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Another round won't hurt.
Legundo let the dice roll onto the table, eyes scanning the numbers on top. The dice here were different from the ones he encountered in the Red Kingdom—wood painted a dark green and worn around the edges. Instead of a crown, the one was a slightly smudged leaf, clearly hand-painted and used before it dried.
Two fives, a one, three twos, and a six.
They noted down the fives, one, and twos before scooping the dice back into the cup and pushing it across the table to his opponent—a grizzly dwarf with glasses perched on the top of his nose and eyes the color of coal dust.
Legundo might have been a bit… overzealous with his bet, the gold sitting in the center of the small table, but he was confident in his chances.
…She could probably steal it back if she needed to.
The dwarf rolled his dice, the green wood landing on the table.
Three fours and three sixes.
What.
The dwarf grinned triumphantly, writing down his points before scooping the dice up, sticking his hand out to Legundo.
“Better luck next time, ginger.” his voice was gruff as he opened his coin purse, taking the gold from the table before reattaching it to his belt.
Very flimsy clasp. Probably old. Pulling it would draw too much attention, but cutting it might work. The leather’s wearing thin on the left side. Closest door is to their right, he could take the long way and slip through the back unnoticed or cut through the-
Fuck it.
Legundo tucked their knife into their sleeve, getting up from the table at the same time as the dwarf, pushing his chair in.
The dwarf pushed the dice cup to him. “You keep it. Looks like you could use some practice.”
It bit the inside of its cheek to keep back a retort, picking up the cup and emptying the dice into a small pouch before tucking it into his bag.
Their steps were quicker than the dwarfs, causing them to bump into him and making them both stagger.
“I’m sorry, my mistake,” Legundo apologized. “Might’ve had a bit too much to drink.”
The dwarf laughed. “We’ve all been there, ginger. Have good night.”
“You as well.”
She started towards the door, glancing back at the dwarf, and at the pouch that was attached to his belt, snagged on the broken clasp that had held his coin pouch.
The dice were significantly lighter, but he figured it’d take a few minutes for the dwarf to notice the swap. Until he paid his tab, if Legundo was any luckier of a thief than they were a gambler.
She stepped out into the night air, wading through the small crowd that gathered around the entrance of the tavern. Other than that, the town seemed to have quieted for the night, windows darkened and shutters closed to keep the chill out.
Legundo was used to the cold. Hundreds of years of non-stop travel acclimated a person to things. It barely nipped at his skin anymore, and even heat seemed more mellow as of late.
They glanced back down at the heavy coin pouch in their hand and sighed.
…Mig was going to kill her when she got back.