Shaking her head at the opulence, Velvet wandered back into the corridor just in time to meet Nurn and Lord coming out of their room. Lord had removed the large sword from his back, though the smaller one was still at his hip.
“We’re going to get dinner, I’m starving,” Nurn informed her. “Are you coming?”
Velvet hesitated. She had been planning to go back to the shop, but it was getting late, and that would mean she’d have to go out in the dark. Best rest here for the night and do that tomorrow. Besides, for half a Crown a night, she wanted her moneys’ worth.
“Okay. Let me just freshen up a little first,” she replied. “I smell of horse. I’ll meet you in the dining room. Can you find it?”
“I can always find my way to food, don’t worry about that!” The Grey grinned and waddled off down the corridor, close behind the hulking form of Lord. Velvet watched the mismatched pair go for a moment, and then returned to her room, where she used the apparatus provided to scrub the accumulated grime off her.
Feeling much better, she left her new room and took the stairs to the dining area, which was on the third floor, according to a sign near the lift.
The dining hall matched the rest of the hotel in elegance. Tables of various sizes were laid out in neat rows, with purple and white tablecloths with blue placemats. The walls were covered in golden coloured furry wallpaper, the likes of which Velvet had never seen before. She stopped to a moment to stroke it and wonder what kind of animal had given its life up so its skin could line the walls of a hotel.
“May I help the young miss?”
Velvet started. She looked around, guiltily removing her hand. “Ah, I’m here to join my friends,” she said.
A tall man, obviously the head waiter, was standing nearby, looking down a long thin nose at her. He was dressed in a formal black suit with matching bow-tie. His hair had been slicked back and Velvet thought he looked as if he’d been starched. His name badge proclaimed him to be ‘Rupert’ and the look on his face made it plain he thought she’d just crawled out of the gutter.
“Wonderful. Welcome to my dining hall,” he said, in a voice that gave lie to his words.
“There they are,” she said, spotting Nurn and Lord at a table not too far away. Lord was sipping a glass of water. Nurn appeared to have half an apple in his mouth.
“Of course,” said the head waiter, as if stating ‘who else would you be with?’ “If you would like to follow me, then.” He set off and she followed, noticing for the first time his long and very, very thin legs.
“Here she is!” said Nurn, waving at her as she approached and spitting apple pieces over the table, much to the evident distress of Rupert.
“Your friend has arrived,” Rupert announced, as if Velvet had just entered a ballroom. “How is your pre-dinner snack? Would you like some more fruit to spread around, sir?”
“That’d be great,” Nurn replied, not the least bit phased by the tone of the question.
Velvet suppressed a grin as she sat in the chair Rupert pulled out for her.
“This is more like it!” Nurn said as the head waiter stalked off. “I may even get enough to eat here.”
“Glad you like it,” Velvet said. “Oh, thank you.” This was directed at a young woman who had just handed her a menu.
“We’ve ordered already,” Nurn informed her.
“I see,” Velvet replied, not really listening as she scanned the list. Evidently it was the drinks menu. There was quite a lot of wine on it, none of which she was familiar with, but she was willing to explore new territory, so she chose one at random and handed the menu back, only to be given another, thicker book.
Smiling at Nurn, who had just managed to stuff an entire banana in his mouth in one go, she tried to understand the food in the list. It was evidently high-class cuisine, but the names were not familiar to her, and she didn’t want to make a fool of herself ordering something she didn’t like.
Eventually she ordered a light salad as a starter, and something she hoped was goose as a main course. Declining dessert, she handed the waitress the menu back and settled down in the comfortable chair to wait for her food.
“So,” she said after a moment’s silence. “How’s your room?”
“It’s okay,” Nurn replied, swallowing the last of his banana. “Been in worse, been in better.” He waved his arm about dismissively.
Velvet nodded. No doubt they had.
“Tomorrow, I must go back and tell my employer, at the shop I work in I mean, that I’ll be away for a while,” she said to Lord.
The large man nodded. “You said this before. Do you wish me to accompany you?”
Velvet considered for a moment, but then shook her head. “No, thanks. I’ll be okay. It’s not far on horseback. I’ll be back in the afternoon if I start early and get a move on.”
“Very well,” Lord said, as the waitress put a bowl of small bread rolls on the table. Nurn grabbed two of them and stuffed them into his mouth so both cheeks bulged like a squirrel carrying nuts. Lord shook his head slightly and spoke again to Velvet. “I appreciate your help in this matter, and apologize again for taking you away from your usual duties.”
“Hah, I’d rather help you. It’s not often I get the chance to help someone good. This city has far too many greedy people.”
“I thought you said you worked in a wizard’s shop?” Nurn mumbled.
“Yes?” Velvet raised an eyebrow.
“Well, aren’t the wizards honourable people?”
“You’ve met Rumpold already, I’d say he was slightly better than most.”
“Oh,” Nurn said. He thought about this for a second, chewing absentmindedly, then nodded. “I see. Wizards in your… in your city aren’t the most charitable people then.”
“Are the wizards in your city different?” she asked.
They leaned back as the appetizers arrived on a small silver trolley, pushed by a young waiter. The same waitress as before placed large bowls of soup before Lord and Nurn, and a plate piled high with salad in front of Velvet, whose eyes widened at the sight. The hotel may be expensive, but it didn’t skimp on the portions. She picked up a fork and speared a small tomato as Nurn and Lord started on the soup, Nurn ate with some decorum, which she hadn’t expected.
“They are bound to behave with dignity and honour,” Lord said after an initial bout of eating. “The mages in All that is.”
“Of course, that doesn’t mean you don’t get a bad one here and there,” Nurn added helpfully, waving his spoon about and getting soup on the tablecloth. He glanced at his master. “Remember old Herk? Nasty business all round.” He picked up some bread and dipped it into his bowl.
“Mmm,” said Velvet thoughtfully, folding up a green leaf and popping it into her mouth.
“Are you able to cast any spells?” asked Lord. “You must have picked up some simple enchantments at least, working where you do.”
Velvet’s eyes widened. “Oh, no. No sir. The wizards’ guild wouldn’t allow that. You must be properly apprenticed to use magic. If I started to cast spells, or tried to at least, they’d be down on me in no time. There are stories about people who’ve done that. They disappear.”
“Pfft,” Nurn made a dismissive noise. “Sounds like they’ve got you scared well and proper.”
“No one gets away with using magic unless they’re sanctioned by the guild,” Velvet said.
“No one that you hear about,” said Nurn. He put his spoon down and picked the bowl up, which was now nearly empty, and tipped the rest of the soup into his mouth. Velvet caught sight of Rupert, standing in the shadows and covering his eyes in second-hand embarrassment.
“Maybe,” she said.
“For sure,” Nurn said. “I’ve seen mages like yours before. Half of their power comes from bamboozling the locals. If you stood up to them a bit, they’d probably run a mile.”
“You think?”
Nurn shrugged. “Well, there’d probably be some casualties at first.” He raised a finger. “But if you persevered…”
“Enough Nurn,” Lord said. “No trying to subvert the local political structure.”
“Yes, boss,” the Grey replied. He looked around for the serving staff. “Hey! We’ve finished here. Where’s the next course?”
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