enough to satisfy the crook for now. "N-no...no, I don't think I will." He shook his head, turned to leave...then something in him, perhaps a shred of the confidence he'd earned over the last two years coming to life, made him look back. "..I know. Tha-that this isn't real. The b-b-ball is in your pocket or something. When you sw-swap the cups. I'm not st-stupid."
