As I opened my eyes in the morning I realized I had drunk too much. The sun was already high. Otho was sound asleep, breathing heavily. I managed to drag myself to the tavern bellow where Beta laughed at me. Then she fetched me some soup she claimed would bring me back to life, which it did. Very soon I was my old self, although a bit tired from the lack of sleep.

“You should sell these, make a business of it.”

“Antonius, sometimes I wonder if your mother dropped you on your head! This is my business! This is a tavern! You know what a tavern is? Should I draw you a picture?”

I laughed while she shook her head.

“Can I take some of this magical soup upstairs, for my friends?”

“Of course, very thoughtful of you. Come, I’ll help!”

I followed her to the kitchen. It surprised me how small it was. Beta told me to grab a large pot, and she grabbed a ladle and three bowls.

“We need four.”

“No, we need three. Your lady friend got up hours before you, said she’d go for a walk. I like that girl, she can drink you all under the table. And when you look at her you might confuse her for a bird, that’s how tiny she is!”

“You speak of Atia!”

“Yes, her. Now move!”

We climbed the stairs and entered our room. Otho was snoring.

“Wake up, soldier!” I yelled, which startled the poor wounded fool.

“Gods be damned,” he sighed and lowered his head.

“Don’t be in such a pissy mood, young man! Here, have some of my soup, it will bring you back to life!” screamed Beta with her loud voice that echoed through the room. It made me laugh. Otho started eating and we continued to Flavia and Cecilia’s room. We entered without knocking. They were already awake, sitting on their beds, looking miserable.

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“Some soup for the wounded soldiers!” yelled Beta and I laughed. After we distributed the magic potion, I went back to my room. I lay down on the bed and started reading the biography of Alena until I fell asleep. In the afternoon Otho woke me up.

“Come, Tiberius is downstairs waiting for us. We’re leaving tomorrow morning.”

“Huh?”

I got up and slapped my face, which made Otho chuckle. It was nice seeing him in a good mood. We went down the stairs and headed to the corner table where Tiberius and Atia were already seated. We greeted each other and waited for Cecilia and Flavia who soon joined us.

“Finally you all managed to crawl out of your beds to join us living creatures,” Tiberius grinned. We all – except for Atia – blushed.

“I’m joking. So… We set for Megalopolis tomorrow. At sunrise be at the legionaries’ camp, ready to leave. So no drinking tonight!”

“Yes, my Lord,” we mumbled and again he grinned.

“Any questions?” he raised his eyebrow.

“Did you meet up with the Elves? What did they say? Will they join the alliance?” I asked all too curious.

“We’ll talk about this once we’re on the road. We’ll have more privacy there,” he answered with a low key voice.

He then gulped his beer and stood up. Before he headed out, he smiled to Atia:

“Beta told me you drank this lot under the table last night, ha ha ha! Your father was the same, I could never keep up with him.”

He gave her a warm smile, winked and left. We sat there in silence for some time, until Cecilia went to fetch us a jug of honey water as well as some cups. We then drank the sweet potion in silence, still tired and lost in our thoughts.

“I know what will refresh us. Well, what will refresh all of you,” Atia grinned. “There’s a spa not far from here. The water there is steaming hot. It will make us sleep better!”

We all looked at each other and nodded. We followed her outside, then down the street, to the city center. We entered the spa, which was mostly empty as it was already late afternoon. Atia paid the entrance fees for us and soon we were swimming in hot water that made our bodies and minds relaxed.

“This was a good idea,” I told Atia, while gliding through the water next to her. She had a beautiful, curvy body.

“Especially after last night!”

I then observed her in silence, while we swam around. I wondered what happened to her parents. Something terrible, I figured, as they were both dead. Why else would she be living with her uncle? I knew better than to ask and foul the mood of the evening. I decided my curiosity will have to be left unsatisfied for the time. We stayed in the spa for a long time, skipping dinner. When we came back to tavern we went straight to our rooms, where we dropped to our beds.