A month had past since our heroes arrived in the city of Gotham and they were beginning to adjust to life in the big city. Rather than having to fight monsters everyday, the group had focused on trying to find an Appearance Changing Potion for Wrottzen, a task which had proven more difficult than expected.
Using Bojohn's underworld contacts from being a Hitman, the three had tried to track down a number of black market traders but each was better hidden than the last. The team's search for their current target, Vladek, had led them to a shady part of the city where they had been staking out a gentleman's club for a lead for the better part of a week.
"How much longer are we going to have to do this?" Wrottzen asked as he shifted uncomfortably in a criminally tiny red two piece bikini. "My voice may pass for a woman's now but I'm still a man on the inside. Its been disgusting having to dance for these men everyday."
"It hasn't been that much better for me either." May replied, wearing a bunnygirl outfit. "I've had to serve them all drinks as they pinch my ass."
"I'll gladly switch with you if you want." Wrottzen offered, desperate to get out of the day's performance.
"You know the plan dude." Bojohn said, disguised as a janitor. "You need to be the one dancing to lure our man in."
"Just my luck that I happen to be this Mystic guy's type." The Guardian replied sourly.
"We'll keep an eye out for him as always." Bojohn said, trying to comfort his friend. "Maybe today will be the day it all pays off."
'Attention valued patrons! Our next show will be starting in 10 minutes!' A voice called from behind the stage.
"That's my cue." Wrottzen said as he turned to start preparing for his performance. "Be sure to let me know if he shows today."
"Sure thing buddy!" Bojohn replied with a thumbs up before beginning to clean the floor to match his disguise.
As Bojohn and May returned to their work, Wrottzen walked backstage to prepare for his performance. Although he hated actually dancing for the men in the audience, Wrottzen had started to enjoy the preparation for the show. Aides from the club would sit him in a chair and expertly apply makeup and perfumes onto his body. After months on the battlefield leading Atlas to Fort Bifrost, it felt good for the Guardian to be pampered and the flowerly fragrances that emanated from his body now were a large improvement from the smells of dirt and sweat that he had been forced to deal with on the road. When the aides were finished and Wrottzen was shown the final product in the mirror, it reminded him of why he chose a female avatar in the first place: in order to see a beautiful woman of his own design come to life.
"You will be on in just a few minutes. Is this to your liking?" One of the aides asked, as she showed Wrottzen her completed makeup and hair. Since scars and blemishes weren't a problem in this world, the aides only applied basic makeup to Wrottzen's face: some red lipstick, mascara, blue eye shadow to accentuate her eyes and moisturizer so her skin would glisten under the lights. As for her hair, while it remained long and still flowed down past her shoulders, a small portion had been clipped back to give the Guardian a somewhat classy look.
"Its perfect. Thank you." Wrottzen replied before moving to the wings of the stage to wait for her cue.
An MC walked out onto the stage and began to prepare the crowd for the show.
"Welcome valued patrons!" He began. "Are you all having a good time tonight!"
The crowd responded with a loud and raucous cheer.
"I'll take that as a yes!" The MC replied, chuckling a bit to himself. "Now, it's time for what you're all really here for: the girls! Our first act of the night is a newcomer to our little club but you all seem to love her. Let's hear it for the Red Baroness: Wrottzen."
The former man rolled his eyes before quickly putting on a stage face and entering the stage. The 3 inch pair of red high heels accentuated Wrottzen's feminine legs as he sashayed out onto the stage and it's centerpiece, the pole.
Before going undercover, Wrottzen was able to learn a few basic dance moves from May. While he couldn't pull off some of the more advanced moves without changing his subclass to Dancer, the Guardian was still able to put on a good show regardless. Hiding his displeasure as best he could, Wrottzen began to swing around the pole, burying it as deeply as he could into his womanly chest.
'Today might just be our lucky day guys!' Bojohn called via the telepathic link. 'I think our man just walked in!'
A cloaked man with green hair had just entered the club and took a seat at a table near the exit.
'Let me go in for a closer look.' May replied, grabbing a tray of drinks from the bar and bringing them to a table nearby. 'If that's not him, he has one hell of a look alike.' The Druid confirmed.
'You heard her buddy. Our prey is in the building. All you have to do is lure him in for the finishing blow.' Bojohn said, trying to motivate Wrottzen for the next part of the plan.
Even though he knew what he had to do and the stakes, Wrottzen still wasn't happy about what he had to do next. The Guardian had to entice their target to ask for a private dance. Using the pole to balance himself, Wrottzen leaned backwards and removed the clip in his hair, allowing his long crimson locks to sway seductively behind him in all their glory. Quickly whipping his head back forward, Wrottzen ran his hands through his hair a few times to give himself the look of bedroom hair before moving toward the front of the stage and bending forward, giving the patrons there an eyeful of his cleavage.
'He still doesn't look too impressed.' May commented as she saw their target answering messages, only paying the show a cursory amount of attention. 'You have to go even bigger to get his attention.'
How am I supposed to do that? The Guardian thought as he ran his hands seductively over his bosom and crotch. I've done basically everything I can think of and my stage time is almost over.
Deciding his best chance would be to use the pole in the center of the stage, Wrottzen made his way back to the centerpiece and began rubbing his body against it, letting out little moans for added effect. While most of the crowd ate up the performance, Mystic barely paid it any mind, looking up briefly from his messages to see what was happening before continuing his work.
'Wrottzen. Press your cleavage as tightly as possible against the pole and quickly slide downward' May ordered, seeing as her friend's time was running out.
Knowing that the window of opportunity was closing, Wrottzen followed May's order without question.
The crowd erupted in a roar of cheers as the tiny bikini covering the Guardian's cleavage slid out of place, revealing her DD cup breasts to the crowd, nipples and all. The sight of the dancer's bare breasts was more than enough to bring Mystic's attention to the stage where he was transfixed at the sight.
Although he heard the crowd cheer, it took Wrottzen a moment to realize what had occurred. His face turning a bright shade of red, he quickly covered up his chest and rushed off the stage just as the MC was coming to the stage to call in the next act.
"Well that was certainly unexpected." The announcer said to the audience with a coy wink, pretending like the wardrobe malfunction had been planned from the start. "Let's all hear it for the Red Baroness!"
The crowd cheered once more as May quickly came up behind Mystic's table and struck up a casual conversation.
"Quite the dance, huh?" She said, cleaning the table a bit to maintain her cover.
"Y-Yeah." The cloaked Sorcerer replied, still a bit dumbfounded. "Almost makes me wish it hadn't ended."
"Well... maybe it doesn't have to." May replied cryptically.
"What do you mean?" He asked, a bit curious.
"You could always..." May began before turning to walk away. "No... you wouldn't be interested in something like that."
"Interested in what?" Mystic asked, playing along exactly as May wanted him to.
"Well... see that janitor over there?" She asked, gesturing toward Bojohn. "He helps some of the dancers make a little extra money with 'private sessions', if you know what I mean. The Red Baroness doesn't usually do those but I think she'll want a little extra drinking money after tonight."
"T-Thanks for the info Miss." He replied nervously before May walked away.
'I've set the bait for him.' May said over the telepathic link. 'Now we just have to see if he takes it.'
It was a tense few minutes as the small party observed the Sorcerer and waited for him to come to a decision. Eventually, he made his choice and walked over to Bojohn.
"I uhh heard you arranged 'private sessions' with the dancers here." Mystic said quietly to Bojohn, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible.
"For the right price." The Swashbuckler replied, not wanting to give in too quickly. "Which one did you want some time with?"
"The Red Baroness."
"Well well well. It's your lucky night buddy." Bojohn replied, "She doesn't normally do these but she just told me she was looking for one of these tonight. Go to the utilities closet in the back of the club and wait 5 minutes. I'll send her there to meet you."
Mystic went to the aforementioned closet and waited as Bojohn instructed and a few minutes later Wrottzen walked in as promised. Having put her bikini back on properly, the disguised Guardian walked in and closed the door behind without a word.
"So uhh... How does this work?" Mystic asked a bit nervously as Wrottzen started to walk over. "Do I make a request? Do you have a routine you normally do or-"
The Sorcerer was cut off by the sudden appearance of the Traitor's Blade sitting at his throat.
"My routine is that you are going to tell me everything I want to know." Wrottzen said with a smirk as she pressed her new weapon against the target's adam's apple.
"W-What is this?" He asked, a bit confused as to what was happening.
"It's an interrogation." Bojohn said as he and May slipped into the room as well. "And I suggest you spill your guts pretty fast, I don't think my friend here is in a patient mood."
"Where's Vladek!?" Wrottzen yelled, trying to startle the man.
"W-What do you want with him?" Mystic replied, "He's not exactly at the pinnacle of society!"
"We know that. And that's why we need him." Bojohn replied. Vladek was known for scamming many of his customers out of large swaths of money, and even precious items. The groups hope was that he had come across an Appearance Changing Potion in one of his numerous scams.
"Answer the question! Where is he!?" Wrottzen yelled, trying to force the man to answer.
When Mystic didn't answer right away, May chimed in with a slightly softer approach. "We don't want to hurt him. We just want to talk to him about finding a particular item and he's a hard man to find."
"She's right." Bojohn added. "If you just tell us where we can find him, I promise nothing bad will happen to you or Vladek."
"R-Really?" The captive asked hopefully.
"Of course." May replied, "Now how about you just tell our friend where we can find Vladek and we'll be on our way."
"Ok. Ok. He's got a little place on the edge of town. It looks condemned and has a sign saying 'Going Out of Business'." The Sorcerer explained. "Just head due south from here and you shouldn't be able to miss it."
With the information obtained, Wrottzen put away her weapon and stepped back a few paces to give Mystic some space.
"See? That wasn't so hard." Bojohn said with a smile before turning toward the door. "Thanks for the information bud!"
"So uhh... Does this mean I'm not getting that private dance?"
In reply, Wrottzen smiled and sashayed back over to Mystic. Leaning in close, she whispered a single word into his ear. "No." Before pulling the Traitor's Blade back out of her inventory and into the Sorcerer's balls.
Bojohn winced and instinctively covered his own crotch as Mystic's scream reverberated through the small room. The Sorcerer was still hunched over in pain when the three exited the room a few moments later.
"Was that really necessary dude? We had what we wanted." Bojohn asked as they made their way out of the club.
"It won't leave any permanent damage." Wrottzen replied, happy to have had an outlet for his week's worth of frustration, "Besides, that's what he gets for keeping a lady- I mean us- waiting."
After a short walk downtown, the trio came across the building that Mystic had described.
"I can see why he would hide here." May commented as they cautiously entered the building. "There's no way someone would shop here unless they knew what they were looking for or were desperate."
The shop was largely empty except for a werecat who was browsing the aisles.
"Welcome to 'Going out of Business'" An elven player said greeting the small party. "How can we help you today?"
"That depends." Bojohn started, "Are you Vladek?"
"Depends on who's asking." The elf replied cryptically.
"Mystic sent us." Wrottzen said, "He said you might know something about an Appearance Changing Potion?"
At the mention of the rare item, the elf's eyes went wide with panic. "Keep your voice down!" He whispered. "Look, I am Vladek but let's continue this conversation in the back."
The shady shopkeeper quickly led Wrottzen, May and Bojohn into a storeroom in the back of his shop to keep the conversation private. As soon as the door closed behind them, Wrottzen asked again, "So, do you know anything about an Appearance Changing Potion or not?"
"Have a little patience lady. Ever since the Apocalypse, the Appearance Changing Potion has been one of the most sought after items in the game." Vladek explained, justifying his earlier caution.
"Trust me. We're well aware of its rarity." Bojohn replied, "Your the third black market vendor we've tried in the last two weeks."
"Name your price." Wrottzen interjected, eager to regain his manhood after months as a female. "I need to have that item."
"Well I can take a guess which of you three will actually be using the thing but its not that simple."
"Why not?!" The Guardian asked, frustrated. "We're paying customers! Name your price and we will pay it!"
"That's the thing. These potions are so rare that I can't even put a pricetag on it." Vladek replied. "I could charge you all of the money you three have plus the cost of all your items and equipment and I'd still be losing money on the deal."
"Is there no way we can make a deal work?" Bojohn asked, knowing how desperate Wrottzen was for the potion.
"There is one way... Trade me something of equal value."
"I thought you just said the potion was priceless." May said, "How are we supposed to trade you something of equal value if the potion doesn't have a monetary value?"
"You don't trade me another item." The shopkeeper explained, "You trade me information."
"This is sounding a bit more reasonable." Bojohn replied, "What kind of information are we talking about?"
"I want information about what is going on in Capitol City."
"That's pretty specific. Why do you want information about what's going on in the Lander Capitol?" Wrottzen asked, "Aren't there underworld people you can contact to ask about this sort of thing?"
"That's the thing, no one's heard word from Capitol City in months. After the Apocalypse hit, most players went to some of the other major player cities to investigate and after the Landers heard about the Adventurer aggression against their people, they kicked the remaining players out of town."
"So no one knows what is going on in the People of the Land's capitol? That seems like a glaring lack of information no matter how you look at it." May commented. "Why hasn't anyone gone to investigate?"
"I've tried sending people before." Vladek replied, "But they all run into trouble when they pass by Franklin."
"And what's so scary about Philadelphia?" Wrottzen asked, using the real life name for the city.
"They don't exactly have the structure that we do here in Gotham. A bunch of PK guilds have set up shop in the city and have taken to killing any players who drift even remotely close to the city."
"I think we can handle a few PKers." Wrottzen replied confidently.
"Don't get too overconfident kid. These are players who have been honing their combat skills since we got trapped here. Most of them are approaching the previous level cap of 90." The Elf warned.
"Even if they have a few levels on us, I think we can find a way to make it past." Bojohn assured the man. "So do we have a deal? We will travel to the Lander Capitol, gather information on the city and the government and return to Gotham. In exchange, you will trade us the Appearance Changing Potion."
"That works for me." Vladek replied, extending a hand to shake and officially seal the deal.
"That works for us too." Wrottzen replied, taking the elf's hand and shaking it firmly. Turning to the rest of the party, he said "We'll stock up on supplies tomorrow and head out first thing the day after."
"Yeah!"
"D.C. here we come!"
Bojohn and May both replied respectively.
One more mission. Wrottzen assured himself mentally, Then I will finally be a man again!
AN: And another chapter is complete! With this chapter, I have officially changed our rating from T to M. I don't know if the gentleman's club stuff warranted the change but I thought I'd make the change just in case, and I have some other future plot ideas that I am almost positive that would fall into the M category.
Not a lot happens this chapter but it does set up our next story for its next arc and gives the party a goal to work toward. Hopefully you're all just as excited as I am to see where the story goes from here. As always, feel free to leave a review if you enjoyed the chapter and I'll see you all next time. Happy Reading!