Madame Jahira
Time to empty your pockets and grease some palms!
Serious crime investigation demands Leads and Clues, Arcadia Tenebra being no different. However, in this god-forsaken province, all Leads and Clues are inextricably tied to Non-playable characters. Some of those are rather friendly (like Priest) or even civilized (like the greatest inventor of all times, Nikola Tesla) but all the others are real pieces of work.
That said, we must warn you that Arcadian NPCs are not exactly PC’s allies or bystanders. And they are certainly not dependants. Each of them has a crucial piece of information and s/he will not give it out easily. At all. NPCs’ motifs are, to say at least, complicated. And so are their life stories and their various talents and abilities.
When your investigation eventually brings you to the Brothel, beware. Better walk on eggshells here. This brothel is a strange place, even in this strange land. It’s not just a home to all sorts of carnal pleasures, substance abuse, and gambling – it is a place without a flag. This means that here you can’t tell who your allies or enemies are. This is the realm of Madame Jahira, which she rules with an iron fist and supreme cunningness. A woman herself is a mystery. No one knows her real name or origins or even her real age and her poker-face is… well, an undecipherable life map of someone who has managed to survive and thrive, owing allegiance to no one, even the mighty empires.
If so far you’ve succeeded to fight your way through Arcadia Tenebra by the sheer power and physical strength – forget it. Brothel staff has plenty of huge and loyal thugs. You don’t stand a chance against them. Your intelligence, however big it was at the moment you passed over the brothel’s threshold, won’t work either. Madame Jahira has seen the things you can only dream of. Betrayal, manipulation, and good judgment of characters come to her as easily as breathing. What’s left? Well, you can grease Madame’s palms. Simply let go of your beloved, precccciousssss trinkets, weapons, or garments rare Cards or fancy Tesla prototypes. In case your backpack or pockets are empty or half-empty, you’re left with only one currency: tell stories. You may tell tall stories, but you still have to amuse Madame. Perhaps you never planned to resemble Scheherazade, but now you have to – or Jahira’s bodyguards will dispatch you in pieces to hospital. Or worse.
However, if you – in one way or the other – satisfy the appetites of Madame Jahira, you’ll get some truly valuable answers. You will immediately be able to narrow the circle of suspects and discover unexpected allies. Still, you probably won’t like what you discover at all, as now your investigation takes an eerily, horror-like turn. And since your gold coins are not going to help you where you’re about to go, you might as well empty your pockets. Spend a night in the brothel that caters to all sorts of preferences. Relax and roll dice at Madame Jahiras’ salon – you might win some Luckies. Yeah, relax. You’ll need it. From now on you definitely won’t have a chance to relax…
