The Menagerie

The Menagerie
Location Information
Aliases	House of Exotics
Location	Ketterdam
Nation	Kerch
General Information
Type	Brothel
Head	Tante Heleen

The Menagerie, or the House of Exotics, is a pleasure house on Ketterdam's West Stave managed by Tante Heleen.

History

Heleen Van Houden sources some of her girls from slavers, though some come to her willingly. She forces them to sign indenture contracts written in Kerch and ensures that the cost of the indenture only grows rather than decreases. It is possible to purchase the girls who are indentured to the Menagerie, for other brothels or for personal use.

Inej Ghafa was forced to work at the Menagerie for a year after she was captured by slavers. Kaz Brekker realized her talent for stealth and purchased her indenture from Heleen.

Six of Crows

The Menagerie sends a delegation to the Hringkälla celebration at the Ice Court in Fjerda. Inej and Nina Zenik disguise themselves as the Suli and Kaelish members of the brothel, respectively, in order to gain access to the center of the Ice Court.

Crooked Kingdom

After the Menagerie is found to be the site of a plague outbreak caused by Kaz and Nina, the city closes down the pleasure house and barricades the street around it. Heleen fails to pay her rent for the month.

Description

The Menagerie looks like a tiered cage, evoking imagery of a zoo or a circus. It is more than two stories high and features widely spaced golden bars on its windows. It has a gilded parlor visible from the street, where Heleen holds court. Heleen's salon, which includes a silken chair, a mirror above the mantel, and a desk, is where she beats the girls who misbehave.

The bedroom of the Suli lynx is designed like a fake Suli caravan, featuring purple silk and incense.

Culture

The Menagerie advertises its exotic beauties—girls from foreign lands who are dressed as animals from their country of origin. The girls who work at the Menagerie are not called by their real names, but rather the name of their corresponding animal. Although the girls come and go, the animals remain the same.

• The Fjerdan girl is known as the wolf. She is tall, has blonde hair, and wears silvery furs.
• The Kaelish girl is known as the mare, for her red hair. Her hooded cloak features an auburn topknot. Her gown resembles blue-green scales that give way to a shimmering fan at the bottom, giving the impression of a mermaid.
• The Ravkan girl is known as the fox.
• The Shu girl is known as the serpent. She wears beaded red scales.
• The girl from the Southern Colonies is known as the leopard.
• The Suli girl is known as the lynx, for her brown skin. She wears purple silks, has spots painted on her shoulders, kohl around her eyes, and bells on her ankles.
• The Zemeni girl is known as the fawn, for her large, dark eyes. Her hooded cloak features soft ears and delicate white spots.
• Other animals include ravens and ermines.

The girls who work at the Menagerie bear a peacock tattoo on the inside of their left forearm.