Ahatro's Hostelry

Purpose / Function

Hostelries are common on Gielosk, far more common than they are on Earth, and this can be rightfully credited to the insatiable wanderlust of this planet's carefree inhabitants. It is widely known that no Gieloskan beneath the age of 500 can tolerate remaining sedentary for more than a year, so they are prone to taking frequent trips with their friends, borrowing a windskiff - or if they're going with plenty of people - a windship - and frolicking across the skies and going on a tourist trip for several weeks. There is a particularly interesting cloud often checked out by the youths of Gielosk, and that is the cloud of Luzpor, but the problem is that there is much sky in between it and the densely populated Zenchadu Archipelago, so much so that one cannot simply levitate between the two cloud-masses. Hence the journey between the twain is exhausting and tedious and not to mention hunger-inducing. That is where the thin cloud of Elaa Zorud, inhabited by the lone proprietor Ahatro offers his services. Eager bands of tourists regularly arrive at his reception so they can rent a room in which they rest for a few days, at which they will resume their journey to the strange and beautiful cloud of Luzpor. Shortly after they check out the rest of the cloud, buying supplies and food for the rest of their journey - it is much better than sleeping on the ground, as fluffy as it is, for it rains often here and gets cold.

Alterations

Many people have left behind things as gifts for Ahatro, such as the flower-festooned ropes made from twisted-together vines, which are dipped into jars of water at one end so they do not dry out. These vines coat the walls of the atrium, but he trims them when they begin to enroach the rooms. Bio-luminescence is a property possessed by many of the flowers which grow on there, and have become the sole source of night-time illumination for the atrium when the suns' rays are absent. Several extra storeys have been built to accommodate popular demand and the balconies have been widened, and on the balconies beds and couches have been placed so that guests can have a view. Atop the building there are now floating suites, which are rotund ceramic bubbles imbued with stupendous volumes of levium attached to the apex of the tapering conical roof by several chains. These would be a vertigo nightmare for any human, but for a Gieloskan this would be a novelty. Somewhere away from the hostelry Ahatro has made a bell-tower for anyone who is confused concerning the whereabouts of the cloud of Elaa-Zorud, and might risk bypassing the cloud entirely.

Architecture

The building was built out of clay and covered with a layer of enamel once the wind finished drying it. The whole thing looks like a sort of conical structure looped by a dozen balconies wrapping round it, and all the balconies are connected by many colonnades of marble rippled by veins of yellow beryl. Here a wide arched opening allows one into the atrium, which is a towering pear-shaped room with little skylights placed at irregular intervals, wedged with tiny crystalline windows that project colors. Inside the atrium, the floor is an ostentatious assortment of glossy stone and polished hardwood, and the reception is situated in a round desk made from logs of lacquered bamboo bundled together. Surrounding this reception are several mats of woven wool cut into curving rectangles to fit round it. The doors along the foyer floor lead to very large open spaces that manifest on the outside as a series of colonnaded halls on the ground poking out equidistantly with rounded roofs. They appear almost identical to each other save for their sign. These are the dining halls, dance halls, and theaters that are run by Ahatro's business partners. They pay him rent and they all count as separate enterprises.
The lower sections of the inward-sloping walls are lined with a series of curving mezzanines lined with black-painted balustrade, and these lead to the smaller rooms, which are inexplicably cylindrical. These rooms share a single balcony that wraps around the entire exterior storey. It's not even that big. The rooms at this level are very small and contain naught but several hammocks, and there is a individual torch mounted to the wall, a niche in which there is a shelf and a window with a curtain. Four such storeys, virtually identical, are situated above the aforementioned balcony.
Looking back at the atrium, when one looks up they will notice that the gaping apex of the room leads out to a long shaft lined with alternating levels indicated by their own balcony round the circumference. This would be rather dark at night were it not for the vines lining the shaft, with their glowing flowers. Your average Gieloskan would be able to see hundreds of little doors dotting the vine-snared walls. Should you seek lodging in such a hostelry, you would either have to be a professional climber totally immune to vertigo to even climb into your room without fainting in terror one-tenth through.
Rooms up at this level are fancier. They're roomier, long, and have one big bed against the wall. Ahead of this bed

Alternative Names

Ahatro's, That-Place-We-Sleep-At, Let's-Crash-Over-There-Tonight

Type

Hospitality, Hotel

Parent Location

Elaa Zorud

Owner

Ahatro-Chulm