A Smidge of Magic

Chapter 20

The Golden Fleece was a dump. It was abundantly clear the name of the place was mere hyperbole. Ian found it reminiscent of trucker motels seated all along rural highways. Shabby cramped rooms lined open walkways with stairwells on either end.

"Perfect." Ian said, "Lots of exits, good visibility. Probably get a disease from the mattress."

Vale ignored him and stepped into the check-in area. Mal broke off to wait outside the door. Rather than relaxing the lupine sat at attention and perked his ears, alert for any hints of danger. Those silvery-red eyes scanned the street with their keen intelligence. He'd received no instruction, but he always seemed to understand where he needed to be and what he needed to be doing.

Some things never change, no matter where you are, Ian thought as they stepped up to the counter.

"How long will you be staying?" Asked a teenage boy with pimples and questionable hygiene. "It's fourteen til an hour and a hundred even for the night."

"It may be one night, or it may be longer. You may place my crystal on file and charge us daily if that will be acceptable. Anything on the second floor, please." She said, handing over her exchange crystal. The clerk ran it and handed it back. Vale took their oversized room key and her crystal from the distracted young man and departed without further conversation.

Heading up to the second floor Mal trotted along behind them, toenails clacking on the metal staircase. The adjacent hotel's entrance was easily visible through their wide bay window. Inside, the room was fairly standard for a hotel-by-the-hour. One reasonably large bed, a bathroom with a sink outside the door, an old worn-down dresser, a small table with two chairs, and even hideous shag carpet.

Ian glanced over the only thing in the room that he didn't recognize while Vale peeked out through the thin curtains. It was a flat disc of reddish clay with a cloudy prism spinning a few inches above its surface as if suspended by a magnetic field.

"What is that?" Ian asked, nodding at the disc.

"Oh, that? It's an I.E." Vale explained. She walked over and pressed the single circular indentation on the disc. A faint light blossomed from the center of the stone disc as it began to spin. The light quickly became bright white and that in turn resolved into the picture of a clean-cut human man sitting behind a desk.

"...And visitors to Raxal are advised to visit Drowers Market today to take advantage of the savings on magical pets in the Mystical Menagerie. Now we'll go to Oliver Jancor for our weekly Arena updates. Oliver?"

Vale pressed the indent again and the lights went out. "Image Exhibitor. They come in every hotel but hardly anyone one uses them because there's an improved metal version available. It is an integral means of communication in cities like this, spreading the news and other events of importance. We don't use them in Landorei, the druid's feel it detracts from our way of life."

Ian picked up the device and flipped it over in his hands a few times examining the disc before setting it back down. He was still trying to get used to the casual uses that magic had in this world. It appeared that magic had filled in many technological gaps, and was even an improvement over some areas.

Mal collapsed by the foot of the bed with a bored full-throated yawn. He'd been sniffing and pacing the room since their arrival and decided that was the safest spot to lay down.

Vale pulled off her bow and quiver and laid them across the top of the dresser. She then released the clasp on her cloak, revealing the lithe figure hidden beneath. Ian walked to the bed and sat down making himself comfortable before looking back to Vale. It took far more effort than Ian was comfortable with not to stare. Her leather armor covered nearly every inch of her torso but still allowed her femininity to show through. Something Ian had not been expecting or prepared for.