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It had been raining on and off for most of the afternoon, but sheltered in the house of one of his friends, Jace hadn't cared much about the rain. Now, it was dark outside, and he needed to journey through the city streets to his own home. The rain had stopped, for now, and he beat a brisk pace against the cobbles hoping to get home without being drenched. It was mid-summer, so he ran no chance of catching a chill from the warm drops, but it would take a long time to dry himself out in this weather, and he'd learned already to not go to bed wet.

Halfway home, the sky grumbled uncertainly with thunder, and fat droplets began to fall. As the drizzle increased towards a downpour, he ducked into a nearby doorway to avoid the rain. Bawdy laughter and clinking mugs issued from the cracks around the door, and he shouldered it open, to find that he'd ducked into the doorway of one of the many pubs scattered across the city. Eager for a dry place to wait out the rain, and perhaps a little snack on the side, Jace opened the door and entered the tavern's main room.

Immediately, several figures caught his eye as his glance swept the room. A solitary fiddler stood in the corner, playing a jaunty tune to appease the raucous crowd. He was a raccoon, marked by the 'mask' his kind always wore, and he gave a respectful nod towards Jace's direction without losing tempo. A sticky fingered Gecko manned the bar, flipping bottles and pouring drinks to amuse the inebriated customers. A spider wench swerved between tables, managing to hold onto plates of food and mugs of ale with both her hands as well as the chitinous limbs sprouting from her back. She weaved between the tables in an elaborate dance, placing food and drink mid pirouette without even pausing her pace. More than a few customers reached out to grab at her, but she danced just outside of their fingertips, tossing a sly laugh and a wink behind her. A lone man sat in a dark corner, swaddled from head to toe in a heavy traveling cloak despite the warm weather.

A roar from a crowd around a nearby table caught the man's attention, but those standing nearby blocked his view of whatever captivated their interest. The spider came to a slightly panting rest just before Jace, out of reach of the grasping hands of the more inebriated patrons.

"Take a seat where ye can love, I'll be around soon enough. You want food, ale, or are you just here to stay out of the rain?" She said, breathing heavily as she stood.

Jace had never been into one of these places before, nor had he ever seen a spider. Jace admired the spider before him for a brief moment before snapping back into reality.

"I-I came t-to get out of the r-rain" He said as clearly as possible, the rain water sitting in his fur chilling him. She laughed at his stutter, and trailed a thin, spiny limb gently across his face.

"You'll want a seat by the fire then, unless you're looking for another way to put fire in the veins."

She vanished with a wink, returning to her elaborate dance between the kitchen and the tables. The fiddler laughed as he played, enjoying the boy's obvious discomfort. Jace walked over to the fire, his face a visible red under his orange fur.

He grabbed a seat and placed it near the fire to wait for the waitress to come back and take his order. He sat there in his embarrassment, waiting quietly for his fur to dry. Melissa was a skilled wench, and was easily able to do the work of at least two people. Many came to watch her 'dance', and she was encouraged to do so as she worked, for patrons stayed far longer and drank far more than they should.

There was a bit of a lull in the crowd, and she took advantage of the opportunity to crawl across the roof until she was suspended directly above him. He hadn't noticed her on the ceiling, so she lowered herself by her insectoid arms, upside down, human arms folded across her chest, until her face was inches from his.

"You sure ye don't want somthin' to eat, love? Tonight is roast chicken, served good and hot with a mug of ale on the side."

"Gah!" Jace knocked his chair over and shouted in a loud surprise that quieted the room. The entire room watched him for a few seconds before a loud uproar of laughter started and people went back to their business.

"Sacre ye a bit love?" She asked with a sly grin on her face

"Yeah, you did" Jace said as he picked up his chair and sat by the fire again.

"What do ya want to eat hun?"

"I-I guess I will t-take the special" Jace still shaking from the cold rain. The waitress scaring him didn't help his shivering.

"It'll be right a long then love, cost a silver an a half, fifteen coppers."

She inverted herself and fell lightly to the floor. With a wink, she walked away with just enough sway in her step to keep the boy's eyes occupied, so that he didn't notice the dark man in the cloak sidle up next to him. He spoke with a dry throated rasp commonly heard from reptilian tribes, and the unexpected sound of his gruff voice startled Jace further.

"Ain't seen you 'round this place before, and that makes you an opportunity. Kid... how would you like to make some easy money? Nothin' illegal, nothin' dangerous or risky, I jus' need someone fresh, someone they won't expect. Ya in'erested?"

"Who are you?" Jace said, startled by the cloaked man.

"I'll take 'at as a yes. Who I am isn't really important, what's important is the gambling goin' on at th' crowded table over there. Gambling's illegal, as you might know, too many ways for people to rig it, but a lot of people do it anyways. If it was just a few silvers, I'd let it slide, but these guys are playin' high stakes. They're all friends, playing on credit and passin' coin later, but the crowd is placing bets too. If they keep it up, they'll attract the attention of the law, and this fine establishment will be shut down. Now, I have a simple plan for how to 'politely' make them leave. There's virtually no risk for you, they learn a lesson about breaking the law, my favorite pub stays in business, and you'll make a nice cut of coin on the side. Now... are you willing to help a law abiding citizen out?"

The 'law abiding citizen' was dressed as if he intentionally wanted to look as shifty as possible. He was clothed head to toe in bulky, traveling leathers, and with the way he was bundled up, he could easily have had several knives hidden away. Hell, he could have smuggled a broadsword in that coat, and for all Jace knew, he was. He seemed like he was telling the truth, and surely it couldn't hurt to just hear him out.

"Alright, I don't like law breakers either so I will hear you out. As long as no one is hurt" Jace examined the man before him wondering why he was dressed like that in such a cheery place.

"Trust me kid, no-one's gonna get hurt. You know how to play poker, yea? The basic rules at least? There's five guys at the table over there, and they play an open table, anyone with the coin can join. Walk up, and fold for the first few hands. I don' care what you think you have or how good you get it, I don' care if you draw a straight flush, you fold every hand. The Roadrunner, Avian with brown speckled wings, he's a friend of mine. The second time he gets the deck, he's going to stack it in your favor. Open your bid at two hun'nerd gold, then raise it as high as you need to. Don't be scared if it gets ta several thousand in a few turns, you gonna win. Now, you're a new face, so they'll demand you see the gold up front. Take this, it's enough to prove you have the coin."

Beneath the table, the reptile passed Jace a sack that felt like it was weighed down with stones.

"That's plenty enough to cover twice times the numbers they're racking up, insurance, in case something goes wrong. Don't think about trying to run with it, I've got friends watching every exit. Go up there, do your job, and I'll gild your palm with enough scratch to live like a king for months. Just try and look natural, if you're shaking in your boots they'll know someone put you up to it. If things get dicey, and someone draws a knife or the guards burst in, forget the loot, run for the Kitchen. Melissa'll take care of you while I clean up the debris. Walk steady and stand straight, go get 'em."

With one arm, he half lifted Jace out of the chair and sent him on a few tripping steps towards the gamblers. Melissa paused in her services to whisper lightly in his ear.

"Don't worry, love, you'll do fine. You're among friends here."

She was gone before he could say anything in reply, resuming her graceful circuit, retrieving empty mugs and replacing them with full ones.

Jace fixed his balance and walked towards the table. Luckily, Jace knew how to keep calm in these situations.

"Hey guys, mind if I join in?" Jace asked with a happy tone

"Ye got gold on yah?" A badger sitting at the table asked.

"A fair few coins" Jace said as he held up the heavy bag, shaking it so the insides 'clacked' together.

"Grab a seat den, we can lighten your pockets"

Jace took a seat and started following the mysterious man's instructions. Jace was never good at this game and barely knew how to play. He didn't know if his hand was good or not but hehad hopes.

Jace folded the first few turns, making an ante up for every hand, and waited for the avian to get the deck for the second time. Jace was hoping the deck was stacked in his favor or things could go terribly wrong. Jace picked up the cards that were handed to him and looked at them. Still confused, he raised. At first it was 200, then 400, 700, untill it was up to 3000. The men at the table wrre getting angry by this point. Only one man had folded and the rest were sure Jace was bluffing.

"Oy! Show me yer gold! I dun think you has enough to pay us when we win!"

"Don't worry mate, I have enough" Jace said as he pulled out the large bad of gems and oppened the top. All that gems were glistening as the light refracted off of them.

Of all of them, the Roadrunner seemed the most outraged. He thrust his hand into the bag, yanked out a gem at random, and slammed it on the table. There was a blur of movement, then a small dagger was clutched in his fist. He rammed the hilt of the dagger onto the shining ruby he pulled out, causing his hand to bounce off the gem; the gem was not a glass recreation. He slumped back as he realized the gem was true.

"Well, the lad's got coin. Tell me Fox boy, what's your game? You a Spice runner, eh? Sneak a bit of Flare around the city for easy coin? Maybe you're royalty, come to squander daddy's fortune, pretending to be a man?"

Someone in the crowd yanked his head back, and pressed a dagger to his throat as the badger continued.

"Or maybe you're just bait for the guards, eh? They send you in to keep us busy with a pot this large while they circle the joint?"

"Calm down, Silver. Raw, careful with that knife, he's done nothing wrong... yet." The dragon leaned forwards, resting his elbows on the table, and the badger drew back suddenly. Knife disappeared from his throat, and the wielder vanished into the crowd.

"Now, son... there isn't a man or child alive foolish enough to waste 3KG on a poker hand without being an expert at this game. So, either the guard sent you to waste our time, or you have the best poker face I've ever seen, because you don't look like you have a single damn idea what's going on. Now, your last bid was three thousand, yes? Swift, you, Silver, and I shall call his bluff... and if there's anything short of a royal straight in your hand, we're going to kill you before the guards have a chance to clap us in irons. So show your hand, slowly. Let's see which it is."

Jace slowly turned his hand. He had no clue what he had but he turned his hand with confidence hoping his hand was good. The men backed off and sat back in their seats in awe. Jace had what they hoped he didn't have. Jace had the royal strait.

"That can't be. It's a lie! The cards were stacked in 'is favor!" Someone betting in the croud shouted.

"Oi! Just leave the kid be! He won so deal with it!" A fight in the croud seemed imminent at this point, everyone else at the table still in awe about the hand and the amount if gold they just lost.

The chaos was rising, there were many in the crowd who'd lost money in that hand, and a fight did seem inevitable, until the dragon stood up. He was a great beast of a man, black scales slashed with red in jagged stripes, and they fell silent as he slowly walked to where Jace still sat with a knife up to his throat. He had to crane his head to look up at the massive dragon towering above him. The dragon spoke three simple words.

"Who sent you?"

At that moment, the best possible outcome was that Jace could faint. Of course, they hadn't left anything up to chance. The Roadrunner, "Swift" held a knockout dart in between his talons, and he jabbed Jace with it. Seconds later, his eyes rolled up into the back of his head, and he collapsed to the floor.

Chains rattled the floor as Jace moved in his sleep. A small amount of light peared in through the thick, heavy wooden door that stood as the only exit out of the small cobbled cell. Jace had been placed in there after he had been knocked out.

"Ugh, my head hurts. God damn I'm a lightweight." Jace had not yet realized where he was, the darts poison still effecting him. Jace pulled up his arm to rub his eyes as he awoke but the chain held his arms down.

"Hey... wh-what?" Still half awake he tried to stand.

"Ye might not wanna do that love" said Melissa while she hung from the roof.