Fantasy RPG Forum - Standing Trials

Rharne's prison was certainly an impressive building from the exterior. Located far enough away from the city itself that escape was virtually pointless because even if you managed to get out of your cell, what were the odds you could escape across the Stormlands without any resources? Revan could never work in such a place. His limp would put him at a disadvantage in the prison where it gave him an advantage in the city. Morton couldn't do it either. He was far to invested in himself to dedicate time to watching filthy and disgusting criminals who hadn't even been good enough not to get caught. No, neither of those faces would do for the job that was being offered. Revan was a middle man and a criminal leader. Morton was a forger and appraiser. Fortunately the Yludih was not lacking in faces that he could use.

He'd spent a good portion of time trying to decide whether or not he wanted to apply for a position in the prison at all, but in the end the Blackhand's agreed it would be good for them. It gave them an eye on the inside. Initially Willow had suggested herself for the role to Revan but he refused to let her take the risk. He framed his objection as if he cared for her safety but deep down he knew it was so that he could maintain control. Revan told Willow about a gentleman named Grimwald who would do what was necessary for the right price. When asked what his price was, Revan assured Willow that he would handle that part. An arc ago, roughly the same time, they had discussed hiring an assassin but Revan never officially introduced Grimwald to the fold after the face was made.

But just like that, his new face, Grimwald was brought into the fold now. Revan played a dangerous game. He and his kind did not like it to be known what they were, but every face could serve a different purpose and unless someone actually knew what he was, why would they suspect it? Willow, to the Yludih's knowledge, suspected things she would never confront him about. She did not care and he knew she did not care. They found success together... but part of him worried that if he told her the truth she would eventually use it against him so he never confirmed anything for her. To her and to everyone else in his organization, Grimwald was a new man. If someone got in the way of that belief, Grimwald would handle them in the way Revan was unwilling to.

Anyways, back to the prison.

Grimwald stood outside the entrance to the prison with a small caravan of others who had come for a similar reason. They saw the prison was hiring and they wanted jobs. Some of them seemed downright mad and Grim was sure they would not get the position they sought. You had to be just a little crazy to want to come and work out in the Stormwastes. Well, crazy or plotting criminal activity. Sure there were other reasons but those two were the most likely to the Yludih. The wagon came to a stop and the man they'd all chipped in to take them to the prison turned to gesture for them to hop out. He was going to wait for them to come back out but he had charged a bit more for the trip back.

Grimwald had tried to entertain himself with a little caridistry to pass the time and refine his skills. Sleight of hand was crucial in his line of work and card tricks were a good way to make a little extra money. If you were good enough moving the cards around you could control a lot about which card ended up on display. However Grimwald didn't pass the time practicing how to cut the cards favorably, he spent his time practicing a 'magic trick.' One moment he held the card in his hand, in plain view for any to see, and the next the card disappeared. It was a simple matter of hand placement. Grimwald knew how it was done but practice made it smoother and with each effort he found that it looked more and more like the card really had disappeared. In reality it was simply hidden behind his hand and on one occasion, it had fallen into his sleeve. The others in the wagon were amused enough by it.

Grimwald got off the wagon first to escape the odor of the man sitting beside him. He wasn't sure it was that man specifically at first but the longer they sat beside each other in the wagon, the easier it became to figure out who was the smelly one. He smelled like pickles. Pickles and fish. No face that the Yludih ever wore liked the taste or odor of fish. Grim was happy to put some distance between him and Stinky. He wasted no time walking up towards the entrance of the prison where they were expected to arrive. The massive red fortress was an impressive sight, but Grim's mind went to the things that could be stolen from inside rather than how impressive the architecture was. Morton might have cared more about the latter.

When the rest of the party that had come to apply for jobs caught up, they were ushered inside by a few of the prison guards and brought to an office which they all had to wait outside of. It was horribly official but it made Grim glad that he had brought the cards with him to keep himself entertained. He could wait.He practiced the same disappearing trick a few times while sitting in the chair waiting to meet the warden of the prison. "Hey," Grimwald said to one of the men sitting next to him. "Up for a game of Find The Lady? Silver nel wager?" Grim asked as he held up the cards. The man narrowed his eyes and a small smirk crossed his face. Grim couldn't know, but the man was a gambler. That was why he'd come for the job- more money to bet away.

"You're on." He said as one man came out of the warden's office and the next in line went in. They had a little bit of time for their game and no good con would accept a loss here. Grim pulled out three cards, including a queen, and handed them to the gambler so he could examine them. As the gambler looked over the cards, Grim slipped another plain card from the deck and kept it concealed in the downturned palm of his hand. Keeping the card out of view was easy, but putting it in place of the queen if the gambler chose correctly would be a little more difficult. Doable, very doable for Grim, but less easy.

After the gambler was satisfied that the cards were not rigged, he handed them back to Grim who took them carefully to avoid showing his hidden extra card. He showed the man the queen using his goof hand, and then began the game. Three cards were placed face-down on the floor and Grim tapped the queen. "Don't forget, that's your lady." He said with a small grin before he began moving the cards around. By this point, a few of the others and even two of the prison guards had begun peering over at the game they were playing. Everyone was just standing around, waiting- or well, guarding. A little entertainment seemed to make them happy. As dark as Grimwald's purpose for life was, he was the most friendly face the Yludih wore. He would keep everyone happy up until he needed to put a blade through them.

Grimwald's hands moved quickly with experience but for this round he did not stack the odds against the gambler. He played the game honestly and fairly, but only for the first round. You had to build trust first, and then it was easier to deceive someone. Ten trills passed with Grim shuffling the order of the cards around and the gambler watching closely until finally the Yludih stopped and gestured to the cards. The gambler looked at him for a moment as if he was suspecting a trick, and then he pointed to the card in the middle. Grim turned it over and to his surprise, it wasn't the queen. He hadn't even needed to manipulate the cards. "It seems you lost your lady." Grimwald said with a small smirk. "How about we do a double or nothing round? Might as well give you a chance to win it back." Grimwald offered and the man nodded without hesitation. He was hooked now. The loss stung him. He wanted to win.

Grim held up the queen again and this time when he began shuffling the cards, he introduced the one hidden in his palm. The challenge with the trick was dropping the new card while picking up the queen and making sure that the queen was not left in play without anyone noticing. Palming the card was the most effective method of holding a spare that Grim knew. He moved through the trick and his hands did not fail him, but his memory did. He swapped the queen for the plain card and then accidentally swapped it back into the game before he'd finished shuffling the cards around. It was a loss in terms of the con but it did allow him to practice the technique a little more. If anyone saw what he'd done, no one said anything.

The gambler picked the card on the right and when Grim turned it over he found that it was indeed the queen. "Well damn, it looks like your lady came back," he said with a content grin, "may we all be so lucky with our women." He laughed playfully and the gambler laughed along with him before being called into the warden's office for his interview. No nels traded hands as that was the deal but Grim got what he wanted- practice.

Now he had to prepare a story for the warden that would be convincing enough to make the man think Grimwald would be an asset to them. But what would that story be? A lie no doubt, but everything the Yludih did was a lie in some form.