Solo [The Velvet Curtain] An Unusual Job Opportunity

[Stefan]

37th Day of Winter, 513 AV 19th Bell, 10th Chime Stefan walked out of his new found house, from the barely functioning door, the cold winds of Riverfall chilling his bones. He entered again, donned his cloak and drank a sip of the wine he purchased early in the morning, to help him with the cold. The door of his new cottage was rotten, but at least it was functional. He cursed his luck at this point: he has spent most of his first day in Riverfall cleaning his cottage, a rundown building. It was probably a former storage, judging from the boxes, barrels, and the other things the former owner didn't bother to clean up after leaving the place. Stefan didn't know him, but already hated that guy. All day cleaning spider webs, dusting floors, moving barrels and killing rats (with questionable success) had tired the young Stefan. He needed some rest... maybe a night stroll, with some fresh air. So as soon he ended the cleaning for the day, he strapped his mandolin to his back, donned his cloak, and went out for the night. The beautiful city still impressed him. But one of the things that impressed him most was the form of the streets... where Stefan naturally went lost. Cursing under his breath, he walked through the dark streets, without a fixated path. He was lost in his thoughts as he walked. He definitely liked the city. Nice wine, beautiful views... it was a good place to make a start. The only things that bugged him were the absence of women. He noticed that there weren't many women in the city. That would have been enough for him to never get in Riverfall on the first place, but now that he was here, he couldn’t simply leave. He didn't even a place to go, now. Minding the cold in that moment, all he wanted was somebody to spend the night with... And then, he saw it. An attractive lingerie-clad female, on a couch, facing a window. Stefan couldn’t identify the race... it was probably a mixed blood. But he didn't care. He instantly knew what this place was: it was a brothel. He stared the building fascinated, with dumb awe. First, he wanted to know where he was, and after a couple of seconds, he found the scroll a guard gave him early in the day. He didn't remember it, and actually didn't care, but then he remembered that in the scroll was a map. Stefan looked at it, trying to find the street, and finally, after a couple of minutes, found it. The building was indeed a brothel, and was called the Velvet Curtain. Fitting, to say at least. Without thinking much further than that, he entered the building, leaving his cloak at the door. He was greeted by a pleasant smell, and the lovely scenery of the velvet, the beautiful females, and the warm sensation. He smiled to himself. He truly felt good in a place like that, even though he hadn't visited many brothels in his life before. Even before he could take another step, a blonde, attractive human stepped in front of him, smiling in an innocent manner. She was also wearing lingerine, but in a more revealing manner that the mixed blood on the window. "Hello, handsome! I'm KIki, and I'm going to be your hostess today!" she said, grabbing Stefan's hand "Tell me, what's your name?" "...Stefan Teagan, and I'm new here." That's all he could manage to say, without saying out loud the cursing in his head. One of the reasons he didn't visited any brothels was that he couldn't hold a candle to professional prostitutes... so when Kiki leaded him towards a high backed chair, he didn't even noticed that he paid the 2 gold mizas for entering. "A new boy, huh? Well, well. Let me explain you how things work here: I can serve the drinks you want, or if you want, I can leave you alone to enjoy the show... or, for 30 gold mizas, I can stay for the night." She said with a seductive wink and a smile. Stefan just nodded at her. The idea of her accompanying him was indeed appealing... so, he paid 30 more mizas, and 2 more for two glasses of wine. Clearly, he wasn't thinking with his head. At least, he was enjoying the contact with her hostess. I have been a while for him... well, it has been two days, but for him, that was a lot of time. They keep on conversing, with the occasional caress of the job. "...And don't make me start on Symenestras. The one I had almost killed me... but it was worth it, you know." He said smiling, taking back old memories. "Tell me about it. Here, the Symenestras has rules... they must have eaten recently, and must take full responsibility on the health girl after that. And of course, only females are allowed in the city at all. Not a pretty matter, I'm telling you." Kiki replied, drinking some wine herself. "Why I'm not surprised? Anyway, tell me... who are Akalaks in bed? Just morbid curiosity." "They're usually pretty rough and really common here, so I'm used to it." "I see... I wanted to try an Akontak myself. That would be interesting, to say at least." he drank some of his wine. Though Kiki wasn't really bright, he really seemed comfortable with her. That was her job, after all. They continued talking and drinking for some more chimes. "Come on, come on!" He said, enthusiastically "Do it again, please!" Kiki giggled back "Alright, alright." she balanced a shotglass on her head, with a bottle of liquor in her hand. With a quick movement, she jerked the bottle, and the liquid landed on top of her head, filling the shot. "Oh, that is amazing! You have to teach me that trick someday" he laughed softly, drinking the liquor of the shotglass. "I would love to, but you must come here more often to see that..." And then it hit him. He has just spent half of his money on the brothel... not his smartest choice, but that was something he would not regret soon. He still lost much money, though... and if he wanted to stay in the city, he needed a job. "Actually, I could come here more often..." he said quickly, thinking fast "Maybe... if I got a job here! I mean, I could do as a musician... or even cleaning!" Kiki looked at him, and after a long minute of thinking, she replied "We could use another musician, but... I don't know if madam re Bashira would approve it..." "Come on, Kiki..." he smiled at her "I need this, and I could do a very fine job... besides, that way you could teach me that trick of yours!" She giggled "Okay, come tomorrow in the morning. Let's see what we can do, alright?" He nodded, and they both continued conversing about simple topics, like juggling tricks. After a couple of bells, Stefan was out, again in the cold of the night, in fact frustrated because he could not get any real action... but glad that he managed to get a job. "Well, it's a start..." he said to himself, walking through the streets, looking for his new home, and getting lost on the streets again.

[Stefan]

38th Day of Winter, 513 AV 14th Bell, 30th Chime After getting lost after leaving his house again, Stefan finally made it again to the Velvet Curtain. The worst part was that Stefan lived near the brothel, so he didn’t understood how he could get lost so easily. Kiki waited for him on the door of the building, with an impatient look on her face. She was now wearing more “decent” clothes, notably of better quality that Stefan’s clothes. “That’s really strange; you look as beautiful in ligerine as you’re clothed.” He said with a smile, approaching the bubbly prostitute. “Sweetie, I’ve heard better ones, but thank you anyway.” She giggled, but once again, she looked at him impatiently “You’re late, and the day is cold, you know?” He shrugged “Sorry for that, Kiki. A group of robbers came into my house, and I had to defend it… that, or I got lost in my way here. I prefer the first, though, it’s more epic.” Kiki giggled again, and leaded Stefan inside the brothel. He thanked the gods that, since the Curtain was not open, he didn’t have to pay this time. Inside, Stefan was greeted again by the warmness of the building. It was almost empty, except for a few Akalak bouncers that were still on the brothel, and even fewer prostitutes, that came early that day. “Alright Stefan, I think you know the main area. Right there are the private rooms, were the patrons and the girls meet each other...” Again, Stefan cursed silently, for he was not able to enter one of these rooms the other night. “And there’s the stage. As a bard, that will be your work station… well, actually, it will be behind the stage. The patrons are here to watch the girls dance, after all…” “Makes sense to me…” He said, nodding. He was a background musician, and the true stars were the dancers, and he knew it. Besides, behind the stage, he could probably see the girls’ dance, so he didn’t complain. Kiki leaded him behind the stage, where he would see his area of work. Before entering, he could see the pole in the middle of the stage, and could not help but imagine Kiki dancing on it… or himself. He laughed silently at that, wondering if they did Ladies’ Nights on the Curtain. “Here‘s where you will play, Stefan” Kiki finally said, showing the young bard the area where the musicians played. It was partially behind a curtain in the stage, enough for the musicians to not to be seen by the patrons, as they were covered in the shadows behind the stage, but also enough for the sound to not to be muffled. It was quite spacious, as well; it was logical, as Stefan could not be the only bard at the Curtain. “Well, this seems like a good enough place…” Stefan nodded to himself, and when he turned his head at Kiki, she was smiling at him. “Don’t forget: you came here for another reason…” and with that, she presented him with a bottle of water and a shotglass. Of course, the juggling classes! He was mostly here for the job, and also mostly for the women… but Stefan couldn’t say “no” to that gorgeous and impish face. Of course, they both decided to change to a small wooden cup instead of real shotglasses, after the first one fell to the floor and shattered into pieces. It was up to Stefan to clean it, of course. “So, let’s see… the first thing is control the balance… just hold the shot on top on your head like a small hat, and then…” Kiki jerked quickly the bottle, and the liquid dropped onto the cup, without a single drop on Kiki’s head. “Alright, I think I got it…” he tried to balance the cup, but it fell to the floor quickly, so he tried again, with the same result “Well…” he said while trying to balance the cup “I guess I must know the Madame at some point, don’t I?” “Yes, you must, but don’t worry. If you do a good job, she will surely accept you!” Kiki said with an enthusiast tone, with a wide grin on her face. “…But are you sure that she will actually give me a chance to begin with?” Stefan said doubtly, managing to get the cup on top of his head for a couple of seconds, and then falling again. It was a start. Kiki though for a second, seeming nervous. After a couple of seconds, she replied “Probably… you seem handsome and useful enough. I don’t think she will object…” “I hope that’ enough, honey… hey, I think I’m actually doing it… nevermind.” He said again, picking up the cup of the floor. “You’re getting better, and besides, practice makes perfection!” After standing still, without moving at all, for some seconds, he could finally keep the cup from falling. “…Well, I finally got the cup figured, now what?” “Not you take the bottle…” Kiki carefully put the water bottle on Stefan’s hand “And move it quickly!” Stefan did as he was told. Not only too much water came out of the bottle, but the cup fell again. Before he could figure what went wrong, his head was now soaked, and Kiki’s laughter didn’t helped. He could help but to do the same. Her laughter was really contagious. “…Just to amuse you, I’m going to do it again, okay?” He told her, picking up the cup again. He did again the trick, with similar results. A few prostitutes laughed too, and even the younger and newer bouncers giggled. “Oh, I’m just bad at this! Guess that’s why I clean and don’t act…” he too laughed. “You’re doing great for your first time! You just need to focus.” “I suppose you’re right… ah, by the gods, let’s try this again” Once again, he went with the trick, failing many times, not even thinking about how he should meet her new boss, that he didn’t even knew.

[Stefan]

The patrons cheered at the dancer, a four-armed Eypharian, as they leaved tips on the miza boxes. A slow tarantella, accompanied by drums played by an Akalak, fitted perfectly with the exotic and sensual dance of the girl. Stefan played his music in the shadows, preparing himself for the dance of the same mixed blood he saw the first day he came to the city. It was a great job for him; he could see the girls dance, play music, and they gave him a discount on the bar. Also, thanks to Kiki – whom he learned that Kasandra Miffith was her real name – Stefan befriended some of the prostitutes. Kiki would always remind Stefan to learn the shotglass trick, though. After two more dances, they were allowed to have a break, as the next dancers prepared themselves. Stefan utilized that time, around 15 minutes, to take a break and have a nice mug of ale, and maybe some wine. “Stefan!” the young bard heard the bubbly voice of Kiki, just as he finished his ale. Whipping his mouth his sleeve, he turned around, smiling at his friend. Of course, he didn’t expect her to be accompanied… by his boss. He has just heard about Silka re Bashina, the owner of the Velvet Curtain, but what he has been told did not make justice to the reality. Along Kiki, who was wearing her biggest smile, and a set of pale blue lingerine, was a six-armed Eypharian, wearing a gem-encrusted bustier, pretty bracelets and a golden, elaborated necklace. Oddly, her hair was of a light shade of red, but that only added an exotic touch to her beauty. “So, this is the musician you told me about, Kasandra?” she spoke in a sensual, exotic tone, while looking at Kiki, which nodded vigorously. “Interesting…” Stefan blushed slightly, but acted quickly “Stefan Teagan, madame…” He said, while taking her middle, left hand and kissing it. “And yes, I’m the new musician of you fine establishment…” “Flattery, as it seems. That will not get you far, but I like your style.” She laughed for herself, making Stefan smile. After a brief pause, Silka spoke again “Kiki told wonders about it… mostly about who much you liked to learn the trick of the shotglass.” Kiki continued to smile widely. “But other than that… I really liked you music. You really know how to sync with the dances of the girls. So you got that in your favor.” Stefan nodded, but didn’t say anything. He was almost hypnotized by the gorgeous Eypharian, something that she was probably used to. “However…” she continued “I don’t see the difference between you and the regular patrons. In fact, I know you came here just to get under the sheets with someone, but couldn’t because you didn’t have enough money. Is that true?” He couldn’t lie to her. “Yes, that’s true…” Stefan replied, without giving any reason or excuse, probably because he wasn’t thinking with his head right now. “Of course, Kiki told me about how you are disposed to do anything to work. That’s a point for you, Stefan.” She smiled warmly at him. He didn’t know how, but she could make him feel like the most important man in the world. “Is that right?” “Yes, Madame. I really need this job, so I’ll do anything you ask me… but of course, someone as beautiful as you could make any man do anything” he replied. He wasn’t just flattering her, because they both knew that, if she wanted, she could order Stefan to jump from the waterfall… and he would do it without any question. “Flattery, again. Alright, boy, I’ve heard enough, so this is what we’re going to do: you can work here. You will be the musician, and I’ll pay you as such. But if I need you to do something, I’m only going to pay you extra if the extra job is big, and you do it exceptionally. Of course, the entry will be free for you, but if you want to use the services of the brothel, you’ll get the same rules as everybody else. I’m being clear enough?” She said with an authoritarian tone, making clear why she was the owner of the brothel. “Understood, Madame. I’m all yours now” He bowed his head, and smiled at her, truly thankful of her job opportunity. “Perfect. Now, get back to work, handsome. “She said with a wink “I’m not paying you for drinking, after all.” And with that, Silka walked away, followed by Kiki, which gave Stefan a big smile. Stefan almost jumped in excitement, but managed to control himself. “Well, this surely is great…” he said to himself, drinking another mug of ale, and then back to work, mandolin in hand. After that, Silka said it: she paid him to play, not to drink.

[Gossamer]

Character: Stephan
Experience: Observation +3, Negotiation +2, Land Navigation +2, Socialization +3, Cleaning +3, Juggling +1,
Lore: Kiki: Knows great tricks,. Juggling: Shotglasses, Silka re Bashina: Velvet curtain’s orders, Bards; paid to play not to drink

Additional Note: This was a nice little thread. I liked how you introduced so many characters in a variety of ways. It was nice to see someone actually detail how they landed their job and just not mysteriously have the job IC. So Kudos to you. Great job and I hope to get to read more of your threads!