Shannon Knocksprocket was tired. She'd finished her evening with a party thrown by the Ironforge Miner's Guild. There had been somewhere around fifty or sixty Dwarves and another dozen Gnomes in attendance. Gertie had provided Shannon, Birdee, Claire, Corra, Norrah, Mary and Zilah as the escorts for the evening. They had returned long after midnight, exhausted and somewhat sore, but with full purses. After a quick bath, they fell into their beds and were asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillows.
Thus she was less than pleased when Gertie woke her only five hours later.
"Whaaat?" She squeaked.
"I said get up, I need you dressed and downstairs. Come on."
"But you never book anyone this early..."
"Not a booking, young 'un. Business. Get dressed for travel. Here, I've already packed you a bag for a few days. Now hurry up, Mary's cooking us some breakfast!"
"Huh? Travel? Where?" Shannon asked sleepily but the grey-haired gnome was gone.
A few minutes later, Shannon stumbled into the kitchen. She dropped her bag by the door and sat at the big table. Gertie slid a mug of tea to her just before Mary placed a plate of ham and eggs in front of her. The food smelled wonderful and Shannon forgot her questions and started eating. The dwarf returned a moment later with a slab of buttered toast. She sat too and watched the pink-haired gnome eat.
"Ach seems ye worked up a real appetite! How'd it go?"
"Oh, the usual. Most just wanted a little oral or a quickie. But there were a few who wanted to take their time. They did tip well, of course. I think we took care of everyone. I didn't hear any complaints anyway."
"Good to hear," Gertie said. "Our business thrives on their word of mouth. Still, I think we can improve our income by adding an extra attraction or two."
"Whatdaya mean?" Shannon mumbled around a mouthful of ham.
"Well, since Zilah came in, we've seen a lot of new traffic as well as the regulars who wanted to give her a try. Amazing how many humans have come up from Stormwind to spend an hour with a Draenei. Then the elves started comin' in. Poor gal is overworked."
"She seems happy," Shannon said.
"Oh aye, she is that." Mary agreed. "An' ne'er a single complaint from the customers."
"Right, so I thought maybe we should consider addin' an extra gal or two," Gertie said.
"Another Draenei?" Shannon asked, "But I thought Comfort Givers were rare?"
"Oh they are, they are. I've asked her Mother to help me recruit another but she can't get anyone to think about it. So I decided to try somethin' different."
Mary and Shannon stared at Gertie a moment.
"We're goin' to Pandaria," she announced.
Gertie insisted that Shannon wear simple work coveralls for the trip.
"You don't want to stand out or look fancy when travelin'. It can land ya in trouble."
They took the Deeprun Tram to Stormwind and wound their way through the Dwarven Quarter, out to the Pandaren enclave on the north side. There, Gertie sat and drank tea with the portal master. After several minutes of quiet conversation interspersed with bouts of jovial laughter, the Pandaren stood and summoned a portal. He bowed to the gnomes.
"May the Red Crane watch over you."
"May the Mists protect you," Gertie responded. Then, taking Shannon by the hand they stepped through the portal.
Shannon stumbled, blinked then stared in wide-eyed wonder at the massive temple before her.
"Welcome wanderer," a Pandaren greeted her, again bowing low.
Shannon bowed in return then turned in slow circles as she took in the sights. The Shrine of Seven Stars was huge and ancient and very beautiful, but it was set in the corner of a valley, The Vale of Eternal Blossoms, sheltered by a ring of imposing mountains.
Finally, she looked at all the bustling crowd. There were, of course, many Pandarens, but fully half the crowd was composed of the other races. Elves, Dwarves, Humans, and Draenei with a respectable number of Gnomes mixed in. Finally, she noticed Gertie standing to one side, watching her. Sheepishly she shuffled over.
"Sorry, Gertie."
"Not a problem. It IS a lot to take in the first time you get here."
"Wait, you've been here before?"
"Yup." The old gnome said, "Come on, we've got some travelin' to do."
As they strolled along Gertie elaborated.
"See most Pandarens honor family above almost anything else. Single Pandarens can be sexually promiscuous, but once they are married, well, that's it. They are fiercely devoted. Now they do have whorehouses, though they don't look like it. Often it is a single hut occupied by a single female and she has a list of approved clients. But it's all overseen by Madam Goya. She runs their Black Market, I understand she gets half their take. Then their home and expenses are their own too."
"That doesn't sound so good," Shannon said. "You gonna offer some of them a job with us?"
"Oh heavens no!" Gertie answered. "Can't. That would piss off Madam Goya. I don't need her as an enemy. See many of them get into this because they are deep in debt and Goya buys the debt and tells 'em they can work it off. Course she charges interest so it could take years or a whole lifetime to pay her off. I can't afford to pay off a gal's debt. No, I've found another opportunity. See, sometimes a workin' gal's daughter goes into the business cuz she can't find a husband. Well, I've got the name of a gal with two daughters just come of age. I figure she won't want 'em under Goya's thumb and might agree ta let 'em move in with us."
Gertie was unwilling to fly by Pandaren kite, so a yak, wagon, and guide were hired and soon they were off. Gertie napped often on the ride, but Shannon was too busy gazing in wonder at everything. Eventually, she climbed onto the front seat next to the driver. He seemed, like most Pandaren males, a polite, kind, and peaceful fellow. Shannon introduced herself.
"Greetings, Shannon Knocksprocket. I am Wong Wei, son of Wong Dei and Wong Lei. What? Why do you laugh?"
"I'm sorry, Wong. It's just that in my language those names sound... uh, awkward."