Alice Quest - The Seven-Colored Puppeteer's Week v1.3

[Neovereign]

>Check out the sleight of hand. Kneel down if there is room.

> You head over and kneel.
> It seems to be a shell game with bowls. The owner also has cards near him.
>_

[Hello Purvis]

>"Hey, how's this work?"

[Neovereign]

>"Hey, how's this work?"

> "Huh?" The man looks up. "Oh." He turns the bowls over. "There's a ball in one of the bowls and you try to keep your eyes on which bowl it's under while I swap them around quickly to try and trick you. If you guess correctly, when I stop moving them, you win."
> "Sounds easy enough." Meiling says.
>_

[Hello Purvis]

>Nod.
>"How much?"

[Neovereign]

>Nod.
>"How much?"

> "How much? O-Oh. That depends on how much you bet. It could be free and for fun, or you could bet an amount and try to win a bit more than that. I wouldn't recommend betting too high though."
> "But it's not restricted, is it?" Meiling asks.
> "You could go as high as you want to try and win big, but again, I don't recommend it."
>_

[Hello Purvis]

>"Five dollars."
>Put it down on the table.

[Neovereign]

>"Five dollars."
>Put it down on the table.

> You set down $5.
> "If you win, you'll get back your money plus half of that, so you're playing for nine dollars, okay?"
>_

[Hello Purvis]

>Wouldn't that be 7.50? Oh well, nine dollars is nine dollars.
>Nod.

[Neovereign]

>Wouldn't that be 7.50? Oh well, nine dollars is nine dollars.
>Nod.

> You let the man stay with his error.
> "Um..." Meiling sweats.
> "Alright." The man sets a small ball on the table, placing one of the bowls over it, then turning the other bowls over as well.
> He then moves them into place and shows the underside of the center one, housing the ball.
> "Ready?"
>_

[Tashi]

//> 1+ for the bad gurl route.
> Look what you have done.

[Hello Purvis]

>Nod.
>"Watch the shells, Meiling, and tell me where you think it is."
>Watch his hands, to make sure there's no sleight of hand going on.

[Neovereign]

//> 1+ for the bad gurl route.
> Look what you have done.

>Nod.
>"Watch the shells, Meiling, and tell me where you think it is."
>Watch his hands, to make sure there's no sleight of hand going on.

> You wonder if you'll get chastised by Meiling for not pointing out the man's error...
> Meiling nods.
> You watch sternly as the bowls are switched around... Nothing off yet, and it's still easy to tell which one the ball is under...
> "Ah." Meiling comments.
>_

[Hello Purvis]

>"Ah?"

[Neovereign]

>"Ah?"

> "I think he swapped the ball to another bowl." Meiling whispers.
> The man stops.
> You're eyes are set on the leftmost bowl...
>_

[Hello Purvis]

>Nod to Meiling. "Go for it."

[Neovereign]

>Nod to Meiling. "Go for it."

> "It's that one." Meiling points to the middlemost bowl.
> "Sure?" The man asks.
>_

[Hello Purvis]

>Nod.

[Neovereign]

>Nod.

> You nod.
> The man turns the bowl over.
> However, the ball isn't under it.
> The man lifts the other two, and it's position is revealed as the leftmost one...
> "Whaa?" Meiling questions.
>_

[Hello Purvis]

>"Oh well. A loss is a loss."

[Neovereign]

>"Oh well. A loss is a loss."

> "Would you like to try again?" The man asks.
>_

[Hello Purvis]

>Glance to Meiling.
>"What do you think?"

[Neovereign]

>Glance to Meiling.
>"What do you think?"

> "I want another go..." Meiling frowns. "But we were using your money. Nevermind."
>_

[Hello Purvis]

>"One more. Just like before, Meiling, you watch the shells."
>Put down $10. Watch his hands.

[Neovereign]

>"One more. Just like before, Meiling, you watch the shells."
>Put down $10. Watch his hands.

> You set down $10 this time.
> "15. I hope you two will be honest here this time." The man places the ball under the center bowl.
> "What do you mean?" Meiling questions.
>_

[Hello Purvis]

>"We're as above board as anyone here."

[Neovereign]

>"We're as above board as anyone here."

> The man chuckles slightly as he begins.
> Center, left, center, left, right, left, center, right-
> "T-The ball." Meiling murmers.
> Left. The movements were probably easier to keep track of this time...
>_

[Hello Purvis]

>Did his hands seem to do anything odd?
>"Meiling?"

[Neovereign]

>Did his hands seem to do anything odd?
>"Meiling?"

> No, you didn't see anything out of the ordinary.
> "...This one...?" Meiling points to the leftmost one.
> The man turns the bowl under, revealing the ball.
> "But it fell off the table." Meiling says. "How?"
> The man sets down $5, along with your previous $10.
>_

[Hello Purvis]

>As I said, we're as above board as anyone here."
>Incline head toward the grifter. "Thank you."

[Neovereign]

>As I said, we're as above board as anyone here."
>Incline head toward the grifter. "Thank you."

> "I hope you enjoyed it."
> "Wait. Tell me how it was still there after it fell." Meiling says.
> "Fell?"
> "Off the table. I saw it." Meiling frowns.
> "Nothing like that has happened." The man shakes his head.
>_