Jazbel glared right back at Tobias, though inside he was dancing, gleefully. In his hand were the two cards that were guaranteed to make him win; an ace and a two. He gloated in the rogue's stern glare, challenging him to to win.
Sore loser if I ever saw one, the man thought as he slapped down his ace.
"Can you best that?" he said to the man. By now he had figured out the rules when it came to Cora; don't look at her, don't talk to her, and defiantly don't ask her such dangerous questions. Only time he did throughout the game was when he nodded at her half-truth.Still, the spy watched her out of the corner of her eye, watching as she restrained herself. It was amazing, Jazbel mused, how much one could make others detest them so.
Tobias glowered at the ace as his hand lingered at the girl's side.
"Pass," he said between gritted teeth as his knuckles grew white.
Without bothering to wait for Cora to make a move, Jazbel slapped down his two.
"Then I win," he exclaimed holding his hands up in defeat.
Jazbel found himself holding his breath as he watched Tobias react to being beaten. The older man wasn't that intimidated by the younger's glowering expression. Still, Jazbel knew it to be best to be weary of the viper of a man, for Tobias, would perhaps literally strike at him at the first opportunity he could.
However, Tobias suddenly broke out into a wide smile as he put down his hand. Still, there was a cold and hard glint in his eyes that was hard to ignore.
As Jazbel reached out to claim his prize money, Tobias quickly brought out the knife and slammed it a mere inch away from his fingertips.
"Shuffle the cards," he quietly commanded as he slouched back into his chair as he coolly wrapped his arm around the young woman, again.
Jazbel slowly nodded, as he took the cards from Cora and did as he was told.
As if unfazed by the ordeal of the match, he looked around the room, observing the thugs and bandits. Gambling was fine and all, but he needed information, even the tiniest slip of it.
"Hey, Tobias," he said as he began to slice up the deck, "When your girl brought me down here, she forgot to run me by the 'rules' your lot live by. I don't want to go stirring unnecessary trouble; you got any tips? Maybe you could even give me a tour. No one better to do it than you, right?"
Jazbel said this last piece of flattery as he handed over a third of the deck to Tobias before shoving another towards Cora. He motioned for Tobias to go first.