Mother Lyvia's
| Innkeep: | Mother Lyvia |
| Barkeep: | None |
| Servers: | Olenna*, Hostella, Denys, Rhaene Hill, Tanda, Cynthea, Janei Waynwright, Yrsa*, Alyn Harper* |
| Cooks: | Nymella Snow, Falia Potter |
| Guards: | Laswell Snow, Harron |
| Staff: | {{{staff}}} |
| Stablehands: | None |
| Rooms: | Hour (4p, 5p*), Evening (16p, 20p*) |
| Meals: | Simple fare (2p/platter) |
| Drink: | house beer (1p/cup), wine (2p/cup) |
| Stabling: | None |
Old Town
Though officially just a tavern, there is little doubt what Mother Lyvia's is by night. Loud, raucous laughter emanates from it, and pretty women in revealing clothes lean out and call to passersby from a second-story balcony.
Mother Lyvia's is over thirty years old at this point, and was started when Mother Lyvia herself was a bawd who came into a fair amount of money. She immediately invested in a taverner's license with the lord and a building out of which to run it, and has made a tidy living for herself and her girls ever since.
At any given time, half the clients here are members of the Bulls, who consider a trip to Mother Lyvia's as an excellent reward for the month of service they owe their lord outside of times of war. Another quarter is made up of those from out of town, travelers and merchants (some of whom have come from the surrounding estates or domains simply to come here), and the other quarter are made up of locals.
The girls cycle through their days off, with two girls having the day off on any given day; as such, they work for four days and get a fifth off. The only caveat is that on days when a girl is off, she must start the day by cleaning the common room after the previous night's revels before the day is hers to do with as she likes. Nymella takes her own off-days in the same cycle, taking a day off when young Yrsa does.
Contents
First Floor
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The ground floor has two entrances, one below the balcony of ladies and the other back entrance, used for deliveries and discreet arrivals.
- Tap Room: Hardly what a tavern is supposed to look like, the locals sometimes call this the "trap room." Very comfortable and dimly lit, this room features a number of chairs and long couches upon which visitors may recline, with plenty of space for nubile young ladies to take a place on their laps (though they don't stay there long if the customer isn't showing coin). The girls also make the rounds with pitchers of wine and glass tankards in which those who want refills drop the coins necessary. Alyn Harper is often playing in this room, and occasionally Nymella strides through with a platter of food someone has ordered, politely slapping hands that get too friendly for her liking. Once an evening or so, Mother Lyvia makes an appearance, welcoming those she knows by name, and scolding everyone telling them not to get "too fresh," a wholesome act that everyone seems to love her for.
- Private Chamber: Occasionally, those who visit don't want to necessarily retain the full use of a bedroom. Others have been known to seek this house out in order to meet someone who isn't employed here, for clandestine purposes. Either way, this chamber is available for the right coin.
- Bath Chamber: This flagstone floored room holds a great hearth and large copper tub, and is used by the girls and staff for bathing. Girls facing down an evening with a particularly odoriferous client have also been known to slip into here with him and start the evening with a shared bath. As a result, there is always water on to heat in the hearth-kettle here.
- Guard Chambers: Though there are two beds in it, only one is currently lived in, by Harron. These beds are available for the use of hired live-in guards. The second bed is sometimes used when someone either passes out without paying for a room and needs someplace to sleep it off, or when someone gets too rowdy and has to be put to rendered unconscious. Mother Lyvia has gotten in trouble with the watch for dumping such unfortunates into the alley beside her house before, so now she lets them sleep it off here, but not without claiming a coin or two for the privilege.
- Kitchens: Double hearted and quite spacious, the kitchens provide meals for the girls during the day, and small bits of fare at night. It is also where the tapped kegs of the house are kept. During the evening, girls who need a break from entertaining will sometimes slip in here to steal a seat at the table and quaff some wine. During such evenings, the kitchens are overseen by Nymella, who strictly forbids customers from coming back here.
- Store Rooms: This large area provides the house with ample storage, most of which is used for foodstuffs and alcohol. Scattered among the area, however, are also chests of clothing, both mens' and womens', that have ended up in Mother Lyvia's possession over the years, from being left behind by customers or grown out of by girls. Every year, Mother Lyvia donates most of the mens' clothes and the rattier of the womens' to the local poor, but keeps the rest of it in case it should come in handy. The store rooms also have a set of stairs that lead up to the girls' rooms above, and are sometimes used to sneak men out of their rooms and out the back door. There is also a set of stairs that goes down into the cellars.
Second Floor
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The rooms here are all assigned to the girls (and Alyn Harper) for their use in entertaining customers. Each also lives in their rooms, but they are expected to keep the rooms clean and inviting at all times.
- Along the western wall, from top to bottom, the rooms are kept by Denys, Cynthea, one empty, unused room and Alyn Harper in the southmost room.
- Along the north wall, they are kept by Yrsa, Janei Waynwright and Hostella (the room with the hearth).
- Along the south wall, they are kept by Olenna (who also has a hearth), Rhaene Hill and Tanda.
Third Floor
The third floor is off-limits to customers, and a rope is tied off at the top of the stairs to indicate just that.
- Bathing Chamber: In the northwest corner of this floor is a large bathing chamber, with a jakes seat made of wood, a basin of water that fills from rain barrels on the roof, a brazier-and-kettle set up and a large copper tub.
- Mother Lyvia & Nymella's Chambers: The chambers of Mother Lyvia and her daughter Nymella are large and sumptuous. Mother Lyvia tends to spend most of her evenings here, embroidering or doing the books, while Nymella works downstairs. During the day, Mother Lyvia is usually bustling about while Nymella rests from her evening's work. The door is always locked, and only Nymella and Lyvia have keys, as the house's chest is also here, with the business' earnings.
- Laswell's Chambers: The chambers of Laswell are as spacious as those of his mother and sister, though he need not share it with anyone. It is his main luxury and payment, all things considered, although he is granted a free evening with one girl a week of his choosing, at the end of the evening (a little reward system arranged by his sister, who dotes on him). Laswell will occasionally sneak some of his friends up the stairs with a girl or two, and have a private party in his chambers, though Mother Lyvia is always very upset when she discovers him doing so.
- Nursery: In somewhat cramped quarters, this room is Falia's sleeping chambers with several other beds. It is where the children who are waiting to be old enough are apprenticed out, though during the day Falia often puts them to work cleaning the kitchens in the morning, and then teaching them or giving them time to play in the yard during the afternoon. Once the sun starts to set, however, they are all herded upstairs back into the nursery where they are put to bed after Falia tells them a story or two. Occasionally, Alyn Harper (whom all the children adore) will wander upstairs just before bedtime to play them all a lullaby and wish them goodnight.
Cellars
The cellars are used for two purposes: to store additional barrels of wine, ale, beer, cider and other spirits, and to dry bundles of mint, wormwood, pennyroyal and tansy. The far northern chamber is Olenna's workshop, where she stores the dried herbs and mixes them into batches of moon tea.
Residents
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Mother Lyvia's is always full and bustling with folk. Besides Mother Lyvia, she maintains her son and daughter, ten girls and a guard who helps her son keep the peace. At any given time, there are a handful of bastards born to the girls living here as well, but once they reach an apprenticing age, Mother Lyvia sends them out to be apprenticed, with the mother paying half the price of doing so, and Mother Lyvia paying the other half.
- Mother Lyvia: An older woman, Mother Lyvia is portly and matronly. She loves nothing more than to see sweet young people having a good time, and to earn coin thereby. (55 years)
- Nymella Snow: Nymella is learning the business of running a bawdy house from her mother, and although she is quite attractive, she does not take clients herself. For the most part, she runs the kitchens, tending to the small eatables and copious amounts of alcohol consumed every night. (26 years)
- Falia Potter: A somewhat meek older woman, Falia was once one of Lyvia's girls, until she found herself with an angry, brutal man in her bed. When she tried to resist his painful advances, he beat her and managed to cut her face to the bone before the others heard and came to rescue. She has been unable to take a man to her bed ever since. Mother Lyvia couldn't turn her out, however, so she assists in the kitchens, does the house's shopping and most importantly helps to raise the household's children. (36 years)
The Guards
- Laswell Snow: A thickly built young man, Laswell is Lyvia's son. Having grown up around the Bulls, it is no surprise that he joined them when he was of age, and continues to serve with them. For the most part, however, he keeps the peace in his mother's establishment. (24 years)
- Harron: The tall, muscled third son of a farmhand from Donnershire, Harron is the other young man who tends to the peace in Mother Lyvia's. He is a skilled brawler and wrestler, and willing to face down even Bulls who get out of hand. (24 years)
The Attractions
In general, to acquire one of the girls' attention for an hour or so is a groat (four pence), or for the whole evening is two stars (16p, which includes all the wine one cares to drink, and a warm, clean bed and bedmate the whole night through. Those in higher demand or with rarer skills (Hostella for her skills, Yrsa for her youth and Alyn Harper for his exoticity) may charge fivepence for an hour, or 20p for the night.
- Olenna: The oldest of Mother Lyvia's girls, Olenna is considered mostly past her prime. Though she's still attractive and occasionally takes on a customer (usually one she's been seeing for years), she mostly helps with training the new girls. She has also been trained as a midwife and healer, and assists the girls in that capacity as well. (37 years)
- Hostella: Though beginning to show her age somewhat, Hostella has only to move to remind the others why she is the best paid girl in Lyvia's house. Everyone stops to watch when she dances, and it is said that her tricks abed are practically magical enchantments. Though Olenna teaches the girls the practical aspects of their craft, it is Hostella who teaches them skill in bedsports, for which she charges a portion of their first year's earnings. (31 years)
- Denys: Sweet Denys is one of Mother Lyvia's first girls, a local girl who was the daughter of a cottager from Filton. When it looked like she might be forced to marry a rich farmer who was known to have beaten his first wife to death, she ran away to Wisenwood Town to escape him. She is fond of telling people that if they were anywhere but the North, she might have run away to become a septa, but trees aren't too good at taking young girls in. She knows the ins and outs of this business and frequently keeps an eye out for potential danger from customers. (30 years)
- Rhaene Hill: A blonde beauty with lightly tanned skin and pale blue eyes, Rhaene is originally from the Westerlands, and she claims to have noble blood, inherited from the father who left her in her mother's belly. She originally accompanied a merchant as his traveling mistress to Wisenwood ten years ago, but when he died during a winter storm, she had nowhere else to go, until Mother Lyvia took her in. She is extremely loyal and intelligent, helping to keep an eye on the place and the other girls. (28 years)
- Tanda: Tanda is a woman with dark chestnut hair and black eyes. She is pleasant and well-loved for her bright, bubbly laugh. Though not the cleverest of Mother Lyvia's girls, she is a great deal of fun, loving to tease and flirt, and not afraid of touching others. (24 years)
- Cynthea: A beauty with dark red hair and milk-pale skin, Cynthea dresses in bright silks and jewelry that sparkles in the firelight of the tavern-room. She also has a fine singing voice, a sultry purr that regulars say sounds best when she is singing into your ear while sitting on your lap. She is quick to laugh and witty. (23 years)
- Janei Waynwright: A lovely blonde girl with brown eyes and freckles, Janei is very slender and dresses in plain garments, eschewing the showy clothing many of the other girls affect. She is no exotic beauty, though that's her selling point - she looks like the willowy daughter of the smallcrofter down the road. (19 years)
- Yrsa: The youngest of the girls, Yrsa's mother was one of Mother Lyvia's girls, though she died recently of a cough and fever. Yrsa has grown up around Lyvia's girls, who are like favored aunts, and she's only ever wanted to work here, to earn the right to a room of her own. Mother Lyvia offered to apprentice her off or to find her a husband, but the young girl has staunchly refused. Her black hair, deep blue eyes and young curves make her a favorite. (16 years)
- Alyn Harper: Devilishly handsome, Alyn Harper has fiery red hair and sparkling green eyes. Though he nominally works in Mother Lyvia's hall providing music, he is watchful for those with an eye for him rather than the young ladies. He makes assignations by having one of the girls invite him up to her room, and then following later, so as to remain as discreet as possible. (20 years)
