((Logged 2/13/01 by Duran))

-=-=-=-=-=-=Poker in a Tavern-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Duran walks in, his rifle leaning on his shoulder, and waves to Joseph as he 
slides into a stool. "Hey, Colonel."

Joseph nods curtly.  "Any news, private?"

Duran points to his former wound. "Lithia healed up my wound a while back." He 
shakes his head at the Colonel's question. "ID checks are in. No suspicious 
characters around the city."

Joseph shakes his head.  "If I were a rebel, I wouldn't let a day go by without 
causing some sort of a ruccus."  He pulls out a smallish bag of jerkey.  
"Snack?"

Duran eyes the bag suspiciously. "Soylent?" he asks before putting his hand in 
the bag.

Joseph nods cheerfully. "Yeah.  You just can't get this brand in Dazil."  He 
grabs a piece himself.  "I really wish the stores would stock it."

Duran shakes his head. "No, if it's your stock I'd rather not take any." He 
draws a bottle of Rosesol from his pocket and begins drinking it methodically. 
"Besides, Rosesol's more refreshing after target practice in the desert..."

Joseph looks suspisiously at Duran.  "You think I'd try to poison my own men?"

Duran shakes his head. "No, I mean if it's so rare in Dazil I'd rather just you 
have it." He takes a sip of the Rosesol. "I'm not terribly hungry at the moment 
anyway." He wonders if Joseph is a bit paranoid, then waves off the thought.

Joseph shrugs.  "It's not that hard for a Colonel to get the snack fod of his 
choice, but allright."  He slips the bag away again, and pulls out a pack of 
cards.  "Poker?"

Duran grins. "Yeah." He reaches into his pocket and draws out some bills, which  
he tosses to Joseph. "Twenty."

Joseph shakes his head idly. "Youth..."  He rounds up another two soldiers and 
deals out the cards.

Duran looks sadly at his cards, which hold four tens and an ace, and sniffs. 
"Aww..." Mentally he's cheering. He takes a five out of his pocket and tosses it 
on the table. "Raise it five."

Joseph nods idly, and matches the bet.  The play goes arround the table, with 
one of th emooks folding.  "Alright," says joseph idly, "Got two pair."

Duran proudly lays down his four tens and ace. "Four tens! ...And an ace." He 
grins as one of the soldiers slaps him on the back- hard. "Thanks."

Joseph rolls his eyes up.  "One hand, does not a victory make."  He pushes the 
pile of cash to Duran, and deals out a new hand.

-=-=-=Twenty minutes later...=-=-=-

Joseph looks suspisiously at the small mound of cash in front of Duran.  "You're 
gonna let me win some of that back, yeah?"

Duran shrugs. "You're the commanding officer." He groans as his cards come in. A 
pair of twos, a five, a six, an ace, and a King doesn't make his hand very good. 
"Okay, I fold." He drops the cards so every soldier can see it, and pushes the 
chips towards Joseph.

Joseph saddly shows his own hand... two sevens.  THe soldier to his left 
cheerfully throws down three fours, and scrapes the winnings into his lap.

Duran shakes his head at the winning soldier. "You got lucky..." He takes a swig 
of the Rosesol, and pushes a five-dollar chip into the pot. "Okay, deal 'em." 
The Rosesol is having a woozing effect on him, and he begins to get a 
little....tired...

-=-=-=Twenty minutes later...=-=-=-

Joseph looks down at the pile of cash, now in front of him.  "Looks like my luck 
has changed," he says cheerfully.  "Ante up, gentlemen."  he deals out another 
hand.

Duran takes the hand and tosses in a chip. "You know, Colonel, it looks like the 
Arena Tournament is starting up again..." he says casually while glancing over 
his cards. "I might join the arena, get some exercise...Is it alright if I take 
a few days off to fight in the arena?"

Joseph waves a hand dismisively. "Sure, I'd be a bit suprised if you and Kale 
didn't go.  I'm planning on attending myself, although not in a participating 
role.  Maybe I'll be a judge."  He tosses in three G.  "Raise."

Duran shrugs and shifts at his ugly cards. "I fold." Another run of bad luck has 
emptied Duran of 10 G. "Hey, can you take me when I go? Sand's starting to 
irritate me." He wishes for the umpteenth time the GA-GS owned a sandbuggy, and 
lays down his cards. "Unless I wanna be late...of course..."

Joseph nods, scraping in the money.  "Oh, sure.  I'll give Kale and you a ride 
in the Matama.  It's not good for anything else.  Ante up."

-=-=-=Twenty minutes later...=-=-=-

Joseph glares at Duran... the money having split up pretty evenly between the 
two of the.. at the expense of the two poor sods playing with them.  "Ante up." 

Duran tosses in 10 G, and grins. "You got any inkling as if Makkani or any of 
those Kislevi characters will show up?" He scratches his head and blinks at his 
cards. "From what I hear, Arena makes us use wooden weapons. Not so sure if 
that'll impress those outlaws."where

Joseph rolls his eyes up, and deals Duran his cards... four aces and a seven.  
"If Makkani is stupid enough to appear in the middle of a gathering of Aveh 
warriors, surrounded by Aveh and Geblr forces, he deserves what's comming to 
him."  He looks at his cards, and pushes half of his pile towards Duran. "I'll 
raise all this."

Duran shakes his head. "You should really learn the art of a fine poker face." 
He lays down four aces, and basks in glory as the other blokes drop ugly card 
combinations, worse than him. "Whee!" His money sack is filled with chips 
(completely useless in Dazil), after a few hours of playing poker with the 
soldiers.

Joseph glares angrilly at Duran.  "Getting a bit ahead of yourself, arn't you?  
You haven't seen my hand yet."pose is a bit stung by Joseph, and draws the chips 
back out. "Gee, take a..." He cuts himself off, and pours the chips onto the 
table again. "Okay. Let's see." His hand is poised, ready to sweep the chips 
back into the bag when Joseph shows his cards.

Duran is a bit stung by Joseph, and draws the chips back out. "Gee, take a..." 
He cuts himself off, and pours the chips onto the table again. "Okay. Let's 
see." His hand is poised, ready to sweep the chips back into the bag when Joseph 
shows his cards.

Duran pours the chips into his bag, then remembers the chips aren't used as 
currency in Dazil. "Hey...uh, can I get these chips changed back into G?" He 
needs to make some purchases, and he's not so sure if the shopkeeps will take 
poker chips o_O