Fantasy This ain't No Place For No Hero

[kevintheradioguy]

"Adder Pearl" brothel | Luthcheq, Chessenta | Late summer​

kevintheradioguy & @Feywild​

"You dirty dog!", people would yell if they knew that the red lights district was his favourite place to be. It was not for fancy-dressed women and men peppering the streets, and lewd working girls inside of posh brothels ready to drag you away and do anything you want for you. No, it was different. The fiery man felt safe there. He felt at home there. He trusted prostitutes and hustlers, gigolos and mamans working hard and draining their body each day and every night. The man always managed to charm his way into a deal: he makes a show in the building, advertises it, and attracts more potential clients... and in exchange, he has one of their rooms for himself, and a meal from their cooks. Of course, he could've just as well stay in an inn on the same conditions, but... well, he liked brothels. He felt safe there. He trusted the workers.

It has been the second night of his stay in Luthcheq, and Etienne already disliked the city. It was too... battle-centred. Locals sang songs and praised their war heroes, dragon slayers, and generals too much, taking pride in fire and steel... barely any book in a library or any historian could tell anything but the biographies of their greatest leaders and champions. While undeniably interesting, it was also not what he was looking for.

"God damn it." Etienne sighed, when the amount of people who wanted to talk to him after a musical show dropped, and he could sit alone on the pile of pillows in the furthest corner - right under the stairs, heading the clack-clack-clack of high heeled stilettos as the girls ran up and down, serving clients, giggling, and making jokes. He caught a few curious glares here and there - mostly because of the bight looks he had with his fiery hair and burgundy-and-amber eyes, however, he was too drained to try and respond in a friendly manner. His charge of charm and friendliness was drained. He was his own tired self: grumpy, displeased, and irritable. He closed his eyes, trying to recollect the map he had up in his bedroom - too fancy an laced for his taste - and recollect any clue of what he should've done next. It wasn't a map per se - not a classical one. Rather, a series of sketches and directions starting roughly in this area. Problem was, he had no idea where the sketched places were. It was his first time of visiting Chessenta's hot swampy jungles, and it was incredibly confusing. A normal human would use a guide, but Etienne was too proud look for one. Too proud indeed.