188 First Day in Hoorn

"The air here hurts. I wonder how people can live in a place like this," said Graham with amazement.

It was his first time being in Hoorn, and everything still fascinated him like a child who had just seen the outside world for the first time.

"First, let's find a hotel, Val. I wish we had something more convenient than Fire Divination to look for a hotel. Maybe something small that we can hold in one hand and with just a simple command, we'll get all the options," muttered Graham wistfully. Every time he spoke, there was a faint cloud of condensation coming out of his mouth.

The city of Hoorn sounded busier than Sloten; however, the street was somewhat emptier. Probably because most people were busy working at the numerous factories and mines located there. Currently, the street that he was in only had a handful of other people, mostly those who were in the same coach as him. The road itself, however, was quite busy with vehicles driving by.

"Let's find somewhere private first," he muttered.

Dragging the large brown suitcase behind him, he walked down the paved street in search of a secluded alley. While he was at it, he also observed his surroundings, to take in as much of the city as he could.

The buildings in Hoorn had a different color scheme from Sloten. In Sloten, most buildings were painted bright colors like orange, the national color of Tulp, or yellow, or just plain white. There in Hoorn, the buildings around him looked dark; there were dark orange buildings, black buildings, dark brown ones, and gray ones--even the sidewalk he was walking on was dark gray. It gave off the feeling of it being a heavy industrial city with the walls being tainted by the dark smoke of factories.

The buildings and the natural background of the mountains behind them were creating a nice contrast that pleased the eyes. The mountains behind were still all green and orange with trees and plants, and the sky above it was light blue. He could also see buildings on higher and lower elevations from his spot because the city wasn't built on flat land.

"How can humans achieve such magnificence, Val? It feels like we're in a sort of science fiction. The sounds of heavy machinery in the distance, the smoke of progress rising up high in the sky, the sturdy and intimidating buildings... this city is something else-- in fact, this country is something else. Do you remember Rijssen and how it also gave off a completely different vibe? Now I want to travel to even more places," said Graham with amazement in his voice as he was walking down the street while looking around.

Graham turned left and entered the alley, where he took out his trusted lighter once he was sure no one was around. It was almost midday and he was already hungry, so he wanted to find a hotel and get some lunch soon.

Concentrating on the flame in his hand, he asked a question in his mind.

'Where can I find the best hotel for me here?'

The flame burned brighter as an image began to gradually form in its core. It showed a hotel that to Graham's surprise, was already very familiar. It was 'The Hotel', where he had stayed when he went to Zuideinde and just recently when he was chased out of his apartment.

Once the image disappeared, Graham scratched the back of his head.

"It didn't show any other alternative, so that place should be the best for us, Val. Besides, the siblings' words still make me uneasy, so it's best to stay at the place we already trust," he muttered, "Speaking of The Hotel, didn't Stefan say he was tasked to manage yet another branch? Don't tell me it's here..."

For a Fire Divinator, not having a map wasn't a problem. Although he didn't know the location of the place or the city's layout, he could very easily just ask his trusted flame. He turned his attention back to the warm flame that was burning in the cold afternoon and asked another question.

'Where is "The Hotel"?'

Another image began forming from within the flame. This time, it was an aerial view of the city with two red dots: one indicating the hotel's location and the other one was Graham's. It looked like the place he was looking for wasn't that far from where he was. It was probably only less than two kilometers away.

Once he had found out what he needed to know, he quickly left the alley in a non-suspicious way. He didn't know the customs in that city, so it was best to avoid unnecessary trouble. However, it shouldn't be too different from Sloten as he was still in the same country.

Back in the street, Graham waved his hand to stop a public motor carriage that he recognized from their red number plate. Private vehicles in the Republic had blue plates. Since there were many vehicles driving on the road, it didn't take long for him to get the motor carriage.

"Where can I take you, Sir?" asked the driver loudly while leaning his body towards the front passenger's window.

Contrary to Graham's expectation, the accent of the locals was just the same as that of people in Sloten. It was probably because the city was only about five hours apart, so there was not that much difference. It was only that the driver spoke unnecessarily loudly despite Graham standing not that far.

"Please take me to The Hotel," he replied, emphasizing the hotel's name to avoid confusion.

The driver made a beckoning gesture with his hand.

"Sure, get in!" he said.

Since he liked to be safe, he didn't get in right away.

"How much?" asked Graham cautiously.

"Just the normal price, sir, ten pennings," replied the driver, which made Graham's jaw drop.

"That's not the normal price! That's twice the normal price!" said Graham in shock.

The driver only smiled politely. It seemed that he had already experienced people like Graham in the past, especially when taking passengers from that area, where the coach from Sloten stopped.

"That's what it is, Sir. So are you getting in or not?" asked the man.

Since he didn't really want to walk while carrying his large suitcase, he had no other option than to get in to the public motor carriage. Although it was more expensive, it was not like Graham was too poor to pay anyway. The detective just didn't like spending a lot of money, that was all.

The driver hit the gas right away once his passenger and the suitcase were in.

"So you must be from Sloten, Sir?" said the driver, still loudly despite Graham sitting just behind him. Although there was a glass separator, it didn't affect the quality of sound going around in that small vehicle, so the driver really had no need to shout.

"Yes. Why are you speaking so loudly?" asked Graham curiously.

Since the driver started a conversation, Graham thought it would be a good idea to ask about the city. After all, public motor carriage drivers were usually the ones who were the most knowledgeable about their city. They heard all sorts of gossips and rumors from their various passengers and visited all the different spots there. On top of that, if they had a basecamp where they gathered with all the other drivers, they would also hear even more spicy information from them.

"Oh, am I? I'm sorry, Sir. It just sounds normal to me," replied the driver still loudly.

"Does everyone in this city speak loudly like that?" asked Graham.

The driver seemed confused at first and then nodded slowly.

"Maybe, Sir. That kind of thing is something we don't really notice. It just happens like that, you get what I mean?" replied the driver nonchalantly.

"That's interesting, Val. It will be very easy to spot the non-locals just from the volume of their speech," muttered Graham quietly.

The driver didn't seem to notice his passenger's muttering at all.

"I notice that the road is busy but there aren't many people in the street. Why is that?" asked Graham again.

"Oh, that, sir. Most people are still at work, and that area you were just in doesn't really have a lot of places to go to, that's why people mostly just drive by there. If you go to Rotsstraat, there will be a lot of people in the street because there are many restaurants there," replied the driver with a volume much higher than Graham's.

They had been going downhill for a while, and now the street was an uphill slope, which required the driver to switch to a lower gear. Graham had to get used to the non-flat city quickly because it appeared that most streets there were like that.

Not long after, they finally arrived at the five-story hotel with the name 'The Hotel' hung up high above its doors. After paying, Graham got off with his suitcase and entered the building through the wooden double doors that still looked new. In fact, the whole hotel looked like it had just been built recently.

"Welcome... Mr. Hymes?" shouted a confused voice from the other end of the room.

Graham walked past the large hotel lobby that looked similar to that of the other 'The Hotels', but with a slight difference, especially in the color scheme. Everything was still mostly wooden, but they were darker and looked rather rusty somehow, especially with all the pipes going around the ceiling and the walls. The interior design gave off a strong industrial sense.

"Hello there, Stefan?" replied Graham, pretending to be confused although he had expected to find the young man there. After all, the last time Stefan told Graham about his relocation, he was still wearing Hansen Müller's appearance.

"It's unexpected to see you here! Are you going to stay with us? We've just opened recently and you'll be one of our first hundred customers!" he spoke with a normal volume, unlike the driver before. His tone was still made to sound professional, although Graham could still clearly hear his naive enthusiasm.

"Actually, I am indeed going to stay here. The driver recommended this place to me," replied Graham, "But I don't know how long I'll be staying,"

"Then, in that case, why don't you put a deposit of one week, and if you stay less than that, you can withdraw the remaining money," said Stefan. This time, he sounded like a true professional. It was as if he had dealt with something similar before.

Graham's eyebrow rose and his expression sank. He had forgotten to take his remaining deposit back from The Hotel in Sloten!

"I feel really stupid, Val. As someone with a good memory, I should be able to remember something like that. But I totally forgot," he muttered weakly.

He had stayed as Hansen Müller in Sloten, so there was no way he could just ask for his money back as Graham Hymes. He would try to ask Luuk to do it later since he booked for his room as well, so it should be possible.

"Is something wrong, Mr. Hymes?" asked Stefan. His face looked genuinely concerned.

Graham shook his head slowly.

"No. Nothing. I'll just pay a deposit of one week then. And here's my identity card," he said while sliding his identity card across the reception desk. He had his wallet ready to take out the money once Stefan told him the price.

"That will be twenty-one stuivers for one week, Mr. Hymes," said Stefan. His youthful face couldn't hide his immaturity, but he seemed to be more professional by day.

"At least the hotel price is the same, Val," muttered Graham while taking out the exact amount of money before giving it to the young hotel receptionist and also the manager.

"Thank you, Mr. Hymes. Do you have any preferred rooms? Our hotel is currently not full, so every floor is available," asked Stefan, "But if you want the best view, I'd recommend the fourth floor. From there, you can see Hoorn from above from your window while still being close enough to the restaurant on the second floor," he offered.

"Then I'll do just that, Stefan," replied Graham.

The young receptionist nodded and then finished the administrative work before giving the key to Graham.

"Do you need help with your suitcase?" offered Stefan politely.

Graham shook his head.

"No need, but thank you," he replied just as politely.

Dragging the large suitcase behind him, he began walking up the stairs that were located to the right of the reception desk.

The upper floor of the hotel was decorated the same way as its lobby; wooden walls and ornaments filling the interior and pipes going through from the ceiling with the sound of water coming from inside. Overall, Graham liked how the hotel was designed.

He arrived at his room, which was number 434 on the fourth floor, not long after. After inserting the key to its hole and twisting it to unlock it, he entered his room and once again was amazed by the hotel.

His room was all wooden, and on the ceiling, there were numerous pipes striking through, giving the room a strong sense of industrial achievement. The dominant color of his room was dark brown, which he liked very much. There was a king-sized bed which was obviously too big for him, a desk and a ceiling fan made of metal. There was a giant glass window that allowed him to see Hoorn from above.

Through the window, he could see the city that was built on a mountainous surface. Some parts of the city were on a higher elevation than the others, giving it a sense of beautiful imbalance. The mountains behind the city were like a giant painting with its unreal orange and green colors, while the sun was shining brightly unobstructed in the blue sky above. In the distance, he could again see the smoke rising from the numerous chimneys of the mines and factories, which were the main industry of the city.

"This is like men and nature working hand in hand to create a harmony," said Graham poetically, "I'm glad we're here, Val. At least for now."