The village itself was rather… quaint. This place was one that could be similar to that of a town, though not exactly. After all, the people here were far too paranoid for this to be similar to that of a peaceful town.
Too many people were carrying weapons of sorts, ranging from clubs to spears to even carrying swords. Each and every person’s eyes darted left and right, all of them full of worry and paranoia in fear of the next attack. They were all dressed poorly, but it was clear that the reason for such downtrodden outfits was considering the inherent lack of resources to replace the worn down clothes.
The buildings themselves were made of earthen walls with what appeared to be black branches acting as a rooftop. The homes had no openings besides the doorway, making him question how on earth these people planned to have any sunlight come in to provide visibility.
Either way, that was none of his concern. Right now, his focus was finding Martha’s bath shop. He kept looking around, but he could not find any homes with the leaf sign at all. In fact, most of these homes seem to be nearly identical to each other, not a single one of them having any sort of decoration or design to make them stand out from one another.
Which made him a bit shocked. He had expected something, anything, to provide some kind of differentiation from each house. A few scratches, a child’s doodling, even the signs like the guard had mentioned earlier.
However, there were none of those. Nothing.
That made him worried about the state of things even more. Was this village really secured? Typically, from what he could recall, villages that were in dire straits and were involved with battles and near death situations avoided decorating their homes and areas. He had seen that giant wall protecting the hamlet, so why were these people acting like this?
Perhaps the defenses were not as strong as he thought. That would explain everyone carrying weapons wherever they go, that uneasy atmosphere that dominated the area, the uninspired built homes.
He couldn’t help but grimace at that. He had hoped to find rest in a safe zone, but if this place wasn’t nearly as secured as he thought, then he might be in for another battle. At least he could look forward to some food and water before the inevitable fight, but he would have still preferred to not be stuck having to fight handicapped and having to cover an entire area for defense.
Another long walk came and went. Another while of not finding this bath house. At this point he was getting fed up and he was more than ready to give up on getting cleaned up and heading over to the tall building when he noticed something out of the corner of his eye.
A sign with a leaf on it. He paused, before looking at the building that hosted the decoration. His eyes widened at the sight.
The building was wide, with one part of the structure missing its rooftop. There were several openings created with wooden panels set-up to act as means for security. There seemed to be some form of giant stone structure next to the open-air section, which seemed to be emitting a constant stream of smoke.
Was this what he thought? Had he found the elusive store and finally had the chance to obtain a spot to get clean at last?
He didn’t hesitate. He went ahead and knocked on the black door, before staying and waiting for a response. He didn’t need to wait long, as a big woman proceeded to open the door fully, groaning and cracking the back of her neck as she did so.
“As I tried to tell you lot, no, I don’t have any spare water to hand over, and…” She paused, before looking at the Crusader. Her voice seemed to evaporate into nothing as she kept her eyes on him.
The Crusader looked back with a raised eyebrow. Then, Martha spoke up once more.
“Who’re you? A paying customer?”
“Yes.” The Crusader nodded. “I am here to take a bath. I had heard from the guard in the front that this was the place to go for a good cleaning?”
She scoffed at those words, shaking her head as she did so. “Great, so he recommended this place? I guess letting him have a free bath did finally pay off for once.”
She clapped her meaty hands together and proceeded to clear her throat, before looking at the Crusader and giving him a giant grin. “Right! If you want to go ahead and use the hot bath, there will be an upfront charge! Each hour you use will require one bite from the assigned meal of the night, you understand? Therefore–”
“Pardon me?” The Crusader couldn’t help but raise his eyebrows at the currency dictated. “One… bite from the assigned meal?”
“Ah.” She paused, before scratching her arms. “Right, other villages probably do things their own way, huh? Well, just to make things clear, everyone is given five bites of meat from the hunts of the day. That is typically breakfast, lunch, and dinner. That is the way our currency is set up at this time, considering that is the most important resource anyone can have.”
“But what about water? Is that not an important resource to have at this time?”
Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.
“Not necessarily.” She waved her hand lazily, “Water is plentiful around here. We can get fresh drinks anytime we want, albeit with a bit of work. The food is a lot more difficult to obtain considering how hostile and aggressive the animals are nowadays.”
“What? What about coin? What about anything else?”
“What about them?” She spat on the ground, shaking her head. “There is no point in having any of those when there is nothing to back up the value of those things. Besides, which would you rather have in these times, a full stomach or a bunch of heavy rocks that do nothing for you?”
“Hmm.” The Crusader paused at those words, digesting the argument tossed at his feet. “But what about the others? Or the hunters? What kind of benefit do they even get for embarking on such a horrifying task?”
“The hunters get twenty bites for their hard work, which I do not blame them for.” Martha sighed. “If anything, I would say that they are probably the only few that can afford the bath freely. Most others would have an issue being able to clean daily like them, especially with the argument of needing to decide whether to eat or be clean. I am quite sure you know which of those two wins out on a daily basis.”
“That is true. The call for hunger is one that cannot be so easily satiated.” The Crusader sighed. “However, what about laundry? What about using the river to bathe?”
“And try to go out into those monster infested lands? Forget it.” Martha scoffed. “Besides, most people don’t care about cleanliness as much as you or the hunters. If they did, they could always go to the well and get buckets of water and heat them up to get themselves all washed up. But they don’t, because they have no desire to do so at this current time.”
“Then what about you?”
“I provide a service most people don’t even think about, or are too lazy to conduct,” She smirked. “Besides, I have the structure for the bath, a lot more sophisticated than a simple wooden bucket with boiling water poured in. My bath is made with stone, with an outlet to dump out used water and a system to bring in fresh hot water. It is a beautiful, elaborate set-up that makes my bath an experience you’ll never forget.”
“Truly?” The Crusader’s eyes widened. “Pray tell, how on earth did you have such a thing set up? I did not take you to be some form of stonemason.”
“Hah! No, I cannot do such a thing.” Martha chuckled, before she looked down. “My husband did all this. A brilliant and crazy mind, he was. He had all sorts of insane ideas, this bathhouse being one of them. Took him several months to finish all of this, you know?”
She sighed. “Before the world went to hell, this used to be a nice town. Tons of people came to go to this bathhouse and enjoy the rest. Before, we could sell milk mixed with fruits and people would rave on and on about how delightful and amazing this place was. Now, this is nothing more than a waste of time for most people and they can’t even bother trying to enjoy such a treat.”
“What about your husband? Is he not trying to help things?”
She laughed darkly. “Oh, he helped alright. Who do you think setup all the defenses for the village? But it didn’t matter anyways, God bless him, for he was taken when he was trying to run repairs some days ago. Now I am all alone, without the spark of my life, tending to his masterpiece.”
“I.. My condolences.”
“It is not any fault of your own, stranger. You weren’t aware.” She took a deep breath, before giving a shaky grin. “Well then! Will you have that bath then?”
“I suppose so.” The Crusader nodded. “After all, I did capture the beast, so I should have more than enough bites to fill my belly and continue on my path.”
“Ah, a traveler then?” Martha whistled. “You must truly be strong to do such a thing. Or foolhardy. Either way, that is none of my concern. Come on in, I’ll go ahead and help you out.”
Without further ado, the Crusader came inside. He blinked upon seeing the interior.
He had not expected to find himself standing on a stone floor that had been meticulously paved and designed. Flower patterns ordained each tile, all of them seemingly heading towards the open air section that did in fact have a giant rock tub, albeit one that was both gray and brown. There seemed to be a waterfall pouring into the tub, with steam coming off in droves from the inside. There were bubbles that popped up here and there within the clear water.
He couldn’t believe his eyes upon seeing this. Never in his life had he seen something as ridiculous as this.
“If you need, I can take your armor and give it some cleaning and repairs.” Martha grunted as she pulled out a rag and a hammer. “Although I will have to request another bite to go with that service.”
“Then I will indulge.” The Crusader nodded, before taking off his helm and sighing as he placed it down onto a nearby wooden table. He unbuckled the sheath of his sword and placed it beside the helmet, before pausing.
He gave a glare at the woman. “If I were to find my armor and weapon missing, understand this. I have been blessed by God to deliver justice upon this land, and if you were to steal…”
“Pah!” Martha laughed. “If I were to do something like this, you think the guards would tolerate me? No way would I do such an idiotic thing! Your equipment is safe with me, young man!”
“I thank you.” With that, the Crusader relaxed. He stripped himself of all his metal armor.
She smiled as she put a cup of water onto the table, before collecting each of the gear. “I will be back once all of this is repaired. For now, feel free to enjoy this cup of cold water while you take your bath. Do not worry, the water is free!”
She chuckled to herself as she left the room, leaving the Crusader all alone to undress in peace. He took off his tunic, burlap pants, and the wool socks, folding them and placing them aside. Then, he went for a dip into the bath.
A delighted moan and a shiver racked his body as he sunk in deeper. The water was perfect, hot enough to provide peace to his body yet not enough to scald the skin. He could feel every single one of his muscles being rejuvenated with this sensation and bit by bit, he allowed himself to relax even more.
This bath was truly the best. He would have to thank the guard once he saw him again.
He could forget every single one of his worries for now. At this moment, all he wanted to do was relax.
He deserved that much.