The card

It was almost midday when the men woke the next day. Despite the aftermath of the paga, they began to formulate a plan for the visit to the high cylinders. It took only a bit of persuasion by the girl to convince them a good meal, blackwine and decent baths would be necessary first.
While Shorl and Dohlt saw to making themselves more presentable to a higher standing of patronage than they had encountered in this district, exquise was sent down the alleyway to the little cafe for food and the steaming hot drink.
The shop was well occupied with a variety of people although it could not be said to be very busy. Most were simply milling about, bantering a bit among themselves. After having told the proprietress of her needs, the girl slipped into the shadows of the cafe to watch while the order was being prepared. All eyes turned to the entrance as an unseemly looking couple arrived. The man of average height was quite impressionable. His nose was long and sharply pointy in a way that reminded one of a herlit. His eyes so closely set and small and beady seemed as if they were merely bits of coal balanced on top. He was dressed in a dapperly fashion as escorted a woman at his arm in among those gathered. For all of the notability of the man, it was the woman who made the most impression. She was an assault to the senses in a myriad of hues, textures and scents. Many ahlils of light bright green satin had long ago faded in streaks into an almost golden color. Lace of what was once a cream color seemed to be wound around her in an endless supply, but it was the coloring of her hair and face that could not be blinked away. Beneath the coiling tendrils of almost copper tress was a complexion that had been powdered white. Her cheeks obviously blushed an unnatural cherry red and lines of aquamarine had been painted on the overabundant eyelids. To make the whole appearance quite complete, her mouth had been drawn with a dark ramberry to make the thinning lips look fuller.
The girl tried to fade farther into the shadow only to have the woman loose her escort's arm and stride directly to her. exquise had been displayed before but this encounter left her with the feeling of being so much meat in a butcher shop. Gloved fingertips rose to clinch the delicate jaw line and turn her face one direction then the other before lifting her chin high to read the inscription on the steel about her throat. The woman's voice came in a low spoken thick accent as she withdrew her touch and fumbled within a small lace pouch to retrieve a card. Shoving it into exquise hand roughly she spoke where all within the cafe could hear. "When you have no where else to go ... come to me. You will be Marlenus' Talena." Then with a garish aplomb, the woman turned away with a wave of her hand to all within the small diner and blew kisses nonchalantly. If any of this had truly affected the girl, what happened next had cinched it. Everyone within the establishment rose, men and women alike stood and offered thunderous applause. The hook nosed little man lifted his arm to the woman and the two seemed to glide away before the accolades ceased.
As if an torrent wind had blown through, everyone grew uncannily silent after the departure. For several ihn one could almost hear the dust settle. While exquise tucked the card into the sash at her waist, the din of the cafe once more filled the emptiness. The proprietress brought out baskets lined with waxed rence paper containing stewed meat and fried sul wages. With fattened hands dimpled at the knuckles she curled her fingers about the girl's refusing payment for the meals. She simply told her in a quiet monotone, "One day you will return."
Whether it was an omen of the future or an attempt to find hope amid such a dreary life, exquise gave it all no further thought than to wonder how the little cafe could survive without revenues.