RISK
OUTSIDE
The nightclub is in the Industrial part of town, between manufacturing plants and warehouses. The building itself is situated in one of the smaller warehouses, built out of multi-coloured yellow and brown blotchy bricks, with an aluminum roof and tall windows on the second story that have been blacked out.
Around the building in an alley is a locked side-door, where the more obvious of the supernaturals enter. They, upon application, are given keys.
Bouncers who are demons in human form (but only the vampires will smell this), scan minds to make sure the ignorant aren\'t let in.
INSIDE
Upon entry through the main door, there is a wide podium that is managed by a Risk staffmember, either vampiric or seemingly human. They will welcome the Riskgoer with a smile and ask whether they\'ve been here before. If yes, they\'re given a card, exchangeable for a free drink or a song request from the band or DJ. If not, they\'re given a brochure with Risk rules printed on one side and Oligarchy rules on the other. They\'re invited to read it or not, at their own risk.
A glass partition with a glass door separates the entry corridor from the club proper with yet another bouncer standing by it as though the club goer might yet be turned away. Approaching it, the bouncer will do and say very little (most of the time, nothing at all), and the glass door automatically opens to let the club goer enter. Throughout their time in the entry corridor of the club, the music has been muffled substantially, as though the glass has soundproofing qualities. Opening the glass door will blast the heavy beat of music within, whether it be rock, grunge, industrial or electronica.
The bar is on their immediate right, extending the length of the wall and sweeping in a flourishing arc a quarter of the way along the next, on the wall ahead. Bauhaus style barstools, dressed in black leather and highly polished silver, give a strange jazz feel in what is very obviously not a Jazz Club. They don\'t feel misplaced however, for the club\'s polished golden timber floors, or mirror-finish black tiles, coupled with shiny white or silver finished furniture and accessories and black leather, lend an old-meets-new feel to the place.
The previous blue neon and suspended lighting is gone, replaced by a backlit high ceiling, which can either display a light show, present stark light in some or all areas, or (as they are usually) provides dim yet viewable light. Instead of U-shaped booths around the place in artificially created niches, there are now U-shaped lounging areas, with comfortable low-backed seating dressed in either soft sable coloured fabric, tan suede or black leather, depending on which area has been chosen to seat at. Large, low square coffee tables sit with the low sofas, for a place to put one\'s feet or one\'s drinks. There are the high bar tables and bar chairs as well, though they are closer to the bar itself.
The dance floor, with square and silvered tiles, have a few mirror tiles peppered into the ceiling above, in an assymetrical pattern that sprinkles outward from one corner. The dance floor is flush with the rest of the club, the stage adjacent is raised by two steps upward, though it is a platform that can be elevated higher or lower and doubles as a lift to the basement level for larger items that don\'t fit into the regular lift. Behind the dance floor is a massive screen made up of thirty-six (36) wide screen televisions placed together (6 x 6). When the club is open, these screens are on, displaying either individual pictures each, the \'seasonal display\' (quarter pictures, 3 x 3 high and wide), half pictures (split either horizontally or vertically), or one giant screening. The screens show anything from old black and white footage to whatever\'s going on in the club (using discreet cameras).
There is a VIP Lounge at the back of the club; where curtained partitions used to be for fanciful feeding, there are now glass doors, a bouncer nearby (and unlike the inner entry glass doors, these doors are not automatic and rely on the bouncer to press a button in order to open them). The VIP Lounge is for donating members of the Risk Annual Benefector\'s Committee. A Risk VIP can bring one guest with them into the VIP Lounge. The lounge itself is sunken and matches the decor of the club, though the sectioned off area looks more like a private bar and lounge rather than a nightclub. There are cosy niches in which to feed from a guest, (or choose from one of the Risk marked donors that the club pays to hang around the VIP lounge, with the guarantee that they are all drug-free, non-smoking, clean living youths), and a small version of the bar in the club area, though here the drinks are priced at a little over cost. All Oligarchy members are instantly accepted as VIP members. Bathrooms accessible through here only hold sinks and mirrors, no toilets.
Downstairs, where there used to be a generic kitchen and recovery area, there is now the Umber Lounge, with lots of cushioned seating and a smaller bar. Decorated in woods, sable and camel colours, with glass and stone furnishings, this is a relaxing area for anyone to enjoy. Most of those who come down here are regular humans however, a phenomenon that mostly happened by itself and remains this way. Two doorways lead those in the Umber Lounge either to generous marbled bathrooms or to the Recovery Room.
The Recovery Room has its own medical staff member available, as well as a small kitchen attached that can make food to order (this kitchen prepares the meals that can be purchased in the Umber Lounge menu - things like fries, spicy chicken wings, nachos, club sandwiches as well as a whole lot of desserts). The medical staff member will decide whether someone in recovery needs to get their blood sugars up. If someone is nominated for free food, they also get a free shuttle bus ride home afterward, without exception. This policy tends to dissuade Risk punters from getting drained just to get free cake.
In the club proper, stairs curl gregariously up to the second floor (the elaborately bannistered staircase spans the entire curve of the back half of the room, with two landings for viewing - or dancing for maximum attention - placed strategically along it, one of which is directly over the short end of the bar). Columns of varying size and style (but all blend in with the decor of the now-tasteful nightclub), help to hold up the second floor, though the VIP Lounge below does most of the work.
Upstairs is where the private rooms are kept, though access is available to any club patron. There are twenty private rooms in all. Though small, each of the rooms hold a queen sized bed, a two person sofa, a small built-in wardrobe and a small, discreetly-placed washroom that holds an appropriately themed sink and a toilet. Music is piped into the room via a wall speaker, which can be turned up, down, or off. If the door to the room is open, it is available, otherwise if it is closed then only the occupants inside can open it.
Each room has its own theme, with a named plaque upon the door, as per the following;
1. Gothic - black painted walls, stone side tables, skull table lamps and a huge black leather bed and sofa. Light grey carpeting with a blood red shag pile rug in front of the sofa. Black satin sheets with a red suede throw above. Coffin shaped wardrobe. Within this wardrobe is a bunch of goodies including leather restraints and other bondage gear, to be used at the room-goer\'s discretion. A small gold plaque has been screwed into the back of the wardrobe, with \'Ro\'s Bondage Room\' inscribed upon it. There is no explanation as to why the plaque is there or what it might mean.
2. French Renaissance - patterned light wood wall panelling, tiled floor with light grey stone effect. A canopy bed surrounded by white gossamer curtains and large oil paintings on the walls of stern looking royalty. A chaise instead of a traditional sofa, perfect for laying about or striking a pose in. Colours are dominantly light woods, light blue materials and gold accents.
3. Egyptian - stone walls with hieroglyphs or carved reliefs of Egyptian gods and goddesses. Black marble flooring. The wardrobe has a painting of Anubis upon it, the end tables are weathered stone and the table lamp bases are shaped in the symbol of Ra. The bed itself is unremarkable and flat, the mattress sits within it, as though the bed is a shallow box. The two-seater is a stern looking bench with scrolled arms and no back, though the cushioned seat is comfier than it looks.
4. Glamour - Cream walls with thin wall-to ceiling mirror panels at regular intervals. Carved architrave in a scroll like flourish that repeats. Silk beige sheets on the large mahogany sleigh bed. Mahogany end tables that are delicate and both hold a statuette of an athletic, muscular man holding a large globe of light on his shoulder - yes, it could be Atlas, but it\'s really a clever table lamp. Beige silk-cushioned chaise sofa. Very old-world Hollywood.
5. Futuristic - Electric blue sheeted flooring that feels like vinyl but isn\'t, with downlights in the ceiling instead of table lamps. The art on the walls are abstract but remind the viewer of computer parts. The wardrobe doors have no handles, it is a button that opens them. There is a touch panel that opens and closes the room door and upon entering, a keypad to lock the door (with a sign declaring the lock number code spells RISK). The two-seater sofa is silver in colour and seems to be covered in wetsuit material. The sheets are 1000 thread count cotton in silver, and the bed itself seems to hover above the floor. Upon inspection for the really curious, the bed is attached the wall at the head and supported there. All accents are metallic black.
6. Bejewelled Bling- Diamante heaven. A massive three panelled mirror fills the wall opposite the door, the frames are inset with lots of diamonds. The couch is covered in a shiny, glittery midnight coloured material. The end tables are highlighted with crusted diamonds on the lip edges. The sleigh bed has shiny gold satin sheets, and the ceiling has been decorated in a jewelled mosaic depicting a compass (where north points correctly).
7. Art Deco- looking much like an extension of the club below, this room is carpeted in mink coloured plush pile, has a black leather sofa and a black leather bed. Those who\'ve seen the Gothic room will think Risk decorators might\'ve got a deal on the bed, for it\'s the same model. With silver piping placed decoratively along the walls and around the furniture, this room has white painted furniture with salmon coloured accents, statuettes of flapper showgirls and flat frameless paintings of people in that era.
8. Urban- A very ordinary looking hotel-type room, actually. Decorated in beiges and browns, this is arguably the most boring room available. Comfortable, but unremarkable.
9. Fairytale - Nicknamed \'The Princess Room\' by many who visit, this room is predominantly pink. The canopy bed is adorned with white lace and pink bows. The sofa is, for some insane reason, dressed in a pink polka dot on white fabric. The furniture is glossy white, the bedlinen is patterned in pink and white stripes reminiscent of old-fashioned candy. On the walls are tapestries of royal people in a childlike style of artwork; Kings and Queens on their thrones, a princess in a garden with a castle in the background, a knight on a black horse. The room is very sweet, overall, and fit for a little girl.
10. Aquatic - An aquarium that is fitted into one of the longer walls in this rectangular room makes for the centrepiece. The bed is a themed bed that would make Neptune proud, with images of jellyfish and mermaids carved into the wood. Overall the room is blue and green in colour, with the carpet just that right mix in between so that the visitor can\'t properly say whether it is blue or green, and aquamarine just seems too light a shade to describe it. This is a favourite room with many guests, thanks to the peaceful nature of the aquarium that makes the entire room seem submerged in water thanks to lighting effects.
11. Country Cottage - A quaint styled room that delivers the visitor into a wooden paradise of simple and comfortable means. Imperfect knots on the wood, and seemingly hand-carved furniture lends a homey feel to this room. Quilts adorn the walls, as do embroidered circles of fruit imagery. The sofa and bedspread are patchworked, and the sheets are white and rose-smelling fresh.
12. Harem- Decorated in vivid purples, golds and ravishing red, there is silk and satin to be found everywhere. A canopy bed supplies the frame for which much material hangs off. For the inventive, the silk scarves supplied can be a fun playtime addition. The bed is covered in many, many cushions, as is the very soft and cushiony sofa. One of the walls holds a painted mural of high sweeping desert dunes.
13. Dragon\'s Cave - Entering this room is much like entering a cave, with a rock-like appearance carved throughout the walls, giving it a raw, uneven look. The two seater is actually a stone bench with a few ruby red flat cushions on it, the bed is a stone hollow where a mattress has been dropped into. Gems in their natural state - embedded in rock - have been inserted into the walls and manufactured stalactites and stalagmites. A large artwork of a dragon\'s head has been painted on the main wall, and where the eye should be is a very clever lighting effect. The whole \'cave\' room glows red or green, depending on what colour the eye is.
14. Enchanted Forest - Designed mostly in varying shades of greens, this room surprises most who enter. With a couple of topiary shrubs shaped like a squirrel and a fox positioned in the corner beside each bedside table, the only other \'leafy\' accessory are the sleigh bed\'s headboard and foot end carved like logs and vines. The paintings on the walls are grand canvases of forest scenes, and upon a closer look, small fae can be identified within.
15. Topaz Room - A nod to the Topaz Lounge that used to be the VIP area, this room recycles some of the furniture from previous. Heavy side tables with topaz gems inlaid beneath glass tops sit either side of the heavy stone based bed, that has topaz gems inlaid into it. Instead of a headboard, there is a topaz coloured curtain, to match the topaz coloured carpet. The walls are painted off-white, close to a light grey. The bedlinen is black, with a topaz throw at the base, and the sofa is dressed in a medium grey fabric, with four silk topaz coloured cushions along the back.
16. Queen of Hearts - In a kind of demented Alice in Wonderland styled room, the room is decorated with white painted walls and rich red carpet. The end tables and wardrobe is white, with red hearts painted upon them. Red satin heart shaped cushions adorn the white leather sofa. The white leather bed (the same model as the black leather beds in the Gothic and Art Deco rooms) has a large red heart stitched into the middle of the headboard. On the walls are fans made up of playing cards, and a large panelled artwork centrepiece that look much like a giant Queen of Hearts card.
17. Emperor\'s Room- A Japanese inspired room, it is floored in light coloured wood, with a very low cushioned bench to sit on and a futon to sleep on. The walls are decorated much like Shoji screens, and the wardrobe doors slide across rather than open out. Largely cream in colour with red or black accents, small boxes have been hung on the walls to hold delicate bonsai within them.
18. Tropicana - Stepping into this room will find sand on your feet, a moving image of the beach and the ocean beyond thanks to a white painted wall and a projected image, bamboo furniture and a large hammock designed for two. This is the only room that doesn\'t sport a bed, though it does have a mini-bar and quite a few potted ferns and palms. Beware the sand, it gets everywhere.
19. Hunting Lodge - This room\'s main feature is its fireplace set into the wall. The room has been finished to look as though it has a logged interior on one wall, and wood panelling on the rest. Taxidermy reigns supreme in this room, with the glazed eyes of wild animals peering out from their trophied plaques; a gazelle, a rhino, a lion and a cheetah feature here. The rug on the floor is a bear skin and the couch is covered in cowhide. Furs blanket the bed, and on display crossing each other are two old-fashioned rifles (not in working order).
20. Ancient Rome - Fit for Caligula, there\'s a white marble slate floor, \'ruined columns\' for end tables, a scrolled bench dressed in real mink fur, and a large, tall and very squishy bed. With lots of varying blanketing and cushioning materials in fiery earth hues (as well as black and gold), this room is decorated in a manner that has the visitor expecting a toga wearing slave to enter bearing grapes (and such a thing can be organised through the club).
