I gently scooped a spoonful of Lithovine pudding into my mouth, savoring the taste. It had been a while since I’d had really good pudding, it was mostly made with cow milk on the surface, which gave it a strange taste.

Dinner had been amazing, lots of good food and small talk with my co-workers. It did wonders to alleviate the stress I’d felt up to, and during my first day on the job. Chelsea had been antsy throughout the entire dinner, and now that we were on dessert she must have felt it was the right time to bring up what was on her mind. “So… you’re a strategist right? That’s why Lanivia brought you in. Are you going to be in charge of the confrontation matches?”

I shrugged, “Supposedly. Lanivia did say she wanted an edge in the competition, and seemed to think I could help, but I honestly don’t know much about it. All I really know is they involve two dungeons duking it out.” I paused to shove another spoonful of pudding in my mouth, and think. “There must be special rules, and pretty advanced magic involved, to sync up both locations and make it interesting to watch.”

Bella, who had been poking her gelatin listlessly until this point, perked up at the discussion. “That’s true! I only know the very basics myself, but it should be fascinating to watch and participate in! Imagine, a match that has a push and pull mechanic, instead of just a linear progression. Last I heard they were still hashing out the details, but they should be available soon.”

“I hope you’re right,” I replied. “It’s kind of hard to prepare for something when you don’t know the rules.”

Beside me Kassandra sat up straight, a smile on her face. “But you can prepare a little! If you come and check out the Baths you can watch my staff and I practice. You’ll need to know what we’re all capable of to make plans in the future.”

I couldn’t help but smile back at her. “That’s an excellent idea. I’ll make an appointment to visit all the floors sometime this week. I’ll just have to make time between our practice sessions, and visiting Jenkins.”

Kassandra elbowed me when she saw my smile fall a little. “Don’t worry about it too much, you won’t have to do any heavy lifting. You just have to show up, maybe take a few notes, and see how we operate.”

I nodded, then spooned the last of the pudding into my mouth. The others chatted excitedly, discussing things like the run today, and their practice schedule for the week. I just sunk further into my seat, just trying to enjoy the pleasant atmosphere before having to head back to work.

The next day I woke up early. Kassandra made me promise to check out the Baths first, and even suggested meeting for breakfast, so she could give me a tour before the other staff showed up. Since I didn’t have any plans for the day, I agreed.

After washing up I pulled on some casual clothes, roused George, and made my way back to the cafeteria. The corridors were quiet, so it didn’t take too long for the pair of us to make our way across the residential complex, and over to the cafeteria.

I found Kassandra already inside, sitting at a booth. She was draped over a steaming bowl of what appeared to be some sort of fish soup, eyes half closed, with her brilliant pink and turquoise tail slowly flicking back and forth. As I approached she propped her head up with one hand and gave me a sleepy smile. “G’morning”

“Good morning to you too,” I replied. “You know you didn’t have to force yourself to get up this early. We could have made our appointment for later in the day.”

Kassandra waved one hand dismissively. “I’ll be fine, I’m just a little slow in the mornings sometimes. I’ll be fine once I get warmed up.”

I nodded, but wasn’t quite convinced. I decided to take the seat right next to her, just in case she actually nodded off; I really didn’t want watch her to faceplant into a scalding bowl of soup. Thankfully, by the time my own breakfast arrived she looked a lot more lively.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“I wasn’t kidding before,” Kassandra said between spoonfuls of soup. “Nagas aren’t cold blooded, but we do get sluggish when it’s cold. Since there’s not many people around to warm this place up, I needed a little pick me up.” She hugged the steaming bowl with her lower arms, pulling it closer.

“Are you going to be ok?” I asked, while slicing a piece off my omelette.

She nodded, “There’s a cooling enchantment in most rooms to keep them comfortable, but it's a little cold for me. Once everyone gets up and starts moving around it warms up a little. Besides, we’re heading to the baths area, it’s nice and warm there.”

George grumbled at my feet, already done with his meal, so I started shoveling down my own meal. Since one of my companions was affected by the cold, and the other was extremely impatient, It probably wasn't a great idea to keep them waiting.

A few minutes later Kassandra led George and I out of the cafeteria, across the atrium, and into the wing containing the Bath projectors. As I stepped through the door a wave of warm air struck me in the face. “Most of the races that work in the baths come from warm aquatic environments, so the entire wing is heated.” She opened one of the projection rooms to show me the inside. “My projection rooms have higher humidity, and the projectors are mounted over pools instead of beds. It’s both for the safety and comfort of my staff.”

I briefly stuck my head into the room to take a look. It had marble floors and fine wood walls, and in each corner was an elegant carving of some aquatic race, or deity. Like Kass mentioned earlier, each projector was suspended over a shallow tub, each just large enough for a single person.

Once I’d finished checking out the projection room, Kassandra led me down to the end of the hall to her private room. It has a similar layout to the one Bella and I used, but instead of two beds there was one decent sized pool, one bed, and a booth in the corner that was partially flooded.

“We keep a bed here for the non-aquatic visitors. Give me a minute to drain the booth so George can use it.” Kassandra waved a hand above the booth, and the water drained into the floor. After a couple seconds, there was nothing but a thin film of water left on the stone. “Much better. Now let's get him setup.”

Thankfully, George understood what was going on, and didn’t need any prompting. He marched his fuzzy self right up to the booth and stepped inside. I watched him dance around, growling at the fact that his feet were damp for just a minute, before reaching over and placing a hand on his head. “Behave and I’ll get you a steak tonight. Deal?” Almost immediately George stopped prancing, stood still and purred. “Yeah, that’s what I thought.”

Kassandra laughed as she watched me ‘negotiate‘ with George before plugging him in. “George is quite the character, and he seems quite smart compared to the other spiders I’ve seen. What breed is he?”

“He's an Abyss Crusher,” I replied, as I pushed myself to my feet. “They’re distantly related to the Abyss Stalkers that we have in the ballroom, but they’re extremely rare. Excellent companions though”

Kassandra cocked her head to one side, “What makes them so rare?”

“Low birth rates, combined with the fact that the Titanranchulas hunt them.”

“Right…” Kassandra just looked more confused by my answer, so I just walked over to the bed, a small smile on my face.

“How about we discuss this inside. That is, unless you want everything in the Baths to be coated by spider hair by the time we arrive.”

Kassandra’s face hardened, and she rushed over to her bath. “Right! Let's head in, we can discuss more while we're there.”

I slid into the bed, started the transference process, and seconds later I found myself standing at the top of a beautiful multi-tiered room made of white marble. I took a few steps forward, towards the edge, so I could look down upon the lower levels.

The massive structure was built almost entirely out of marble, and kind of resembled a temple the way the pillars supported the roof. It also seemed like the Baths had been built up the side of a massive hill, since each pool was built at a different level, each one slightly higher than the previous. These pools were massive too, occupying the entirety of each floor. The only way across them was a singular path that started at the entrance, and passed through the middle of each pool. Sometimes it was a narrow stone bridge, other times a series of stepping stones, but it slowly wound its way through the complex, providing a constant path upwards. I also noticed some decorations, several carvings and statues on each floor. These were almost entirely overgrown by crawling vines, giving the area an elegant, but overgrown look.

“Do you like it?” Kassandra said from behind me. I turned to find the Naga petting George at the side of the pool, a massive smile on her face. “I thought you might.”