[SBLOCK=Hyacinthe]"Very well, we will choose the wine to suit," the receptionist agrees, "Just making sure. Some wine connoisseurs have very particular taste and vintage preferences, after all, and we have a variety available to suit the refined palate."
"Gambling? Well, considering his wealth, he might try The Gilded Auspice--it is a favourite of wealthy merchants and some young nobles and lordlings."
"Right this way, Monsieur," Colette beckons, leading Hyacinthe upstairs.
*Compared to most inns, there are relatively few rooms along each hall, and they are well spaced out. Colette stops in front of one of the rooms.*
"This is your first room, Monsieur. The three each have different furnishings. You can see, this one is high age lavish decor--"
*She unlocks the door, revealing an interior decorated with sweeping, elaborate scrolls, curves, and symmetrical ornamentation, plus several large exuberant oil paintings. The four rooms of the suite (not counting the servant's quarters which is less decorated) match each other in the ornate decor, and from here, he can see through the open bedroom door that the bad itself is a posh mahogany affair with curved stylised figures. The room epitomises traditional luxury and extravagance*
"Here is the key. Please return it to the front desk before leaving the building, oui Monsieur?"
"Shall I show you the others?"
*She takes him to the next room. This one is decorated in softer tones, with a greater use of marble, including tasteful nude scupltures of angelic women representing the forces of nature. The four main rooms of the suite are decorated after each of the four seasons, with paintings and sculpture to match those themes, complete with angelic and voluptuous bathers in summer (in the bathroom), maidens and flowers in spring (in the dining area), landscapes with colourful leaves, sunsets, and harvest themes in autumn (in the bedroom), and cornices of a windy face blowing cold air in winter (in the sitting room).*
"This room is sometimes called the 'Four Seasons Suite', Monsieur. Do you like it? Here is the key. Please return it to the front desk before leaving the building. Right this way to the last room, Monsieur: it is not far--"
*Just up the stairs next to the other suite, on the top floor is the last room. The ceiling of this room is at the top of the entire inn, and so it is much higher than the other rooms, with vaulted arches, leaving room for stained glass windows depicting mythical stories of the angels. Long smooth columns and a few sections of buttresses on the outside edges both decorate the room and help to hold the roof atop without putting strain on the stained glass windows. Though there is not as much art as in the other rooms, the bedroom in particular has a beautiful view of some of the prettier buildings surrounding the inn as well as the river Nalois. It would likely be even more beautiful at the sunset.*
"Here is the last key Monsieur. And please remember to return it to the front desk before leaving the building."
"Do you have any questions or need any more help, Monsieur? It is my pleasure to assist you with anything you need."[/SBLOCK]
