Serial Saturday: Nightmare Engine of Doom Part 20 – Trouble in the Hotel
For several moments, I dashed around my hotel room, first rushing for the door, then running back to my bag to snatch up my clockwork pistol and running back for the door, hearing muffled shouts and thumps the whole time. Just before hurling open the door, I recalled that I’d left the water running, and I decided that since I had no idea how long it might take to come to Enzo’s aid, I had better turn it off.
It was fortunate I did, because the delay gave me time to recall that I was not wearing a stitch of clothing. This led to a bit more rushing around since I didn’t want to wear the same scuffed and grubby trousers I’d walked into town with, so I needed to find a clean pair in my luggage. I further decided that it would be unwise to rush through the hotel without a shirt, but such was my haste that I did a poor job of buttoning it up.
Throughout all this, the noise from next door continued unabated, actually rising in volume in fact. I decided that I didn’t have time to tuck my shirt in, though I did rebutton it–I cannot abide having a shirt done up unevenly, as I feel it makes me look quite the fool. Finally, I rushed the few steps down the hall and threw open Enzo’s door.
Or rather I tried to, but I discovered it was locked. So I dashed back to my room an collected my tool bag. It took only a few more minutes, once I had access to the tools of occult mechanics, to create a spell that sent arcane energy working through the tumblers of the locks and coaxed them open.
It suddenly occurred to me, as I heard the lock click open, that it was possible the noises still emanating from within were not the result of some threat to Enzo, but rather from some energetic but unsavory activity he might be engaged in. There was a tremendous thud as I had this thought, which could only be a massive wardrobe being tipped over. I decided that even Enzo was unlikely to knock over something like that during a dalliance with a floozy, and even if he was I could not risk waiting for the sake of propriety, so I threw open the door, brandishing my pistol.
I was well-braced for any sort of horror which might greet my eyes, but even so, I found that I was not prepared for what was happening in the room.
Copyright © 2012 SM Williams