An Empress in her Court

[Yumyumcrow]

The night was dragging on. The crowds had thinned to the ardent, the foolish and the desperate. Following the rumour, the hearsay and the word of the street, Luna and Brandi found their way to the place where Madam Xe held court.

It did not look particularly impressive, nor was it located in a prime spot: two stories of wooden banality faced a side street; windows shuttered but aglow with warm light; half hidden in a side street crammed with shuttered shops. The only reason the place seemed impressive was the two men standing watch and the lanterns casting a pool of light. Muted music played and tinkled; laughter rumbled into the night. A slow stream of people trickled to- and from- the building: gamblers, harlots, shadowy figures with a cruelty about them. The two men (one a brute with piggy eyes and cauliflower ear, the other rail thin with a dangerous gleam to his eye and a saintly smile) give the human traffic the once over, but make no move to stop them.

As the two kindred draw near, they slowly sense something else. There are other Beasts paying court to Madam Xe tonight.

If Brandi and Luna wish to discuss other matters we can work that in as they approach the building. It would also be appropriate to disclose any particular equipment they are carrying for the sake of clarity. Who knows what will happen at Madam Xe's tonight?

Beej Fool

[Cayce]

Brandi grinned eagerly as they approached Madame Xe's temple of vice. She didn't know much about the Tongs, but she was quite intimately acquainted with businesses like these. She reveled in their atmosphere of indulgence and the symmetry between her lifestyle and the way such businesses fed off of their customers, and the fact that this den of sin was owned by a foreigner, and a woman at that, was what excited her. The Daeva had traveled hundreds of miles to this city in search of the promise of equality and now she saw that such a promise wasn't just an empty hope, though she wasn't naive enough to believe that such gaining such equality was easy. No, she knew Xe had built this temple through blood and sweat, but the knowledge that she could do the same was exhilarating.

"Shall I follow your lead, or would you like to follow mine? I'm thinking that if anyone knows the best way to get our business off the ground it would be Madame Xe," Brandi commented to Luna as they approached the building.

OOC

50699 2013-09-27 19:28:28 Brandi rolls 7 to touch of shadows (wits+larc+ob) (10 Again) 6, 1, 1, 5, 1, 1, 9 1 success
Brandi is using Obfuscate 1 to hide a satchel that holds her 2 colt revolvers and their fancy 2 gun rig. Also bullets. Bullets in the rig and in the guns.

[Cayce]

"Alright, I can manage that. Just play along with what I say and I promise this'll be interesting," The Daeva returned quietly as they closed the distance to the door guards. She saw that the guards were ignoring most of the people around them, but Brandi decided it would be best not to ignore them. You never knew what you could learn from the help, after all. She stopped in front of them, looked them up and down once, and then smiled coquettishly.

"Good evening, gentlemen," Brandi said, her voice light. "Is this a place where a widow and her friend might find a bit of relief from their grief? We've had a terribly troubling day and I heard that this was a place with plenty of distractions for the head and the heart," she intimated, placing a hand on the bosom of her black blouse.

[Yumyumcrow]

Nice move To get the full effect, have Brandi roll [Manipulation + Persuasion]

[Cayce]

3 successes

50731 2013-09-28 20:34:56 Brandi rolls 6 to sweet talkin (manip+persuasion) (10 Again) 9, 3, 10, 5, 2, 2, 8 3 successes

[Yumyumcrow]

Brandi's actions have the desired effect. The two guards focus their attention on her. The thin guard is not entirely taken in, gesturing with a curt nod, a thumb jerk and a smirk that they may indeed enter. The brute is completely won over, lust lighting his piggy eyes. "Oh yeah! Gambling an' drinkin an' chasin' dragon if ya wants!" He steps aside and gestures to the door, leering.

Yet it is the thin guard with his smirk and deadly air that cuts down a man in a shabby suit and his companion with a dusty bowler who loudly complain with fierce oaths and foul language, about the two ladies who have just swanned passed.

  And in the process the guards miss the pairs weapons...

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2013-09-28 23:20:40		Guards rolls 4 to Perception 4 (10 Again)		5, 6, 4, 5		failure

[Cayce]

Brandi gave the doormen one last smile and a murmured 'thank you' before she stepped inside. It was only after they were among the noise of the crowd that Brandi leaned in towards Luna and whispered in her ear. "Shall we find the Madame or would you like to ask around first? I wouldn't mind trying my hand at a card table, but that can wait."