The lifelike illusion of the naked high-elven courtesan moved the hands covering her breasts seductively while smiling coyly as it hovered in the air. The illusion drew stares from passersby who increased their pace or dragged their feet outside the main entrance to the opulent building.

One beastfolk male, belonging to a canine subspecies stopped in the middle of the busy road. He was staring at the pink illusion with longing, until his wife cuffed him around the back of his head before leading him off with a stern express by his ear. Dink could still hear the husband’s pleading from the next block away.

“This is the House Of Worldly Delight. It’s best to enter from the side entrance. A pair of goblins may cause the upper class to object. It will likely be the same in the commoner entrance, but they’re usually a tad more forgiving and have much less influence,” Lady Estra said.

“The patrons will likely be too drunk on the House of Worldly Delight’s services to view us as anything other than just another novelty,” Dink observed.

Dink started to walk across the busy road without a care. He walked in front of a departing nobleman’s carriage, causing the driver to haul on the reins to prevent him from being trampled. The carriage’s dark elf former-occupant was already at the main entrance, ignoring his driver’s actions as he entered the building. Only his ears twitched as the driver cracked a whip above Dink’s head. Dink merely gave the man a glance of annoyance as he continued to walk.

The driver was visibly shaken after he saw Dink’s appearance, the reins held loosely as he forgot his outrage. The cloaked figures of Lady Estra and Murkuk followed behind him. Dink felt his neck tingle, glancing back he saw Murkuk use his staff to start a small fire on a cobblestone brick below the horse’s flanks. The driver was given a fright as the horse reared and began to stampede down the busy street. Dink heard him shout a string of curses as people dove out of the maddened horse’s flight path, shouting obscenities and hurling stones at the carriage.

Dink chuckled then began to whistle merily as he entered into the alley leading to the commoner’s entrance. A drunk lounged half-conscious outside the steps with a drink cradled in his hand. He looked at the trio through bleary eyes, unsteadily pointing at Dink.

“Hey, you’re a goblin. That’s cool. Could you spare me a copper for another drink?” the drunk asked.

“Why not? Here’s one on me,” Dink replied.

He flipped the man a silver coin, grinning as he watched the drunk catch the coin with deceptively sharp precision, causing Dink to raise an eyebrow. The man ignored his curiosity.

“Mighty kind. I like you. Go on in,” The drunk said with an exaggerated slur.

Dink laughed as he recognized the drunk as the House of Worldly Delight’s attuned doorman. An ordinary drunk would be dragged into the stables to sober up in the hay or a dunk in a water trough. They wouldn’t be allowed to loiter outside the entrance of the most prominent pleasure establishment in the city. They had a franchise in every major settlement in the known world.

Dink took the man’s words as approval. He pulled back the hood of his makeshift vest, causing a departing wood elf to pressed himself flat against the doorway. He fled the alleyway after seeing Dink’s appearance. Glancing back, the wood elf ran into a large ape beastfolk woman, falling to the ground. The wood elf muttered an apology as he climbed to his feet and dusted himself off before continuing to flee. Dink stopped watching as the drunk laughed, shaking his head in amusement.

“I wish I could see you go inside the main entrance if that’s the reaction you get from this one,” the drunk laughed.

“Me too, but sometimes it’s not worth the headache it would cause. It would be fun though,” Dink replied with a smirk.

“Your coin is as good as any inside the House of Worldly Delight. Try not cause too much trouble and the guards inside will ensure that you’re able to enjoy yourself as much as any. Although it may be difficult to get one of the ladies to agree to keeping you or your friend company. Enough coin will change even the most sour dispositions. There may be someone who wants the novelty of it and service you for free. But such is life, you never know what may happen. I’m just a humble drunk, not a philosopher,” the doorman said with a dramatic sigh as he settled back into his post.

Dink grunted in response as he entered the House of Worldly Delight. Grinning with pleasure at the scene inside. He could smell the alluring aroma of perfume and sex. Patrons of assorted races engaged in a mixture of activities. A curtained area was revealed as a reasonably attractive topless human woman emerged holding a tray with exotic powders lined on it. Behind her, Dink could see nude men and women entwined in various sexual positions before his view was interrupted by the curtain falling back closed.

Men and surprisingly, a few women, lounged on couches as topless women playfully pressed against them. The topless women were all courtesans belonging to the House of Wordly Delight. A courtesan held a cherry by its stem between her teeth as she fed it to a human woman dressed like a laborer, who accepted the cherry followed by a passionate kiss.

Dink’s attention was drawn to a table in another room by cheers. It was the gambling area, a large lion beastfolk man had just won his hand. He was standing to scoop his gains toward him with loud boasting. It was only copper and silver knocked into a pile with a small iron cage stacked on top. There was a strange mushroom creature inside, looking concerned by the beastfolks loud outburst. The other men surrounding the table jeered at the male. One man dressed like a mage slumped dejectedly onto the table, banging his head in defeat.

Dink grinned as the familiar scene brought back memories of the last time he had been inside the House of Worldly Delight as the Sword Saint.

“It’s good to be home,” Dink said fondly.