Chapter 2019: Uncanny Valley

The crowd watched the group stand silently in the middle of an empty lot, conferring either in hushed tones or through System Messages, and then stared as the walls of two new buildings began to rise.

Nobody knew what it was that they were physically building, but the renovation of the town was an ongoing project, and they had seen quite a few intriguing shops here already.

So, if this one required a whole new building, it had to be good.

Over the course of the next hour, the building took shape. First as a rough stone building, then as a fully formed hotel, and what appeared to be a cheap apartment building next to it.

That seemed strange.

Then, they saw that the second building had a basement tavern, and realized that the simple stone building was a deliberate choice for a budget hostel or inn.

The other building was a grand one, relatively simple on the outside to fit with the rest of the buildings in town, but the fittings on the doors appeared to be solid gold, and what they could see of the interior was spectacular.

The changes and magic continued for another half hour before the building seemed to settle, and the magic surrounding it faded to a more stable state.

Then, Karl and the others stepped outside.

"Ah, I see that we attracted some attention. We’ve taken a moment to open a few overnight facilities for the guests of the Darklight Host. Two hotels, one full service, and one more affordable inn for travellers.

Both will likely be full tonight, but when the city is less crowded it will make more sense.

As it’s all magic, there are no vermin, and the temperature is controlled, none of that sweltering in the afternoon sun that some of the lesser Clans would ask of guests on a budget.

Also, the majority of the staff are constructs. No fear of hired spies becoming a danger to the guests."

That made the Clan Leaders nearby laugh.

If you got attacked by a construct, it was not an accident. Either you provoked it enough that its defensive protocols kicked in, or you annoyed the creator enough that they wanted you dead.

If that happened, then there wasn’t much that was going to save you, and you really shouldn’t be spending a night at a hotel on their territory.

That was just basic survival instinct.

"When will they be open for business?" One of the Clan Leaders asked.

"The bunnies are bringing in staff for the kitchens now, and the rest of the staff are already in place. If you would like to reserve a room for the evening, you may do that now, and the dinner service will be available in an hour."

The crowd cheered, and a number of the less dignified Clan Leaders rushed toward the doors of the nicer hotel.

{Are there any Clan Leaders you want reserved rooms for?} Karl messaged Andrea.

{I’ve got a suite reserved for Almeixei, and one for the group from Condim. The others can fight for it tonight, and those more closely allied all have rooms at the Guild House.}

Karl silently went over to the leader of the group from Condim, who had clearly come to make peace, after the incident with the Condim Commanders, who were eliminated in the Clan War with the New Home Merchant Clan.

"Gentlemen, if you would like, I have reserved a suite for you in the hotel. Two bedrooms, no need to share personal space," he offered.

"You would do that for us? I had thought that the New Home was still holding a grudge against the city."

Karl chuckled and shook his head at the question. "No. They consider the matter over, as long as everyone is willing to behave. You’ll be right across the hall from the Elders of the Almeixei Sect."

"Oh, an excellent placement. Thank you, Guild Leader."

Karl gave Andrea a thumbs up, and a doll in a maid outfit came over with a small metal card in her hands.

"If you would like to follow the hostess, she will show you to the room."

Reception to the dolls was more mixed than Karl had expected. He saw no issue with them, but it was clear that the "Uncanny Valley" effect was definitely getting to other people.

[Perhaps the dolls were a mistake.]

[Yeah, we miscalculated. I don’t think that we should have them do much of the service work. Instead, we will station them for customer requests and room cleaning. Then, we can alter the number of other constructs to fill the gaps.

Who do you think that we should have work as the majority of the staff?] Opal asked.

[BUNNIES!] Cara cheered.

Karl chuckled to himself. That would be an absolute disaster. Half the people wouldn’t take them seriously, and the other half would hit on them. Bunnies were not service industry material.

Andrea had realized the same thing that they had.

{Why don’t we swap the actual dolls to stationed duty, so they only run errands, then we can make up a bunch of constructs in cute doll outfits to do the rest of the work? Just make them all cute, and we can keep the "Dollhouse" motif.} She messaged.

That made Opal and Cara both grin.

[Fine, do what you want, but keep it suitable for work.]

Within seconds, there was a fresh bunch of staff, all in the same understated uniforms as the dolls, but in a dozen different species. All of them had slightly overdone makeup, like a theatre troupe, that played to the "doll" theme of the hotel.

That visibly relieved many of the guests, and Cara quietly dismissed two thirds of the actual dolls, while the others were stationed outside the suites to fill requests, and in the private dining room, where they would silently deliver orders so that the servers could have their hands free.

A doll pushing a cart with a dragonkin server was much less creepy than just having the doll silently show up.