>>5242307>>5242318>>5242321>>5242418>>5242457Your first stop is The Pretty Kitty. It is a perfect recruiting ground for those of a darker or more desperate persuasion, after all. When you get right down to it, it’s a sex-den (even if a genteel one), and you are host to a sex-demon.
‘Like a match made in Hell!’ Irinnile quips.
Besides this, the brothel also factors into your plans for the city moving forward: the import of shirin stimulant-spice, the export of human test subjects. Your return to The Pretty Kitty is long overdue!
…And anyway, you miss Mina and the girls, and dancing, and the stage and lights and Laksar’s bardic music.
“Kamunu?! By the gods, Kamunu!”
By the very cushiony hug which Felia the manager give you to moment you step inside, you gather that the feeling is quite mutual. She calls out to the girls—to Manuela, Grendelia, Red Annie, Tricia and Alicia. They all rush to embrace you, fussing over you and asking here you’ve been. You spin a false narrative about a family emergency, apologizing for your absence… But you can tell from Grendelia’s expression and demeanour, more withdrawn even than normal for the large-but-shy human-orc hybrid, that something is off.
“Where’ss Helga?” you ask, connecting the dots.
“She left,” says a voice less welcoming. “Abandoned this place in its hours of need. Oh! But maybe, like you, she’ll come back?”
You look to Didianne—the taut-and-buxom blonde human you poached from Goldenrod. She is standing with her fellows: Aubrey and Luna, you think it was? And there, too, are Robyn and Vivian. You note that all of them, even the last two who predate Didiane’s tenure at this place, have hair and make-up styled after her example. You narrow your eyes.
“Mina hasss… Kept EVERYONE elsse on sstaff though, I ssee.”
“Of course,” Didiane says with a tight smile which doesn’t reach her eyes. “We’re all valuable members of the team, aren’t we, girls? And with the effect curfews and checkpoints have had on business… Not to mention our headliner leaving for weeks on end without so much as a note…”
You get the picture. Mina and The Pretty Kitty have been in a tough spot while you’ve been away. Worse yet, it’s of your making—moreso than Didiane can even guess. As a result, Madame Mina could not afford to lay off the more broadly-popular human females and—as expected—cliquishness set in. Without you here to keep her in check and to rally the demihumans, Didiane has clearly asserted herself and risen to a position of prominence on the back of her charisma, forcefulness, and ability.
Well, it’s time to put this house in order.
“I need to sspeak with Madame Mina,” you tell Felia, who cringes a little.
“Just… Tread lightly, hon,” she advises you.