Chapter 4

Part 3: More Foreshadowing

It was high noon as Lucius arrived at the outskirts of the town, which he would later come to know as Waveshore, and so he was more concerned at the time with not slipping into unconsciousness and falling off his chocobo than he was with familiarizing himself with his new environment. Nevertheless, even in his barely-awake state, he could tell that it was quite unlike anything he had so far encountered in this world. For one thing, the roads were not dirt, for a change - from what he could see (which was, admittedly, not much), they consisted mainly of small tiles or cobblestones laid in intricate patterns. A good sign, he supposed. Perhaps he had yet a chance of discovering some real civilization on this backwater planet after all.

For another thing, it was quite crowded. Vaguely defined blurs that he assumed were people - he couldn't quite tell through the bright haze of the sun's light - jostled and jabbered all around him. A few particularly determined ones tried to force him and Rocina out of their way, but quickly learned their lesson after Rocina started biting; Lucius, meanwhile, was too dazed to do more than hurl a few insults in their general direction. Regardless, after the first few nips, the crowd seemed to decide that it would be best to give the odd pair a wide berth - which they did.

As usual, Rocina seemed to have a better idea of where they were headed than Lucius did, and made immediately for a nice shaded area protected by a large awning. This area also happened to contain the entrance to a small inn, Lucius realized once his vision had cleared sufficiently to read the sign by the door. 'The Dolphin Hotel' it read, in big swirly letters, with a small and none-too-skillful painting of a leaping dolphin underneath. An intensely stupid name, Lucius thought, but it was either this or wander around in the noonday sun in search of something better. He promptly and somewhat unsteadily dismounted, tethered Rocina to a convenient post (much to her annoyance), and went inside.

As he entered, Lucius was pleased to note that for once not all the buildings were little wood and thatch huts. The inn itself, in fact, was a nice little brick affair, with some tasteful wood paneling and a variety of useless but attractive (and possibly quite valuable) decorations inside. A clerk, sharply dressed (by hotel clerk standards, at any rate), sat behind an oaken counter, passing the time by looking as snooty as he possibly could. A set of steps near the far wall presumably led up to the rooms.

Lucius strode up to the counter in as imperious a manner as he could muster and struck the bell sharply - unnecessary considering the fact that the clerk had been regarding him with a mixture of fear and contempt from the moment he had passed the threshold. The two instantly loathed each other.

There was an extremely uncomfortable silence for a few seconds as the two exchanged introductory glares. Finally the clerk cleared his throat, apparently deciding that it was better to just get the inevitable over with. "Good morning, sir. Can I - "

"Help me?" finished Lucius. "I can think of several things that might improve my situation, but most of them involve you not being here. In lieu of that, you can give me the best room you have in this rat trap."

Incredibly, things were off to an even worse start than the clerk had expected. Oh, well... "Sir, are you aware that a room at this hotel costs upwards of 100 gold pieces a night?" Maybe the prices would scare him off...

Lucius narrowed his eye. "Highway robbery. Under other circumstances I'd simply run you through and stay here for free. Nevertheless..." He fished something out of the bag hanging from his belt and plunked it down on the counter between them. "I expect you'll find that will be sufficient payment."

The clerk regarded the object sceptically: a small round stone, maybe an inch across, that he might have take for glass had it not been for the myriad streaks of color that seemed to swirl around and into each other at its center, constantly moving and changing in an almost hypnotic way... He picked it up to examine it better, and was only mildly surprised when the colors blurred, shifted and finally resolved themselves into a small but exquisitely detailed seascape, complete with crashing waves and swooping gulls.

A remarkable find, he thought as he stared at the tiny image in the stone's center - undoubtedly magical, and probably worth a small fortune to the right buyer. His heart sank as he realized that this item would also purchase at least a week's stay in one of their best rooms for the horrid man who was even now looking at him expectantly, and they both knew it.

Sighing, he unlocked the small cashbox he kept under the counter and placed the stone in it (the picture inside it once again fading into random swirls) before once again facing Lucius. There was a brief pause as the clerk prepared himself for what was to come... "Very well, sir," he finally announced, "I believe that item will cover your expenses..."

"Of course it will, you small rodent-like man," snapped Lucius, who was not in the mood for pleasantries. "Just give me my room so I can be rid of your company."

The clerk stiffened, but professional courtesy overcame his baser instincts. Reaching for the board on the wall behind him, he plucked one of several remaining keys from its respectful hook and dropped it into Lucius' waiting hand, none too keen on making any sort of physical contact with this disturbing individual. "Room 13, sir. On the left as you reach the top of the stairs."

"Finally," growled Lucius, not bothering to lower his voice more than a notch or two. Without another word, he turned and strode toward the staircase, his boots leaving bits of dirt and grass on the steps as he stomped upward to his room. The clerk couldn't suppress a smirk as Lucius left; it was true that Room 13 was one of their best, but he hadn't bothered to mention what else the masked man would find waiting for him when he got there...

Part 4: Toilet Humor

Lucius was in a fairly good mood - by his standards - at least as he unlocked the door (attractively carved wood, he noted, with an assortment of brass doodads attached here and there, including a large plate with the number 13 engraved on it) that led to the suite which would most likely be his headquarters for the next week or so. He felt he had done a decent job of cutting that snot of a clerk down to size, and he had managed to a free room to stay in as long as he wanted, all for the cost of a useless magical bauble - a masterful bit of bargaining, in his ever-so-humble opinion. Indeed, with each passing day, he was growing more attuned to the nuances of this backwater world; perhaps he could learn to like it here after all...

After a moment or two of fumbling (it had been a while since he had last had to deal with a lock of this sort), the key turned with a satisfying click, and the door swung open, allowing Lucius to step through and inspect his new... place of residence. A cursory examination revealed nothing out of place; a moderately-sized dining/living room, oak paneled and tastefully furnished with comfortable-looking chairs, a table or two, and a rather large and inviting fireplace on the far wall. There were also three doors which presumably led to other parts of the suite. He looked behind one and found that it concealed a kitchen, complete with wood-burning stove, oven, and what appeared to be a wooden box filled with ice, presumably for food storage or some such thing; there were other instruments scattered around the room whose uses he couldn't discern, but it didn't really matter since he likely wouldn't be needing them anyway. 20 Another door opened onto a bathroom, along with all the various device which bathrooms usually contain; Lucius had a few moments' difficulty identifying some of them, having not encountered objects of this sort for several centuries. Even now he had no real use for them, but it was nevertheless nice to know that the option was there. He took a moment to remove his boots, along with some of his heavier clothing, and let his tired feet soak in what he presumed was the sink; he flushed it a couple of times to get them nice and clean, and dried them off on a convenient towel before once again donning his boots and moving on to the third door.

Behind this door was a bedroom, containing a wardrobe, a nightstand, and, of course, a bed - king-sized, no less. None of this really registered with Lucius, though, as his attention was focused primarily on the bloody, bloated corpse which lay sprawled out on the bed, making a royal mess of the sheets.

"Shit," Lucius said.