Meredith amuses herself by sending tiny puffs of wind flittering around the group, and, once she has time to reflect, turns her sandals the same colour as her dress.  She inspects the tunnel entry....as they head in...just in case they may need to use it to make a somewhat soggy exit....

( Prestidigitation.)

As they reach the cusp of where the Styx reaches the cliff side, Erudisia makes a sign of Correllon, one used at the funerals of elves. She begins to hum, quietly. A mournful, haunting lament. 

The ferrier ably navigates your boat downstream and into an underground channel. As the cave mouth swallows you, you hear music over the echo of a distant waterfall.

A few minutes later, the ceiling rises high above your heads, and dancing lights bob around hanging stalactites over a cavernous underground chamber. The Afterlife Casino!

The river curves through the casino floor, splitting the chamber in two and passing under arched stone bridges at various points. Card tables and other gaming stations surrounded by chattering patrons fill the open space. A cheer rises from somewhere deeper in the cavern, which is decorated to suggest excitement, opportunity, and excess.

The ferrier steers your boat toward the left bank, and the gondola rocks as it bumps up against a wooden dock. The ferrier then raises one hand, gesturing at the glittering sights before you, and intones in a deep, raspy voice: “Welcome to the Afterlife. Temptation awaits.”

As Bell's senses adjusted from the serene movement on the water to the casino interior, her senses were assaulted from every angle.   

The smell of something metallic on top of bodies and a heavily spiced meat.  The sounds of cards whirring in the hands of the dealers. The bells and whistles of the various slot machines, and the racketing noise of their levers being pulled. The jingling of coins. The playground of garish and strobing lights. The murmur of the crowds. The clicking of a roulette wheel, the way red and black rush together as it spins.

The sight of gold and silver and bronze and exquisite fountains and statuary. The high rollers in their suits gliding like predators;  the man sobbing in the corner because he' had lost everything. The rough-brushed feel of the green felt on the craps table, and the soft tumble of the dice.

The exalted shout: "We have another winner.  Place your bets for the next round!"

She was breathless for a good span as the energy of this place hit her.

Meredith was surprised by how at home she felt, there were certain similarities between the Casinos decor choices ( metals, plush deep reds and scarlets) that reminded her of the drudachs in the Jewel Ward and the perfumed palaces of minor royalty and merchants....not that she got to visit them too often but the experiences were memorable.

She didn't recognize any of the games but those were likely to be regional she supposed, she caught the look on Bells face and was enraptured for a moment before- steeling herself back to business with a tight nod to herself.  Temptation awaits......

She made eye contact with Little One and checked the others as she made to step off the boat.....this was going to be a difficult removal for the big man and all the easier if his four sirens were no longer aboard.

Temptation lies before them, indeed. The Moonshae lady’s gasp is lost in the excitement and lights of the casino, sinking into the ‘Styx’ just as surely as the copper piece she flicks into its waters directly. 

As the ferryman helps her from the pontoon onto the Casino floor, she leaves a half-silver piece behind in thanks, then comes to stand beside Little One. The card tables and the gaming machines dominate what she can see, and she tracks the dancing lights as they swirl around the lights and clattering coins of those who win and those who throw good money after bad. Which will they five be? It may be several days before this gamble truly pays off, but, like in every game chance, they might lose with every hand they play. She steels herself. They are not here for play, and she knows her four companions are as serious as she. 

Marliza steps out of the boat, and then Little One. Two tiefling hosts at the dock both wrap lead lines around pilings and pull hard to keep the gondola steady as the ogre steps off. But one of them slips, the rope whips out of his hands, and he stumbles and splashes into the water, a few drops flying onto Marliza’s combat boots. Little One swallows a concerned gasp at the tiefling’s plight, but staying in character, merely raises an eyebrow. “You got water on her shoes. What you say?”

“S-s-s-sorry!,” the tiefling in the water blubs.

Little One turns around and offers his arm to Marliza again. The other tiefling host helps the one in the water out of the water.

You try to get your bearings among the overwhelming sounds and sights.

Directly north of you is an area with large flashing signs displaying the word “Dis.” This section contains rows of copper slot machines and five life and death tables, each with a different bet value: 1 cp, 5 cp, 1 sp, 1 gp, and 10 gp.

East, across the stream from you stands a sign in devilish print with the word “Avernus” glittering upon it. This area holds three-dragon ante tables and copper slot machines. Just south of the game tables are two cashier booths. Just north of the games area is a secluded lounge that holds a small bar as well as chairs and couches. A security mirror hangs in the southeast corner overlooking the games area.

A crowd is forming along a very long gaming table of some kind along the western wall near you, on this side of the stream. Over it, a sign emblazoned with a blinking word: Minauros.

The gondola you came in on heads back upstream (i.e., southward).

Afterlife Casino Entrance (real)(This map shows your locations with blue letters. "L" is Little One; "mz" is Marliza)

Afterlife Casino Map (drawing from Verity)

(Would we know the games described? Life and Death, or Three Dragone Ante?)

(Also, what might we know of the Hells? As scholars, is there anything we might infer about the casino and its organisation from the named parts of the hell so far. If this is as devilish as we expect, is there fiendishly obnoxious in-your-face boasts implied and therefore weakness/a specific fiend perhaps?) 

Erudisia takes in the sight of the games, the wet Tiefling as it pulls its self from the water and the serene water that froths and churns only seconds before it drops away. 

“I’m a little peckish. I could peck, if you’re happy to eat before we explore the tournament.”

(I’m thinking the lower level waterfall and restaurant might be worth seeing in terms of an escape route. I assume Little One doesn’t need to join the tournament now, if it starts tomorrow? But we could go to find that out first — if you don’t want to split up of course.) 

(All of you can decide for yourselves whether you know the rules or not. You definitely have the option of knowing the rules.  It  is up to you to decide whether or not your character has played, and if so, how experienced they are. 

Three-Dragon Ante is a card game played in many taverns across Faerûn, across all levels of society. The game is sometimes called Copper Dragons or Three-copper when played by peasants, as well as Golds or Plats when played by adventurers and aristocrats. Proficiencies in Deception, Insight, Perception, and Sleight of Hand support one's outcomes...

Life and Death is a dice game played between the house (represented by a dealer) and a player. While up to five players can sit at a table, their only opponent is the house. It is purely a game of chance. Only the Lucky feat gives one a leg up, although one can cheat with various spells or Sleight of Hand...

You can make a knowledge roll to see how much you know about the Nine Hells. As scholars, we can say that all three of you detect a lack of scholarship in the overall setup, the details of which I leave to you to describe…)

Meredith nodded to Erudisia, her current interest was the circus and the staff entry door beside it but it was probably best to take a circuitous route there and food sounded like a bonus, she linked her elbow through Bells and pulled her along after the others.

Bell was floating between the islands of isolated games, bombarded by the rushing noise and lights of the casino.  It was so much to take in at once.  She stopped in place - a bit stunned - until she felt the insistant tug on her arm.  Bell's  eyes tracked up from the hand on her arm to the body attached to that arm and the face atop the form.   'Meredith,' she thought and smiled. Her momentary paralysis broken by a familiar and caring face.

Willingly, Bell let Meredith guide her to their next destination within the casino.

Erudisia takes Little One’s arm in the same fashion that Meredith holds Bell’s, as a quartet she leads them to the stairs down to the waterfall restaurant. 

Like a bejeweled hand drawing slowly but steadily through a drawer full of shining baubles, you move through the casino patrons, Little One parting the multicolored throng with Erudisia on his arm, while the others take in the sights and sounds in their wake.

The long table to your left, it turns out, is a race track. Rats dressed as tiny journeyman or valets squeak and chirp as they run an oblong obstacle course loop. Onlookers shout encouragement or watch tensely depending on their bets.

Peering between casino guests wandering to and fro, you note a row of three old guild master’s wives pulling the levers of mechanical slots, mindlessly feeding in copper coins one by one. One smiles joylessly when she wins and scoops up the few coppers that rain out, only to feed them back in again. 

Dealers, bartenders, and other floor employees all wear sleek uniforms that consist of black tuxedo pants and red jackets with thin lapels. Security guards with chain shirts under their jackets, wielding maces and crossbows, patrol the cavern. From every employee’s head sprout a pair of twisting horns. Tieflings, all. You notice, hanging on silken cords around their necks, discs of green metal embossed with a devil’s smiling, winking visage. The key cards, you assume, which allow passage through the casino’s security doors.

Halfway to the northern end of the room, a cheerful voice pierces the hubbub. 

“Why, what could bring the very jewel of Moonshae from her shining stage lights to this purgatory of lost souls?”

If Erudisia turns, she recognizes the speaker, an elf noble called Rythil Ire. No more than a century in age, young that is, he stands at the bar taking in the scene with a martini in hand. Erudisia remembers he attended one of her dance performances back home and made a pass afterwards. She had demurred. Minutes later, she discovered him, winking mirthfully, in a costume closet with her understudy, who seemed quite happy to enjoy his attentions…

(Oh sugar. Also, how many guards have we seen.)

Instinctively, habitually, before she can catch herself, Erudisia offers her gloved hand to Ire.

She raises her eyebrow at him, challenging. After his response she steps back, taking his martini playfully if she can. 

”I was told the bright and the bold of the Sword Coast come to the Afterlife Casino to seek their just rewards.” Erudisia spins so that her dress flairs in an elegant revolution. “Where better for a jewel to shine? My friend here so struggles to find a time piece of suitable refinement and size.” She places one arm around Little One’s wrist once more. “And so, c’est moi. Which reminds me, we must confirm the tournament Little One.”

If Ire seeks to join them she will lead the quartet to the tournament in case the inveterate rake can offer some perspective on the event and security around the statuette. Otherwise she will head to restaurant as planned. 

(Please roll Perception to try to confirm a count of the roving Security Guards.)

Rhythil Ire takes Erudisia’s gloved hand and brushes her knuckle with his lips, as if nothing in the world were more important at this moment. His eyes joyfully flick to hers then, and he replies, not missing a beat. “Bold and beautiful? Why I’ll take that as a compliment, Erudisia. It applies to you too, of course, hahaha! But you must join me for a drink… won’t you excuse us,” he’s indeed bold enough to try to wrest the elvish warlock from Little One’s arm. The ogre glances quickly to Erudisia, having no idea how to react, but takes his cue from her and frowns.

“We in hurry little elf man. Following winning of tournament, you may speak. Now she good luck charm.” He pulls Erudisia with a light tug which is enough, however, to almost knock Ire off his feet. He recovers well though, and shouts “I have gossip!,” as an offering in parting, before returning to the bar with a wink.

Your party continues through the throng, crossing one of the decoratively arched bridges over The Styx, before reaching the little stairway leading down to the restaurant. From this spot, you see the terrace at the northern edge of the casino. It is bordered by a guard rail three feet tall, but otherwise opens out to blackness. A number of persons stand on the terrace, looking out upon the night beside the place where The Styx plunges away with a subtly rushing sound.

Meredith watched as Erudisia disengaged herself, with Little Ones assistance and did her best to keep an eye on things, though standing next to Bell there were ample other distractions for her eyes as they followed Erudisia towards the tournament.

Down a spiral staircase you walk, Little One barely managing the confined space. You emerge into a dining area with eight tables, five of which are occupied. The room is bordered by a three-foot high stone wall. The darkness beyond is divided into four sections by three inch-thick waterfalls, like shimmering floor to ceiling curtains, channeling downwards from the The Styx’s runoff above with a subtle bubbling whoosh. You can hear where the waterfalls hit the sea, the sound mixing with roaring waves far below. Judging by the angle of a lighthouse on a promontory nearby, you must be 100’ above sea level. 

A sign welcomes you to the Nessus restaurant. A menu is displayed on a small easel which you can peruse momentarily while a tiefling host approaches to seat your party.

NESSUS—MENU

Appetizers

Seasonal pan-fried fungi with garlic butter • 2 cp

Spicy shredded stirge sliders • 3 cp

Main Dishes

Abyssal chicken egg omelet • 1 sp

Otto’s irresistible noodles • 5 cp

Otyugh steak, well done • 3 sp

Desserts & Drinks

Night hag’s delight (blackberry tart) • 2 cp

Stench kow cheese plate • 2 cp

Nessian liqueur • 2 cp

Coffee/tea • 1 cp (first cup is complimentary!)

Erudisia pours into a seat like velvetized cocoa, one leg crossing the other, one elbow propping her across the table in a sprawl of insouciant decadence.

She indicates the waiter should bring two of everything, except the Nessian Liquers, of which they should bring five. 

When they are gone she speaks again.

”I am sorely interested in that gossip, but it would be a bigger gamble in this casino than one I should care to wager that Ire have anything useful for us. Still, thank you for keeping him from taking me hostage Little One.”

She pauses. “That waterfall falls awfully far, doesn’t it.” She dare not be less oblique with no guarantee of privacy. 

Indeed, as the waiter with the host’s help, brings the drinks and spreads the table with plates and utensils, you all notice the security mirror in the far corner. According to Verity, whatever is seen (though not what is heard) is relayed through the magic mirrors to the casino’s security office.

Meredith drags her attantion away from Bells shoulder and other...areas....and slightly panics at the menu before- realizing that the dishes are theme named and hopefully not composed of the stated ingredients.

She regards the mirror and then the rest of the customers with a sweeping gaze, and whispered, " You know....being taken to the security office would get us right next to where we need to be......of course we'd be in custody...."