#dden

i drew this super quick because i absolutely love dnd and disney princesses are AMAZING. go watch damsels dice and everything nice

Zil stood in front of the infamous Meats & More, draining the soap out of her bubble-pipe against the red brick outlining the window of what looked to be your average butcher’s shop. It was all a front though, for the most notorious speak-easy in Troutbeck. Zil knew the secrets it held, though not from personal experience. 

As a rule of thumb she tried not to commit more crimes than she solved. As of the last two months she hadn’t solved any. She made by though, just stalking the doll of some jealous gent. Taking notes on where they go and who they were seeing. Not that she was completely honest with the guys who hired her. She’d only tell them if they were cheating on them. She neglected to tell Mr. Aki about his wife’s gambling addiction or how George Patterson’s girl was doing opium every Friday afternoon when she was supposed to be taking piano lessons. It was Zil’s opinion that the patriarchy was tiring and if this was how those women let off some steam, who was she to stop them? So she hadn’t step in a speak-easy in a while now.

She was only here today due to a job. As she opened the door to the shop, a bell’s chime marked her entrance. 

“Who goes there?” said a bodiless voice. “What do you want?” It spoke again. It was a few seconds before Zil saw the source of the questions. What looked like a kid, but turned out to be a small lady was climbing her way up a tall, for her anyway, wooden stool. She was wearing trousers and a white tee, her hair wrapped up in a pink scarf. “Hows can I help you?” asked the little lady, as she struck the knife she had been holding into the counter top. She was way more intimidating than she should’ve been.  Her blue eyes striking fear into Zil’s heart. 

“I’m here for some meat, I heard that you got something called the bibbity beep special going on?” replied Zil not missing a beat. 

“How do I know you ain’t cop?” The pink scarfed lady looking Zil dead in the eyes. 

“How do I know you ain’t some kid’s toy come to life?”

The little lady laughed. “You is all right kid. My name is Phoebe, by the way, but my friends all call me Pip.” She hopped down the stool and went over to the counter, unhinging the divided between the store front and back. “Come on now, before someone important sees you.” She was gesturing her hands for Zil to follow her. 

As Zil followed Pip through to the ice room in the back, she looked in awe of the cuts of meat that hung. She couldn’t decide what was more impressive the whole owlbear, or the tangle of winged snakes that were suspended from metal hooks on the ceiling.

“Don’t mind the product; we still gotta keep up appearances for tax purposes of course. That’s how they get you, taxes.” Pip spoke with the confidence of someone much older than her. She squatted down a bit to unlatch a trapdoor, revealing a ladder down to the basement, along with the soft sound of jazz floating up from the darkness below. “Come on now, I don’t have all day.”

Zil took the advice and started her way down the rungs. Above her in a perfectly lit square, Pip’s face could be seen. “Bibbity beep go eat some meat,” whispered Pip as she shut the trapdoor, forcing Zil into a unconsented darkness. 

As Zil’s foot hit solid grounding she found herself in the soft glow of torchlight. The ladder led to a small 5 by 5 foot square that contained a torch and a single wooden door. The soft jazz she heard from above even louder now, the source surely behind the door. She reached for the handle, she was half expecting it to be locked, but easily enough it turned.

To show a lavish, more than what seemed humanly possible, night club within the hidden basement. An entire area lined up with tables in front of a beautiful wooden bar. The wall behind lined with every type of liquor you could imagine, from scotch to whiskey, to old hillbilly moonshine. The most impressive feature though was the stage to the left of the dining area. The body of the stage was about four feet high off the ground and extended about another five feet out, with a small section protruding from the middle for the performer to get closer to her audience if she or he so desired, felt curtains blocking out the back. 

Zil made her way to the bar. There she was greeted by a tall drink of a woman, whose height was only matched by her muscles. A single amethyst crystal dominated the space above her cleavage and be assured that it was hard to dominate that much cleavage. Zil blushed at the amount of open skin she saw.

“Welcome. My name is Kai, and what’s your poison?” Kai asked Zil. She was washing out the inside of a whiskey glass with a rag, not even making eye contact with Zil. Her eyes were drawn to the stage, looking over the band performing in the corner of it. 

“What do you recommend?” asked Zil, letting other’s lead the conversation made it easier to fit in. 

“My boss made this new drink called the Goblirita, this the only place in town to try one. So I would say start with that.” 

“That will do,” replied Zil.

As Kai made Zil’s drink, Zil looked over the club trying to see if she recognized anyone here. A few faces seemed familiar; maybe the commuted the same way each morning, Zil’s office is nearby. No one really stood out, until another tall woman made her way onto the stage. Geesh, how big do they make them down here thought Zil. 

“HELLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO , everyone” she shouted from the top of her lungs. Even if she was short, this woman would stand out. She had on body tight black dress that split at her upper thigh revealing a pair of green stockings them ending in shiny black 5-inch heels. On her chest was a pinned an extravagant show of wealth, a gold star the size of Zil’s fist. “My name is Grianna, and I’m the owner of this butchery. I have just one question for ya’ll, is everyone having a good time?” She asked the audience.

Everyone cheered, but one guy who seemed like he had a bit too much to drink. 

“This club sucks,” shouted the louse. 

“Well lets get you outta here then,” replied Grianna with that and a snap of her fingers two tall men appeared from the shadows against the wall and started to escort the drunk man out. “Cause if you’re gonna be here you’re gonna have a great time!” She laughed as if she told the funniest joke, the audience joined in despite no joke really being told. As if they were all afraid of being the next one to be kicked out. “I want everyone to thank the band before we continue. Say thank you Cam and the Bop.”

“Thank you Cam and the Bop!” cheered the audience.

“That was great, so great that I am gonna give you guys a special treat,” spoke Grianna.

“What is it?” asked the audience. 

“It’s me!” replied Grianna. “I’m gonna perform for you, isn’t that nice,” and without taking a breath she broke out into a song, something about going to side to side. 

Zil stopped listening as she remembered that she was here on a job. She turned back to the bartender who has just placed down her Goblirita. She took a sip and was surprised that it tasted so well. She made a note that if nothing went wrong she might stop back at this club. 

“So,” said Zil, but before she could say anything else Kai interrupted her. 

“Ain’t she beautiful?” 

“Who?”

“My boss, Grianna,” replied Kai. Her eyes fully focused on Grianna’s performance. “You know I’m gonna be up there someday, been working on this act. I can’t say much, but it involves me and a lot of purple silk. Grianna has been helping me with it. Says it’s not ready yet, I thought it was, but yeah she told me it wasn’t polished enough. Glad I got her looking out for me. She really is the best boss.” 

“She sure umm… seems like it,” responded Zil, her eyes darting back to the stage seeing Grianna now on top of a stationary bicycle. “You’ve been working on this act long?”

“Oh yeah for about the last two years, or so,” replied Kai, her eyes still focused on stage. 

“Two years and it ain’t ready?”

“That’s what I thought too, but I trust Grianna when she says it ain’t ready.” 

“So you’ve been working here that long then?”

“No, longer than that, for about the last four years, even before the prohibition, I used to help Grianna with the butchery upstairs. I was her right hand man, helped her along after half her parent’s died.” 

“That must have been rough.”

“Yeah Grianna was a bit sad, but she still visits them when she gets the chance.”

“So since you’ve been working here this long, you must know a lot of things.” 

Kai’s eyes finally left the stage. “Depends on what, I know a few things.”

“Like let’s say hypothetically if someone I dunno, wanted to get their hands on some Allorea pollen, how would they do that?”

“That’s some hard stuff for a little lady like yourself.”

“Not for me, but thanks for looking out. I got a guy who wants me to find him some, he will pay me real nice once I do and maybe just maybe some of that sweet sweet pay with make its way to you,” Zil finishing off her sentence with some finger guns. “Phew Phew.”

“The only way you going to get some Allorea Pollen is from the Don Mae’s gang. They got the market cornered here in Troutbeck.” 

As if speaking her name summoned her, the door to club swung open revealing Katie Mae, the meanest Don of all time. Behind her followed her three lackeys, Molly, Sydney, and Liz. Zil knew them all too well. Most of the crime’s she solved had been ones done by Mae’s gang. Yet despite being paid and the clients thanking her for her help, the police hadn’t ever even shown up at Mae’s place. 

Zil knew then and there that Mae owned this town. Here she was a goddess free from consequence.  Mae had gestured to the bar; her lackey Liz had ran up and ordered four gobliritas. 

After Liz order she looked over to Zil and noticed who exactly was sitting beside her. “Hello sis, what brings you to a sketchy place like this?”

To be continued…