It had been a good night for Viana and her partners. Their latest ventures were greatly successful and the troupe was, for once, not caught up in strife with one another. To say it was a cause for celebration was an understatement. Drubu and Eggi had actually completed a scene together without dropping to the ground in cackling laughter. Arinys had only pick-pocketed three people - a drastic improvement on the halfling's last collection, which, unfortunately for the troupe, had ended up with over twenty-five irate patrons and a rather hefty fine that Viana was tasked to pay herself. And lastly, Nordan's superiority complex had become actually bearable and the mark that the beautiful Naeva had placed upon his head was no longer lasting. Things were starting to look up - perhaps Viana's luck was changing.<br/><br/>Or was it staying the same?  She often wondered if the things that plagued her were really the cause of the Universe. Realistically speaking, Viana was quite a blessed individual. Her caravan of misfits had been doomed to failure from the start, but some how and some way, they had become rather successful in this 'acting' business. Never in her life had she ever thought that she would be such a creative dame, but that was how the world saw her, and her shows were often sought out as a solid source of entertainment. Of course, she couldn't claim all of the credit for her success. Between Drubu and Eggi's antics, Arinys' undeniably adorable smile, and the bickering that Nordan and Naeva provided in every single performance, there was enough comedy to make even Viana laugh. Every show was vastly different from the one before it, and Viana never really knew what she was getting when the curtains opened and the actors took the stage.<br/><br/>But what Viana did know for certain was that she had a gift for being lucky. It had run in the family for quite some time, starting with her great, great, great grandfather who almost died at the hands of a troll. It sometimes skipped generations - her grandfather had not been quite so lucky with trolls in his life, and even though she knew that luck did run dry, Viana decided to try her luck with - you guessed it - a group of trolls....just not the trolls her grandfather had encountered.<br/><br/>The inn smelled of sawdust and sweat. It was disgusting and Viana scrunched her nose with distaste, but it offered her a soft bed and a warm meal that she didn't have to cook herself. She collected her skirts and made her way to the counter to request a room for the night, but her direction was changed when she caught sight of a rather large, illegal gambling session being played right out in the open. Her fingers itched to participate - she enjoyed a good game of dice, and while it was tempting to see how much the bet in was, she refrained.<br/><br/>For two seconds.<br/><br/><b>"Hello kind sirs!"</b>She introduced cheerfully as she trailed her fingers along the back of a chair. A gruff man sat in it, and she noticed that he, too, smelled quite terribly. Was this town more poor than she'd known? The men looked up at her with feigned interest - at least it was feigned until they noticed her figure and her plump...assets, as she liked to call them. Purposefully adjusting herself to make her appear a bit more floozy and a lot more inappropriate, Viana used the distraction to her advantage and took a peek at the men that surrounded the table. She needed to get her hands on those dice.<b>"What delightfully innocent game might you be partaking in tonight?"</b><br/><br/>A burly man who was somewhat attractive smiled at her. He was missing several teeth and one of them looked like it was rotten. That was an immediate turn off, and Viana pulled up her blouse to hide herself from his heated gaze. She would rather jump into a river without knowing how to swim than let him look at her like she was a delicious treat. A treat she was, but not for him, and she was just about to say as much as he decided to speak up.<b>"O' lady, if ya cannot see with your own eyes, then I'm 'fraid that we can't tell ya. Why don't cha go take a seat and mind your own business? Better yet, why don't cha come take a seat right 'ere instead?"</b>The man patted his lap and Viana's lip curled with disgust.<br/><br/>Men.<br/><br/><b>"Tis a shame. I might 'ave been interested in a game or two."</b>Viana pulled back a layer of her skirt to reveal a large leather purse attached to her hip. The eyes that looked upon her widened with surprise and then narrowed with interest. Money was their weakness, just as it was the weakness of any other gambler that had ever existed - Viana included.<br/><br/>Gangrenous Mouth gave her an apologetic bow.<b>"By all means, m'lady, please do partake. But I shall warn you that lady luck does not always treat everyone especially well."</b><br/><br/>Viana nodded.<b>"You don't say? Perhaps she'll fancy me tonight instead of you."</b><br/><br/>Two hours later, Viana watched as the men crumbled into drunken soppy messes at the table, one by one. Her rolls had been on fire, and she'd known when to take a step away and when to come back at it. Her purse was overflowing with their coin in addition to hers, and even though she'd not won every roll, she'd won enough significant ones to amass a small fortune. But the sounds of heavy footfalls and harsh voices outside of the inn drew the game to a close, and Viana quickly collected her winnings before she scampered out the back door. She'd sleep in the wagon tonight, but winning as much coin as she had would be worth it in the end.<br/><br/>Smiling to herself, she meandered toward the road, feigning ignorance as the guard rushed into the tavern. A wicked laugh escaped her as the men were carried out and sent to sober up as she continued her journey. The evening was quiet, peaceful even, until she'd made it up the street and near a second inn that her greatest actors were enjoying. Perhaps she would beg Naeva to allow her a spot to sleep.<br/><br/><b>"You think you can just walk out of there with that much ease, m'lady?"</b><br/><br/>Viana spun on her heel to look behind her. Standing there was Gangrenous Mouth and his horrible lackeys. She should have known that he would not handle being out gambled by a woman so well.<b>"Indeed I did, sir. If you'd excuse me, I wish to retire for the night."</b><br/><br/>The large man shook his head and continued to advance. Viana knew that she stood no chance against a group of men, unless, of course, she got a little creative. Unfortunately, the time it took for her to come up with an idea was too long, and her enemy grasped her arm with his large hands to pull her toward him.<b>"Unhand me you bastard!"</b>Viana shouted, before she used her body to defend herself. With her free arm, she lopped the man good in the side of the head and then with her knee, she attempted to thrust up into his abdomen, but before she could do so, she was apprehended by two other men and pushed into the side of a building.<br/><br/>Viana could hear music and laughter inside the building she rested against. Maybe if she yelled loud enough, someone would come to her aid.<br/><br/><b>"We're taking our gold back,"</b>The man spat as he held the side of his face where she'd punched him.<b>"And then I'm stealing your virtue - if you even have it."</b>That was an insult and Viana felt her face heat with rage. How dare he! She was a<i>proper lady</i>, or as proper of a lady one could get when traveling with goblins, halflings, and other less than accepted races. Handling her like this was mostly uncalled for.<br/><br/>Viana said as much.<b>"You shall do nothing of the sort! Release me this instant or you'll regret it!"</b>She had too much pride to yell for help. Little did she know, she had unknowingly done just that though.<br/><br/>Tag:<a class="username" data-user-id="11" data-username="@Miren Baines" data-xf-init="member-tooltip" href="https://blackdahliaroleplaying.com/members/11/">@Miren Baines</a>