<div class="floatright">(https://i.imgur.com/o3xb3Y7.jpg)<br/><div align="center"><em>The Blooming Rose</em></div><br/></div>Smits took her sword and shield and turned to the cabinet, producing a tiny key, from where Lise couldn't say, he slipped the key into the small lock and turned it.  Inside were a few swords, daggers, and the like, most rather common but one or two looking rather finely made.  With surprising care he hung her sword on a peg inside then closed the cabinet and locked it again before leaning her shield against the wall next to the cabinet.  She couldn't help but notice that he turned the crest towards the wall automatically.  She supposed that was rather common practice, to make sure that any visitors to the establishment couldn't be recognized by their livery by anyone walking through the door.  He nodded to the curtain and said,<strong> "Go on in, I'll take you at your word that you're here to do business with the madam.  Just ask any of the gilly girls or boys for Lilian and they'll fetch her for you." </strong>There was an appraising look for a moment, as if he'd decided she wasn't just trying to avoid paying the fifteen silver.  With arms and armor like she was wearing it was likely that fifteen silver was not much of a problem for her.  So he held back any comments on repercussions on trying to fool him.<br/><br/>Lise pushed through the heavy curtains to find another set of heavy curtains only a few feet beyond, with a short narrow dark hallway separating the two.  She pushed through these and entered the main lounge of the Blooming Rose.  The smells were much stronger here and her cock twitched slightly at the smell of flesh and sex, not waking up, but perhaps rousing ever so slightly in it's sleep.  The lounge itself was both lurid and grand at the same time.  The ceiling two stories above her head giving it a vast open feel, as smoke and incense wafted upwards to curl around the ceiling and drift in a haze around the mighty chandelier that hung from the ceiling.  The room was bathed in warm flickering candle light everywhere as well as over a dozen red lanterns that glowed with a soft steady glow that led Lise to deduce that they were lit magically and not with flame inside the red tinted glass.  The warm yellow candle light combined with the red lantern light to cast the whole room in a soft pinkish glow that was at the same time lurid and also somewhat demonic, at least to Lise's mind.  She supposed that others might not see it that way, but those were her first thoughts.<br/><br/>The whole room was done in heavy dark woods, finely polished and oiled, and looking as if they'd seen thousands of oils and waxes over years and years and years of care, almost glowing with the reflected light that shone upon them.  A large stage made up one corner of the room, currently empty, but Lise could imagine that earlier in the night there had been musicians there, or perhaps dancing girls to entice the crowds.  There were several alcoves with tables and padded benches, some of which were occupied by patrons, and some which included women of the night.  But so too did she see scantily clad men, wearing little more than jewels or bits of cloth that only just barely covered the area below their waist, and often didn't cover their backsides.  Most of the men were soft and feminine, but one or two strong and muscular, and looked like they could put up a fight if they had too.  Likewise the women in the room seemed rather diverse.  While most were curved and feminine, there was one or two exotics as well, a lithe small breasted elf here, a hirsute shifter there, a beautiful and fierce looking green skinned half orc by the bar along one side of the room.  Tonight seemed a bit slow however and the stage was occupied only by two prostitutes who sat on the edge, chatting with each other idly.  Certainly the options for flesh in the Blooming Rose was quite varied.  Lise had to assume that fifteen silver just to walk through the door was probably a fair price based on the selections in front of her.<br/><br/>A brunette woman who appeared to be in her late twenties approached,<strong>"Why hello there Red,"</strong>the woman purred,<strong> "I don't know if you're looking for a man or a woman, but I assure you the Blooming Rose has what you need, even if it's both."</strong><br/><br/>Lise had a moment to appreciate the scantily clad form before again stating that she was looking for Lilian, on business.  The woman glanced her up and down and nodded,<strong>"Have a seat at the bar, no one will bother you there.  I'll go tell her, do you care to give a name or should I just keep calling you Red?"</strong>