The bouncer looked towards Vivienne, seeing the woman coming up behind Norbert. He nodded and stepped to the side as Norbert entered as well, the stream of people following in after him, not getting looked down at all by the bouncers.
Surprised that he could keep his mask on, Norbert looked around. The place looked the exact same as the other casinos he had been to. Looking up, he saw the fogged-up glass ceiling above him. On either side of the square, the spiral staircase was present once more.
The tables had the same games as the others, and he spotted the roulette table he was looking for. There were far fewer than the other times he had been here, each one wholly crowded around as people shouted in grief and cheered in pleasure each time the ball stopped spinning around the wheel.
Going to the closest one to the centre, wanting to change the position from the last time, Norbert walked towards the centre, joining the line for the chips to be used again.
Norbert comes to the front of the line, the woman looking up at him, the skeletal kind like a bartender at the Pudgy Patron. Her face's bottom half has no skin or muscle, only the white bone. The rest of her skin has a light blue tinge to it.
Realizing he was staring at the woman, Norbert instantly looked down as he fumbled for his coin pouch. A moment of worry stuck him before he realized it was attached to his little pole of metal. Untying it, Norbert placed the single silver coin on the counter.
"Enough coppers for this Morena's coin", Norbert said, lifting his finger off the silver coin. The attendant took it as she looked it over, placed it on top of a metal device, and left it there for a moment before nodding her head at the reaction.
Norbert watched the attendant bend over, a draw sliding out as she rattled around. She then took out the coins and placed them on a metal platter, sliding all of them over to Norbert. Nodding his head in approval, Norbert took the chips off into his hand.
Feeling the ten chips shake about in his hand, Norbert headed to the table. Halfway there, he turned to Vivienne. "Do they have some way of detecting the presence of the divine?" Norbert asked her.
Vivienne looked as if that was the most stupid question he had asked her, but she removed her look as she realized who she was talking to. "Establishments have always had things like that in place. You can't have anybody just being a Luck follower and ringing the place dry. It's bad business", Vivienne explained to Norbert.
Nodding his head, Norbert crept a smile over his face as he stood at the table. He placed his ten chips there and took the coin from his pouch, flipping it between his two fingers as he looked at the head imprinted on the metal.
Kissing it for Luck, Norbert breathed out as he asked, "Heads for blue, tails for purple." He flicked the coin in the air, catching it and palming it to the back of his other hand, the tail side staring up at him.
"Last call!" The croupier shouted to the players around the table. Norbert slamming five of his coins down on purple, letting it go as he looked towards the
"You're going to use that strategy?" Vivienne asked Norbert.
"Sit back and watch the magic," Norbert said as the ball stopped rolling and landed on the purple number. Norbert scooped up his winnings and readied his coin again to make his next decision.
***
The crowd around him was quiet as they intently watched his every movement. Flicking the coin into the air, Norbert caught it once more, confirming which side of the coin it was before placing half of his chips onto the pile. His collection just came under a gold coin, the others around the table joining in with Norbert. The amount on the colour was too much, the dealer spinning the ball around the wheel as Norbert looked around at those behind him.
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Every single eye was on himself, Norbert seeing them flash momentarily as they stared him down. Leaning over to Vivienne, standing beside him, "What are they all staring at me for?" Norbert asked him, much preferring the usual crowd cheering for his success.
"Looking to see how you are cheating," Vivienne said, pulling her eyes off the wheel as the ball finally stuck, the chips once more getting moved to him, his pile adding a third extra.
"How dare they say I'm cheating. If I were the owner, I would have called for me. She will probably take me off upstairs for a little chat while preparing all of her guards to ambush me. Resulting in a near escape and a chase around the city." Norbert said, everyone in the crowd looking at each other as they took in Norbert's words.
Vivienne looked at him, "It sounds like someone is saying it from experience." She prodded him with her words.
Norbert, unable to hold himself back, looked at her as he caught the coin and moved his chips to the correct place. "How dare you accuse me of lying like that. And I would never cheat at a casino. That truly is asking for trouble," Norbert said, taking his chips. He had won once more.
Norbert placed them on the table once more, now having the biggest pot out of everyone there. Others had walked away with their winnings earlier, not wanting to get the ire of the casino owner, something that Norbert wasn't worried about at all.
As Norbert flicked the coin into the air, all eyes followed it. He caught it again, sliding half of his chips over to the pile once more, and several others made the same move as Norbert, going around the table. Norbert gave a nod to every one of them.
As Norbert won again, a waiter came up behind him, tapping him on his shoulder. Norbert took his winnings, smiling as he placed them on his section of the table. Turning around, Norbert smiled at the waiter, looking down at the drink and the slip of paper, only a corner showing underneath it.
Norbert took the piece of paper, flicking it open as he quickly read it. Nodding his head as he downed the drink, he placed it back on the tray instantly before the waiter could even move from their place.
Norbert felt the bubbly drink down in his stomach. Taking his winning chips and depositing the coin back in his pouch, Norbert exclaimed to everyone, "him, And it looks like my master is calling for me. I hope everyone enjoyed the show and continues to use this fine establishment!"
His voice echoed around the entire floor as everyone looked towards him. Norbert did not realize that the entire floor had been watching his antics, wondering how many coins they would have lost by only half paying attention to the game in front of them.
Going to the chip desk, Norbert silently handed them over, and the attendant moved without a word. Norbert took the several gold coins he gained from the trip and stuffed them inside his coin pouch before heading up the stairs.
Vivienne followed him along as he accepted her company. At the top of the glass steps, he looks down at the rest of the floor, Vivienne standing by his side. "Anyone of you know how I did it?" Norbert asked around.
Everyone stared at Norbert before turning back to their games and grumbling to each other. Norbert snickered at them as he continued to the second floor. "Tough crowd this one is," he said to her.
As he entered the second level there, everyone was already watching the stairs as he came there. Looking around and not seeing Elizabeth anywhere or anyone who could be her, Norbert gave them a wave before heading up the stairs again.
Vivienne looked around once, eyeing everyone there, and Norbert almost saw laser eyes coming off of her. Feeling the animosity in the room increase, Norbert quickly retreated to the next floor. Vivienne stomped her feet behind him, looking down at the stairs, ensuring they weren't cracking under the force she was putting under them.
Norbert saw rivers of blue light appear under her every step, dismissing that they wouldn't break under her might. No. She did it to the third floor. Looking around, he saw that once more, there were three armchairs themselves, a little table in the middle between the three.
All three Chesterfield chairs were empty. One had dark blue leather, the next royal purple, and the last burnt yellow. Norbert turned to Vivienne, looked at the three chairs, and shook his head, surprised at Elizabeth's melodrama.
Norbert sat in the purple chair, and Vivienne sat next to him in the blue one. They looked at the yellow chair in front of them. Leaning back and falling into the chair, Norbert looked around, wondering when Elizabeth would appear before them.