It was a night like any other in the Firelight district of the Lower Menthis Plateau ward. Casinos, taverns, bordellos, and other attractions spilled noise and laughter out onto the streets of Sharn's only somewhat-reputable red light district. Aside from the various forms of illegal entertainment, petty crime was relatively suppressed here, in sharp contrast to Dragoneyes and Sharn's Welcome elsewhere in the City of Towers. A visitor here could tell that people were having a good time in fairly relaxed safety. Firelight was even home to the bordello Savia's, an opulent affair that boasted to receive clientele from all the way up to Upper Central Plateau and even the floating Skyway above the city, the highest of Sharn's high society.
The Crimson Lotus was no Savia's, but it was nonetheless still well-known as a classy establishment for sophisticated companionship. The escorts employed here were refined, educated, cultured, and very tight-knit. Unlike many of the other brothels in Firelight, the Crimson Lotus did not have a policy of racial discrimination, but the workers were well taken care of and took care of each other. Individually the employees were allowed to refuse a client for any reason, and with how much they treated each other like family, it incentivized would-be clients to be on their best behavior, lest they find that no escorts were "available".
Clients walked in and either stayed the night or left with a partner, all routine. It was a night like any other.
Until Cavalier stepped through the doors. He was a fairly tall individual, dressed in colorful, expensive clothes. The fabric of the leggings was puffy with red-and-purple checker patterns, accentuated by gold-colored trim. The shirt was loose and flowing, with wavy stripe patterns also of red and purple, with a decorative white-and-gold vest over top. Blue velvet gloves covered his hands. A well-crafted saber was belted to his hip. And lastly, a yellow-feather-plumed blue cavalier hat was perched on his head. All in all, he was dressed as fabulously as half of the Crimson Lotus' usual clients, nothing unusual or standing out in particular.
Except for the fact that underneath the clothing was not flesh, but wood, metal, and bundled cords of plant fiber.
The warforged turned heads from other clients and occupied escorts as he strode through the reception area of the Crimson Lotus. He walked up to an open counter top, with a portly gnome sitting at the desk behind it, who was giving Cavalier a rather confused look. "Can I...help you, warforged? Do you need directions?" The gnome said slowly. In all the years the Crimson Lotus had been in operation, a warforged had never entered the building. A warforged wearing clothing was even more bizarre.
"Directions? Not at all, good fellow," he says, throwing several more oddities out beside the request itself; he speaks with a well-inflected, smoothly nuanced voice, unlike most warforged with usually monotonous tones and clipped words. In fact, Cavalier is missing the usual stone, metal, and wood exterior plating of nearly all warforged, or any kind of plating in general, which is what allows him to wear fitting clothes in the first place.
"...Ah." The gnome receptionist utters simply, rather at a loss for words. The receptionists at the other desks can't help but also glance in Cavalier's direction, slightly distracted from the clients they are handling. The gnome ruminates on the very weird situation before him, but eventually nods. "...I see. If you will wait here, I shall...go check the availability of our escorts..."
"Certainly. I shall wait," he says with a small, respectful bow, as the receptionist slides out of his chair and walks his jolly weight further into the building, heading for the main lounge.
Heads look up as Sebbin steps into the lounge. "Hey, girls? You're not going to believe this, but, uh...there's a warforged outside who wants to hire one of you. Any volunteers?"
The gossiping menagerie of call-girls (and a few gigolos) working for the Crimson Lotus had been making their usual small talk, but now everything abruptly skidded to a halt when Sebbin appeared. All eyes stared disbelievingly at him. "You're serious?" One of the human prostitutes--Maggie--eventually uttered out, earning a nod from Sebbin. "...What in Olladra's name?" She muttered.
"But...that doesn't...why?" Another woman, a changeling named Jee currently in the form of an elf, asked. "What is even the point? Warforged don't have the parts..." She pointed out, to which Sebbin only helplessly shrugged. "...Maybe it wants to have someone to talk to? Plenty of people come to us for that..."
"Hah! I doubt that." The halfling Kayla piped up. "I mean, have any of you ever really met a warforged? I have." Kayla made a sour face. "Worst conversationalists. Ever. They're not called 'war-forged' for nothing, you know. And they don't even eat, right? I remember hearing that from somewhere. It can't even be taking you out for a candle-lit dinner..." Kayla said with the most emphatic voice yet, and many of her coworkers were nodding along with her.
"I mean...I keep an open mind myself." Jezebel, another human, said. "You all know I've been taking that hobgoblin lately who's becoming a regular, Gushaak? You wouldn't expect a hobgoblin to be polite, but he is, and he's great in bed. But...a warforged? Physically or emotionally, they can't even feel like we do!"
A few more voiced agreeing sentiments of the pointlessness of escorting a warforged, everyone looking and nodding at each other all the way. It looked like no one was going to stand up and take this client...<|im_end|>
"There are many things that most people do not understand about working at a place like The Crimson Lotus," Mia says. "While it is fancy, the ladies and men get wonderful clothes, the food and wine is exquisite, the accommodations are bountiful, and the wages are pretty good, but it suffers from a single major problem." She pauses for effect. "You are always expected to be in 'character' in public, and when your time is not purchased, things can get quite boring. Your nights are devoted to working, and your days are often spent preparing for the next evening. And if no one pays for your time or attention, you merely sit around looking pretty or occasionally serving enticing treats to those enjoying the lounge."
Mia takes a sip of her wine as she continues. "It was just such a night for me," she says with a sigh. "The fiery-haired half elf was draped over a couch in the lounge, showing off my new outfit. A low-cut, tight-fitting full-length dress colored a vibrant red and gold. My ample bust pushed up by the lace and leather bodice barely hidden underneath the sheer garment. A split that began right above my hip and ran all the way down showed my smooth, slender, pale leg as I relaxed with a sigh."
Mia's stormy blue eyes, like twin lapis glanced up as Sebbin entered the room. "Hmmm," she says, "perhaps this night might be interesting. A special client?" Mia was one of the more expensive girls at The Lotus, having worked there for quite some time and developed a moderate reputation as a witty, fiery, exotic, and quite skilled companion. It also helped that she spoke most languages in Khorvaire at least possibly. There was a rumor that she had once entertained King Kiaus on one of his few visits to Sharn. While these were in fact merely rumors, she had indeed been seen on the arm of many a diplomat, dignitary, or wealthy merchant. Always sporting the red neck ribbon that signified her place of employ.
As the other girls voiced their consternation and incredulity, Mia pondered before finally speaking up. "Sebbin, dear, how much is he paying?" At this, the other girls looked over at her, a mix of shock, surprise, and confusion. The momentary silence was finally broken by a deep bellied laugh from the only Dwarf on the Lotus' payroll, a stout woman by the name of Gertrude. "Ah, seems Mia's got an interest. What is it lass? Coming close on a payment on that fine dress a' yers?" She said, getting a tingling laugh from the other girls. "Well, I guess if it paid enough, I mean their money is as good as any? But still... talk about a boring job." Kayla piped in.
"Well, it's a slow night, and if I'm going to sit on my ass and be bored, I might as well get paid for it," Mia replied with practiced ease and elegance. With a nod from Sebbin, she got off the couch and swayed over toward the portly gnome. "I'll go talk to him." She followed him from the lounge to the desk, and the waiting 'forged.<|im_end|>