I struck the keeper's desk twice.

Behind the desk, on the wall, there was posted a list of prices. They were quite high. I did not think that those were normal prices. If they were, I did not see how the inn could manage to be competitive.

I struck the keeper's desk twice more.

There was a tharlarion oil lamp hanging on three chains from the ceiling, to my right, above the desk.

Sample items from the list were as follows:

A comment, or two, might be in order on this list of prices. First, it will be noted that they are not typical. In many inns, depending on the season, to be sure, and the readiness of the keeper to negotiate, one can stay for as little as two or three copper tarsks a day, everything included, within reason, of course, subject to some restraint with respect to page, and such. Also, the bath girl, and the sponge, oil and strigil, in most establishments, come with the price of the bath itself. The prices on the list on the wall seemed excessive, perhaps to a factor of five or more. The prices, of course, were in terms of copper tarsks.

For purposes of comparison, in many paga taverns, one may have paga and food, and a girl for the alcove, if one wants, for a single copper tarsk. Dancers, to be sure, sometimes cost two. I did not know what the "other food" might be. One always inquires. It would vary seasonally, depend on the local suppliers, and, in some cases, even on the luck of local hunters and fishermen. In most inns the fare is simple and hearty. If one is particular about one's food, one sometimes brings it with one, and instructs the keeper how it is to be prepared. Some rich men bring their own cooks. After all, one cannot always count on a keeper's man knowing how to prepare Turian vulo or Kassau parsit. The references to «greens» and «meat», and such, were pertinent to draft tharlarion and tarns, and so, too, the references to stabling and cots, respectively.

It might be of interest to note that when I had come to Gor, some years ago, domestic tarns, like wild tarns, almost always made their own kills. They may still do so, of course, but now many have been trained to accept prepared, even preserved, meat. Ideally, they are taught to do this from the time of hatchlings, it being thrust into their mouths, given to them much as their mother bird would do in the wild. Tongs are used. With older birds, on the other hand, captured wild tarns, for example, the training usually takes the form of tying fresh meat on live animals, and then, when the tarn is accustomed to eating both, effecting the transition to the prepared meat. Needless to say, a hunting tarn is extremely dangerous, and although its favorite prey may be tabuk, or wild tarsk, they can attack human beings. This training innovation, interestingly enough, and perhaps predictably, was not primarily the result of an attempt to increase the safety of human beings, particularly those in rural areas, but was rather largely the result of attempting to achieve military objectives, in particular those having to do with the logistical support of the tarn cavalry. Because of it, for the first time, large tarn cavalries, numbering in the hundreds of men, became practical.

"Tal," said a grizzled fellow, wearily, appearing through a door to the side. "Tal," said I to him.

"It is quieter outside now," he said.

"It is still raining," I said.

"It is ten tarsks a night," he said. That agreed with the sign.

"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.