Part II
II
There are many pretty things in this world, things that please the senses, but very few have the right to be called Beautiful. Only the greatest and most fervent of men, who live and die and kill for their works, can lay any claim to Beauty. Only they have paid its price.
—Albrecht Vaughn
Make no mistake, there is something afoul in your city.
My second night after checking in at the Birdcall Hotel (EXTORTIONATELY priced for the quality of bedsheets, I might add), I was running my bath when a violent ruckus took place in the hallway.
I locked my door, retrieved my pistol, and promptly called the concierge (with NO REPLY).
Then a sort of vile gas began to flow from under the doorjamb.
It took mere seconds to fill my room, and stung every inch of my exposed person.
Luckily, I was able to escape through the window.
Unluckily, I had no time to dress. I, a PAYING GUEST, was left on the street in the middle of Beetle Moon without even my handkerchief for a loincloth.
So NO, I did not have what you would call a “restful stay”!
This whole city is PESTILENT, and I will not linger here a minute longer.
—Anonymous complaint filed to the Tiliard Tourism Bureau