Despite his own doubts, Ryland found that he didn't mind working at the Gold Goblin. Throughout the work week, he kept to himself on the catwalk overlooking the casino floor, catching several gamblers that were cheating, and then reported them to Belar so that he could throw them out. Other than that, he kept to himself and enjoyed the peace of being hidden. Aside from the other junior partners, the rest of the staff didn't interact with Ryland other than Larur, who delivered food to him when the floor manager realized that he didn't take breaks.
Old Scratch had yet to show himself since the tournament, and although Ryland believed that Saul followed through with their agreement, he still kept watch for the imp.
It was another slow night of patrolling the catwalk above the casino floor when he took notice of something strange. He saw Larur approach Keya while she was dealing cards for a game, and after a silent conversation, she left the room. Another dealer quickly took her place. Ryland kept an eye on the floor manager to see that he went to talk to Sarek and Tess by the entrance, and soon, the pair left the room as well. Larur stepped outside of the Gold Goblin, and when he returned, Belar walked alongside him.
Ryland didn't leave his post despite seeing that something was going on below. It would only be a matter of time for someone to inform him of the situation.
As Ryland expected, the catwalk soon became crowded as the others arrived, led by Saul. He even noted that Madia was with the rest of his associates and figured that she was likely on break from having to advertise the Gold Goblin. Ryland nodded toward the new arrivals.
"It's good that you're focused on your job, Ryland," Saul complimented. "Everyone, I'd like for you to look down. There's a man that we need to keep an eye on."
Ryland turned his gaze downward, following the direction of Saul's pointed finger. It was difficult to make out too many details through the gauze curtain but he could see that the man Saul singled out a large and bulky man with short brown hair. He was dressed in plain clothes with his tunic unbuttoned slightly to show off his muscles. Currently, he was playing a game of dice that Ryland didn't recognize but saw that the stranger wasn't cheating. He had gotten by without knowing the rules for most games by identifying when gamblers hid tricks up their sleeves or had a friend in the right position.
Whoever the man was, Saul didn't want him watched out of fear that he would cheat. In fact, the more Ryland focused on the stranger, the more he realized that the other patrons of the Gold Goblin were avoiding him.
"Is he the one playing Bounder?" Keya asked.
"That he is," Saul answered with a nod. "That's Clegg Zincher, the owner of the arena in Riddleport, which is a competing business. Not only is he our biggest competitor but he's one of Riddleport's crime lords."
Ryland perked his head up. "So we should remove him from the premises."
"But he hasn't broken any of the casino's rules," Madia pointed out. "I don't like the idea of having him around but he's not going to like it if we kick him out without a reason."
"He didn't have any weapons on him," Belar added with a frown. "He's not looking for a fight."
"Kicking Zincher out of the Gold Goblin isn't an option," Saul told his business partners. "But I want eyes on him at all times. If you can, try to find out why he's here. I know that he isn't a gambler, and if he wanted to scout the competition, he would have sent someone instead of coming himself."
"Tess and I can take turns keeping watch on him while we're greeting," Sarek said and Tess nodded in agreement to the plan.
"I'll take over for Marzielle and see if I can get him to open up," Keya offered with a smirk. "It's been a while since I've played Bounder. It'll be good to practice."
"All good ideas," Saul said and looked to Ryland. "Keeping an eye on Zincher is more important than finding cheaters."
"Understood."
"Let's get to work, everyone. I'll be in my office if something happens."
One by one, the others departed the catwalk and made their way downstairs, leaving Ryland alone. He was glad for the silence but his thoughts drifted away. Although Saul had his own plan in mind, Ryland disagreed with what to do with Clegg. He was no stranger to subtle methods, but looking at the crime lord, he knew that a direct approach would be best for getting him to open up. Yet, he bided his time for now, willing to give the other employees a chance to see what they could do.
Ryland saw Sarek and Tess return to their previous spots and Keya approach the table Clegg played at. He couldn't hear the conversation between them and was taken aback when the crime lord got up and walked to the table Keya typically worked at. The gambler followed him, and a few seconds later, the two started a game of Golem. Ryland didn't like what he saw. He knew that Keya planned to play Bounder, which meant that Cleggwas already in charge of any conversation he had.
Madia, who had gone unnoticed due to her size, joined Keya and Clegg with several chips, intending to join in on the game. The rounds went by quickly. Madia rarely won a game but she had plenty of chips to spare, likely provided by Larur. Keya and Clegg traded wins, but even though he wasn't much of a gambler, the crime lord played carefully and was slowly earning more chips.
Ryland came to the conclusion that even if it wasn't what he came for, Clegg was taking gold from the casino. He had put off a direct confrontation for long enough and left his post to make his way downstairs.
It only took Ryland two minutes to arrive at the casino floor. Tess was the first to notice him, but by the time she turned to Sarek to let him know, it was too late to stop him. Ryland made it to the Golem Table and noticed the looks of surprise on Keya and Madia's faces when they saw him.
"Clegg Zincher," Ryland said. "What are you doing here?"
Keya rolled her eyes and looked away from Ryland. Madia grew pale and remained silent. Clegg turned to face Ryland and his eyes grew wide in an exaggerated gesture.
"What am I doing here?" Clegg asked in a gruff voice. "I'm here to gamble. I don't see any reason why you need to ask me that."
"Do not lie to me," Ryland told the crime lord without emotion.
Clegg laughed and shrugged. "I was curious to see what Saul's new project was and wanted to meet his new friends."
"And where are these friends that you'd like to meet?" Ryland questioned.
Cleggblinked in confusion and looked to Keya, who shrugged. The crime lord sighed and turned back to Ryland.
"I meant you, along with the bouncer out front, the two greeters, our gracious dealer and the halfling who doesn't know how to hide when she has a good hand. Am I forgetting anyone?"
"You're mistaken," Ryland said. "Saul isn't my friend."
"But you work for him," Clegg pointed out. "You helped stop that attack during his tournament."
"That doesn't make us friends. It makes us business partners, strangely enough."
"Is he for real?" Clegg said, looking over at Keya and Madia with a frown. "Does he not get what I'm trying to say?"
"Ryland's like that," Keya laughed.
Madia smiled in a comforting manner. "Ryland, he means that he wanted to meet us."
"I see," Ryland nodded. "You've met us. You can leave now."
Keya groaned and covered her face with her hands. "Why did you have to come down here?"
"He just wanted to meet me, that's all," Clegg chuckled and stood up. "And he's right. I should cash out while I'm ahead. It was good meeting you, Ryland."
Ryland noticed Clegg extend his hand out but didn't return the gesture. "You're wrong on two counts. I didn't want to meet you, and even though we did, it wasn't a good meeting."
Clegg furrowed his brow at Ryland's words, and after another moment passed, laughed loudly. He lifted his extended hand to pat the top of the spotter's hat. Ryland grew tense at the gesture but knew better than to strike now. He had succeeded in driving the crime lord away from the Gold collected his chips and made his way to the cashier's cage to receive his winnings.
Ryland kept his gaze on Clegg even with Keya and Madia trying to talk with him.
"What's wrong with you?" Keya asked Ryland, not hiding her anger. "I had Zincher under control."
"You didn't."
"Ryland was just trying to help in his own way, Keya," Madia said, trying to stop her friend from continuing the argument. "If he hadn't shown up, I probably would have lost all of my chips."
"And because he showed up, we might have made an enemy of one of Riddleport's crime lords," Keya countered with a sigh. "Next time, stay upstairs."
"Now that Clegg is gone, I have no reason to come to the casino floor," Ryland said, watching the crime lord leave the Gold Goblin.
"Gather around, everyone!" Belar called out. "We're getting paid!"
Tess blinked in confusion. "But doesn't Saul pay us for our work tomorrow night?"
"We were given a big tip," Belar told Tess and walked towards the bar. "In fact, he told me to split it among Saul's new partners."
The Gold Goblin was closed for the night, and although Tess was tired, she was curious by Belar's story. She joined the dwarf, along with Sarek, Keya, and Madia, at the bar. Although Belar shouted loudly enough for Ryland to hear from the catwalk, the druid didn't think that he would be joining them. It might be for the best that he didn't join the group. Tess knew that Keya wasn't happy with him after he confronted Clegg. She knew that Ryland didn't consult anyone about what he planned but the elf was glad that the crime lord left after the confrontation.
Belar took a seat at the bar and poured the gold coins out of a pouch. There were thirty coins in all and the dwarf divided them up into six piles. Keya crossed her arms and shook her head.
"I say we cut Ryland out of this," Keya suggested to the rest of the group, not hiding her distaste. "He messed up confronting Zincher."
"That's not very friendly, Keya," Madia told Keya, disappointed by the idea.
"He wasn't very friendly today to begin with," Keya shrugged.
"Ryland's getting a cut whether he wants in or not," Belar said firmly, looking firmly at Keya. "I'm not listening to any suggestion other than that. Clegg said the tip goes to all of us, and if I had wanted to cut one of you out, I would have cut all of you out."
Tess gasped. "Clegg Zincher tipped us?!"
"Belar, that's the kind of detail that you lead off on," Sarek said, just as surprised as Tess was.
"A tip's a tip," Belar shrugged.
"Maybe there's nothing ulterior about the tip," Madia said hopefully.
"I wouldn't be so trusting of him, Madia," Keya sighed. "Still, I won't pass up on gold."
"Help!" a man Tess recognized as one of the Gold Goblin's cooks ran into the casino floor. "A big red snake's got into the scullery!"
"Seriously?" Keya groaned.
"Come on!" Tess said, running toward the kitchens.
"Damn!" Belar cursed. "If anyone takes this gold, I will punch you once I find out who did it!"
Tess' friends were quick to follow the druid toward the kitchens, which led to the scullery. Based on the description of the snake, Tess believed that they were dealing with a cindersnake, a type of snake common to the Cinderlands. They weren't common in Riddleport so she worried that this was part of some attack.
When Tess and the others arrived in the kitchen, she was surprised to see Ryland emerge from the door that led to the stairs. He held his longsword in one hand and a shorter sword in the other. Keya glared at Ryland and advanced on him rather than go to the scullery.
"What are you doing with my weapon?" Keya asked Ryland bitterly.
"I heard the cook's shouting and thought that you might prefer your sword over your dagger," Ryland informed her.
"Just take the sword, Keya!" Madia told her friend. "Someone could be in danger!"
Keya groaned and grabbed the offer sword by the hilt. "Just so you know, we're not even yet."
"Even?" Ryland questioned.
"You're impossible, Ryland," Keya said and advanced toward the scullery's door.
Tess was worried at the prospect of Keya leading the charge, but before she could suggest otherwise, the gambler opened the door and ran into the room. Before the druid could follow, Ryland and Sarek entered the room, the latter already chanting a spell By the time Keya, Belar, and Madia entered the scullery, the red snake was dead with a single cut delivered by Keya and a spell casted by the sorcerer dissolving its face with acid. Tess knew that there were other druids who would have mourned the passing of the beast but she was more worried at the damage it could have done.
There was a man, another employee of the Gold Goblin, on the ground bleeding. Tess didn't hesitate to kneel by him and muttered a healing spell. With her palm resting on his forehead, the man groaned as he regained consciousness. Now that there was no one dying, she turned her attention back to her friends. Madia assisted the employee in getting up while Ryland, Sarek, and Keya stood over the dead snake. Belar didn't care much for the snake or employee and instead started turning over tubs meant to wash dishes.
"That's a big snake," Keya noted with a grim expression. "Anyone know how the hell it got inside?"
"Cindersnakes aren't common in urban areas," Tess added. "Someone had to have brought it in."
"It was Clegg Zincher," Ryland said. "The snake attack and his visit to the Gold Goblin can't be a coincidence."
"He didn't enter this part of the building though," Sarek pointed out.
"Could he have used magic?" Tess asked Sarek.
"I doubt he can cast such a spell," Sarek shook his head.
"Even if he can't, I'll bet my cut of his tip that he's responsible," Belar said, and when Tess turned to him, she noticed the piece of parchment the dwarf held. "I found this note under the tub."
"What does it say?" Madia asked quickly, joining in on the conversation.
"I'm getting to that," Belar started to read off from the note. "It says 'Looking to go two for two, Saul? Pack up, get out of town, and you'll be fine.' And if it wasn't clear from the wording, there's also a poorly drawn picture of Saul missing both of his hands."
"I guess this means Saul and Zincher have a past," Keya noted, tapping her chin in thought. "I don't blame him for not telling us. Here I was thinking we couldn't trust our boss."
"We should bring the note to Saul," Ryland told Belar.
"That we should," Belar nodded in agreement. "Let's get some sleep, everyone. We'll see what Saul wants us to do about it."
Tess nodded along with the rest of the group but she wasn't sure if she would sleep well. Clegg Zincher had found a way to smuggle a snake into the Gold Goblin without anyone realizing and an innocent man nearly paid the price. She didn't like the idea of making such an enemy but wasn't sure what to do. Leaving was always an option but she knew that Sarek wouldn't want to go. Then again, Tess couldn't leave Riddleport until she put an end to the blot's threat.
With little other option, Tess realized that the only path forward was to stay with the Gold Goblin and hope to emerge from the coming conflict with her life.
A/N: I'm starting to hit a stride with writing Shadow in the Sky. I'm hoping to keep this progress moving forward and am excited for the next chapter in particular.
Until next time.