Xanthippe (Chapter 6)

Template:Xanthippe nav After disposing of the Countess, and her things, Xanthippe found herself quite wealthy. There wasn't much to spend money on in camp, except at Gheed's. Having never officially been near Gheed, this would be an excellent time for her to introduce herself. Having a full money pouch in view would ingratiate her quite nicely, if she remembered Gheed.

"Hi there," Xanthippe smiled sweetly.

"You stay away from me, you little [I want my mummy]. I don't know what I ever did to you, but I know it's you!"

"Have you been having some problems?"

"I haven't had a rash like this since that night at The Slippery Fist. Who are you, anyway? I don't remember seeing you before."

"What, they don't have girls like me at The Slippery Fist?"

"What a man does to entertain himself in a strange town is his own business. I'll thank you to mind yours and stay out of mine!"

"I always do! Mind, I mean." She smiled coyly, and bounced a bit. "I've got a little problem."

"You're telling me?" But the bounce made Xanthippe's purse jingle loudly. It was practically falling off her belt. "However, I'm always glad to help a young lady in need!"

"Well, if you've got something good enough..."

"Always the finest! I guarantee it."

"Well..." Xanthippe drew in the dirt with her toe. "How's your... equipment?"

"Don't even try, little girl. I don't impress easily."

"I know. You like the big busty ones who spank you."

Oh, what an interesting shade of purplish-red Gheed turned. "Oh, so you're from that line of work." His eyes narrowed. "Yes... one of the girls from the Silver Moon house."

"Nope."

"The Black Swan Oasis?"

"Try again."

"You're not old enough for the Areb Shayar; they have more class."

"You idiot," Xanthippe laughed. "I'm not old enough for any of them! If you knew anything, you'd know mages have to study for at least 7 years, and 7 years ago, I was 10."

Chuckling very unpleasantly, Gheed sneered, "There are harems for that, too."

Xanthippe wondered if Gheed really knew of such a place. "Are you trying to make me hate you even more?"

"Come now, what's wrong with a diversity of experience? But I didn't think you wanted to discuss matters of the heart... unless you have some need to... ?"

That smug smirk still brought out the same homicidal urges... and now, she was big enough to do more than just throw camel dung. But Warriv would intervene, and Xanthippe didn't want to have to kill him too. "Yes. For equipment."

Gheed rubbed his hands together. "And you want to see mine?"

"You've got a breastplate inside your cart. Mind if I take a look at it?"

"I do mind. For you, cash up front."

And it was expensive, too. Nice breastplate, and a belt to go with it, but Gheed made her pay through the nose. All right, Xanthippe reflected, I lost that round. But he wouldn't be bothering any of the guilds when he got to Lut Gholein. The poison ivy took care of that. Still, the bastard really knew how to give you a crawly feel in your gut. Freak.

Back out in the field, Debi was quiet as they approached the monastery. Not too surprising, except that before this, Debi never seemed to shut up about the monastery. Xanthippe had a good idea of the place's layout through her; an outer gate, courtyard, a cathedral in the middle of the yard, with Andariel in the catacombs. Getting through the courtyard would be a bitch, if there were enough archers in there; they'd be moving targets in a big open area like that. That probably wasn't what was up with Debi, though.

"Something on your mind?" Xanthippe asked.

"Um..." Debi paused to shoot a Rogue. "I was wondering..."

"About what corrupted your sisters?"

"No..."

"About what we're going to find inside the monastery?"

"No..."

"About what I do at night when no one's looking?"

"You chop wood."

"It's good for my shoulders. What are you wondering about?"

"Um..."

"If you say 'um' one more time, I'm gonna stuff your bow down your throat."

"No you won't, I'm stronger than you."

"WHAT IS IT, DEBI!?!"

"Oh, uh..."

"'Uh' isn't any better!"

Looking very uncertain, Debi bit her lip. "How do you... know... about Gheed?"

Smirking, Xanthippe said, "You're not supposed to listen in on other people."

"But he's, like, old and creepy! How do you even know a creepy old guy like him?"

Thinking about a good answer to that took Xanthippe will into the monastery's outer yard. "Debi, what do you think a harem is?"

"It's, like, a place with... um..."

"Silks and satiny pillows, billowy pants and lounging around all day eating grapes?"

"Um... that's what's in the pictures."

"Fine. A harem is a feature of Lut Gholein. Lut Gholein is in a desert. The land has nothing to live on. There is no way Lut Gholein could be a rich city if it weren't for trade. It is the best trade port on the Twin Seas. But it's no good if the merchants just sell stuff or move it through. The sultan taxes the goods, but if he taxed them enough to get rich, the merchants would go to another city. He needs them to spend money of their own free will. That's what harems are for." "How do harems get merchants to spend money?"

"They're seraglios, Debi."

"A what?"

"Whorehouses."

Debi blinked. "Oh."

"And Gheed goes to all of them. All. The. Time."

"So, that means you..."

"No. When the Zann Esu came to get me, I was 7. My mother was in one."

"That's terrible!" Debi frowned. "Didn't her mother know, and help her out of there?"

"She was the house madam."

Debi just stared. "She... they... but that's..."

"Yep. Lut Gholein is the jewel of the desert. That's because they take all the pretty girls, dress them up nice, and line the streets with them when the merchant caravans come to town. They 'entertain' them too, and the sultan gets his cut."

"That's horrible! That's men using women to make themselves rich!"

"You got it. Hit the nail right on the head with that one."

"That is everything we Rogues are opposed to! Someone should do something about it!"

"No one's going to do anything about it, Debi."

"But they're exploiting women!"

"Yep. If they didn't, Lut Gholein wouldn't get money out of the merchants. It would be all business, no pleasure, and they've got nothing worth selling. Everyone would be poor, and poverty sucks. That's why my grandmother heads a house and pimps her daughters. Even though I hate the Zann Esu, I'm glad I was born with the gift. Let's kill things."

Debi shut up again. The courtyard inside the outer walls was indeed wide open. Peeking through, they could see every Rogue and her long-lost cousin, hiding behind a column or bush, arrows at the ready. Maybe another way in would be better. The main gate barracks were off to one side, through a sheltered walkway they could use for cover. A big fat demon inside the barracks had one of Charsi's tools, a magic smithing hammer; she was happy to have it back. The Rogue's jails were under the barracks, and extended to an inner cloister next to the cathedral. So, they went through the jail. The demons had found the torture equipment, and used it enthusiastically; they hurried through quickly.