Chapter 144: Talent Not to be Pass
The crowd lingering around the rigged dice stall slowly scattered once the city guards marched the cheating stallholder away, grumbling about lost coin and underhanded tricks as they drifted back toward the arena's lively stands and surrounding shops.
Mike brushed a fleck of dirt from his tunic, twisting the leather pouch of recovered gold in his palm with a lazy, satisfied smirk.
His usual easygoing demeanor hung thick over him, the careless air of a seasoned gambler who had dodged a costly misfortune once again.
He tipped an imaginary hat toward the onlookers still glancing his way, the faint reek of cheap ale clinging faintly to his clothes, a leftover habit from wandering the city's taverns in his spare time.
To anyone watching, he looked like nothing more than a roguish drifter who lived for dice rolls and loud tavern nights, yet a dull, quiet sorrow lingered deep in his eyes whenever he fell silent.
