Forums » General Roleplay » Trick or Treat: Whiskey & Wagers

Valencea walked into the saloon and looked around. She was dressed in her usual clothes, plus a trench-coat, and she was wearing a charm and a sprig of holly. "Well, boy oh boy," she said calmly, placing her gun by the door, "looks like I'm gonna have to try my luck, aren't I? It's a regular party in here."
She walked toward the bar, noise jabbering around her, and stepped into a place at the counter.
"Whaddya got, bartend?" she asked cheekily. "I'm a bit thirsty, so something to quench that would be welcome." she eyed the various things behind the bar, and glanced behind her. Had to keep an eye out for things after all.

Persistence is a trait of a good hanging judge, and Roy Lawless was no different. No one to give up easily, he tried his luck again. Alas it was to no avail.... Justice is indeed slow, and good fortune slower

The place was really hopping! Smitty might have to get Fred (who was still doing his best to avoid Esme) to quit playing the piano and come help him serve drinks if this kept up.

"Got beer, Ol' Snakehead, and Sarsaparilla..." he answered Valencea, giving her attire an obvious once over, then gestured at the table of yellow painted rocks. "Nobody won the bottle of the high grade stuff yet. Care to try?"

"Mister, you need another shot?" he asked Roy. "Maybe it'll improve your aim on them horseshoes..."

"Sarsaparilla, if you don't mind," said Valencea, leaning to one side to let someone pass by. "And bread or meat if you have any. What kinda money do you take?"
The piano jangled on in the background, and someone was laughing. All in all, it was a very merry atmosphere. Gradually, Valencea began to relax. The look the bartender was giving her wasn't exactly comfortable, but it was to be expected and at least he was obvious about it.
She could smell sage somewhere. A homey scent...
"Nice place you got here, by the way."

“Jest the first town I come to on my trail.” Nate said to the barkeep. He dropped a nickel on the bar for a fresh beer

“Guess these rocks are for turning over each drink?” He asked as he flipped another yellow rock over...

He turned to see others come through the door, and deemed them nobody he was currently looking for for bounty.

He took his beer and decided to try his luck with a left-handed toss of the horseshoe...

“Guess I best stick to my gun hand fir these here horseshoes.” He said to nobody in particulars...

Smitty grabbed a (mostly) clean glass and filled it with the Sarsaparilla beverage "Two cents," he said as he slid it toward her. "Coins is preferred, but we'll take paper, s'long as they ain't state notes."

But to her question about bread or meat, he shook his head. "Sorry, don't got a kitchen or a cook here. Got some peanuts for a half-dime if you want?" They were extra salty to encourage patrons to buy more drinks.

He grinned as she complimented the saloon. " 'ppreciate it." As much as Paul Smith liked to play the hard-a$$, he took a measure of pride in this place. And it felt nice to have others take note of it.

The stranger's answer left Smitty unsatisfied. But he knew better than to press hard. Could make a man awfully jumpy. "If you're stickin' round long, I know a few places hirin'," he offered instead.

"How 'bout you, miss? Been in town long?"




((I know it wasn't an official rule, but 1 roll a day (for each) in OOC time seem reasonable? ))

The girl took the glass of dark brownish drink, and took a hesitant sip. It was good. Earthy, sweet, a little medicinal-tasting. She reached into a pocket, and after a moment, retrieved 3 cents. She frowned, put one back; then fished it back out along with a dime.
Giving the man a wary glance, she asked, "Peanuts and another half glass of Sarsaparilla?"
She was definitely going to put some peanuts in her pocket. And, maybe, try out one of those games..... She wouldn't normally spend money like this, but of course, it was a party. Or a celebration, at least, and she was getting food, so....
"Not long, no sir. I've been traveling for some time and happened by. I might stay a bit." She put her money on the counter. "That's two servings of peanuts, please." She added.

"You ain't in some kinda trouble, are ya?" he asked as he scooped up her coins, noticing the wary look she gave him. They had enough trouble of their own and didn't need to be borrowing anyone else's. Never-the-less, he filled two tin bowls extra high with peanuts and the second glass of the beverage was well more than half full.

"hirin' ya say? Yeah I could stay around a bit if'n need be." Nathan said to the barkeep as he sipped his beer. 'Ya got rooms upstairs or are they only for billiards?" he added. He could use a bit of a rest.

He looked over at the sasperilla drinking woman and gave her a nod as he downed the rest of his beer. "Guess'n I'll flip one more rock and toss one more shoe..." he said as he readjusted his hat.

"Well Damn.... hot 'bout dat?" he said as he looked at the number on the rock.

"Don't rent no rooms here," Smitty said with a shake of his head. "There's a hotel down the road though." He cracked a wide smile when he saw the 100. "Hey Freddy! We got a winner! Wanna get the man his prize while I'm tending these customers?" Smitty yelled out to the piano player. He didn't mind if he had to keep entertaining the ladies while Flinch took care of their grand prize for the night.

Flinch looked over and waved, then played a short celebration tune to liven up the crowd even more before ending by running his finger down the entire length of the keyboard.

"I was gettin' worried we wouldn't manage one," he said as he tapped the ash off his cigarette, then stood up and went to fetch the special bottle they'd procured for tonight.

"All the way from Cal-e-for-ni-a!" he announced as he handed it over, along with a clean shot glass should Nathan choose to drink it tonight. "And these too," he said, pulling out a wooden box as he slid the top open.

The box contained a set of dueling flintlock pistols. Outdated for sure, but looked like they probably still worked, though aren't loaded.

Nate picked up one of the flintlocks and looked at the hammer. Definitely used but in good order. “Seen some duels these.” he said while putting it back in the box.

He closed it and nodded as he looked at the bottle of whiskey. Now this was some top-notch. “Get yer self a glass too, an one fer the barkeep. Bet y’all been itch’n ’ta have a taste.” he said as he pulled the cork and poured himself a shot. He quickly downed it while the piano player looked fo more glasses.

He poured himself another and filled the other glasses then looked around at the ladies and the lawman. “Would you all want one too?”

He figured he would have a half bottle to take with him to the hotel the barkeep mentioned.

"T-trouble? Uh, n-no sir. Uh. I- I, no. Not really. Per say. Not the kind you'd need to worry about anyway, sir. Thank you." She bit her lip, thinking about the various undead... Creatures... She had killed along the way. She didn't think there were any more, and if there were, she goes they wouldn't follow her. If they did... Well, they wouldn't. Because they didn't do that. So she wouldn't worry about it too much unless she saw another one.
Her eyes widened as she saw the high-filled bowls and glass, and gulped. She was overcome with a faint wave of emotion, for a moment. How long had it been since something this kind and simple had happened? She wasn't sure. Not too long, certainly.
But long enough. She blinked away tears as she thanked the man, taking the bowls first, then the glass.
She returned the nod of the man nearby.
She unceremoniously dumped one bowlful into her coat pocket, grinned up at the man, and ate a peanut from the other bowl. "Thank you very much, sir. I'm much obliged to ye." She nodded several times, then turned around slightly startled as she heard the showtune-like sound of the piano, and people cheering. It seemed one of the other people who had accompanied her bar space had won a prize.
It was the blonde cowman, she thought.
"Well, congratulations, sir," she said, smiling, and graciously accepting his offer of a drink. She only wanted a sip, really, but it was kind of him to offer some.
"Thanks very much, sir, and I'm off for a moment. I think I'm fit to play one of those games, and I'm aiming for horseshoes." She grinned, a twinkle in her eye. "I'll be taking these with me?" She held up the salty peanuts in their bowl.
She was excited for the first time in who knew how long? And she aimed to play for fun if not for prizes. But also, maybe, for prizes. Although really the whole evening was pretty much a great treat.

Esme was in no rush to get the specifics of the deal down. Smitty had agreed to help her with her problem, and that was what she’d come for. The rest of the negotiations could be done either swift and messily, or she could take her time and make sure that she didn’t pay a penny less than what she truly intended. No matter the price, Smitty would claim, it would be cheaper than the business she lost due to that two-timing cowboy.

“I don’t gamble, Paul,” she replied at his mention of a roulette. She’d never seen the thrilling part of losing ones money that quickly, and she was already wealthy enough that even winning the jackpot wouldn’t mean much at the bottom line. “But Jack might come. If he’s done touring ‘round like some nomad... I’ll make sure he brings a sizeable donation for y’all’s roulette, if ya make sure he keeps outta trouble. Boy’s been a real pain recently.”

She turned slightly on her chair to look at the people playing by the horseshoes. She wasn’t interested in playing that either, but Smitty had other patrons to attend to, and Esme wasn’t about to draw suspicion onto herself by stealing all of his attention.

“That’s mighty fine of ya, sir, but I’ll decline your offer,” Esme said politely to the man who’d just won the big price. She wasn’t a fan of whiskey, and she wasn’t about to drink a glass simply for the sake of drinking it.

“As for the price, Paul,” she said, as if they were talking about anything from a horse to a bottle of brandy. “I’m sure we’ll find somethin’ mutually beneficial. I know ya wouldn’t try to cheat or trick me, would ya now?”

The pair of saloon owners both agreed to sample the winning bottle of the good stuff, after which they probably gave out a few more free drinks than originally intended. Smitty was running low on Sarsaparilla, so when Valencea got a leaner on the horseshoes, he passed her one of the baked goods instead.

But he smirked at Esme, getting more careless with his words as the effects of the whiskey were taking hold, "Sure I wouldn't mind your tricks, Mrs. Wilkerson," which he seemed to find amusing, even if she likely did not.

And as the night drew to a close, Fred sat down at the piano one last time.

"Thanks for stoppin' by. Hope ta see y'all here next Saturday night! We'll be hosting roulette and Faro. Ladies drinks'll be half price!"



((OOC: Thanks to all that participated! It was nice to meet a few new characters and to reunite with some familiar faces!))

Valencea, flushing with her win, thanked the host profusely and toasted the last of her drink.
"I'm much obliged, sir," she said. "You say there was a hotel somewhere down this street?"
She carefully stowed the last of her peanuts, and waved and nodded goodbye to a couple of the other patrons.
She returned her glass to the counter to be wiped.

Nate downed the drink that wasn’t taken and gave a nod to the lady. “Ma’am” he said as he set the glass down. Grabbing the bottle with one ha d he adjusted his hat with the other.

“Thankee for an entertaining night” he said and tapped his hat to the barkeep. “Maybe see ya around if’n I stay in town.” He grabbed a sweet off the counter and headed for the door.

"Thanks for the entertainment, sir," she smiles, "and the peanuts and drinks.... And the baked goods, sir," she added bashfully. "Although. I think I did pretty well on that horseshoe game, don't you?" She grinned.
Valencea tucked in her shirt, buttoned her coat the rest of the way, and waved goodbye. "Happy All-Hallow's Eve, sir, and goodnight."
Stepping to the door and getting her gun, she took another look around the bar once more, bolstered herself, and stepped outside. She closed the door. Time to find a place to rest.......