Xanthiars

"Banish the thought, dear! No, Sigi over in Toad's Corner pawned it off on me for the work I did for him last week. Said some plans had gone crosswise and he didn't have any hard currency to give. It was either take what he was offering or wait 'til Gurjo knows when for him to get upright again. I'll spend it with Ozram when I stock up for that job in Market Ward. Gods know he deals with the kind that will use it if he won't. The horrid old thing will be gone and forgotten. Nothing to worry yourself over. Why would I ever go to that kind of place when I've got a beauty like you at home?"

--Rava Nadar, Quick-thinking thatcher

Xanthiars (often slurred as "Xanthers") are tin tokens similar in size to an imperial silver pieces that the bearer can exchange for services at Madame Xanthia's Pleasure Palace. Xanthiars come in three denominations, each with a different design and colored through an alchemical process to resemble imperial coins. They can be redeemed at Madame Xanthia's for services valued the same as the actual coin they approximate, and are named accordingly.

• Trull: Trulls are coppery in color and and have the symbol of Kreeshka, Mastress of Debauchery on both sides. They can be traded for services that are over quickly and typically do not involve relocating to a private room.
• Trollop: A trollop, which is untreated to retain its silvery color, has a face matching the brothel's portrait of its founder on one side and Kreeeshka's symbol on the other. It can be traded for roughly an hour's worth of companionship in a private room.
• Doxy: Gold in color, the doxy bears an artist's rendering of Pleasure Palace on one side and Kreeshka's symbol on the opposite. It's good for a full night of pleasure.
• There is also said to be a fourth denomination, the succubus, which is purportedly is a purple token bearing Kreeshka's likeness and redeemable for some of the more exotic services that Madame Xanthia's has to offer. Rumors of the succubus are almost certainly apocryphal.

Significance

Up until recently, the main significance of Xanthiars was a personal one revealed when someone found one of the tokens in the purse of a spouse they believed to be faithful. Some say that the recent influx of Xanthiars--and their rapidly-growing use as legitimate currency, especially in Old Town--is being orchestrated by Ilka the Faceless as yet another provocation aimed at the Imperial Governor.

Item type

Currency & Deeds

Rarity

Xanthiars were once somewhat of a rarity. The Pleasure Palace kept a few on hand to give to valuable or dissatisfied customers and would occasionally make up a batch for someone to hand out to minions as a reward. In recent years, however, the number of tokens in circulation seems to have increased significantly.