Hunter stands in front of a set of eyes and tries to stare at, talk to them. The eyes do not respond except to blink every moment or two. If Hunter stands too long in front on one pair, half a minute or so, the set of eyes appears to blink out of existence and re-appear in another chair further away from him, or does not reappear at all.
Checking the door to the next room, hunter finds it is still the same as it was before, except that the cat-people occupants are now absent from the room.
As John-Louis talks to the party, Gabriel focuses on him to try and detect evil intent. As he does so, he gets a minor feeling of ill intent, about the same as he would expect to get from a pick-pocket, illegal gambler, or any other petty criminal.
At Gabriel's offer, John-Louis' eyes light up and he says, "Ah, somebody new to accept the challenge! I do not believe we've met. My name is John-Louis Amber, at your service. And, if your companions haven't already explained it to you, the rules are rather simple. You fight my champion in a bare knuckle boxing match. No armor or weapons are allowed, but you can use magic.
"You may wager up to 5,000 gp that you'll win, but nothing more. For a fine strapping young man such as yourself, I believe even odds are in order. If you bet 5,000 you can win 5,000. But, if you lose, I get your wager." He pauses for a moment with a look of happy anticipation on his face. "So, are you in?" he asks.
As the eyes disappear Hunter sarcastically says, "Nice meeting you too and thanks for the conversation."
He goes into the room the cat men were and searches it.
Well then John-Louis Amber," Gabriel says in address to the man, with a nod. He has some suspicions given what he had sensed, but those like him were felt all over and was not enough to judge his trustworthiness.
Continuing he offers, "I have but 1000 gold pieces to offer, but what I and my companions truly desire passage through this room so we can continue our way farther into and eventually freed of this strange mansion."
The paladin did not try to assume he could win, or that John-Louis would even agree to discuss a wager that was not money, but Gabriel asks, "What would be the terms of our wager, with me putting my 1000 gold pieces down as well allowing us to pass if I win."
It was considered that perhaps Gabriel was thinking too much off this. Maybe it was to be assumed they would be allow through by John-Louis if the young man defeated the boxer in the ring. The paladin had to be careful not too assume though.
Edited: Thomaslee on 1st Jan, 2016 - 6:13am
John-Louis looks as Gabriel with a quizzical look. "I don't think I understand what you're asking. I don't see anybody stopping you from moving about or through this room as you please. In fact," he says as he nods towards the other door through which Hunter, Drethen, and Ardo are leaving, "Some of your friends are leaving this room now."
Pausing for a minute to look around so that he's fully assessed what Gabriel is asking he continues, "And, as far as leaving the mansion, I already explained to your friends here, I have no control over that. The only thing that I can control is a monetary bet on whether or not you can defeat my champion. And that's because I have the gold with me. Other than that, I don't think I can help you."
As Hunter, Drethen, and Ardo enter the adjoining room, they find the bedrolls and other personal effects left by the Rakasta. Along with those effects they find a wooden chest in the corner. Inside the chest they find 6,000 gp, 2,000 pp, and a large ornate silver key.
Hunter takes the key and his portion which divided by six is 1000 gps and 334 pps. He then leaves the room and goes back out to the boxing area and declares, "Forget him, we need to find where this key opens." He then goes into the corridor and tries to think where they encountered that was locked. He looks to his party for answers.
Drethen will make sure all get their share of the coins. We need to check that room with the spiders. Also where did that door at the end of the long hall outside the dinning room lead to? Was it a locked door that we could access?