Restart Again: Volume 2 by Adam Scott (hardest books to read txt) 📕

At the sight of a guest, the young man sprang to the end of the bar to greet me. “Welcome to the Council Chambers! How can I be of assistance?” His excitement seemed to border on desperation as he watched me intently with a large smile.

“Hey there,” I said with a forced smile as I approached the bar, unable to match his enthusiasm. “I’d like a room for the night, and warm meals for three people.” My fingers drummed absently on the countertop as I reached for my coin purse. “Actually, make that two rooms. Across the hall from each other, on the second floor.”

“Yes sir!” He knelt down to a hidden cabinet below the bar and unlocked the latch, reappearing a moment later with two keys attached to wooden blocks. He set them down on the counter, one under each hand. “Two rooms for the night costs a stein and twelve coppers, dinners included.”

I raised an eyebrow and clicked my tongue loudly. “That’s awfully pricey, don’t you think?” While I had more than enough of the King’s coin to pay for the room, I was more interested in the information he could give me about Attetsia. “Are the beds made of clouds or something?”

“Nothing like that, I’m afraid,” he laughed apologetically. “Seasonal pricing. When the traffic decreases as winter approaches, our prices have to go up to accommodate. I’m sure you understand.” The inflection of his voice rose as he spoke, turning the statement into a question.

“Sure, sure,” I nodded as I fished through my purse for the appropriate coins. “I’m not sure the season has much to do with it though, what with the Company closing the gates.”

At the mention of the Company, the man’s youthful face tightened, and he scanned around the room for a moment before leaning towards me to speak in a hushed voice. “If this is some sort of test, I don’t know what I’m supposed to say. We’ve already paid up with the Company, and I don’t want any trouble.” He leaned back and smiled again, though his eyes still showed fear. “So how about it? I assure you our rooms are the most comfortable you’ll find in Attetsia.”

That’s not a good sign. I sighed as I piled the payment on the counter. “Alright, I’m sold.” There was a palpable sense of relief as he slid me the keys. Fishing through my purse one last time, I retrieved a single Imperial and palmed it, doing my best to hide it from view. I reached out to shake his hand with a smile. “Pleasure doing business with you.”

When he took my hand, I pulled him close and turned my hand, allowing the Imperial to fall into his palm. “If anybody asks,” I whispered into his ear, “you don’t know us, and we were never here. I’m sure we’ll have a lovely business relationship in the future, should you be able to handle that.” He pulled away to observe the coin I had given him, which he immediately shoved into his pocket. “If not, let’s just say that the Company will be the least of your worries.” I took the keys and looked at him expectantly.

“Yes! I, uhm, of course! Absolutely. Enjoy your stay, sir. Thank you, sir,” he stammered. “The stairs to your rooms are at the far side of the bar, right over there. I’ll have your meals ready as soon as I can!” He turned and disappeared through a swinging door behind the bar, and I heard the clatter of pans and cooking utensils soon after.

The main doors opened behind me, and I turned to find Val and Lia entering with two stacked chests held between them. I moved to Lia’s side and took the handle, holding out a room key with my other hand. “Could you go ahead of us and check out the room?  I’m very curious as to what my money got us for the night.” I pointed out the staircase at the far side of the room. “It should be right up those stairs, somewhere. Room seventy-five.”

She looked down at the block attached to the key and checked the symbol. “That’s right! You’re a quick learner.”

I laughed. “I do have a pretty good teacher, after all.”

Lia giggled before she jogged ahead, quickly leaving us behind to carry the packed chests across the room. When she was out of earshot, I handed the second key to Val. “This one’s for you.”

“It would be safer if we stayed in the same room,” she commented flatly, taking the key.

“The rooms only have one bed each. I thought you’d be more comfortable sleeping in your own bed.” In truth, Val’s comfort hadn’t crossed my mind when renting the rooms, though the fact that the rooms had only one mattress each was correct.

“I do not mind sleeping on the floor.”

I shook my head and stopped at the foot of the stairs. “Listen, Val. You’re a relatively direct person,” I said, resisting the urge to roll my eyes at the massive understatement, “so I’m going to be direct with you, too. After we eat dinner tonight, I would like to spend some time alone with Lia. This is probably the last chance we’ll have to feel safe and relax before we head into the city, and I don’t want to miss it.”

Val nodded. “I understand. I will retire to my room alone this evening.”

“Thank you,” I replied, surprised by her lack of resistance. We resumed our trip up the stairs and found Lia midway down the second floor hallway, waiting by an open door.

“It’s a nice room!” She called out to us as we approached. “There’s only one bed, though.”

“That’s why I also rented the room across the hall. I didn’t think we would all fit in one bed comfortably,” I answered with a chuckle.

“Oh, good!” She took our chest from Val and helped me carry it into our room. It was well-furnished, though everything seemed a bit