An Alien arrives

[kristallprinz.livejournal.com]

Time: April 23rd, morning
Place: Tadfield Manor
Status: Public
Summary: Atlan arrives



He was leaning back comfortably in his chair as he read the numbers and symbols flitting across his screen.
This place seems to be an anomaly indeed.
He chuckled. "I think you're not quite awake yet," he said, seemingly to no one in particular. "You're usually more elaborate than that."
He agreed, though. That place was an anomaly in several departments. He'd bet there was some outside influence at work there.
Outside influences might mean getting home sooner rather than later. Mankind had made progress since the last time he had gone to sleep, but they were far from ready for what he was waiting for.
Well.
He would have a look at it, see what was to be seen, find out what was actually going on there, and then maybe he'd finally be off to where he belonged. If not maybe he would at least keep the amusing barbarians on this planet from being overrun by something they could neither understand nor defend themselves against.
He'd wait another few days, though. As always, decades of sleeping in his save underwater sphere had left him rather weak and out of training. Even with the accelerated recovery his cell-activator provided, it took a while to get back into proper shape, and he had no interest of being that easy prey for any possibly hostile entities he encountered.

A couple of days later, he approached the place that the people in Lower Tadfield – seemingly a perfectly normal, ordinary kind of small town – had pointed out as the local hotel, where he would find any stranger who had recently arrived. Of course the strangers he was looking for would have been around for at least a decade, according to the data he had collected, but he needed a nice, unobtrusive place to stay anyway.
He was riding a motorcycle – or at least a vehicle made up like one, even though it had a few gadgets built in that made it like none other of its kind.
There is no other of its kind, stupid, the independently-thinking part of his brain informed him.
Of course not. He pulled up besides the entrance gate and surveyed the other vehicles parked before the hotel. Some of the guests seemed rather well to do, judging by the cars they drove, unless the information he had read on the current times and habits had been mistaken.
Well, he had enough money in his pocket – most of it forged but well-forged to the point where it would pass any security check – to pay any kind of price they might ask.
He parked his motorcycle, locked it against unauthorized use, dismounted and took his bag to walk casually up to the front door and into the house, just like any other guest come to stay for a little while.

Comments

[roseheerkens.livejournal.com]

Rose was walking to the front doors, book under her arm. She felt like howling with joy, but she refrained. Instead she quickened her steps... and nearly ran into a stranger as soon as she opened the door. She caught herself before she could fall and smiled apologetically.

"I'm sorry, sir, I didn't see you."

That one practically radiated dominance. Pity he isn't were...</i

[kristallprinz.livejournal.com]

He smiled down at the girl, who was a good bit shorter than he. "Nothing happened," he informed her. "Say, is the hotel very full at the moment, or do you think there's any chance they still have rooms left?"

By the number of cars there should be free rooms,he thought, but you could never know. It was, after all, possible that most people were out sightseeing or something. He could have called ahead, iof course, but he had not wanted to make his appearance here seem all that premediated.

[roseheerkens.livejournal.com]

"A room will be no problem, sir. We still have several free rooms."

It was Ms. Hodges' shift at the moment - or at least not Rose's shift - but she hadn't seen anyone at the reception desk when she went by just a moment ago. Of course that could be because of her anticipating her little trip to the woods.

"I'm Rose by the way."

She stepped back through the door to let the stranger in. She'd show him to the reception desk and if Ms. Hodges wasn't there she'd check him in herself.

[kristallprinz.livejournal.com]

"Thank you," he said as he followed her inside. We. So she was either staff or belonged to the family running the place, if it was run by a family.

"I am Atlan von Arcon." At least that was what the well-forged ID and passport of a central European state in his pocket claimed.

[roseheerkens.livejournal.com]

"Then welcome in Lower Tadfield, Mr von Arcon."

Rose had slight problems pronouncing the name the way the new guest had, but she came close - in her opinion.

A look at the reception desk showed her that Ms Hodges wasn't there. Probably working somewhere in the house. So Rose went behind the desk.

"We have rooms on the first, second and third floor sir. The restaurant, the bar, the ballroom and a room with fitness equipment are all on the ground floor, the library is on the second floor. Would you like to have a look at rooms on the respective floors or do you already know where you'd like a room?"

[kristallprinz.livejournal.com]

That didn't sound too bad as a place to stay for a while.

You better take one of the lower floor rooms, his extra brain commented unbidden. You'll never make it up to the third without getting out of breath.

Not for long, he thought back.

To the girl he said: "Taking a look at them would be very nice."

[roseheerkens.livejournal.com]

Rose took three keys of newly cleaned rooms on the respective floors.

"Alright, sir, if you'd follow me please?"

She showed the newcomer around on the ground floor, indicating the doors and explaining where they led to before she led Mr von Arcon to the stairs and to the first floor.

[kristallprinz.livejournal.com]

He followed her up into the first floor. It wasn't that bad. It was just that usually he was a bit more patient before he left his underwater sphere. Surreptitiously, he touched the pocket that held his disguised weapon. If whatever caused the anomaly here attacked him and he got into hand to hand combat, he knew what the loser's name would be.

He was almost fine when they reached the first floor, and followed the girl down the hall.

[roseheerkens.livejournal.com]

Rose led the guest to the room she had the key to and opened the door.

"This, Mr von Arcon, is what the rooms on this floor look like. This room was cleaned yesterday and you could move in immediately. The same goes for the other two rooms I'm going to show you."

[kristallprinz.livejournal.com]

Atlan hat a look at the spacious room. It contained a large, freshly made kingsize bed, a table with chairs and another table with a TV on it. He could see a phone, a closet flor clothes, and an open door leading into a pretty nice bathroom. HE nodded to the girl.

"This is nice," he said. "Shall we go look at the others?"

[roseheerkens.livejournal.com]

"Yes, of course, sir."

She led Mr von Arcon upstairs to the second floor and opened a door there.

"The rooms on this floor are a bit smaller and contain a single bed, but the rest of it is similar to the rooms on the first floore. The colours are different though as you can see, sir."

[kristallprinz.livejournal.com]

Atlan looked at the room. It was quite nice, but the larger one was more to his taste.

"Thank you," he said. "I think I like a little more space around me. This is quite beautiful, but still - I beliebe I will take the other one."

[roseheerkens.livejournal.com]

"Alright, sir. Then you'd just need to come down to the reception with me so I can properly check you in."

Rose locked the room again to return to the stairs.

"If and when you want your room cleaned please put up a sign on your door. Otherwise nobody will enter your room."

[kristallprinz.livejournal.com]

"Very well," Atlan said. "Do you have those signs available somewhere?"

He walked down the stairs with her, staying more beside than behind her now that he knew where they were going.

[roseheerkens.livejournal.com]

Rose went to the desk and took a bright green sign out o a drawer. It was one of those signs a guest could put on the door handle but instead of the more usual words 'do not disturb' there were a bucket and a mop in black on the sign. She gave the sign to Mr von Arcon.

"Here. That's the sign. As soon as the room's done you'll find the sign on the door handle on the inside.

And now to the formalities."

She proceeded to note all the information she needed and to fill in all necessary forms.

[kristallprinz.livejournal.com]

Atlan calmly supplied her with all the made-up information he had carefully collected and compiled beforehand. Of course he carried the documentation to prove all of it, just in case he was asked to prove any of it.

He signed the form with a flourish when it was completed.

"Is there anything else you need from me before I can move in?" he asked.

[roseheerkens.livejournal.com]

Rose checked everything again to make sure she hadn't forgotten anything. Then she handed Mr von Arcon the key to his room.

"You didn't state yet how long you're going to stay, sir. We require payment at the end of your stay, or, in case you stay for more than a week, weekly payment."

Not that that would matter to him for the next few days but she didn't want to leave out important information.

"That would be all that's needed. I hope you'll enjoy you're stay here, sir."

[kristallprinz.livejournal.com]

"I'll probably be staying longer than that," Atlan admitted. "Thank you."

He tossed up the key, caught it again and went back up the stairs to move into his room.

[roseheerkens.livejournal.com]

Rose waited until she couldn't see Mr von Arcon anymore and then she grabbed the library book again. She fully intended to get outside now. It had been far too long in her opinion since she'd run around as Cloud...