The Butterfly Inn (Gabe)

"Ahh, i'll be in your care for the next few days. At the very least, perhaps you should feel comfortable around me to call me Gabe instead? That's fine as well..." Gabe wanted to clear the air, he didn't want to put down any sort of feeling of superiority or something like that. Though, the man did seem fascinated of Gabe's card tricks. Gabe allowed the man to take the card from him with a smile. It seems as if the man was interested in Gabe's tricks. " Oh? " Gabe would show the card to the man once more, and with a flick of the wrist, it seemed to vanish once more all the same. After a few seconds, Gabe would flick his wrists and make the card appear. "A performer never necessarily gives out his secrets, so i can't tell you step by step. But, what i can do, is keep you a little entertained. Though... maybe for next time. "

Gabe revealed the rest of the decks in placed the jack of hearts back before shuffling. "In the meantime, a small game. IF these cars are believed to be magic, they can also tell your fortune? Can they not? Hows this, the first card you draw reveals your fortune for the rest of the day, interested in playing?

strength

Spoiler:

rand rules

Spoiler:

!

The young man was able to take the card away from the other. Once it was in his hand, he would examine it a bit, trying to see if maybe there was something attached to it or a crease that suggested the secret to how the other had made it appeared…but he couldn’t find anything to give away the truth of the matter. Quite perplexed, he would look up at the other as he spoke about names.

“Alright, Gabe it is then,” he would say as he nodded at the other. “You can call me Sphinx. I’ll see what I can do to make your stay pleasant.”

The young man’s attitude would remain laid back as he handed the card back to the other and then made his demand. Much to the young man’s pleasure, the other gave in and repeated the trick; however, when he said he could not share his secrets and would have to entertain him later, the young man gave him a small frown of disappointment.

“Well, I suppose I can let you go with that, but I expect you to hold up your end of the bargain,” the young man said as he crossed his arms and then smirking he would continue. “Who knows. Maybe something good will come out of the deal.”

The words were spoken in the same manner of that he had used before, his tone business like like a trader of some sort of good. It was hard to say why the young man did this, but it would appear the guy had a thing for deals. To further seal this suspicion, that smirk would become mischievous as the other mention fortunes. Oho. So this one liked to dance with Fate? And would you look at that he was offering him a game of luck. How amusing.

“How about a different sort of game? How about the first card, I draw reveal something about your future instead? Wanna play?” the young man would counter as he watched the other from behind his shades, his smirk still in play. Just what was this one up to?

Spinx! Ahh, i can see it now! was an intelligent Spinx that had a riddle that seemed impossible to solve. Maybe it's something you know about, but id like to tell you the story myself sometime if you don't know about it.

Gabe was always happy to tell stories, and share tales that he found out about himself along the way. "I always keep my end of the bargain, all i need is a hard surface, maybe a table of some sort.  Dont worry, i wont forget. " However, the last  comment from Spinx threw  Gabe off. As a matter of fact, it threw Gabe off so much that the look of surprise can be seen on his face.

"Oh shit, did he really do what i think he just did? " For the first time in Gabe's life, someone flipped the switch on him, he was going to test fate itself, instead of being it's messenger. "Hehe.... thats the first time in my life anyone's ever flipped it back on me... alright....

(Note: Rolled a 13 on the RNG Topic)

There was a difference between flattery and being too wordy for your own good. While the young man that watched the other now didn’t seem to mind his wordiness, he wasn’t about to swoon over it either. Yeah, he was tolerant, but that comment about his name would have no effect on the guy as he instead determined if he should snap or not at that one. It didn’t seem like an insult to his intelligence, but then again humans could be sneaky so he wasn’t sure.

He rubbed his chin in thought for a moment, the eyes watching the other from behind the shades narrowing slightly as he considered the options. He could give him hell, but hey the guy had cheered him up earlier so he would let him slide this round. They were square now…meaning anything beyond  this point was game now.

In any case, the guy kind of saved himself with the story bit. While he did know of a creature called a sphinx, he was curious what sort of story this one would tell.  He would let his hand drop to his side as his head tilted.

“A story huh? I like a good story. Call it deal,” he would say and then smirking he would nod. “Oho. Trust me we got pretty of places here for you to do that. I look forward to it.” The deal for entertainment would be sealed then and there as the young man let the subject sink for now to see if the man would indeed remember.

But enough about things to come. He had something more entertaining at hand. The other wanted to take a chance with Fate? Oh how amusing. Let’s play!

The grin would only grow as the young man nodded at the other and then taking a step towards him,  he reach would reach out  with his right hand and take the card at the top of the deck being offered.

Not even looking at the card, the young man would show it to Gabe. It was the King of Hearts.

“King of Hearts, but let us show its true form, shall we?” the young man would say as he paused and wave his free left hand before the card causing it to sway strangely like a mirage and the image changed becoming a card showing a very different type of king. On the card was a man that looked half decayed sitting on his throne of bones as below him was piles of dead bodies. He had a large hole in his chest, his heart exposed to the world as he kept his cape held back with one hand and seemed to drink from a goblet of some sort with the other.

The king looked sad, but at the same time bared his crown with confidence and strength. It was indeed a card unlike any other and with it came a tale.

“The King of Hearts in his true form. A hard working man that truly tries his best to do what is right, but his path to power is littered with pain and despair. He loses a lot of things close to him, but you know what? He pushes on and climbs the mountain. He bares his pains and in the end grabs power unimaginable to help those around him not suffer the same Fate. His heart goes out to the people and the world feeling them with hope and strength when there is none anymore,” the young man moved his hand back over the card its image reverting back to its original form. He would place the card back on the top of the deck before looking up at Gabe over his glasses. His expression was serious, but gentle now.

“I don’t claim to know you or anyone else here, but the cards never lie to me. Whatever pain you may be bearing, know that some time soon you’ll be getting something that lifts you up and makes life clearer for you. Hope is coming your way in an unexpected form. Use it wisely and it will take to places you never dreamed of,” he said and then straightening up, he would shift his weight and begin walking away.

“In any case, the cards will be the cards, so take that as you will, Gabe. I hate to run like this, but it looks like I gotta attend to something else. Enjoy your stay and hope to see you again in the future,” he would say as he waved back at the other before going up the path that led to the shrine.

As Sphinx left, Calabus would come back a bit out of breath. Pausing from her run, she would lean over a bit to catch her breath before straightening again.

“Sorry about that. Hope your wait wasn’t long and boring, Gabe,” she would say as she gave the other a smile having no clue about what had just happened before she came back over.

This man named spinx certainly was an interesting fellow, he seemed to have a few tricks of his own. When Gabe picked the king of hearts, it changed into another form, something a little more sinister than Gabe's lighthearted tricks. As to why it did, he had no clue, but it was peculiar and different to him. Gabe was rather speechless from the time Spinx started and to the time Spinx left. "Was that supposed to be the fortune of my day? Or the fortune of my life?" Who knew, it was way too specific and ominous to be a simple days worth. Though, the feeling of time standing still would pass as soon as Calabus returned.

"Huh?" Gabe would say as he rubbed his temples with a smile. "No, it was fine, i was getting acquainted wth your attendant, Spinx. Taking your advice, it's alot better to get along peaceful and co-exist, instead of bringing friction. Though, i will retire to my room for the time being until lunch time. Perhaps i'll see you them? "Gabe would then give the woman a sharp bow. "I really do appreciate the tour, and look forward to being under your care.

As Sphinx left the silent man, he would head up the path to the Shrine of the Spirits that resided under the low hanging branches of the trees that grew further ahead. It had been a while since the cards had spoken to him like that making him wonder if the man that he had left would be the same man if they met again. While it was true the cards could always play tricks, it was also a known fact that the sort of fortune given to the man wasn't the run of the mill daily fortune. No this one was a deeper one pertaining to something about a person's past, present, and future, but what it all meant was left for the one on the path the cards saw to choose.

After all, the cards only revealed one path at a time to him and sometimes people fulfilled their fortunes and at others time they went down other paths unseen. It would be interesting to learn of the end results to such things, but perhaps that was for another time. Right now he needed to be on his best behavior lest he bring true misfortune to this inn. With his mind focused, he would do the usual ringing of the bell to announce someone had come before he walked up the stairs to attend to the spirits that resided there.

Meanwhile...

Calabus would tilt her head at the man's behavior. He seemed to be a bit out of it making her wonder just what happened...even more so when he mentioned Sphinx. What did he do now? Had he stressed out a guest? Boy if he had she was gonna let him have it. Her smile would crumple a bit as she looked at the other with concern.

"Well, if you say so. Listen, if he starts getting under your skin just let me know, k? Can't have him stressing out my guests," she would say as she looked off to the side towards the path Sphinx had taken. She wore a serious expression and to be honest gave off an air that she could probably really put the guy or anyone that tried her patience in their place. It was a huge change from her friendliness, but that was just how she was. While she hated to use the iron fist method, she would if it meant keeping her business on track and her guests pleased. It didn't matter about closeness when it came to this. You either behaved or paid. It was as simple as that.

Regardless of the mood swing, she would become gentle once more as she heard the rest of what he said.

"It was my pleasure to guide you around. I hope you rest well and enjoy yourself. I'll be sure to my part and keep you pampered," she would say with a grin and then to the lunch time question, she would nod.

"Perhaps we will meet again then. Until then, take care," she would say giving the other a light bow in turn. From there, she would become quiet and stay on the bridge. If the other left, she would watch him go or if he had more say, she would be there to listen as she kept herself open to anything that may occur.