Prostitution was a widely practiced industry across the Realms that involved people engaging in sexual services or performances in exchange for payment.
Prostitution could take place in a variety of forms. The rented rooms were frequently located above where an escort was doing business, atop some street-level shop that had no connection to them.
The second most common form was that of a dedicated establishment run by an organizer, [1] wherein prostitutes were given room and board in return for a cut of their earnings, [25] and were usually open well into the small bells before dawn. In thieves' cant , brothels were sometimes referred to as 'academies'. Additionally, sometimes brothels or prostitution businesses were run more informally by the upper-floor tenants of a tallhouse [55] [56] or even by rural lasses converting an old farmhouse into a house of pleasure.
The more elaborate forms of in-house prostitution establishments were known as festhalls. These businesses were quite varied in their execution, combining aspects of many other entertainment venues into one, such as a tavern, a casino, [27] [57] a theater, [57] a bathhouse , [58] or a private club.
The third form that prostitution took was that of escort services. These businesses, such as the Hanging Lantern , worked by having clients make appointments with their roster of escorts to meet them at their house or some boarding room they were staying at. The cost of dalliance with prostitutes could vary wildly based on a variety of different factors, such as their beauty, fame, or mere whims.
