The Blackjack table a had a lot of traffic, but the Hold'em table was keeping up with the pace of things and Mike had made quite a bit from the rake.
"Vella, let me know when you're ready for a break." He wanted Vella to relax a bit, she was really into card games.
"Why don't you tell me when you need the break and I'll come take off my.. " Vella started to pull the shirt from her waist.
"Not in public." Mike called out.
Vella wasn't sure what he was talking about and untucked her shirt. "What can't I do in public?" Giving mike a new and vaguely coquettish look, Vella sent Mike's eyes back to the game he was hosting.
Vella called out "Blackjack, Winner!" and Mike chuckled at her increasingly vocal cheering of the winners. It was a good thing, if people felt like they won when they did win it was always better than feeling like you barely won.
Jodi and Rissa were helping Cara with serving people drinks, March and Mona were working the room. In a few minutes they were all going to sing another song. Mona got up on stage and got everyone's attention.
"Okay, We have another song and dance routine for you guys coming right up, If you'll direct your gaze at the stage we'll be setting up in just a moment for your viewing pleasure" Mona read the script mink had written out the night before and then let a big cheer.
The crowd was not restless nor were they agitated, the entire group of people were eager to see what else would happen next.
Mike finished dealing the hand. "If you guys can excuse me for just a moment, I have to introduce our final act for the night." Mike cleared the gold they had collected into his ring and pocketed the deck of cards.
"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN" The announcement came out louder than he expected, but Mike still continued.
"Welcome to the Lone Stars Casino, Grand Grand Opening. On the stage we're about to have the Final Act of our evening, A Performance by Vella and Poocha Troop!" Mike wanted to know why they chose that name, of all things.
Vella put her cards into one of the storage rings she had, the action wasn't lost on mike. Rushing behind the curtain she got ready for her part.
Mike didn't know what the girls were planning, he had them go through the playlist and choose. He just wasn't sure what to expect, he really hoped it wasn't some raunchy song. He had several for ... bad times. The curtain was drawn closed and Mike got everyone's attention.
"At the end of the performance, please give a warm hand for our Girls here at the Lone Stars Casino. Remember to throw tips into the bucket to show your appreciation." Mike felt like a begging street performer, but he was still selling himself by participating in the Act.
"Without further Ado." Mike raised his right hand grabbing the curtain and pointing at the light beam to change its rhythm. The light dimmed down and most of the Casino got dark for a moment before the spotlight came down.
In the middle of the stage was a rock shaped paper dome. 'I'm coming out' by Diana Ross came on the radio and Mike just about had a heart attack.
'Nnnnn-n-no!, what is she doing.. you can't tell people you under or inside of a rock!' Mike winced. He was worried that she would be figured and hoped the premise was lost on the crowd.
When she burst out of the rock and started prancing around the stage, the house exploded into cheers. The crowd went wild when she was on her knees humping at the sky. Mona, Jodi, Cara, Rissa and March were standing behind her in their lab coats which were quickly taken off in one motion. The girls damned near stole the hearts and breath of everyone watching. The Chorus line was sung in the background by the Poocha Troop and Vella kept prancing and mimicking the song's lyrics.
It really looked like they had time to prepare and aside from wondering when they found the time to practice Mike was still wondering how they decided to choose. It was obvious Vella won the competition but what was with the dance, Mike didn't teach her that and he still didn't know where they found the song. Mike was almost certain he had deleted the song from the Mp3 player, it was not something he would keep on his playlists. In the end it didn't matter, the performance was a smashing success.
Mike clapped and cheered with the girls at the end of the number and walked onto the stage to give them a farewell and invite people to play the tables one last time.
"The Night is getting late, The Casino will be closing in 1 hour. If you want to take a chance at lady luck, please visit our gaming tables before your exit." Mike motioned to the girls to take a breather and then refill everyone's drinks.
Passing his hat around wasn't all that good of an idea, plenty of times people wondered if he was giving it away. Rather than come up with a reason to be mad later, mike dumped the hat into a metal bucket and walked around collecting tips for the girls performance.
"Show your support for the Vella and the Poocha Troop, give a little extra to the girls." Mike pulled out a few coins and tossed them in to show even he wasn't going to let them go unpaid. Soon, people were pulling coins from their pockets and the bucket was overflowing. Mike slightly underestimated the giving nature of these guests and smiled.
Mike sat down and lost the next two hands. Vella went back to the blackjack table and won the next five rounds, She felt like gloating but the night was coming to a close.
"Okay ladies and gentlemen, you don't have to go home.. but you can't stay here." Mike gave a formal closing statement and then turned to clean up the house.
"Goodnight!" Guests passed through the door and a few people even went up to Harry to congratulate him on his new job. They had seen him looking for work, but the man was so large no one could afford him or keep him healthy and fed.
Mike made his way into the back yard to look at the hole. His guests had left so he put a closed sign on the door, they would need a few days before they re-opened, but Mike was sure that his plans would work out.
Looking over the hole to the tunnel, Mike could still see the light pebble he had tossed down earlier. Its power levels hadn't fallen even the slightest. He was very interested in what was down there, so he found some cloth and made a rope.
Vella wanted to go with him, passing Mike the rings she picked up earlier she began explaining what Harry had found before he fell.
Mike was speechless. He collected the rings and started going through their contents, there was quite a lot inside of the rings.
"Why didn't you tell me about the other rocks?" Mike looked at the size of the rocks, they were all approximately the same size as Vella's rock when she came out. He wasn't sure he could handle more than one of her. Mike tried to put the rocks into the storage rings, but again they were unable to go inside.
"Dammit." Mike wasn't going to touch the rocks at night, it was already a lot to deal with by just thinking about it.
'Vella, the Second' Mike let a few thoughts pass through his head uninterrupted but then Vella caught his attention once again.
Vella looked at Mike in wonder, she had expected him to immediately rush up and regather his forces. "Why don't you want your soldiers!?" Vella was stamping her foot because she was one of those soldiers and Mike had fled from her when they first reconnected. She would never forget that.
"I don't have memories attached to these rocks or people" Mike told her the truth, hiding it would serve no one.
"We can take a look tomorrow, lower me into the tunnel. You're coming along." Mike played the Dom and got her attention. Vella lowered the makeshift rope with Mike into the tunnel then joined him.
The place was dark, so Mike cast a light spell on the wall as they were walking occasionally. It left a trail for them to follow and lit up the tunnel they had already gotten through.
Mike ran out of rocks to throw ahead on the ground and pulled out some gold coins. He didn't want to use things he was on short supply of, so it made sense for him. Pouring energy into coin after coin, he sent them skipping into the tunnel until they finally reached another area.
The tunnel was already extremely large, the room they discovered at the end was even more enormous.
Five Giant skeletons sat atop thrones that sat in a circle surrounding a stage. The stage was raised and it had treasures laying all around its interior. In the center of the stage, a small orb floated in the silent and still room.
A booming voice could be heard inside of Mike and Vella's head.
"Who, What are you. Why have you come." The noise was directly pushed into their skulls, Mike and Vella held their heads and continued forward.
"I am Mike, this is Vella. We discovered this tunnel and came to investigate." Mike wasn't sure what was going on, but he had a splitting headache and Vella didn't look any better off.
"You come to my chamber, and LIE TO ME!" One of the large skeletons started to crackle as dust was cleared from its old bones.
"Defeat my remains or join them." A laughter rang out, Mike reacted.
Taking out the Frost Cannon, Mike aimed it directly at the Orb and fired.
"Good, Good. That was a smart idea but useless. Defeat my remains or Join them." The voice rang out again.
Mike could see the heads of the other skeletons turning to watch, but they didn't rise. It left mike feeling like something was off, he couldn't explain it but he knew something was wrong.
Blasting the skeleton, Mike saw that the bones only gathered the ice. The Ice was actually being absorbed by the Giant Skeleton.
"Okay, Maybe not that." Mike looked around, hoping to see something or any sort of clue to help his situation. Mike pulled a bunch of gold coins from his storage and lit them with the light spell before throwing them into the air in all directions.
His actions were pretty quick, it left the skeletons wondering what he was doing and bought him some time. Mike could only laugh at himself when he figured it out.
Rushing to an open throne he tried is best to get onto the chair. The force of the skeleton's weapon against the ground had enough concussive force to push him into its seat.
"Well done." The Five large giant skeletons lost their mobility and sank into their chairs like cut puppets.
'well done my ass, was this really necessary?!' Mike felt a little outraged, but there was quite a lot of gold laying around the stage in the middle of the room. If someone couldn't at least figure out a solution they definitely didn't deserve the loot.
Mike sighed again.
The Rusty Orb started to grow in size, it manifested as an energy source that Mike was unfamiliar with. Vella knelt down in a surprising motion, it left Mike feeling the awkwardness for the both of them.
"Take the power." The rust colored orb started to solidify forcing its way and embedding into Mike's chest. Mike didn't feel pain, instead he felt a thrust of power like he had never felt before.
Suddenly tendrils of metallic roots across his arms and drilled into his body, that part started to bring the pain. "AHH!!" The burrowing into his blood vessels made him collapse in shock.
Vella rushed over and saw what was going on. She was aware that the Orb was a great source of power that required anything around it to be respectful of its ability. She didn't think this would be happening either. With a calm voice she reached out her hand to touch his face.
Mike was going through a change.
"I better tell the others." Vella got up and made her way out of the tunnel.
The roots kept boring into Mike, tiny filaments and feelers made their way throughout his body. Mike was unaware of the changes his body was experiencing, but he could still see, his eyes were wide open. Despite all the damage being done to his body, he could still see.
When the pain finally came to a stop Mike lost consciousness and collapsed onto the stage.