Courtesan

"You too must learn to blend like us; seen, but unseen."

- Paola's training on Ezio

The Courtesans are one of the three factions of Assassin's Creed II helping the main character Ezio (the other two being the Thieves and the Mercenaries). Led by Paola, whose brothel is located in Florence, and by Sister Teodora, who is situated in Venice.

The courtesans can help Ezio by surrounding him which let him walk the streets unnoticed. They can also distract the guards by seducing them. Courtesans are very useful when trying to steal codex pages from guards, or other treasures inside banks being guarded by guards as they don't notice you after the Courtesans have seducing them. Though they shouldn't be used for long distances for guards will eventully pass by and two Courtesans making it harder for you to blend.

Facts

 * They help Ezio learn how to blend in.
 * They can help fight guards with daggers when Ezio is attacked, though they go down very easily.
 * They can be used to distract guards.
 * Guards walking by Ezio can take two of the four Courtesans he has hired without notice. Two courtesans is still enough to distract any number of guards as long they have been grouped to each other

Achievement
You can win an achievement/trophy, Red Light Addict, by spending 5000 florins on them. One group of courtesans costs 150 florins. Therefore, you need to hire at least 34 groups to get it.