“And then we got here!” Anna finished. Both dwarven women just looked at her in a strange way for a few moments.

“Well, you lot lucked out, didn’t you?” Gilira asked.

“Aye, that we did,” Thokri replied.

“What do you mean?” Anna asked.

“Like I told you before, lass. You’re the reason we’re up to our eyes in coin these days,” Thokri replied.

“Oh, right,” Anna said.

“Now we just have to keep you from wandering off, and we’ll be set,” Elaine added.

“I don’t wander off!” Anna said. Everyone just looked at her.

“Fine, maybe I do, but I come back!” she said.

“Aye, and usually with food,” Thokri replied.

“I like food,” Anna added. The others laughed and shook their heads.

“Let’s get you all settled in. Come on, we have a few open rooms. You can pick which ones you like,” Bralla said.

Most of the children had been picked up, and the families’ older ones had returned from school and were playing with the younger children in the living room. Anna walked over and picked up her pack from the pile along with her coin chest. The rest of the party did the same, and then they followed their hosts to the back of the house.

Wow, this place is way bigger than I thought it would be!

There were at least fifteen rooms in the house. The first and largest one they passed was the room that the married adults stayed in. Anna peaked inside for a moment. It had multiple beds along with one big one on the back wall. She didn’t get a chance to investigate further, not wanting to appear as if she was snooping.

The next room was the nursery. All the children under a certain age would stay in this room so that the adults could come in and take care of them quickly.

Next were the rooms for the children that lived with the family. They ranged in size, depending on the age of the child. The older the child, the bigger the room they got, unless the family had too many children. Then older children would take the smaller rooms, and the younger children would double up in the larger rooms. The largest rooms were reserved for guests and adult children that came to visit.

“Alright, go ahead and pick the rooms you want,” Bralla said, moving the baby around in her arms as she spoke.

Anna just opened the door next to her and walked inside not really caring.

I’m pretty sure I lived in a closet in Fishport.

The room was smaller than the rooms at the inns had been, but it did have a bed, table, and dresser, so it was just fine by her standards. She set the coin chest on the floor next to the bed and then put her pack down next to it. She went back out into the hallway where her friends were still looking inside of each of the rooms they had been offered.

“Follow me, lass,” Thokri said grinning.

Anna walked after him down the hall and further into the house. He pushed open a door at the end of the hallway and gestured for her to go inside.

IT’S A BATH!!!

She took off her belt and tossed it on the floor before pulling off her dress and tossing it aside as well.

“Soap and wash cloths are next to the wash bucket. Have fun, lass,” he said, grinning at her excited expression.

She zipped over to the washing area. There was a spout with two hand wheels next to a bucket and a bench to sit on. She turned both of the wheels to full blast, filled the bucket with steaming water, and poured it over her head. She filled it again and used this bucket full to get the rest of her wet.

She took the soap and a washcloth from a shelf sitting next to the faucet. She scrubbed off quickly and rinsed again before heading to the bath. It was nothing more than a large pool next to the back wall with steps leading into it that could be used as benches when soaking.

She bounced over to the bath and hopped in, heading to the back wall, and sitting on one of the steps. The water came just above her breasts.

Oh, wow, even the baths fit me here!

Most of the time, the water came up to her neck when she bathed in human lands. She hadn’t taken a bath like this when they passed though the elven forest. They had tubs like Lord Ender had in his house. They were all too big for her, of course, being elf sized.

I can’t believe he had a bath in his house! He never told me about his bath. He just told me that dwarves had public baths like humans but bigger, and they didn’t separate between men and women like most humans do. Well, some humans. The ones at the guild didn’t care, but the guild doesn’t count as human I guess. I mean, everyone works there, and adventurers are all a bunch of weirdos anyway.

Elaine walked in next, followed by Barika and Rose.

“Of course, you’re the first one here!” Elaine said.

“Thokri told me to follow him!” Anna replied.

“Did he tell you to jump in before the rest of us got here, child?” Barika asked.

“No, but I wanted a bath!” Anna replied. Barika sighed but then smiled at her.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

“So, how’s the water, child?” she asked.

“I think it’s hot,” Anna replied.

“That’s good. I could use a good soak after all this travel,” she said.

The three of them stripped down and washed quickly, helping each other clean up before joining her in the bath.

“Fuck, this is hot!” Elaine said as she slowly lowered herself into the water next to Anna.

“I told you so,” Anna said.

“You think boiling water is just hot, so you don’t count,” Elaine replied after she had put her butt on the step.

“It’s not my fault the dreamer didn’t let me feel hot or cold like you!” Anna said.

“I’m not blaming you. I’m just hot!” Elaine replied.

“Once you get used to it, it’s quite nice,” Barika added.

“It is starting to feel nice,” Elaine said.

She put her arms about her head and then leaned back stretching. Her back and shoulders popped several times.

“Oh, gods, I’ve been on the roadway too long,” Elaine said.

“From your mouth to the ears of the goddess, child,” Barika replied.

Anna stretched as well, though it didn’t make her feel any different and nothing popped. She looked up at the ceiling at the intricate tiles for a moment. She heard the door again and looked back down. Lyreen and Voekeer had walked in and were heading to wash up.

“How’s the water?” Lyreen asked.

“Hot enough to boil you,” Elaine replied.

“So, exactly what you’d expect from a dwarf’s bath then,” Lyreen said.

“Pretty much,” Elaine replied.

The elves joined them once they finished, and they all just kind of sat there soaking for a few minutes.

“Well, I’m done,” Elaine said.

She left the bath, walking over to a shelf with towels on it to dry off. Rose and Barika got up next and walked over to the shelf.

I should get out too. I didn’t want to be in here when they started groping each other.

Anna got out of the bath and started to steam as she dried herself, not bothering with a towel. She was dry by the time she reached her dress and just needed a moment to cool off before she picked it up and put it back on. She didn’t bother putting on her belt before heading out of the bath.

She went to her room and dropped off the belt before heading to the living room and sitting down. The children were playing in the room, but all the adults were in the kitchen cooking based on the smells flowing from the room. She picked up a mug and filled it with the sweet ale before sitting in one of the chairs.

The children were engrossed in a game she’d never seen before, so they were ignoring her. Barika walked out first, followed by Rose then Elaine. They went to get ales as well before sitting in the chairs next to her.

“Whatever that is, it smells good,” Elaine said.

“It does. You know, I haven’t had a good home cooked meal in years,” Barika said.

“Neither have I,” Elaine said.

The elves came out of the baths much sooner than she’d expected.

They probably smelled dinner too and wanted to make sure they got some.

“What are they cooking in there?” Lyreen asked.

“I can smell a few kinds of meat and a lot of spices,” Anna replied. Elaine groaned.

“You can have what they’re having,” Anna said, pointing at the children who were still engrossed in their game. Elaine shot her a dirty look but didn’t say anything.

“Hope you’re hungry!” Bralla said, walking out carrying a large tray.

Thokri and Gilira were behind her with equally large trays. They placed them on the long table. The moment they stepped away from the trays, the older children jumped up and rushed the table only to be stopped by their mothers.

“Guests first! You know the rules!” Bralla said in dwarven. The children looked dejected and moped around, waiting for the party to get their food.

“Come on, they’re waiting for us,” Anna said.

“Can’t have that,” Barika replied. Anna went to the table and got a plate from the pile that was neatly stacked on one of the trays.

She looked over the food. There was a pile of chopped meat covered in thick sauce as well as fried mushrooms mixed with subterranean vegetables. She used a large spoon to scoop a large portion of each onto her plate before taking some of the flat bread. She topped off her mug with the sweet ale and then went to sit. A small child toddled over to her and looked at her with big eyes.

“Hi?” Anna said in dwarven. The child just babbled something and then reached up with chubby hands.

“I can’t pick you up right now,” Anna said.

“He wants you to feed him,” Bralla said.

“Oh, is that okay?” Anna asked.

“Aye, just make sure to give him small pieces,” she replied.

Anna broke off a chunk of meat and held it out for the child. He just opened his mouth, so she stuffed it in. He chewed it with his mouth open before swallowing it down and then opening his mouth again. Anna put another piece in his mouth, and he gobbled it.

“He’s going to eat it all if you’re not careful,” Lyreen said.

She sat down near Anna. The others sat nearby as well, including Thokri and his wives.

“I can get more,” Anna replied.

“Aye, but don’t take it all. We do have to save some for Lobar and Eriben,” Gilira said.

“Lobar?” Thokri asked.

“My second husband. He works at the air pump with Eriben,” Gilira replied. Thokri grinned at her.

“Glad to hear it, lass. When did you two get hitched?” he asked.

“Been six years now,” Gilira replied.

“You his first?” Thokri asked. Gilira shook her head no.

“He got married to his first young. They were still living with her folks before we got together,” she replied. Thokri nodded.

“Wait, does that mean she lives with you all as well?” Lyreen asked.

“Aye,” Gilira replied.

“So, uh, how does that work?” Lyreen asked.

“We sleep with who we want to on sperate beds, lass,” Gilira said. Lyreen nodded.

“Ah, I see,” she said.

“So, what’s the big bed for?” Anna asked.

The dwarves all looked at each other and grinned. They looked back at her after a moment.

“Sometimes we like to have a little fun with each other, that’s all,” Bralla replied.

The party was well and truly speechless. Even Anna hadn’t known that last tidbit of information.

Okay, I’m just going to eat now and maybe it will stop being weird in here soon.

She tore a piece off the flatbread and used it to pick up some of the meat. She popped it in her mouth and chewed. The meat was tender and greasy with a strong flavor. The sauce was probably what the others called spicy, but to her, it was filled with so many new flavors she couldn’t help but make happy sounds while she ate. Bralla laughed.

“Does she always do that?” she asked.

“Only when she likes something,” Barika replied.

Anna looked up at them, still chewing, and smiled, her mouth still full. She swallowed the mouthful without chewing further.

“It’s good!” she said. The dwarven women laughed.

“Well, try the fried vegetables,” Bralla said.

Anna tore off a chunk of the bread and scooped up some of the vegetables. She popped it in her mouth and chewed.

They’re just fried vegetables with some salt and some kind of island pepper. I think they used fat from this meat to fry them in.

She chewed and swallowed.

“Good,” she said before trying a bite with both.

Oh, that’s nice. I bet that’s why they serve all these together. They really taste good like this. She kept munching, stuffing bites into the mouths of any children that walked over to her.

Once everyone had eaten their fill, Thokri, Bralla, and Gilira carried the trays back into the kitchen, no doubt covering them to keep them warm for the other two men that would be home sometime later.

Rose yawned and stretched. She stood up, pointed at the hallway that led to the rooms, and then put her hands on the side of her head, indicating that she was going to sleep.

“That sounds like a wonderful idea, child,” Barika said standing up as well.

“I think we’ll turn in as well,” Voekeer said. Elaine just got up without saying anything.

I kind of want to meet the other dwarves, but I’m really over meeting new people, even fun ones. I guess I’ll go to sleep and just meet them tomorrow with everyone else.

She got up as well and started to walk to the back with the others. Thokri didn’t look surprised by her decision. He seemed to know when she was over peopling for the day.

When she reached her room, she stripped off her dress and laid on the bed, looking up at the plain stone ceiling before closing her eyes, and then looking up at a sky that looked back down on her.