The inn Voekeer led them to was a huge three-story building with its own built-in stables.

“How much did this place cost?” she asked.

“Too much, but Arthur wanted to stay here, and he’s paying, so I’m not going to argue,” Voekeer replied.

“Free rooms are like free food, right,” Anna said.

“Exactly,” Voekeer replied.

He pulled the door open, and they walked inside.

The main room of the inn was huge, though it wasn’t laid out like any inn she’d been to before. Instead of tables, there were couches set up on either side of a long carpet that led to the counter at the rear wall. There were stairs leading up to the next level near the rear of the room and doorways leading to other parts of the inn centered on the left and right walls. The others were seated on a few of the couches near the door on the left-hand side of the room. The three of them walked over and sat down on one of the couches.

“So, how’d it go?” Elaine asked.

“They told me to keep my mouth shut and to tell everyone that I visited the guild to get my sword appraised,” Anna replied.

“That sounds about right. So, are you going to get Ted appraised?” Elaine asked.

“Yeah, the attendant brought up a good point about knowing what my sword can do so I don’t get surprised again,” Anna replied.

“It’s a shame the enchantments are so strange; otherwise, me or Lyreen could have done that for you,” Elaine said.

“Ted was made by the Dark One a thousand years ago. You don’t know what kind of enchantments were used,” Anna replied.

“You do know that whoever you’re getting to appraise the sword might not know either,” Lyreen added.

“I know, but it’s worth a try,” Anna replied.

Barika stood up and stretched, rubbing her back some.

“I need to get to the market and start looking for the materials I’ll need to craft those talismans. It will take me some time to make all of them, so I need to get started,” she said.

“Mind if I tag along?” Elaine asked.

“Not at all,” Barika replied.

“I think I’ll go, too,” Lyreen said.

Everyone else got up one by one with Anna being the last to stand.

“Can I get my room key? I’d rather just get a bath,” she said.

Elaine fished a key from her belt pouch and handed it over.

“Thanks,” Anna said.

“You’ll have to let the attendant know you want a bath,” Arthur said.

“I’m just going to use a public bath. I want to soak for a while, and the water gets cold too fast in small tubs,” she replied.

Actually, I just want to bathe with other people, but I’m not supposed to say that.

“You’re going to a public bath?” Arthur asked.

“Yeah, wanna come, too?” Anna asked.

“No!” Arthur replied.

“Why not?” Anna asked.

“We don’t have public baths in my kingdom. I’m not sure I’m comfortable with the idea of bathing around strangers,” he replied.

Anna shrugged.

“Suit yourself,” she said.

“We’ll meet you back here this evening,” Barika said.

“Okay,” Anna replied.

“Try not to get lost,” Lyreen added.

“I won’t,” Anna replied.

She glanced at the key and took note of the number embossed on it before walking away from the group and heading for the stairs.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

Her friends walked out of the inn as she made her way there. She walked up to the third floor and turned to the right where she went to the very end of the hallway and found her room on the right-hand side, fourth from the far wall. She unlocked it and pushed it open to find a large well-furnished room.

Wow! This is the biggest room I’ve ever had at an inn.

“Master! How did everything go?” Ted asked.

“They told me not to tell anyone what happened,” Anna replied.

“What happens if that man finds you again?” Ted asked.

“I think I’ll just let the others handle it,” Anna replied.

“It’s up to you, master,” Ted replied.

She went over to her pack, which Elaine had placed on her bed and took out a change of clothes.

“I’m going to go get a bath, and I can’t take you with me, so I’ll come and get you later,” Anna said.

“That’s alright, master,” Ted replied.

“Goodbye,” she said.

“Goodbye, master,” Ted replied.

She walked out of the room, change of clothes in hand, and locked the door behind her before heading back down the stairs to the main room where she went to the attendant.

“Could you tell me where the nearest public bathhouse is?” she asked.

“Go right when you leave the inn and turn left after you pass three streets. From there, walk another four streets, and it will be on the right,” the attendant replied.

“Thanks,” she said.

“You’re welcome, miss,” he replied.

She left the inn and started to follow the directions she’d been given, heading towards the bathhouse.

Wow, this city is really clean. I wonder if it’s because it’s a holy city, or if there’s some other reason?

She turned left three streets later as instructed, and the crowds grew thick as she walked. It took her twenty minutes to reach the bathhouse. It was a massive building and the only one she’d seen with a mural painted on the side. It depicted the God of Light sitting on his throne with a brilliant radiance shining from behind his head. He had one of his hands held out palm open. At the foot of his throne were a multitude of figures depicting different methods that one could worship the god. She examined the mural closely as she passed by.

All the figures are men.

She walked into the bathhouse. The main room was massive with polished marble floors, walls, and ceilings. Huge marble columns held up the ceiling and were placed in wide-spaced rows around the room. The air was humid from the baths and had a sweet smell to it.

Men crowded the open space, congregating into groups where they were having conversations on topics ranging from politics to the weather. As she made her way to the counter at the rear of the room, a large number of men turned to watch her. She didn’t pay any mind and walked up to the rear counter.

“Three copper,” the attendant said.

She passed him the coins.

“Just so you know, you’ll be the only woman in the baths at the moment. Is that a problem?” he asked.

“I don’t mind,” she replied.

“Alright, then enjoy your bath,” he said.

“Thanks, I will,” she replied.

She walked through the door that led into the back room, pushing the curtain that divided the spaces. On the other side, she found a changing room. She walked over to the shelves that lined the wall and started to undress.

As she took off her clothing, she could almost feel the eyes of the men in the room on her.

So much for most of them preferring men.

She placed her shoes and belt on the shelf before folding her pants and shirt and placing them on top.

I’ll clean them with my ring when I get back to my room. Last time I used my ring in the baths, everyone pestered me to clean their things, and I was stuck for hours!

She started to walk for the exit to the baths, eyeing the men as she went.

Most of them looked away the moment their eyes met, and a few even moved to cover up their crotches. She smirked at them as she walked by, leaving the changing room and heading into the baths.

A huge pool of steaming water lay before her. It was filled with hundreds of men, all lounging and chatting with each other. She looked around, found the wash area, and walked over, taking one of the buckets and dipping it into the basin of water and dumping it over her head. She did this a few times to allow her thick hair to become saturated before setting the bucket down and taking one of the many chunks of soap from the stand and started to wash herself.

She scrubbed off quickly and then rinsed off, dumping the bucket over her head a few more times to get all of the soap off. She placed the bucket next to the basin where it belonged before walking over to the bath and stepping into the water.

She waded over to the center of the pool and dunked herself under the surface for a moment before standing back up and wiping her face off. She then waded to the far side of the bath and sat on one of the submerged benches. She looked out across the bath at the men, watching them as they soaked in the water.

They should change the name of this city to Peckerville or the City of Cocks or something.

She noticed a group of men looking at her, and when she made eye contact with one of them, they started to walk over.

Dammit!

“You know, we don’t see women in here that often,” one of the men said.

“Yeah, I kind of figured that,” Anna replied.

“So, why did you come?” another one of the men asked.

“I wanted a bath. I was dirty,” Anna replied.

The other men chuckled, and the one who had asked turned red.

“No, I meant, why did you come to the city?!” he blurted out.

“I’m just passing through,” she replied.

“Where you headed?” another man asked.

“Got a job up north,” she replied.

“What kind of job?” he asked.

“Lifting a curse and probably fighting an evil sorceress. You know, adventurer work,” she replied.

“You’re an adventurer?” the man asked.

“Yeah,” Anna replied.

“Aren’t you a little small to be an adventurer?” he asked.

She glanced at his crotch and smirked before looking back up at his face.

“You’d know about small things, wouldn’t you?” she asked.

The other men started to laugh and slap him on the back.

“Gods above man, do you need a healer for that?” one asked.

“Shut the fuck up! It’s not funny!” the one she’d insulted snapped.

The other men started to laugh even harder, and the man stormed away. His companions followed him, and by the look on his face, they were ribbing him hard about her teasing. She let out a relieved sigh and then went back to relaxing in the water.

After a half hour or so, she got out of the bath and went back to the changing room. She dried herself off with a towel and then got dressed in her clean clothing before leaving the bathhouse.

Hmm, it’s still early. I think I’m going to explore before I head back.

She picked a direction at random and started to walk away.