She put her fork down on her plate and leaned back, putting her hand on her now full belly.

“Oh, that was good!” she said.

“I’m glad you liked it. Now then, since you’re full, how about we get your nasty ass a bath!” Elaine replied.

“Am I really that bad?” Anna asked.

“Lass, you smell like you passed out in the trash behind a brothel, and the whores took a piss on you,” Thokri replied.

Well, I did sleep at that sex inn with Qrixit, so he’s not far off.

“So, is there a bath here, or is there a bathhouse nearby?” she asked.

“There’s a public bath that everyone uses. It’s not exactly close, but it’s cheap,” Voekeer replied.

“Aye, and after that, we can head over to the guild and let them know the lass isn’t missing anymore,” Thokri added.

“You told them I was missing?” Anna asked.

“We had to,” Voekeer replied.

“So, what did they say?” Anna asked.

“The guild master about killed us when she found out,” Voekeer replied.

“Why would she do that?” Anna asked.

“Lass, you’re the only adventurer in Oldforge that could take skull contracts alone. Of course the guild master was pissed you disappeared,” Thokri replied.

“I always thought she didn’t like me,” Anna said.

“She’s an orc. That’s just the way they are,” Voekeer replied.

“Fair enough,” Anna said.

“She also said to tell you she’s going to wring your neck the next time she sees you,” Lyreen added.

“Really, well she’s more than welcome to try,” Anna replied.

Her friends laughed for a moment before getting up one by one.

They headed out of the inn, and she followed, heading back out into the city. It was a few hours past noon as they made their way down the busy streets heading to the public baths. As Voekeer had said, the baths weren’t near the inn though they weren’t terribly far away either.

The bathhouse was a massive building with huge glass windows that sat twenty or so feet off the ground on either side of the main entrance. They walked through the open double doors and into a huge room with white marble floors with columns located around the open space to hold up the ceiling. People of all shapes and sizes could be found scattered around the room, huddled together into groups, talking about all manner of things. They walked to a large counter at the back of the room where a group of young women waited.

“Welcome to the baths! How can I help you?” a cheerful young woman asked.

“We’d just like to take a bath, that’s all,” Voekeer replied.

“Alright, that will be one copper each, and if you change your mind and want to use the saunas or a private bath, just come back and let me know,” the woman said.

“We will,” Voekeer replied.

He smiled at the woman, and she blushed.

Someone’s the same as always, I see.

They paid, Thokri paid for her, and then walked into the back of the baths. Unlike the bathhouses she’d been to in Oldforge and the other human cities she’d been to in Therondale, this one had multiple changing rooms, and oddly, it seemed to be a mixed bath which was something she’d never seen in a public bath before.

She followed the others into one of the changing rooms where dozens of people were either dressing or undressing. Like most bathhouses, the changing room was lined with shelves where a person could leave their things and know they would be safe under the watchful eye of an attendant, which was a young human woman in this case. The party walked over to an open spot on one of the shelves where they started to undress.

Anna, having only her dress and belt on, was the first one naked, quickly pulling off her clothing and stuffing it onto the shelf. She turned to the others who were still undressing. Rose walked over to her when she was finished, took Anna’s hair in her fingers, and rubbed it. She scrunched up her face at the nasty mess, grabbed Anna by the hand, and pulled her into the adjacent washroom. She was led to one of the fountains where Rose shoved her down onto a stool and then dumped a bucket of water on her head.

Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

“I can wash myself!” Anna said.

Rose responded by dumping another bucket of water over Anna’s head and then grabbing a chuck of soap where she proceeded to scrub Anna’s hair. Deciding that arguing with Rose was going to be Impossible, she reached over and took another chunk of soap, and began to wash the rest of her body. The rest of her friends joined them. She looked them over as they washed.

I think everyone is a little thinner now.

Rose dumped a bucket of water over Anna’s head again, and the water that ran off was a dark red color like the soil from the wasteland and grasslands she’d spent the last year traveling across.

“How did you get so filthy, child?” Barika asked.

“I haven’t had a bath in a few weeks,” Anna replied.

“You got that dirty in a few weeks?” Lyreen asked.

“Yeah,” Anna replied.

Rose started to scrub her hair again, and it took three more times to get all the grime out of her thick curly hair. Anna helped Rose wash in return for helping her with her hair. She soaped up Rose’s back and ran her fingers along the crisscrossed scars that covered it as she did.

She’s lived such a hard life, and she still gave up everything she’d worked for just to help me. I have to pay her back! I have to pay them all back!

Once Rose rinsed off, they headed out of the washroom and into the main bath.

The bath was huge, looking more like a lake than a bath. The water was a dark blue color, and steam rose from its surface into the humid air. Thousands of people were already in the baths, soaking and splashing around.

They walked to a less crowded part of the bath and got in. By the way her friend reacted, the water was most likely very hot. Not that the temperature had any effect on her. She simply dove in and swam around some before returning to them.

She sat next to Rose who was seated next to Thokri and leaned back against the wall. Rose put her arm around Anna’s waist and pulled her close, smiling at her. Anna wrapped her arm around Rose and laid her head on the woman’s shoulder. Rose leaned her head onto Anna’s, and they sat there for a few moments before letting each other go.

No one talked as they soaked in the baths, being it was quite crowded with noisy children squealing and splashing each other nearby. After a few minutes of soaking, Lyreen got up and headed back to the changing room. The rest of the party followed her shortly after.

Anna grabbed a towel from a basket when she returned to the changing room and dried herself off before tossing it into a basket filled with wet ones. They all got dressed and left the bathhouse. Thokri pulled something from his pocket and tossed it to her when they stepped outside. She caught the object, looked down at her hand, and found her guild badge glinting in the sunlight.

“You’ll need that, lass,” he said.

She hugged him.

“Thanks for keeping it safe,” she replied.

He patted her on the back.

“Aye,” he said.

From the baths, they set off towards the adventurer’s guild hall that was located near the center of the city.

As they made their way to the guild hall, they came to a bridge that spanned a large river. It was an impressive structure made from thick stone and wide enough for two large wagons to pass each other side by side. She paused halfway across and walked over to the railing where she leaned against it and looked out over the water.

“Pretty impressive how they split the river, isn’t it?” Lyreen asked.

“They did?” Anna asked.

“Oh, yeah. Instead of just building part of the city on each bank of the river like they did at Eagle’s Bay, they dug canals that divide the city into rings with a large island at the center,” Lyreen replied.

“Really? Why’d they do that?” Anna asked.

Lyreen shrugged.

“Who knows why humans do the things they do,” she replied.

Elaine sighed.

“It’s how the city is divided into districts. The outer ring is where commoners live and work, the inner ring is where nobles live, and the island in the center is where the imperial palace is,” she said.

“Oh, I get it. So instead of using walls, they use canals here,” Anna replied.

“Exactly,” Elaine said.

They continued over the bridge and into the inner ring of the city. The road widened some, the crowds of people dispersed a bit, and there were far more carriages than in the outer ring.

The wealth of the inner ring was apparent everywhere she looked. The buildings were all well-kept with bright paint, and colorful murals, most even had hanging flower gardens. There was even a distinct lack of rude graffiti, which she found a little disappointing. She’d never been to a human city that didn’t have graffiti all over it. There’d even been a few stray phalluses painted on the walls of the queen’s palace in Therondale’s capital.

It's just not the same without all the peckers.

After a short walk, they reached the main street that looped around the center of the inner ring. Most of the buildings in the inner ring seemed to be homes with a few businesses selling luxury goods mixed in.

“Uh, is this a short cut or something?” she asked.

“No, the adventurer’s guild is in the inner ring,” Voekeer replied.

“Why would the nobles let a bunch of adventurers hang out in their district?” Anna asked.

“Because most of the adventurers in the empire are the younger sons of nobility,” Voekeer replied.

“Don’t they usually join the army?” Anna asked.

“Commissions in the imperial army cost a lot more than ones in Therondale or other smaller kingdoms do, so only the wealthiest families can afford them, and even then, most of them only buy them for the second or third sons. The rest have to figure it out for themselves,” Elaine replied.

“And they’re alright with being adventurers? I mean, the guild doesn’t have the best reputation when it comes to its members, uh, morals,” Anna asked.

Thokri laughed and clapped her on the shoulder.

“Aye, that’s one way to put it,” he replied.

“The guild here isn’t the same as the one back in Therondale. They don’t tolerate unseemly behavior,” Barika said.

“Seriously?” Anna asked.

“Yes, child. Remember every guild hall can make up its own rules so long as they don’t go against any of the guild’s charter or break any of the local laws where the hall is located,” Barika replied.

“I know, I just didn’t think the guild cared what we did as long as we didn’t break any laws and completed the contracts we took to the client’s satisfaction,” Anna said.

“Honestly, I think that the guild hall in Oldforge was the exception more than the rule because it was out on the frontier and didn’t have a lot of members,” Elaine replied.

“You think so?” Anna asked.

“Yeah, I mean, the guild hall in Therondale’s capital didn’t have the drunken tavern feel that Oldforge’s did,” Elaine replied.

“So, what’s it like at the guild hall here?” Anna asked.

“It’s hard to describe, but we’re almost there, so you’ll see for yourself soon enough,” Elaine replied.