After the antes are in, Lucan lets his tongue graze very lightly over the glinting tip of a canine tooth before settling into his impeccable, unaffected, and wry little smile again.  "And so it continues..."<br/><br/>He lets his fingertips rest lightly on the top of the deck, flicking cards without lifting them, sending each flying in a small loop-- their symmetry like little coordinated stunt planes as they each land, face up, alongside each player's hand.<br/><br/>CHAIR 3: Cynthia.......XX Js Qc 4c<br/><br/>Lucan clucks his tongue... "No help there... best hand is three of a kind."<br/><br/>CHAIR 4: Jim..............XX 3c Ah 9s<br/><br/>"Likewise, the strait's busted... but three aces would be dandy..."<br/><br/>DEALER: Lucan...........XX 10c 7d W!<br/><br/>"Goodness... still a straight in the works, or maybe even four of a kind..."  he chuckles wryly.<br/><br/>His wildcard shows an octopus rising from the sea, depicted in the style of 18th century engravings.  It reads, "You may double the ante for every hand from this point forward... if you choose."<br/><br/>Grinning, he eyes the players.  "I'm willing to hear your opinions on this..?  Moving on..."  The cards keep flying.<br/><br/>CHAIR 1: Sally..........XX  3s 5d W!<br/><br/>The wildcard depicts the skyline of a Louis XIV's palace at Versailles, with a massive, red moon behind it.  "Burn an offering of silk for 5 times your ante."<br/><br/>Lucan lifts a brow.  "The question is, do you have any..?  Or are you going to have to try to buy some from another player?"  he grins broadly, offering a seductively slow wink.  "And no synthetics, either.  Real only."<br/><br/>CHAIR 2: Andi............XX 5d 2s 2d<br/><br/>He smirks.  "Four of a kind, potentially... lots of that going around."  His gaze lingers on her for a moment longer, a moment that, recollected, must have taken only a half of a second, but at the time seemed to be a full minute.