Sirocco

The hot springs of Shengui Guo have attracted those in need of their special healing powers for centuries. Sirocco certainly wasn't the first to note their fantastic properties and potential for relaxation. He was, however, the first to capitalize on this natural attraction that is now a landmark tourist stop in the re-discovered land.

Mist of the Mountains Lodge has grown from a small roadside inn to a marvelous resort, though there are rooms to fit the budget of any visitor. There are the luxurious paper rooms with delicate paper cranes hanging from the ceiling, sauna tubs that come with an assortment of bubble baths in pleasing scents, and a fridge stocked with a complimentary bottle of champagne. There are the more modest bamboo rooms which feature a charming green and brown color scheme and oil paintings of native minions frolicking beneath trees heavy with cherry blossoms. There are the family-friendly legeica rooms which are decorated around this popular Shengui Guo native and feature interactive game tables to keep the young ones busy for hours. Then there are the more economic wood rooms which feature panels of native woods depicting pleasing images of the floating market and which always sell out quickly, especially around Subeta's major holidays. In all, the lodge can accommodate seventy guests at a time.

The employees at Motem will tell you that there is no better inn to work at, even within the colorful halls of the ever popular Veta Lake Lodge. Scirocco pays better than any other hotel manager for good reason. He demands quality from his employees. There is no position considered lowly within his domain. The newest maid is to be treated with the same respect as the ground floor manager and all are made welcome at staff meetings, to voice their views and concerns. You will find no easy summer jobs there. Even temporary workers at Motem know that they are in the presence of a great boss. Laziness is intolerable and excuses fall on a deaf ear. Bring your best or go back to flipping burgers at Quick Bites.

The tea shop offering thirty native blends is something he takes pride in. This popular addition to the lodge has branched out to include a gift shop filled with traditional local gifts ranging from ornate paper fans to luck rreigns done in patterns of jade and lacquered gold. The performance stage links shops to hotel proper, inviting guests to spend a relaxing evening in the common room and enjoy the feats of the Dancing Dragarth troupe.

The troupe is employed by the hotel and is under contract not to take their performance anywhere else. They have no cause for complaint as they all live as well as friends of Saggitarius. Costumes are sewn by the masterful hand of Jogoh and when the performers are up in the air showing off their gravity-defying acrobatic routine, those silk robes flow as majestically as dragon wings despite the fact that not one member of the troupe has wings of their own.

There is also a comedic act that really gets the crowd holding their sides. Scirocco moves easily between the tables, taking up his lines as they come and joking with performers and patrons alike as if he has not done this routine a hundred times before. On special occasions, he will even join the trio that sings traditional Shengui Guo melodies, turning a trio of harmony into an angelic quartet of perfectly balanced vocals. Cinders, his small Jorge dragon, always rides upon his shoulder, sometimes lending her talents to the act by flying high over the heads of the guests and creating harmless sparks that flower down as beautiful fireworks. Cinders has the ability to shape these sparks into plumes of smoke for visitors from Darkside or even teeny tiny pirate ships to put a smile on the faces of Omen Islanders.

Late in the evening when guests are asleep in their beds and even his night shift workers go home for the day, Scirocco sits in his own modest rooms with a steaming cup of tea near at hand. He will work on his books until the sun rises, beckoning him to a new day of haggling with suppliers, warmly greeting guests, and meeting with the builders that will allow him to soon add a suite of rooms themed around cherry blossoms.