To Save the Realm, First 10 Lines, Chapter 5, A Pub on Goodge Street

When Brock returned to his hotel, the clerk handed him a message in a tattered, ink-smudged envelope. Brock thanked him and trudged up the narrow five flights of stairs to his room. The hotel looked perhaps a little more down-at-the-heel to him now than when he had left it that morning. the paint was peeling in a couple of places on the ceiling, and the runners on the stairs were somewhat threadbare. It had sure seemed nice enough to him when he'd checked in. This money of Marcy's may truly end up being a curse.