Bar Talk
"I can't believe Golden Teeth got killed…"
"What the hell are you saying? His place burned down and there are dead bodies inside, nobody knows if Golden Teeth is even amongst them…"
"Well, well, well! Such skepticism coming from Golden Teeth's biggest competitor? You're making yourself sound suspicious, my friend!"
"Heh, there are basically as many people that would have wanted to kill this guy than there are people in this goddamn city, this guy was an idiotic prick whose interest rates were way too high!"
"Keep it down, will you? Didn't you hear who was in charge of the investigation?"
"Ssss… Why in hell would I know?! That freaking investigation starts in the middle of the night and it's morning, 'how do you know?' is a much better question!"
"Don't sssss at me! I am just well-informed…"
"Bleh, it's because you're in bed with the guards!"
"You'll get to talk about my wife when you can get yours off your back, alright?"
"That- That has absolutely nothing to do with this conversation! And besides, it just means that she cares about me-"
"Anyways! As our dear tusked friend over there just mentioned, the lovely, and very beautiful woman whomst sleeps in the same bed I- Is a city guard and was on shift the night just before, and so she told me who was in charge of the investigation this morning!"
"And?"
"It's Prosecutor Yi!"
"Who- Oh, the guy with those clear blue eyes that make it look like he is staring right into your soul? I remember him, I thought he had gone to become a royal prosecutor, what the hell is he doing here?"
The game of poker was on hold as the four regulars of this table spoke amongst themselves, Cigar was surprised at the mention of this prosecutor, Snake was hissing and really didn't care at all, to him Golden Teeth getting what he deserved was only right, Tusk was grumbling to himself that his wife nagging him was actually a sign of love and a healthy relationship, while Twig was just holding his chin high, looking content that he had been able to mention his guard wife to everyone here.
Meanwhile, Edrick was just listening to the conversation with his usual smile plastered in his face, not bothering to join in as their ramblings were already fairly interesting.
"You seem to have bad memories about him?" asked Twig.
"Don't mention it, I was once suspected of tax evasion and he almost called those official debt collectors or something…" Cigar shuddered "...I may not be completely clean, but let it be known that I am neither crazy nor stupid enough to mess with these guys!"
"Huh… But do you know why he is back in Oie?" Tusk asked Cigar"s question again, but Twig just shrugged.
"Who knows? My wife told me he just showed up in front of the burnt building out of nowhere and took the head of the investigation"
"Welp, in any case, they'll probably be having one hell of a time sorting through all of the people that owed him money, this guy was so greedy, that basically no one that ever borrowed money from him managed to pay him back, half of the city probably had to pay him something every month…" Snake was grossly exaggerating, but it was true that there were quite a few people that had to cough up money to Golden Teeth regularly, each and every one of them was a possible suspect.
"Moving back to the topic at hand… I am folding, I am not feeling it" Tusk dropped his cards, which made Snake hiss in a sort of amused manner.
"You've been folding every round, my friend, you who is usually so bold and reckless! Did your woman give that much of an earful when you lost your coins to Edrick last time?"
"N-No… I am just not feeling it alright?"
"Unconvincing as ever" Twig chimed in "To think that such a big guy would let his wife wear the pants in the relationship…"
"You should be careful, you like to brag about your guard wife, and considering the requirements, and just how you are, I don't even need proof to know that you obey her every words like a good puppy" Cigar swooped inn Tusk's defence, Twig wanted to to rebuke but decided to settle down, seemed like Cigar's assumption was correct.
"Whatever, I am folding too, even if he is bluffing, my hand is too bad to compare"
"Same for me"
"Yeah, same here…"
The four regulars all folded, none of them had what could be called a good hand, and they honestly couldn't be bothered to try and read Anoteros, this guy who had shown up out of nowhere and was definitely nobility seeing how nonchalantly he could be bet silver Leyens, was simply too good at masking his thoughts and intentions, whatever was happening, he always maintained that same expression.
"Everyone is folding? That's handy, I didn't even have a pair" he casually stated whilst dragging the pot full of coins toward him as the four other men all slumped in their seats at the same time, they hadn't played many games with Edrick, but the few that they had, he had managed to get inside their heads every single time.
"I'll be calling it a day" he announced, and proceeded to pocket the coins he had himself betted, whilst once again funneling all of the rest into the bar and paying drinks for everyone.
"Heh, I wonder what will happen to this place now that Golden Teeth is dead, he is the owner after all" Twig leaned back and looked around.
"Can't know for sure, but considering that the barman was doing everything, the only thing that changes in theory is having to give part of the revenues to Golden Teeth, that won't be necessary anymore" replied Cigar after exhaling some smoke.
"Speaking of the devil, the barman is speaking with Edrick over there…" Snake remarked.
"Maybe he wants him to buy the bar? That guy seems to be drowning in money, he probably could" spoke Tusk as he crossed his arms, that loss just now didn't hurt him that much as he was betting the minimum possible anyways.
"Aaaand, they are gone further in, maybe you're right and he'll buy it, wouldn't change much, he does seem to enjoy the patrons here"
"Of the female kind, you mean, I don't think a single of the regulars of that sort didn't fall for his charms"
"I would have been envious once… But now that I have a beautiful wi-"
"Oh shut the hell up man"