'That is very expensive,' I said.
'True,' he said. 'I myself would not pay so much.'
'Perhaps I will leave now,' I said.
'The rain has slacked off?' he said.
'Are these prices negotiable?' I inquired.
'No,' said he.
'Are you sure?' I asked.
'Yes,' he said. 'The keeper, believe me, I know, is a resolute and greedy fellow.'
'He is probably not as bad as you think,' I said.
'Take my word for it, he is,' he said.
'I would like a bath, the sponge, and such, and a bath girl.'
'That will add two to your bill,' he said.
'Should it not add four?' I asked.
'No bath girl,' he said. 'Because of the crowding, and the demand, we are using them as inn girls.'
'I see,' I said.
'You will have to sponge, oil and strigil yourself,' he said.
'That seems somewhat barbaric,' I said. Also it was hard to reach certain spots on the back.
'Times are hard,' he said.
'Where are your baths?' I asked.
'Through there,' he said, indicating a passage.
'Where is your paga room?' I asked.
'There,' said he, indicating another passage.
'Later,' I said. 'I would like a girl sent to my room.'
'You do not have a room,' he said.
'What are the ten tarsks for?' I asked.
'Lodging,' he said.
'You do not have rooms?' I asked. 'Not separate rooms, for guests,' he said. 'There are, instead, common areas.'
'There are beds there?' I asked, apprehensively.
'Yes, beds,' he said.
'I see,' I said.
'Surely you know where you are,' he said.
'On the Vosk Road,' I said, warily.
'And within a hundred pasangs of the river,' he said. 'No inns around here have beds. You should know that. You seem uninformed.'
'Perhaps,' I said.
'Perhaps you would like to try one of the luxury inns between Ar and Venna,' he said.
'They are over two thousand pasangs away,' I said.
'You are surely not going to hold me responsible for their location,' he said. 'I would not think do doing so,' I said.
'Do not be dismayed,' he said. 'Even in these hard times, the keeper, who has his congenial, noble side, has refused to surrender space lines.'
'That is good news,' I said. 'What are space lines?'
'Most inn,' he said, 'for your lodging, simply assign you to a large common room, to be shared with others. Quite primitive. Here, at the Crooked Tarn, however, we rent out spaces.'
'I see,' I said.
'Furthermore, they are clearly marked.'
'I am glad to hear that,' I said.
'You can accommodate fewer people that way, to be sure,' he said, 'but then there are fewer fights, and free women almost always prefer to have their own space. Too, with spaces, you can charge more.'
'This inn then, in its way, I gather, is a luxury in for this area.' 'Precisely,' he said.
'Perhaps they you can send a girl to my space for the night,' I said. 'Not for the night,' said he, 'but only for the quarter of an Ahn.' 'Your sign,' I said.
'I know,' he said, 'but we are too crowded now for that. On the other hand, we would charge you only three copper tarsks for the time.'
'For a quarter of an Ahn?' I said.
'The keeper is a scoundrel,' he said.
'I thought you said he had a congenial, noble side.'
'He keeps it under control,' he said.
'He may not be the scoundrel you think he is,' I said.
'No, he is a scoundrel all right.'
'Three tarsks seem a good deal for a quarter of an Ahn,' I said. I wondered if I might not have greater success with the keeper himself. But I supposed he was not up at this hour.
'We have a debtor slut serving in the paga room,' he said. 'We could let you have her for an Ahn for a tarsk bit.'
'Does she know she is subject to such uses?' I asked.
'No,' he said.
'I will take a look at her, and let you know later.'
'That would be fourteen copper tarsks,' he said.
'I would count twelve,' I said. 'Ten for lodging, two for the bath and supplies.'
'I thought you might want some blankets,' he said.
'Of course,' I said.
'Fourteen then,' he said. I saw this inked on a tab.
From a cabinet to one side, he fetched forth the bath supplies and put them on the counter.
'I will pick up the blankets after I have eaten,' I said.
'I will reserve two for you, with your ostrakon,' he said.
'I would like a space near the wall, preferably in a corner,' I said. 'So would everyone else,' he said. 'Your space is S-3-o7. That is 97, in the south wing, on the third floor.'
'Very well,' I said.
'Try not to step on any drovers,' he said. 'They can be ugly fellows when stepped on in the middle of the night.'
'I will do my best,' I said.
'If you must step on them,' he said, 'it is well to do it in such a way as to incapacitate them, at least temporarily.'
'I understand,' I said.
'Do you wish to give your name?' he said.
'No,' I said. He did not seem surprised. Many folks coming through here, I gathered, did not identify themselves, or used false names.
'We shall make the bill out to your space then,' he said, 'S-3-97.' He put the identification on the tab.
'Excellent,' I said.
'Payment is due before, or at, departure,' he said. 'To be sure, if the inn grows suspicious, we reserve the right to require payment, to date, upon demand.'
'That is reasonable,' I said.
'We think so,' he said.
'Your prices,' I said, 'as I think you have admitted, or as much as admitted, are rather expensive.'
'They certainly are,' he said. 'I, for one, would not want to pay them.' I looked at him.
'They are not negotiable,' he said.
'Are you really sure?' I asked.
'Yes,' he said.
