Master D'nai tapped his finger against his chin as the sister's spoke with the ghost of a smile quirking his lips.  A ghost of a smile that erupted into a full grin when Stephanie interrupted Dawn.  Looking at the redhead he answered her first,<strong>"I suppose the one thing you should know about miss Legerwin is that she is a rather powerful mage in her own right, and in addition to her studies in the primal, her magic tends to focus on illusion and transmutation.  I mention this because her agreement with Madam Kirin, the owner of Kirin's Cat House is a somewhat... unusual one.  Allow me to explain for a moment,"</strong><br/><br/>He shifted in his chair making himself slightly more comfortable,<strong> "You've probably noticed that space is at a premium here in Laelith.  As people have reclaimed buildings they've tended to build up or down faster than we expand outwards, as reclaiming and making safe the ancient sections of the ruined city is very labor intensive and really can't be done till the city makes a great push to reclaim a new block or section of the ruins, and then build sturdy walls and defenses around it.  So as more and more people have entered the city over time structures have grown taller, and had basements that have gown down into the warrens beneath the streets.  As you know, my tavern and inn is several stories tall, the top two of which are the apartment you are now renting.  Well, Kirin's Cat House is no different, building up rather than out.  Why this is significant of course is that Belle, that is miss Legerwin, has rented out a portion of one of Madam Kirin's basements and made it into her own workshop.  She explained it to me once in passing, something about being beneath a ready source of free primal energy or something.  So while Belle works for Madam Kirin occasionally as a pleasure girl, she is also a tenant, and conducts much of her research there, at the brothel."</strong><br/><br/>He shifted in his seat again leaning forwards and steeping his fingers together,<strong>"The upshot of this information is that obviously the primal mage and the madam are close, and by all accounts friends.  With Belle's skill in illusion, and a trusted business owner as a friend, if she wanted to hide from you, you'd never be able to pick out miss Legerwin from any of the other prostitutes at the brothel.  Kirin's Cat House is a powerfully warded building, mostly against divination, for rather obvious reasons."</strong><br/><br/>In fact it did make sense that a brothel would be heavily warded against divination, especially an upscale one.  No doubt clients paid extra for the knowledge that they couldn't be spied on magically.  But the downside was that if Bellerefo Legerwin was hiding inside the brothel under an illusionary guise, magic wouldn't be able to pierce it.  Dawn sensed this, and Master D'nai saw the thoughts on her face, nodding,<strong>"Right, and while she's a nice woman, and I wouldn't ever classify her as paranoid, she is cautious.  The combination of being a beautiful woman, a mage who practices a rare form of magic, and a part time prostitute means she has a lot to be cautious about.  She may be hesitant to leap at the opportunity to meet with other mages.  I'm not sure how much experience you have with mages but in some communities they hoard their secrets, and in fact there have been cases of crimes committed to gain secret information or spells.  I'd like to think that doesn't happen here at the academy, but I'm no fool.  While we share information freely, everyone has secrets and privacy can be at quite a premium."</strong><br/><br/>He frowned slightly and rapped his knuckles on his desk,<strong>"I would suggest a very diplomatic approach to Madam Kirin if you want to meet with Belle.  How honest you want to be is up to you, but be wary, the woman's a shifter."</strong>D'nai's face soured slightly as he said the word.  Though it wasn't clear if he was displeased with the specific woman Kirin, or with the entire race of bestial humanoids known as shifters.  "<strong>Even without the brothel guards, while she looks soft and innocent, she's far from it.  She can be vicious, especially if it comes to defending the men and women who work for her.  More to the point, she's no dumb brute, she's smart and cagey.  She'd have to be to run one of the most powerful and expensive brothels in the entire city.  So just take care how you approach the situation."</strong><br/><br/>He leaned back and sighed turning to lock eyes with Stephanie,<strong>"As to the apartment, as long as your rent is paid and you're in good standing, I would never make any claims as to what you do there.  Including how you worship or who with.  I do request however that you remember that below your feet is a legitimate business, and one that earns me a fair portion of my income.  Anything that might detract from that business would put me in a less than positive mood.  No orgies in the tap room for example, and make sure your apartment door is locked before you... entertain guests.  Doing that will greatly muffle sounds that might float down into the hallway.  Oh and I suppose make sure you're appropriately attired before walking the halls of the inn.  While nudity isn't exactly frowned upon in Laelith, it's generally a sign of something.  Slaves and indentured servants for example are most often nude, and I'd hate for there to be a misunderstanding."</strong><br/><br/>He smiled and shrugged his shoulders,<strong>"As for what you could do to repay me, I'll be in touch if I have any other jobs, and if you do start offering prayer service, maybe invite me to watch some time.  I'm always fascinated by religious services and I have a feeling yours would be especially entertaining.  So.... unless there's anything else, I'll wish you the best of luck, and let you be on your way.  I am, after all, quite eager to get down to studying my new tablet."</strong>