In spite of their attempts to leave, the automatons' harlots had already surrounded Aredin and his party. Forcing them further in was the sudden flood of other people also being led through the thin passage behind them. Trying to fight the current was of no use either, especially when the men and women weren't exactly the kind of people the party members wished to bump shoulders with.
Slumped posture and a hazy look in their eyes, they appeared as zombies huddling about, thinking about nothing but sex and decadence with the automatons. Had their brains melted through their ears? Have they any idea what they were doing, or has degeneracy taken hold of their very soul and heart? More potent than a succubus somehow–these machines of soft metal were no less addictive than a drug.
Even so, as long as coin jingled in their purse, the queen and the owners of the establishments were ready to provide their services. Although Diane and family were somewhat reluctant over the matter, there was little they could do since demi-humans were considered second-class citizens and were specifically encouraged to visit the establishment by insidious means from the queen herself.
But tonight as new faces flashed before Daine at the reception, she lifted her butt off the chair and walked up to the table to address them. Eyeing the party up and down, she played around with her necklaces while being dressed in a gold laced gown.
"Are you guys tourists? Here for trade or company?" She asked, unsure what to make of the soldiers dressed in Athenian infantry clothing.
"Wait a second…" Picking up a familiar scent of magic, Lana emerged from a passage that connected the reception and the kitchen. Rubbing her hand clean on a towel, she looked around at the men and women standing right in front of the reception table. Sniffing the air some more, she tried to discern what was happening, but when it didn't make sense for her that someone else leaked an odor like Raven's, she threw the thrown back and decided to ask. "Are any of you a dark fae? You guys reek of either corruption or darkness, I can't quite tell."
"Athenian clothing, too." Shooting her wife a quick glance, Daine shrugged her shoulders. Alluding to being as confused as Lana was.
"W-we just came from Athenia actually, but we didn't mean to butt-in here…" Finally speaking up, Hannah tried to untangle the mess that they were in.
However, before she could weave a yarn, the same automatons that had brought them there began pulling on her boyfriend's hands. As much as he tried to pull away, the stream of people paired with the strength of magic-fueled harlots quickly slipped his grip from the ground and thus, with a hand outstretched, he grabbed onto Hannah, and she too was pulled away.
"WWHAT?! EY! STOPPPP!"
Watching the other two disappear into the crowd from the tight passage's end, Aredin and June quickly squeezed together and locked their hands. Sweat drizzled through their temples, neither had ever been to the maze, much less to a somewhat superior establishment providing the same services.
"Ahaha~ Watch them go," Daine chuckled as she waved to Hannah and Tris.
In the meantime, Lana slammed a hand on the desk and addressed the remaining two.
"You want me to get you guys a room, those two included? I can add or subtract the dolls, you just gotta do it amongst yourself, whatever it is that you're planning in that case." Eyeing their clothes closely, Lana had already figured out that these people were the same men and women who've been fighting that damned war. Thus, with a smile, she offered them free accommodation, although the party wasn't really given a choice once her fingers flicked and the dolls began dragging them away as well.
The two struggled just as much as the others, but once again, the pouring crowd and the dolls were too forceful to resist.
"Virgins, am I right?" Daine chuckled to herself, having seen that same look of embarrassment on countless virgins at this point.
Lana, on the other hand, wasn't as thrilled. She knew what the party must've been through fighting against horrors, after all, she spent numerous years of her youth as an adventurer before settling with Daine.
"I doubt that." Placing a hand on Daine's shoulders, Lana gave it a light squeeze before turning around to go back into the kitchen. "When you're out for a hunt for too long, even a skunk looks sexy. Those guys are just terribly shy, they're no virgins."
"Whatever you say~" Daine responded, not really caring either way.
With Zoey absent for the time being and Raven not having visited them, any visitor from Athenia was welcome, especially soldiers who've fought under him.
'I should get this over with soon. We have to visit the party Raven invited us to, after all.' She thought before returning to accounting in the chair away from the direct reception. There, she kept logs of the customers, the inventory, as well as how many new folks Zoey had brought in through marketing the word of mouth. As the only foot traffic besides the dolls, their daughter was essentially the one keeping the place from running empty even for a single night.
But for now, none of it mattered as reminded of the visitors constantly, Daine couldn't help but wonder what kind of relationship they had with each other. Obviously, they were lovers, but beyond that, what made them so attached to each other? The question lingered on until she got news from a doll that those very guests had been reunited in a room and left on their own to rest, as that's what they'd requested.
"Hmm, well, sent them food and the toys–the vibrating ones especially, I'm positive the girls would love them as much as the boys~" Having grown somewhat devious running the place, Daine arranged a night for the soldiers that might have them coming back to the place ever so often.
Not long after she gave that order, Daine and her family left the place to be run by the dolls. Keen to visit the hero, they wasted no more time and teleported away to Mansion 'Phordite.