Page 39 of Tis the Season for Tentacles
“Can you direct us to an inn nearby?” Najar asks.
“Most places are fully booked up for the festival, but there’s one place I know that might still have some rooms available.” The carriage-shop manager shares what appear to be GPS coordinates with Najar who inputs them into a handheld mini tablet-like device.
“Thank you, sir. Please be safe on your way home,” Najar offers.
We part ways, and Najar leads us, using his device to guide us. After turning down several side streets, we finally reach a quaint, European-style inn reminiscent of ones I encountered in Salzburg, Austria.
By now, the snow is coming down heavily, and the wind is so strong that visibility has become limited. When we enter the front door, we find ourselves in a cozy tavern with a large fireplace keeping the space toasty warm. All of us are ready to escape the cold and find some respite here, so we stomp andshake off the snow that’s accumulated on our thermal suits and boots before moving toward the bar.
Another Yeti-like creature, this one sporting a bartender’s apron, comes out from behind the counter with a toothy smile. “Good evening, travelers. Are you here for dinner?”
Khephren pulls back his hood, releasing his mane of vibrant pink hair, and smiles. “We’re from off-planet and just arrived today. Unfortunately, we missed the last carriage to the landing site before the storm hit. Now we’re looking for a place to stay until the snow squall passes since we’re unable to get back to our ship until then.”
The innkeeper studies us with a frown. “Hmm, I don’t have many rooms left, but let me check my register. We’ve been very busy with all the festival attendees and now the storm is pushing most places in town to capacity, I’m afraid.” We follow him over to the bar, where he pulls out a ledger and studies it closely. “You’re in luck. I still have two full rooms available, plus a bed left in the women-only dormitory.”
Luna raises her hand. “No worries. I’ll take the bed in the dormitory.”
The innkeeper smiles. “Oh, good. I think we can make this work, then.” He uses a device to scan her hand before giving her a flat metallic object. “Here’s your biometric key card.”
“How does that work?” I whisper to Najar.
He leans closer and I try to ignore the fact that he smells like musky man magic. “The device he used takes a scan of the guest and syncs the key card and door access to only that person’s biological signature.”
My eyes go huge. “Like a DNA key card?”
His lips curve in obvious amusement. “Something like that.”
“So cool,” I mutter to myself.
The innkeeper hands Luna a small bag. “Here’s a complimentary overnight kit. I’m thinking you didn’t bring anynecessities with you for a day trip to the festival? Just let me know if there’s anything else I can do to make your stay more comfortable.”
“Thanks, I really appreciate this.”
“My pleasure. The communal showers for the dormitory are just across the hall from the sleeping quarters. Very convenient and clean.”
Luna beams. “Perfect. I’m all set.”
The innkeeper goes through the same hand-scanning procedure with Khephren and Najar, then hands them biometric key cards too.
“Would you all like meals included with your stay?” he asks.
Khephren speaks up for our group. “Yes, please. For now, we’ll at least want dinner and breakfast tomorrow. But we may need to extend our stay if the storm lasts longer than that.”
The innkeeper bows. “Of course, sir.”
“Wonderful. We’ll go get situated and then come back. I’m sure looking forward to enjoying a hot dinner in your lovely tavern here.” Kheph grins at all of us. “How about you guys?”
We all agree that hot foot sounds amazing and my stomach actually decides to growl making everyone laugh.
The innkeeper goes over the cost of our stay with Khephren, who scans a device that contains his intergalactic credits information to pay for our stay.
I feel bad having to rely on them for all of this, but I have no currency that would be accepted in the universe. Then again, Iamtheir abducted guest, so I don’t let myself get too stressed about it.
Luna flashes us a big grin. “Let’s all meet back here in twenty minutes. Sound good?”
We all agree, and she skips off to the women’s dormitory the innkeeper directs her to at the back of the building. Meanwhile,he leads the rest of us up a flight of stairs to the private guest rooms.
That’s when I belatedly start to realize this situation is going to get real awkward real fast, because unless I miss my guess, I’m going to be rooming with Najar.
