Tobias was sitting at a bar-table with a glass of whiskey in his right and a deck of cards in his left hand. He lost count on how many drinks he downed a long time ago. Not that he cared about it anyways.
His eyes were focused on the glass filled with the amber liquid. A second later the glass was drained as several drinks before. It was by no means of the best quality but the alcohol was getting it's job done. He was pretty drunk at this point of time.
After Evelynn left him behind he didn't exactly know what to do. He ended up at the bar table of the first bar his feet led him to drowning his mind in booze.
Some cards slid down the deck but he barely noticed it. Tobias raised his hand to order a new drink but then he suddenly heard a deep voice next to him. "You had enough, take yerself a room."
His eyes darted around to the person who dared to mind his business. The man looked familiar somehow. Tobias struggled to remember who he was but at his current mental state every effort was in vain. He growled frustrated. "That's none of your damn business!"
"And that is my line", the simple answer came.
Suddenly the card deck vanished from his hand and then his own purse appeared in front of his face. He unsuccessfully tried to catch it. An angry tone escaped him.
"Follow me", the stranger ordered. Tobias saw that he gave some signal to the bartender but he couldn't realise what it meant. "Ye owe me a game of cards, Sunshine."
Something in the back of his head agreed with that but he had no clue why. The hell with it. He could easily beat everyone at a game of cards and then he would get his peace and would be able to drown his sorrows in booze further. And that bastard still had his purse!
Tobias raised from his bar stool and struggled to stand but he managed with some effort. He followed the man with shaky steps to the rooms on the upper floor.
The man unlocked a door with a key, Tobias really had no clue when he got it.
"How 'bout that game now?", Tobias asked staggering into the room.
"Not now. Would be way to easy while you're that drunk!"
Tobias wanted to argue about that point but then he suddenly found himself in the bed. "The hell", he mumbled but he abruptly felt tired as hell, so he turned to the other side and fell asleep on an instant.
When Tobias finally awoke the room was way too bright for his taste, his head was aching and his throat was dry. Furthermore he had no clue where the fuck he was.
"So ye're finally back alive?"
Tobias eyes wandered to the person speaking to him. The man had dark hair, held back by a red bandana. His clothes had some greenish color. "I know you", he mumbled before he closed his eyes again and rubbed them. When he opened his eyes again he got a better look of the room. It definitely was an inn-room according to the furniture but he couldn't tell what inn he was in. Probably an inn somewhere near Demacia.
"It's been a long time...", the man said. "But you haven't changed that much."
"Neither have you", Tobias said while standing up. He poured himself a glass of water from a jar placed on the table. He downed it instantly. That headache was killing him. "But surely you remember my promise too?"
"That's why I asked you 'bout a game of cards yesterday." He laughed at Tobias questioning look. "Damn it, how much did ye drink? Don't ya remember?"
Tobias tried to remember but miserably failed. "I really have no clue!" He settled himself at the table and wanted to pull out his cards to shuffle them but he couldn't find them. "The hell...?"
The man moved to the table as well and took seat on the opposite side. He let Tobias' purse and his cards drop on the table. "My argument yesterday to get ye here", he explained shortly.
"You wanna play Texas I reckon?", he asked and the other man confirmed it with a simple nod. "Simple rules: No tricks and cheats. And due to the fact that I have to fulfill my promise the looser has to reveal his name."
"There we got a deal."
It took a few rounds until one of them folded his hand but when they revealed their hand in the final showdown both got a full house. However, Tobias had the higher one. He looked expectant at the man.
"I won, now it's your turn."
And after a short moment of hesitation Tobias finally got his answer. "It's Malcolm Graves."
"Nice name", Tobias said smiling.
"And your name, Sunshine?"
"Wasn't part of the deal!" His smile grew even brighter.
"Bastard", grumbled Graves but he didn't push it further. Deal was deal.
"There is something I'm curious about for years now", Tobias started. "Which cards you had back then? I had a queen and an ace."
"Ace and jack", answered Graves.
Would've been his win if they haven't cheated.
In the following hours they talked about the years that passed since the last time they met. Evelynn was long forgotten by now. Eventually Tobias got an idea.
"Malcolm, just think about the things we could achieve if we worked together. No gold in Valoran would be safe from us!"
It seemed like Graves was thinking about that proposal. Finally he smiled. "Great idea! Partners?"
"Partners!", confirmed Tobias.