Chapter 7, Hidden motives
They must have been traveling for days on end, with not much of anything. Relief rushed over them as they saw the outline of a dome quickly approaching. It looked similar to the last dome they visited. It was basically a glass dome surrounding a modern town. The brick and shingle houses felt warming and welcoming to the travelers. -Katana- "We don't know anyone here, so we might need to ask around for a place to stay. We lucked out last time when we met you." Her look traveled over to Colleen. A minute later they were a couple feet away from the docking bay entrance, but Katana wanted to finish explaining rules before they entered. -Katana- "Just let me do the talking. I have some military statues and that might get us some respect. Don't do anything that might disturb the locals. Remember, we are intruding on them and most civilians believe that warriors will only bring danger to them." -Colleen- "We aren't going to make them mad just by being here. No one was upset when I brought you guys in and they didn't even notice when I left. We will be in and out without anyone even noticing us." Both of them looked as if they were very sure about themselves. Without warning the door opened with a sudden swooshing noise. A man stood with a smile and his hand on the button he had obviously just pushed. -Smiling man- "Hello! You must be tired from your long journey. Please come in. We will treat you to a nice meal and warm beds." Garali laughed to himself when he realized that both Colleen and Katana were wrong. He made sure he was the only one that could hear it though. -Katana- "We are just passing through. You really don't have to do that. We don't want to disturb your quaint little town." -Smiling man- "Nonsense! You are guests at out town and we will treat you with the utmost hospitality." The man motioned for them to enter the room. On entry, Garali noticed that it looked almost identical to the docking bay they had just left behind. -Smiling man- "Please, you must be tired. Un-tame yourselves and come with me." Garali was ecstatic at the thought of being about to sleep here because he would not have to worry about sirens in the morning. With out hesitation, he moved within the Tamer and turned it on. It wasn't long after that both Katana and Colleen fallowed his lead. He felt good knowing that he was able to make an executive decision, instead of just fallowing blindly. -Katana- "Kind sir, what is your name?" The man stopped for a second, his hand about to push the button to the door leading inwards. His smile faded for the first time since they had seen him. -Man- "My name? Yes, I guess a good host should have a name. My name is Shamus and I will be your usher for the evening. Please, I'm sure you can't wait to put your feet up. Fallow me." After his small introduction, the smile returned and the same inviting hands pushed the button for the door and waved them in. It was just as Garali expected, modern buildings similar to those previously visited. -Garali- "Which house will we be staying in?" Katana gave him a look that reminded him that he was supposed to let her do the talking. -Shamus- "Not far. Just a couple houses down." Something seemed out of the ordinary about the town. He couldn't put his figure on it but he felt it wasn't exactly right. On top of that, Shamus was being a little too eager to get them inside. He was starting to let his worries get the best of him until they arrived at the door of the house they must be staying in. -Shamus- "Here we are. I'll also be your cook for the evening. Is there anything particular you would like to eat?" Garali was about to mention something but another look from Katana left him with his mouth open but with no words to fallow. -Katana- "We don't mean to be of any trouble. What ever is most convenient would be perfect." -Shamus- "Really, this is no problem. If you insist on making this easier on me, I'll just cook you my specialty." They moved in through the doorway; fallowing Shamus' lead. Garali decided it appropriate to take in the interior this time. He remembered that the last house was rather cramped but homey. Upon entrance he noticed that this house design was much different. It opened up into a large, single room that looked like a dinning room. There was a large table and seats around it set for five. The rest of the room was bare and there were only one door and stairs leading up. He assumed the door must go to a kitchen, otherwise how would they eat? -Shamus- "Please, sit. I'll bring you food in a moment." Each took a seat at the table. Shamus disappeared into the door that Garali had assumed lead to a kitchen. -Katana- "This is much more generous then I expected." -Colleen- "Yes, and didn't you find it weird that there were no people on the streets?" Garali figured that must have been what felt out of place earlier. -Katana- "That was odd. I'm worried these people may be afraid of us. This Shamus character seems to be trying to get rid of us as fast as possible. I advise we just eat and leave. There is no need to inconvenience them any further." -Colleen- "I agree. A free meal is good enough. We can go without rest. How far till the next town?" Garali felt like he was being left out of the conversation. As if his opinion didn't mater. -Katana- "Not much farther then this town from the last. I'm sure we will be able to make it there without incident." -Colleen- "All right. That is what we will do. We shall leave after we finish eating." -Garali- "May I say something?" Finally speaking up, both of them looked at him and he felt his face becoming warm. -Katana- "Yes. You don't have to ask to talk." Garali felt conflicted with her response because of the earlier looks she given him. -Garali- "I was really looking forward to that warm bed. Shamus is being rather hospitable. Why not take advantage of it? We already walked for days. Can we take a short break?" His plea didn't seem to have any affect on either of their facial expressions. He defiantly felt out of place. Having two female, experienced warriors that also happened to have an age advantage for company made him silent most of the trip. He finally wanted his voice heard, but with no facial response, he decided it better to just go with the flow. -Katana- "We could do that. Lets just decided after we eat. Maybe Shamus will calm down after and let us be." He felt relief, after her words weren't as painful as he expected. Shamus walked through the door, finally breaking the feeling of embarrassment Garali had. Shamus carried four plates, each with what looked like mashes potatoes and chicken. It might not have been the greatest "special" they could have thought of, but after the traveling, each of them would have been willing to eat wood. He placed a plate in front of each of them and then another in front of himself before taking a seat. -Shamus- "Please, eat up! I'm sure you could use the nourishment." Garali wasted no time digging into the food he was given. Katana and Colleen both hesitated for a moment, but soon fallowed his lead, again. That same feeling of satisfaction would have filled Garali if he hadn't been so busy stuffing his face. Katana put down her fork after a couple minutes of intense eating. -Katana- "Shamus, aren't you going to eat?" His same smile, that was on his face from earlier, slipped away again. -Shamus- "Oh! OF course I'll eat." He picked up a piece of chicken and bit down hard. -Shamus- "Delicious. Please, there is more if you want it." Garali couldn't wait for that soft bed. He felt his eyes becoming heavy with anticipation for the sleep he hoped would fallow the meal. Even with Shamus eating away, he still kept his eyes on the three of them, and whenever he could, he would crack a smile. It must have been the chicken, or maybe the long walk, but Garali was defiantly feeling ready for bed. -Katana- "I think we might take you up on the "warm bed" offer. I'm feeling a little tired." Shamus dropped what he was eating, and rose from the table. -Shamus- "I just want to say thank you. Bringing you in will defiantly get me rewarded." He let a small laugh escape his lips. -Shamus- "I will also be your slave driver for the evening." They each left their food to stare blankly at Shamus. It was only mere moments before each of them blacked out.
They must have been traveling for days on end, with not much of anything. Relief rushed over them as they saw the outline of a dome quickly approaching. It looked similar to the last dome they visited. It was basically a glass dome surrounding a modern town. The brick and shingle houses felt warming and welcoming to the travelers. -Katana- "We don't know anyone here, so we might need to ask around for a place to stay. We lucked out last time when we met you." Her look traveled over to Colleen. A minute later they were a couple feet away from the docking bay entrance, but Katana wanted to finish explaining rules before they entered. -Katana- "Just let me do the talking. I have some military statues and that might get us some respect. Don't do anything that might disturb the locals. Remember, we are intruding on them and most civilians believe that warriors will only bring danger to them." -Colleen- "We aren't going to make them mad just by being here. No one was upset when I brought you guys in and they didn't even notice when I left. We will be in and out without anyone even noticing us." Both of them looked as if they were very sure about themselves. Without warning the door opened with a sudden swooshing noise. A man stood with a smile and his hand on the button he had obviously just pushed. -Smiling man- "Hello! You must be tired from your long journey. Please come in. We will treat you to a nice meal and warm beds." Garali laughed to himself when he realized that both Colleen and Katana were wrong. He made sure he was the only one that could hear it though. -Katana- "We are just passing through. You really don't have to do that. We don't want to disturb your quaint little town." -Smiling man- "Nonsense! You are guests at out town and we will treat you with the utmost hospitality." The man motioned for them to enter the room. On entry, Garali noticed that it looked almost identical to the docking bay they had just left behind. -Smiling man- "Please, you must be tired. Un-tame yourselves and come with me." Garali was ecstatic at the thought of being about to sleep here because he would not have to worry about sirens in the morning. With out hesitation, he moved within the Tamer and turned it on. It wasn't long after that both Katana and Colleen fallowed his lead. He felt good knowing that he was able to make an executive decision, instead of just fallowing blindly. -Katana- "Kind sir, what is your name?" The man stopped for a second, his hand about to push the button to the door leading inwards. His smile faded for the first time since they had seen him. -Man- "My name? Yes, I guess a good host should have a name. My name is Shamus and I will be your usher for the evening. Please, I'm sure you can't wait to put your feet up. Fallow me." After his small introduction, the smile returned and the same inviting hands pushed the button for the door and waved them in. It was just as Garali expected, modern buildings similar to those previously visited. -Garali- "Which house will we be staying in?" Katana gave him a look that reminded him that he was supposed to let her do the talking. -Shamus- "Not far. Just a couple houses down." Something seemed out of the ordinary about the town. He couldn't put his figure on it but he felt it wasn't exactly right. On top of that, Shamus was being a little too eager to get them inside. He was starting to let his worries get the best of him until they arrived at the door of the house they must be staying in. -Shamus- "Here we are. I'll also be your cook for the evening. Is there anything particular you would like to eat?" Garali was about to mention something but another look from Katana left him with his mouth open but with no words to fallow. -Katana- "We don't mean to be of any trouble. What ever is most convenient would be perfect." -Shamus- "Really, this is no problem. If you insist on making this easier on me, I'll just cook you my specialty." They moved in through the doorway; fallowing Shamus' lead. Garali decided it appropriate to take in the interior this time. He remembered that the last house was rather cramped but homey. Upon entrance he noticed that this house design was much different. It opened up into a large, single room that looked like a dinning room. There was a large table and seats around it set for five. The rest of the room was bare and there were only one door and stairs leading up. He assumed the door must go to a kitchen, otherwise how would they eat? -Shamus- "Please, sit. I'll bring you food in a moment." Each took a seat at the table. Shamus disappeared into the door that Garali had assumed lead to a kitchen. -Katana- "This is much more generous then I expected." -Colleen- "Yes, and didn't you find it weird that there were no people on the streets?" Garali figured that must have been what felt out of place earlier. -Katana- "That was odd. I'm worried these people may be afraid of us. This Shamus character seems to be trying to get rid of us as fast as possible. I advise we just eat and leave. There is no need to inconvenience them any further." -Colleen- "I agree. A free meal is good enough. We can go without rest. How far till the next town?" Garali felt like he was being left out of the conversation. As if his opinion didn't mater. -Katana- "Not much farther then this town from the last. I'm sure we will be able to make it there without incident." -Colleen- "All right. That is what we will do. We shall leave after we finish eating." -Garali- "May I say something?" Finally speaking up, both of them looked at him and he felt his face becoming warm. -Katana- "Yes. You don't have to ask to talk." Garali felt conflicted with her response because of the earlier looks she given him. -Garali- "I was really looking forward to that warm bed. Shamus is being rather hospitable. Why not take advantage of it? We already walked for days. Can we take a short break?" His plea didn't seem to have any affect on either of their facial expressions. He defiantly felt out of place. Having two female, experienced warriors that also happened to have an age advantage for company made him silent most of the trip. He finally wanted his voice heard, but with no facial response, he decided it better to just go with the flow. -Katana- "We could do that. Lets just decided after we eat. Maybe Shamus will calm down after and let us be." He felt relief, after her words weren't as painful as he expected. Shamus walked through the door, finally breaking the feeling of embarrassment Garali had. Shamus carried four plates, each with what looked like mashes potatoes and chicken. It might not have been the greatest "special" they could have thought of, but after the traveling, each of them would have been willing to eat wood. He placed a plate in front of each of them and then another in front of himself before taking a seat. -Shamus- "Please, eat up! I'm sure you could use the nourishment." Garali wasted no time digging into the food he was given. Katana and Colleen both hesitated for a moment, but soon fallowed his lead, again. That same feeling of satisfaction would have filled Garali if he hadn't been so busy stuffing his face. Katana put down her fork after a couple minutes of intense eating. -Katana- "Shamus, aren't you going to eat?" His same smile, that was on his face from earlier, slipped away again. -Shamus- "Oh! OF course I'll eat." He picked up a piece of chicken and bit down hard. -Shamus- "Delicious. Please, there is more if you want it." Garali couldn't wait for that soft bed. He felt his eyes becoming heavy with anticipation for the sleep he hoped would fallow the meal. Even with Shamus eating away, he still kept his eyes on the three of them, and whenever he could, he would crack a smile. It must have been the chicken, or maybe the long walk, but Garali was defiantly feeling ready for bed. -Katana- "I think we might take you up on the "warm bed" offer. I'm feeling a little tired." Shamus dropped what he was eating, and rose from the table. -Shamus- "I just want to say thank you. Bringing you in will defiantly get me rewarded." He let a small laugh escape his lips. -Shamus- "I will also be your slave driver for the evening." They each left their food to stare blankly at Shamus. It was only mere moments before each of them blacked out.