The Spoils of War

The Spoils of War was crowded and noisy, as per usual.

The setup of a long, open hall rather than a cluster of single rooms was efficient, and fit well with the overall feel of the brothel. This was not a fancy place, nor was it a discreet one. Private rooms were available only by request, and at great expense. This led to a rather raucous building, with much yelling and moaning and chugging of ale. Brawls and fistfights were common, whether over who would get the pretty white-haired girl next or whether or not somebody had gotten elbowed in the face. The fights weren't confined to the patrons, either. The women were generally hardened warriors, raised with swords and axes in hand, and were quite different from the delicate escorts of other institutions. They were no strangers to combat, and were frequently seen bent over the tables with most of their armor still on. After all, removing it cost extra.

Amidst the chaos, Alais laid on one of the tables, a bearded and muscular warrior on top of her. Every muscle in the man's body tightened, and he let out a war cry that echoed through the hall. He bent down violently, plunging his face down into her chest. Alais let out a sudden gasp, arching her back in pain. Immediately, she grabbed the man and shoved him away, struggling for a moment against his bulk before finally managing to throw him off. She delivered a ruthless punch to his jaw, producing a sickening crunch. The man fell back, clutching his face, and Alais stood and kicked him. There was another crack as several ribs broke.

"That's what you get for going berserk on me, bastard. I hope that bite tasted good, because you're getting charged triple. Let's see you try biting anyone with a broken jaw."

She stalked away, grabbing a rag and clutching it to her bleeding breast. The man had sunken his teeth into it pretty hard, and had held on when she'd shoved him away. She'd have to get cleaned up before the next customer. Sighing, she winced in pain and went to look for her friend Reyanna Fletcher . Perhaps her oathbound would have a drink or something for her.

Alais smiled, pleased to see Rey appear out of seemingly nowhere. She accepted the tankard gratefully, taking a long drink and letting out a satisfied sigh. She lifted the rag to check on the wound, wincing in pain.

"Have I ever told you how I hate berserkers? They always start out alright, but then the rush of the moment gets to be too much, and then they go berserk...and then this happens. Ugh...that's the last time I'm taking off my armor for a berserker. Just too dangerous. Once they're in that state, they see a soft target and attack."

She started buckling on her armor, but found it to be too painful and opted for a long fur robe instead. Draping it over her shoulders, she tied it loosely, still holding a hand inside to stop the bleeding.

"You're right though...we need a healer. If not a magical one, at least someone who can stitch things like this up...ugh, I definitely let him off easy. Maybe he was just hungry...I guess they look pretty tasty, don't you think?"

Taking another swig of the mead, she squeezed her chest together teasingly. Her breasts had always been a point of pride, making the hungry customer all the more annoying.

"At least I made a pretty penny off him. Still...we need more employees, Rey. This place is getting more and more popular, and customers are starting to have to wait longer and longer. We have to expand."

Alais nodded in agreement. It was true, they'd recruited pretty much every attractive girl on the island. They were pretty, sure, but they all had similar features...perhaps it was time to broaden their horizons.

"You know...that might not be a bad idea. I'd bet the customers would pay extra for some time with an exotic girl. It'll be an experience, something to tell your friends about. We could put them up in the private rooms, charge extra for them. Of course, then we'd be the ones stuck with the customers who were too cheap or too rough for the new girls...oh well. That's the price we'd have to pay, I guess."

She grinned, imagining the piles of gold that a foreign, exotic girl would bring in. Everyone would want a try, and they'd be willing to shell out for the privilege.

"Let's do it. Where would we go, though? And what about this place? I suppose we could have Lucretia run things in our absence..."

Glancing around for the woman in question, Alais spotted her on her knees in front of the town's finest brewer. The man saw her looking and waved, and Alais waved back.

"We can talk to her later, she's busy."

Alais shrugged. Foreign nations were alien to her, as she'd never wandered far from home.

"I don't know a whole lot about Lhesa or Isra, to be honest. If you think we'll have some luck there, perhaps we should head over. Everyone around here is so pale, I'm sure they'd pay to have some tan bodies in here. As for the ladies...Lucretia is pretty good about that. Still, you're right. Got anything in particular in mind?"

She sat down at the table, waving away a hopeful customer and pointing him towards another one of the girls, who'd just finished up with the previous customer.

"By the way, Rey...where are you from? I don't think you've ever said."

Just as she was about to answer Rey's eye caught the new customers. Most seemed to hunt down a free woman but one simply took a seat. Reyanna simply threw Alais a small smirk, "Maybe I'll tell you later, business calls." She wove through the crowd of drunk fucking men and women to their bar, filled a large tankard with mead and maneuvered back through the throngs. She sat at the same table as Ralf and slid the tankard to him across the wooden table. Rey raised an eyebrow at him, "So you going to join or just let your men have all the fun?"

Ralf took the tankard and smiled at Reyanna, then at Alais when she arrived. "Thank you, ma'am," he'd say before drinking some of the contents. "Not here for women, I'm afraid. But fear not, I have coin - and so does my company. My name is Ralf, of Clan Valgard, heir to the jarlship of Valland." Ralf observed one of the nearby ladies and nodded "they are fine women. But my wife is to be jarlessa one day." He shrugged "I prefer to save myself for the one I love."

Realizing these women probably considered his way of thinking backwards, Ralf would shake his head. "I will not bore you with mindless rambling. My men and I are just traveling - actually, we'll be selling some goods to your people here in a bit. Maybe we'll find some work too." He lifted his tankard up to his lips, eyeing Reyanna. She might have thought he was struck by her beauty, but then he asked "say, are you a Fletcher by any chance?" It was her hair that gave it away. "I've met a number of Fletchers in my time."

(Reyanna Fletcher) (Alais Volknir)

Alais nodded, sipping at her drink. Reyanna was right, she supposed. One observer was fine, considering that he'd brought in quite a party of his own. She glanced over, noticing three of Ralf's men being entertained by one of the women. They really did need more staff in here, she thought. The men seemed satisfied enough with sharing, but it'd be better if they all had their own.

"Royalty, you say? Well, a jarl had best learn to please his wife, don't you agree? Take it from me, Rey here can be an excellent teacher...look at all the girls she's trained around here."

She gestured to a  young woman at the next table, who was demonstrating a startling lack of a gag reflex. The girl glanced over and winked at Ralf, before returning her attention to the customer.

"She can teach men just as well as women...trust me."

Rey grinned, "Why not both?"

Alais sighed, but nodded. She'd wanted to take a break, but Rey's offer was tempting. It had been a while since they'd worked together on a single customer, hadn't it. Grinning, she stood up and stepped behind Reyanna, sliding her hand down inside the front of her friend's armor. Giving a teasing squeeze, she started to unbuckle Reyanna's armor and looked up at Ralf.

"You want the both of us, together? That's a bold move, Ralf of Valgard. You can have us...as long as you have the coin. I know you can afford it, though...and believe me, it'll be money well spent."

When the hulking figure appeared in the doorway, Alais turned and groaned. She could tell already, this man would prove far too much for any of the girls. Still, she had her own business to deal with. Turning back to Rey, she slid the woman's armor off and let it fall.

"Do you like what you see, Ralf? What do you think, hmm? Big enough for your tastes, or do you like mine better?"

Meanwhile, a dark-haired woman in heavy armor stepped over to Krypt.

"I don't know what sort of place you think this is, mister, but you have to show us the coin to play. Shouting doesn't get you anywhere around here."