Kara stood in the TARDIS console room and just looked at the Curator.
"Really?" she said, "Do I really need to wear this?"
The Curator smiled at his companion. She was wearing a thick padded jacket, the same as an Inuit would wear to protect them from the cold with thick thermal gloves on.
"We're going to Rixalox, you wanted to go somewhere I've never been before. The highest the temperature ever gets there is -25 degrees." The Curator replied with a childish smile.
"When I said somewhere you hadn't been I was hoping for somewhere a little warmer!" she replied, "Why Rixawhereever?"
"I've always wanted to go there. It's as though their technological evolution just halted and they haven't changed for 400 years. I've been told it's quite the place to see."
"But -25!" Kara exclaimed.
"You want to see the wonders of time and space? The things very few will ever get to see? Well this is one of those places. Mountains made of ice, frozen oceans. A people who have evolved and adapted to survive on a barren wasteland."
"Sounds a little too much like Hoth! Knowing my luck I'll be eaten by a Wampa." Kara replied sarcastically.
"Where's Hoth?!" the Curator replied, "I've never heard of it!"
"Hoth is in a Star Wars movie. We'll watch it after I get frostbite!"
The Curator smiled and chuckled to himself.
"Trust me you'll be more than pleased with that coat and gloves when we step out of the TARDIS."
Kara gave in, no matter what she said she was going to be freezing cold for at least the next few days. She may as well make the most of them and enjoy it as much as she could.
As the TARDIS came to a stop the Curator put on his coat and put his sonic screwdriver in one of the pockets before he put his gloves on.
"I have to say, I'm very excited." he said.
Kara couldn't help but smile at the childlike expression on her best friends face.
As they opened the TARDIS doors the cold hit them like a wall.
"Still excited?" Kara asked.
The Curator nodded in reply. As they shut the door the Curator took his sonic out of his pocket.
"Just checking the temperature." he said.
"Well?" Kara asked as he looked at the results.
"-36." he said.
"Won't we freeze to death if we're out here too long?" she asked.
"No that's the wonder of these coats. They generate a protective layer around us. In a few minutes you'll start to feel warmer, they're quite wonderful." he replied.
In front of them was a forest of dead trees, covered in snow with icicles, some up to two meters long hanging off them.
"Did you say there were people living here?" Kara asked.
"Yes there are," The Curator replied, "There is a small town about four miles up that road." he said pointing down a very foreboding road.
"Why haven't we landed in the town then?" she asked.
"From what I can gather from things I've read and been told the only new people who arrive in the town all come down this one road. If we just appear in the town centre there will be too many questions we can't answer and the people will be suspicious of us."
"I knew there must be a reason." Kara replied under her breath.
Two miles down the road Kara was now nice and warm from the layer coming from the coat. Now that she wasn't freezing cold she was beginning to appreciate the view for how hauntingly beautiful it was. Suddenly the Curator stopped walking and stood starring into the tree line.
"What is it? What have you seen?" she asked.
"Bones." the Curator replied, "Lots and lots of bones."
Kara stopped in her tracks and watched the Curator step off the road and walk into the tree line.
"Fascinating." he mumbled to himself.
"What is?" Kara asked.
"What is what?" the Curator replied.
Kara couldn't help but smile. She always enjoyed watching the Curator find something unexpected or even occasionally something that he couldn't explain. He always seemed as excited as a child at christmas.
"What's fascinating?" he replied.
"These bones belong to members of the planets indigenous humanoid population. Some of them have been here so long that the trees have grown through them." he pointed to what was clearly a jawbone sticking out of the base of a huge tree.
"These ones haven't been here very long," Kara said pointing to the side of the road, "They've still got muscle attached to them." she said with a worried look on her face.
The Curator rushed over, his sonic screwdriver buzzing away. When he finished he looked at the device.
"I take it three days counts as not very long?" the Curator asked.
Kara nodded her head, "I'll say." she replied.
The Curator put the screwdriver back in his front coat pocket and began walking down the road.
"We're not going back to the TARDIS?" Kara asked as the snow began to fall harder.
"Nope." the Curator replied.
"You still want to go to that town?" Kara asked.
"Yep." he said.
"I can't talk you out of this can I?"
"Nope." he said as he continued to walk.
"You want to find out what's going on don't you?"
He turned around and flashed her a smile, "Come on, it'll be fun." he said.
The town of Loxa was home to nearly 4,000 people. There were hundreds of other small towns, just like this one. Loxa however was one of the oldest. As they walked into the town it reminded her of those old 20th christmas movies her mother always made them watch each year. The smell of burning log fires coming out of each home and building they passed. It all felt very welcoming. The town centre was bustling with life. People going about their day to day business.
"So where to now?" Kara asked.
"We need to find some kind of hotel. We'll use this place as a home base and then we'll move out each day and see what we can find. In two days time it's going to be the star festival. Each year on the same night the sky is full of thousands of shooting stars. It happens every year at the same time. There will be a huge celebration, it'll be brilliant." he said.
They began to walk through the town square. There were various shops open that sold just about everything you could need in an town like this. There was a large building of worship at one end. Kara had no idea what the religion might be, it reminded of her of church's back home. The houses of the town's people were set behind the shops and went backwards for quite some way. The Curator stopped outside one rather large building. It looked like a huge log cabin, three floors high.
"This will do." the Curator said before leading Kara inside.
Kara followed the Curator into the reception area. The huge crackling fire immediately made a difference to the heat. They walked up to a very human looking woman sitting behind a desk.
"How may I help you both?" the woman asked.
"Ah yes we'd like two rooms please." the Curator said.
"Here for the star festival?" she asked in a matter of fact way.
"Yes we are," the Curator replied with a huge smile, "and we're very much looking forward to seeing it."
"I can give you two rooms but I'll need to see some form of ID please." she barked.
The Curator reached into his pocket and pulled out a leather wallet that flipped open to show a piece of paper. The woman looked at it and her eyes widened. She looked up at the Curator and then back down at the paper.
"I'm so sorry Mr Jones we had no idea you were coming." she stuttered.
"It's no problem," he replied taking the paper from her and giving it a quick glance, "As long as we can have our rooms we'll say nothing of it."
"Of course, we have our two largest rooms for you, you'll have your own private facilities, it's very nice sir. Please follow me." she slammed a "Back in five minutes" sign on the desk and grabbed two sets of keys before dashing off.
"We'd better follow her." the Curator whispered to Kara.
"What did it say on that paper?" she asked.
"It said that I am Harry Jones and that I am the 'Master of all Law' in the area. The job must have some weight to it." the said.
"Yes but what if there's a real Harry Jones? And he turns up while we're here?" she asked.
"Judging by the fact that she's never seen him before I'm guessing he's never been here before, we should be okay." he replied.
They followed the woman up to the top floor of the little hotel and she showed them into their rooms.
"This one here is for you, Miss?" the woman asked.
"Grant." Kara replied.
"Miss Grant." the woman put on the biggest fake smile she could.
Kara walked inside, it was lovely. A huge four poster bed at the far side of the room. On the wall nearest to her a huge fire place which was already crackling away to itself with two very comfortable looking chairs in front of it and a table. There was a bathroom as well we a huge cast iron bath with a toilet and sink as well.
"Oh yes this will do." Kara said.
The Curator's room was next door and was more or less identical to Kara's.
"There is a bar downstairs which is open day and night. Plus a restaurant which is open from breakfast until dinner. If you require any food or drink, you can also call down at any time and someone will bring it up for you sir."
"Thank you very much, you've been very kind." the Curator replied.
"I'll tell the Mayor and the Law man that you're here." she said.
"Thank you again." he said with a smile.
"That psychic paper has really done well for us this time!" Kara said.
"As soon as we've placated this mayor and lawman we can start to have some fun." the Curator replied.
Within ten minutes of them being in there, there was a knock on the Curator's door. He got up from his chair in front of the fire and walked over to it. Two men stood outside. One of them looked like he would be pushing seventy in human years, he walked with a cane, had balding silver hair and looked like he just wanted the day to be over. The second man was tall and very muscular, he looked like a soldier.
"Are you Master Harry Jones?" the younger man asked.
The Curator nodded, "I am indeed, welcome, please come in. I take it you're the mayor and the law man?"
"My name is Maximilian Carter, I am the Mayor of this town." the elderly man said, "May I sit down?"
"Of course." the Curator replied.
"Thank you. This is my grandson Percivel Carter, the law man for my town."
The Curator shook the giant man's hand.
"If we had known you were coming we would have sent someone to meet you." Percivel said.
"Oh no need to worry about anything like that, I'm not one for standing on ceremony." the Curator replied.
"You told Mary on the desk that you were here for the Star Festival, but we know why you're really here Master Jones, the killings." Maximilian said.
"Yes of course we are, would you excuse me for one moment while I go to get my assistant. If we're going to get to the bottom of this then she will need to be present at all times." the Curator said.
"A woman as your assistant? What is the world coming to?!" Maximilian said.
"I assure you she is more than capable." the Curator replied, that comment making the Curator dislike him already.
"Please forgive my grandfather," Percivel said, "He's still old fashioned." he was clearly embarrassed.
"I've told you before to stop apologising for me boy."
The Curator slipped out of the room as the two began to bicker at each other. He knocked on Kara's door, moments later she appeared.
"They're here, he whispered, they want to talk to us about the killings, come on." The Curator took her hand and rushed her to his room.
"Mayor Maximilian Carter, Law man Percivel Carter, please allow me to introduce my assistant, Lieutenant Kara Grant."
The old man dismissed her, Percivel however was clearly taken with Kara.
"Very pleased to meet you Lieutenant." he said taking her hand and kissing it.
The Curator pulled her hand away, "Yes yes we're all very pleased, now to the killings. Have you any idea who is doing them?"
"It's not a who, it's a what!" Maximilian replied.
