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Port towns were a toss-up - maybe about 60/40, he figured. There were always the unsavory and unemployable lurking about, and it was sometimes a risk to even walk near the docks in the type of clothing he favored, for it marked him as a wealthy man. But then, Setzer Gabbiani was quite comfortable with risk. He had all the games of chance he could want for ensconced safely in the casino aboard his airship - but gambling wasn't about safety, now, was it? Sometimes, safety got quite boring.
It was to that end that he left his airship in the capable hands of the crew for the evening, opting to explore the town below. Despite the likely presence of lowlifes, a good, busy port also attracted merchants and agents looking to transport their wares. Businesspersons were also wealthy, accustomed to risk-taking, and frequently good at bluffing - therefore, exactly the kind of opponents Setzer liked.
The first pub he passed looked dark and filthy; too lowbrow, no good money to be made. The next place was quiet; too respectable, they probably discouraged his brand of fun. But up by the inn, not too far from the docks, he had a glance inside an establishment that looked very promising indeed. Well-lit, music was playing, people were laughing and drinking, and he spotted piles of money in the center of more than one table. Excellent. Definitely his kind of place, he observed upon entering and finding that there were girls dancing up in front. The patrons also seemed promising, as several different accents mingled in the ambient noise, suggesting many were well-traveled. Many of them were also sparkling with jewelry and well-dressed, if none so well as him.
On second thought, he amended - one so well as him. That fellow off to the side, his back to the stage, was possessed of a coat every bit as exquisite as his own. That drew Setzer's eye first, but then he couldn't help but notice the fine embroidered clothing, draped with beads and baubles, the earring, the pale hair nearly as long as his own, pulled back casually but well-kept. And light armor, Setzer noted, as the fellow reached out to pull his winnings toward him, causing bronze to glint in the firelight - perhaps he'd won some of his fortune through different games of chance than Setzer preferred.
Although Setzer had his preferences, he was always willing to try something different. Especially when it was very different.
Perhaps that was more true than he realized; upon sitting down next to the young fellow and getting a better look at him, Setzer was abruptly unsure of at least one of his assumptions. It hardly mattered, however - not when there was a game to be played. "Room for another opponent?" he inquired.
"Always, if the opponent dresses like you," said the stranger, turning the cards over to be reshuffled by the man to the right. "Nice coat."
"Likewise," Setzer said. "I'd like to see if I could get you out of it."
Testing the waters; he was rewarded by a hearty laugh. Ambiguous, but hearty. "We'll just see about that," the stranger replied. "What did you have in mind?"
"Any game is fine," said Setzer. "Surprise me." The stranger hid a smirk behind a gloved hand, and bade the dealer deal.
In different regions it was customary to use different rules, but Setzer knew nearly all of them by now. Well enough to win, even. Those around the table groaned as he lay down his hand and reached out to scoop up his winnings - but he had something else in mind, and raised his arm to get the attention of one of the servers. "What do you prefer?" he asked the stranger. "I'm new here."
"The dark ale is good, if you don't mind a strong bite."
"Darling, do I look like I mind a strong bite?" Setzer pointed out with a wink and a smile, and turned to the server as he approached. "A round of your dark ale for everyone at the table," he declared, flipping a few of his newly-won pieces into the air. He was quite pleased when the server caught them easily. An excellent venue, to be sure.
The other gamblers at the table seemed to have caught on to the undertones between Setzer and the stranger, or perhaps they simply recognized they were outmatched; the piles of coinage before them shifted in size across the table, each gradually growing larger from the wagers of the other players. Despite Setzer's willingness to spend his winnings on drinks for everyone, and the stranger's taste in recommended liquors, they gradually drifted away from the table, at last leaving the two most talented gamblers alone.
"Hmm..." the stranger mused, toying with an empty bottle. "Games like these aren't as much fun with only two. But then, there are other games to be played..."
"My thoughts exactly," Setzer replied. "We're well-matched, you and I. The possibilities are endless."
The stranger chuckled. "Who are you, anyway?"
"Setzer Gabbiani," he replied. "Just a gambler, wandering the world in search of a good wager. And you are a pirate."
"A pirate captain," the stranger corrected him. "Faris is the name. You're very perceptive for 'just a gambler'."
"It's the armor, plus the way you hold yourself," Setzer said. "Obviously you spend a lot of time at sea, and yet you're used to protecting yourself. Your jewelry is fine, but none of it matches. Besides..." He produced one of the coins he'd won from Faris - and had actually managed not to lose again - and held it up to the lamp at the center of the table. "...You've ground the marks off at least some of your coins."
"In the places I go," Faris told him, "gold is gold. The shape of it doesn't matter."
"Ah, but shapes can be pleasing." Setzer cast an unsubtle glance up at the dancing girls on stage behind Faris. "Quite pleasing. And I like a great many shapes," he added, looking back to Faris.
"I see." Faris obviously understood his meaning. "Well then - I'll only ask your preferences in drink, as you know mine."
"Only in drink," Setzer pointed out. "Do they have a good brandy?"
Faris raised an arm to get the server's attention once more. "They do. I'll buy this time."
The pirate captain said nothing more until the bottle was before them, and a generous portion poured into each of two cups. "How long are you in town, Gabbiani?"
"Setzer, please." Setzer took a drink. "I had planned to stay just for the evening. Perhaps for the night, if a worthwhile opportunity presents itself."
"And you don't come often," Faris observed.
"It's my first time," he confirmed.
"I've never seen you in any port we visit regularly," Faris added. "I'd remember this face. It's interesting." A callused but graceful finger reached out, tracing down the length of one of the lines that crossed Setzer's cheek. "My preference is discretion."
"I'd imagine so." This all seemed quite promising. "As I don't have much room left for more scars, I'll have to oblige."
Faris smiled. It was a smart, dangerous smile. Setzer quite liked it.
Before long, they were in the streets. Faris and he were approximately of a height, and not a particularly intimidating one, but the sword Faris carried openly no doubt discouraged anyone from thinking they would be easy targets, even with the bottle still clutched in Setzer's hand. There was some debate - a room at the inn? But then, why bother when Faris had a ship? "Aye, captain," Setzer agreed good-naturedly.
"I suppose you can call me Faris," said the pirate with a smirk. "You're not one of my crew. By the way, do you have a ship?"
"I do," Setzer replied, pointing upwards. "But it's not like yours."
Faris nodded, impressed. "An airship... Just as well - no chance of us meeting again across swords."
"That would not be the kind of reunion I'd enjoy, no."
Strangely enough, no crew had been left on the ship to guard it, which Setzer found curious - but that meant they weren't seen or interrupted on the way to the captain's quarters. Faris lit the lamp that swung overhead, illuminating a room decorated sparsely, but littered with interesting and expensive-looking trinkets and trophies, no doubt from past plundering. The bedding was fine, Setzer was pleased to note, but for starters, they settled at a small, simple wooden table. "You don't get seasick, do you?" Faris asked.
Setzer shook his head. "The only problem I have with ships is that the tables are rarely level."
"Just adds another element of chance," Faris pointed out, and picked up the bottle to take another drink directly from it before passing it back. "You do realize the game is tilted in my favor at the moment."
"Life itself is a gamble," Setzer reasoned. "And what can I say? I like long shots."
"Is that so...?"
"The risks are greater, but so are the rewards."
"In that case..." Faris met his eyes with a challenging look. "Let's play."
Setzer did remove that coat of Faris's after all, but only after Faris had removed his. The light armor clattered to the floor, skittering under the bed as the waves rolled the boat from side to side - and despite the way he layered his clothing, Setzer was down to his trousers, laid out on the mattress, before Faris had removed much else besides the armor and the coat. "I'm confused," he said, eyeing the way Faris was looking him up and down appreciatively. "Am I winning or losing?"
"That depends on what you make of my wild card," Faris replied, beginning to remove the embroidered tunic. Underneath were strips of cloth wound tightly around the chest; a small dip suggesting cleavage was visible just above. There were more wrappings around the waist, padding it out to disguise the narrowness as compared to the wider hips, now visible through the tight leggings that had been worn beneath the tunic and the boots.
Setzer said nothing, just watched with interest, fiddling absently with a coin from his pocket as Faris straddled him and began to unwind the waist wrappings. "Did you guess?" she asked, seeing his apparent lack of surprise. "I thought you were unusually perceptive."
"To be honest, I could have gone either way," Setzer admitted. "It was about 50/50, the way I saw it - and either way, you seemed a gamble worth taking." To punctuate his point, he flipped the coin up between them.
Faris snatched it out of the air before it landed and pushed him down against the blankets. Heads or tails, Setzer thought - he considered this a win.