Shadow In The Sky

Robbery

Chapter 1

Nathaniel Clifton stared at the building in front of him, the new casino a surprising example of what a few thousand gold pieces can do. From time to time he passed the Gold Goblin on his various trips and deliveries and it had always been run down, empty, and deserted. But the building must have recently been restored, because what was previously in shackles, was now a glittering and vibrant display of distracting colors and patterns.

Today was the gambling’s hall opening day, and they had requested a myriad of supplies from the shop in which he worked. Phillip’s Potent Potions was his employer’s shop whose wares were in high demand, though the unimaginative name oftentimes drew hidden bouts of laughter from passerby. Nathaniel had been hired about two years ago when he was sixteen years old, and had slowly made his way up to apprentice alchemist under Phillip Ferall himself. Though he still did greatly enjoy delivering supplies to other people across the span of the city.

So here was Nathaniel now, about to deliver a sack of various remedies and solutions to one of the most well-known crime lords in Riddleport. Saul Vancaskerkin. Yes, he claimed to be ‘retired’ from his previous line of work and wanted to earn an honest living, though Nathaniel did find the whole situation sounding a bit off.

Shaking his head, Nathaniel walked up to the short line leading into the casino and waited patiently to enter. Ferall did say I could stick around for a bit if I managed to get the delivery to Vancaskerkin before sundown. And judging by the position of the sun just reaching the middle of the sky, he had some free time on his hands. The line slowly moved forward as one customer entered the Gold Goblin, and Nathaniel let out an impatient sigh. One of the guests in line ahead of him spun around and gave a glare before turning back to stare into the casino once again. An amused grimace broke out on Nathaniel’s face; apparently some people here were just as impatient as he was.

When it was his turn to enter The Gold Goblin came, Nathaniel gave his employer’s note to the bouncer and the burly man waved him on. Nodding, Nathaniel tried to conceal his grin, as he could now deliver the goods to Vancaskerkin, but he also had just gotten inside the establishment free of charge. Just past the main doors, two sultry beauties scantily clad and wearing false bat wings, devil horns, and tails played the part of alluring succubi. Nathaniel quickly concluded that both were employees of the Gold Goblin, since they cheerfully rubbed up against him and anyone else who entered into the gambling room before they turned their attention to others coming inside.

Beyond the registration setup was the gambling hall’s game floor. Dozens of gamblers, waitresses dressed as succubae, and bouncers milled about the room, wandering amid tables offering various games while dealers shuffled cards, rolled dice, and spun wheels in preparation. Nathaniel took in the many sights with an excited fervor; this was the first time he had attended an event of this size, much less one in a newly opened casino. As he moved through the throng of game tables and dealers, Nathaniel spotted a dozen more of the barely clad bat-winged vixens, serving drinks and flirtatiously batting coal-black eyelashes at various customers for tips. Nathaniel let out a laugh as one such ‘succubus’ nuzzled up against a larger looking man, causing him to faint and fall to the floor.

Turning away from that particular spectacle, Nathaniel noticed that in the center of the chamber was a short podium atop which sat a massive gold chest affixed to the floor by similarly gaudy chains. On either side of it stood a bare-chested bouncer in the exotic garbs that looked like they came from some foreign sultan’s court. Each man stood with muscled arms crossed over his chest and with a naked scimitar of prodigious size tucked through his waistband. Looking up towards a rattling noise, Nathaniel saw that high above the pair, from the hall’s cloth draped ceiling, hung a brass birdcage. Within the metal container crouched a small, bat-winged, pointy-tailed devilish creature that seemed to be sulking as it angrily looked out over the room and its various events.

Wanting to get the heavy sack of merchandise off his back, Nathaniel wandered around the Gold Goblin looked for Vancaskerkin until he finally decided to ask one of the waitresses where he was. Tapping one of the costumed women on the shoulder, he gave a jump as the woman turned around and moved her head in close to his face, batting her thick eyelashes teasingly. “May I help you with something, sir?”

Quickly backing away from the waitress, Nathaniel let out an embarrassed cough and nodded. “I’d like to know when Mr. Vancaskerkin will be available. I have an order of goods that he requested was to be delivered to him tonight.”

“Oh, Vancaskerkin will be busy for a little while more. I should think he’s getting ready for his speech.”

Eyebrows furrowing in disappointment, Nathaniel nodded in resignation. He’d have to wait a bit longer to drop off his wares and join in on the various games scattered around the hall. But, no longer had the waitress flaunted away to some other corner of the room, did a line of employees enter the central area, carrying torches shaped like pitchforks. Skewered burning heads made of straw and cloth were alight with flame on the pitchforks as the carriers lit several large braziers, giving the hall a more infernal hue.

A hush fell over the crowd and Nathaniel as well, the sudden silence betraying a larger event to come. Sure enough, a short man entered out of a back door and began to climb to the central podium, accompanied by two gorgeous succubi, and stopped to stand before the gold, chain-shrouded chest. The man wore a formal suit, and his thinning black hair was slicked back. Nathaniel’s eyes widened as he saw that the man’s left arm ended in a stump just above the wrist, and attached to it was a bronze cap from which protruded an oddly shaped key. His brain clicked in recognition as Nathaniel recalled the grinning man as Saul Vancaskerkin, former crime lord.

Vancaskerkin gave a bow before the crowd and cleared his throat loudly before speaking. “Welcome, one and all, to the Gold Goblin Gambling Hall and your chance to cheat the Devil and win back not only your soul, but all his gold as well!” He said this last as he patted the large chest before which he stood.

“I hope you found your reception by the Devil’s lovely temptresses suitably entertaining…” This was met by a general murmur of laughter and a few catcalls, and Nathaniel himself had to stifle a small chuckle.

Vancaskerkin went on, gesturing up towards the impish looking creature in the birdcage above. “Let’s take this moment to thank Old Scratch himself for attending this event. Not only did he loan us these lovely, dark angels, but he also emptied the deepest vaults of Hell itself to provide the gold for this tournament.” Looking up, Nathaniel saw that the imp named Old Scratch was in a fit of rage at all of the sudden attention. The small creature began to bang the against he cage’s brass bars, spitting, howling, and screaming at all assembled in what Nathaniel thought sounded like a dialect of Infernal. The crowd around him guffawed at the imp’s theatrics and there was even a smattering of applause. Nathaniel couldn’t help laugh along with them, though he did almost feel a bit sorry for the caged creature. The laughter and clapping died down after a few moments, where Vancaskerkin chose to continue with his speech.

“Of course, he plans on replacing what he loses with gold with the souls of those who don’t win. The tournament rules are quite simple—as you play, you’ll earn more chips. And with those chips, you’ll be able to bribe your way out of the current Hell you’re trapped in, working your way down deeper until you get to Old Scratch’s treasury. Currently, all of you are Old Scratch’s prisoners in the first of the hells, Avernus. If you want to work your way down to the ninth circle, you need to win games. Each time you win, you’ll be awarded a golden chip. If you come in second, you’ll receive a silver chip. And third place wins a copper chip. These are what the devils use for currency in Hell, and they’re what you’ll need to pay in order to bribe your way into the next layer of hell. The first one to reach the lowest level keeps his winnings for that game, but also earns back his soul and the ten thousand silver coins that the Devil put up for this tournament. You can, of course, cash out your winnings at any time you want, but if you do, or if you run out of money entirely… well, that means Old Scratch gets you.”

Vancaskerkin grinned evilly with an amused glint in his eye while the caged imp cut loose with another profane tirade. “And that earns you with the Devil’s Mark and an escort out of the game hall until the tournament is over. What, you ask, exactly is the Devil’s Mark? Well, it’s something too utterly horrible even to contemplate. The forfeiture of your very soul, it is. But I suppose I could show you—gods know I more than deserve it. In fact, better make it two, girls!”

With that, the two succubae accompanying him leaned over an each firmly planted a kiss on Vancaskerkin’s cheek with their ruby red lips. When they pulled away, their rouge had left clearly visible prints in the same shocking scarlet on his cheeks. Saul beamed as he cried out, “The Devil’s Mark, everyone!” which was met by a flurry of shouts, whistles, and hoots.

“Now, let’s cheat the Devil and take his gold!” the cry prompting one more rabid flurry from the imprisoned fiend above, and with that, the crowd quickly split up and moved to the various gambling stations planted around the large room.

Nathaniel couldn't help letting out a little half smile, the man seemed very charismatic, and good at cracking jokes at well. Remembering the heavy pack on his back, he began to stroll towards Vancaskerkin, who had just left the podium and was turning towards one of the back rooms.

Stepping in front of the man, Nathaniel quickly gave a line he had rehearsed many times. "Mr. Vancaskerkin? I have a delivery for you from," Nathaniel winced slightly, "Phillip's Potent Potions."

Vancaskerkin's face light up immediately, and he raised his voice to be heard over the newly started ruckus. "Ah, yes! You must have my special delivery! I hope you have been careful with it, the contents of those bottles are very volatile if handled roughly!" Nathaniel couldn't get out a word before the other man spoke again. "Yes, you look like a hardworking and responsible boy, so the goods should be fine, correct?" Vancaskerkin smiled at him, but Nathaniel could see a hidden sharpness behind his glare, as if to say, Or else..

Finding that his mouth wasn't working properly, Nathaniel hastily nodded and Vancaskerkin gave a hearty laugh. "Good, otherwise I might have had to resort to some of my other tactics I gave up a long time ago!" Vancaskerkin elbowed Nathaniel in the stomach and began his boisterous chuckling again, but he solemnly wondered if the former crimelord was truly joking or not.

"Come, come, I'll show you into my back room so we can discuss payment." Vancaskerkin started to usher Nathaniel away, but a strange fizzling sound to the right made him stop. One of the brazier's flames were burning brighter than the others, burning white hot while emitting a strange fizzling noise. Vancaskerkin stopped as well when he realized Nathaniel wasn't right behind him, and noticed the unusually strong flame too. "Boy, did you do something to that fire? Because if you did, you-"

Nathaniel held a hand up, as the blaze was growing even bigger and brighter. A quick look around the room revealed that the same thing was happening to the other braziers scattered around the gaming hall. The hissing reached a high whine and Nathaniel finally realized just exactly what was happening. Closing his eyes, he shouted as loud as he could over the din. "Everyone! Shut your eyes, and whatever you do, don't look at the fires!"

The inside of Nathaniel's eyelids turned a bright red as a series of resounding cracks and bangs echoed throughout the building, mixing in with the emerging cacophony of terrified screams. When they stopped after a few moments, Nathaniel opened his eyes warily, taking in the shocking scene before him.

Beside him, Vancaskerkin lay on the ground, hands over his head and eyes screwed shut. It seemed that he was the only one who had heard his advice as the guests, waitresses and bouncers all were clutching their faces and screaming in horror that they could not see. Just as I thought, a pyrotechnics spell. Lucky I saw Phillip cast one of those before... but why would someone set one off now?

But there were a few who weren't running blindly towards the exits, not crashing into each other as they wildly fled from the building. A single pair stood in the middle of the chaos, and behind them stood four dirty and ugly looking men. One member of the pair was a woman with long, curly, black hair and a devious looking expression on her face. She wore a outfit covered in cured leather, the tight fitting hide complimenting her... full figure, Nathaniel noticed with a slight blush. Next to her stood a tall man draped in a flowing olive green robe, his pious looking face and long, groomed black hair making him seem very refined indeed.

The large room was just about empty now, all the patrons seemed to have escaped in the panic and it looked as if the employees deemed it dangerous enough to leave as well. Though, there was one other, Nathaniel noticed, crouched behind one of the gaming tables. From this distance Nathaniel couldn't tell much about him, but he did notice the stranger point at the group and making a slicing motion across his throat. What, he wants me to attack them? Hah, like I'd do such a thing. Especially on command from a total stranger.

Smiling, Nathan gently placed his bag on the floor next to the shaking Vancaskerkin, and began to walk over to the cluster of poeple, hands outspread in a gesture of peace. "I see you know how to make an entrance. How about we-"

Nathaniel was cut off abruptly as the woman reached down and pulled a crossbow from the back of her belt. "The hell we do know how to make an entrance. Angvar, I'll take care of these two fools. You get the chest."

The sophisticated man nodded and game a little smirk, "I'm already on it, Thuvalia. Don't take too long, the authorities will be here soon." He broke off and began to move towards the the prize chest resting near the podium, two of the thugs in tow. So that's what they're after... I'm not surprised, with this event being advertised so much in a city like this.

A sudden movement and a shout from the other woman broke Nathaniel's train of thoughts. "Hey, you should be looking at me, asshat, not him." Nathaniel turned back to Thuvalia to find that she had lifted her crossbow into the air, and was now pointing the deadly weapon directly at his head. "Because he's not going to be the one who's gonna kill you."