Miwah's eyes were closed. Her head angled upwards with a long smile across her face. The warm steam travelled through her nostrils as she inhaled. Then a knock at the door broke her out of her relaxing state. Her eyes opened wide, staring at the source of the sound.

"Yes?"

"Time's almost up!" the clerk said from the other side of the room. A white towel flung over the door and hung on its edge. "I've got another customer waiting."

"Oh, apologies," Miwah said in return. She scurried out of the water and snatched the towel from the door. After drying off the excess water from her body, she wrapped it around herself and grabbed her clothes off the long wire that strung from one end of the bathroom to the other. After a few seconds of sloppy folding, Miwah held onto her clothes with one arm pressed against her body and used her other hand to keep her towel fastened as she exited her assigned room. The clerk stood next to her door and pointed towards the side of the room.

"You can dry off and change in one of those rooms."

"Thank you," Miwah replied as she gave the clerk a small bow, water dripping from the tip of her hair as her head went down. She then hurried off to the long row of drying rooms, pushing the door of one that was already open. Once inside, Miwah kicked the door closed with her heel and placed her clothing on the bench provided. Within a few minutes she was out, fully dressed and mostly dry. She made her way to the exit and dropped off the towel in the bin right by the front. The seamstress made her way down the bathhouse and met up with Tamma who was waiting for her by the wagon.

"How'd it go?" the hunter asked.

"Pleasant." Miwah took her hands and wrung out the still wet strands of hair that rested on her shoulder. "I would not mind visiting this place again in the future."

"It's the only place for the common people to get a decent wash, so you probably will."

"That is one thing to look forward to."

"My turn now," Tamma said. She took out a handful of silver coins from her pouch and gave the rest to Miwah. "Stay here and watch Lug and our stuff. I won't take long."

"Nobody will try to do anything to us, will they?" Miwah said with uncertainty in her voice.

"I'm not going to say 'no.' It's unlikely but not unheard of. But if anybody tries anything, you can just do that... magic transformation thing. I'm sure they won't mess with you when they see that deadly weapon of yours."

"Oh. Right."

Tamma winked and patted Miwah on her shoulder. "Like I said, I'll be quick. I'm sure you and Lug will be just fine without me for a few minutes." The hunter hurried up the steps and vanished into the bath house. Miwah stared at the door for a moment until a whimpering sound came from Lug. She turned around and saw that the brillick had moved closer to her. His head was angled upwards, his snout sniffing the side of her leg.

"What is it, Lug?" the seamstress asked as she lowered herself to the height of the animal. He continued to whimper despite Miwah brushing the back grimy strands of hair that lined the back of his neck. "Something wrong?"

Lug looked towards the sea of people passing through the town. Amidst the movement, two figures stood still in the distance. One was large and bulky, towering over the more feminine shape beside him. Miwah blinked before leaning her head forward to get a better visual. As quickly as they had appeared in her vision, they vanished. She continued to scour the crowd, only to be met with a few peculiar glances from nearby pedestrians.

"Were you talking about those two people in the crowd, Lug?" Miwah asked as she began to pat the brillick on his side. Lug rubbed his snout against her arm in response. Confused, Miwah tried searching for anyone that resembled the shape of the two she had seen while remaining seated. "We should wait for Tamma to get back. She will know what to do."

Lug gave Miwah a lick on her bare hand. She retreated it, startled by the sudden sensation of warm saliva on the on her bare skin. The seamstress gave the animal an annoyed glare as she shook of the spit from her hand. "You love attention, don't you?"

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

The brillick whimpered again.

"Is fifteen minutes too long of a wait for you?"

A quick flick of the tongue sent slobber on the trim of her robe. Miwah's face scrunched together as she held onto the wet area, watching it glisten as she adjusted its angle. "I just washed this..." she whispered to herself. "What do you want? Something to eat? Food?"

Lug's eyes grew bigger at the last word. He stood up straight and his entire body bobbed up and down while his jaw remained agape. The brillick's long tongue dangled out of his mouth as it let more saliva drip onto the ground.

"I guess that means 'yes.'" Miwah set herself upright and poked her head into the curtains of the wagon. She took a glance to her side, noticing her necklace and pouch sitting on top of the grizelwulf's fur. After taking her Beacon in one hand, she dug around for the dried strips of meat that Tamma had given her earlier. A jar to her right contained a few pieces. She unscrewed the top with her one free hand and took out the small chunk before returning outside.

"Keep this between us," she said as she dangled the snack just above the brillick's head. In a flash, the animal darted its head forward and snatched the treat out of Miwah's hand. With food in his mouth, Lug curled inwards and started gnawing away at the meat. "Now will you leave me alone?" Miwah asked while smiling. Lug looked at her with the corner of her eye before resuming his munching.

The seamstress sat herself against the wagon and took in a deep whiff of the town's air. There was a stark contrast compared to the forest; there was an unnatural scent to it, an unpleasant blend of smoke, sweat and seawater. She shook her head, trying to get ignore of the uncomfortable stimulus. Miwah then turned her attention back to the bathhouse. People traveled in and out the front door but to her disappointment, none were Tamma. With no one to talk to, she opened her palm just enough to see the diamond stone attached to it.

"How much longer are you going to be in there, Yalch?" she asked under her breath. While keeping the jewel obscured from the public as best as she could, she moved her head closer for a better view of it. The smoke inside continued to dance around within the stone's confines. She lifted one finger and gave it a pair of gentle taps, making the smoke swirl faster. "When you come out, you better answer my questions." Frustrated, she wore the necklace and tucked the diamond underneath her robe.

The brillick darted up to his feet, breaking Miwah's focus from the front of the bathhouse. He left the piece of meat slip out of his mouth and onto the ground as he angled his head towards the fountain. The seamstress turned her head as well. From behind the cascade of water, a distorted image similar to the still figure she had seen earlier remained motionless. Even though the image was wavy, she could make out the two contrasting shapes. However, a long and curved shadow protruded from behind the more petite figure. It moved in a wave-like motion.

"Hey!" Miwah shouted as she got up from her reclined position. Those walking close to her turned to face her, all giving her annoyed and confused expressions. With a large number of eyes on her, Miwah shrank back from the sudden attention. It didn't take long for the others to return to their lives. Once Miwah looked back at the fountain, the mysterious figures had disappeared yet again.

"Come on, Tamma," Miwah whispered as she stared at the entrance to the bathhouse. She started to pace back and forth, switching her attention to the doors and back to the fountain. "Please hurry!"

Still nervous, Miwah began pacing around the wagon, focusing on various aspects of the town only to switch back to staring at the bathhouse’s entrance. After a few more nerve-racking minutes, the bathhouse's front doors opened wide. Tamma walked out with a smile on her face as she stretched her arms above her head. She jaunted down the steps, brushing off the last bit of water from the cloak. "Everything alright?" she asked of Miwah once she made it back to Lug and the wagon.

Miwah's eyes drifted towards the fountain again. Tamma's smile turned into a confused frown as the seamstress got closer for a whisper. "I think somebody was watching us," she said quietly.

"Really? What did they look like?"

"I could not get a good view of them. I only saw a few silhouettes. And they were standing still, as if they were facing us." Miwah discreetly pointed towards the fountain in the center of the area with one hand. Tamma glanced at it before facing Miwah again. "One was tall. Looked muscular. The other looked like a woman. And she had something long and curved beside her."

Tamma squinted her eyes. "Can you go into more detail?"

Miwah nodded. "Yes. It looked like… a creature with the way it moved." Upon seeing Tamma remain perplexed, the seamstress looked down at the brillick to her side. "I only noticed them because Lug did! Right, Lug?" The brillick looked up at his owner with wide eyes, moving from his spot and rubbing his snout against her leg.

Tamma's eyes grew wide. "Oh! I think I know who you're talking about!" she said as she snapped her fingers. And that thing around the neck? It's a snake."

"What? A snake of that size?"

"Is your stuff ready?" Tamma asked. She took of hold of Lug's side and led him to the wagon. "We need to get going to the market. Now." The hunter began to fasten the harness onto the brillick.

"I do not have much to prepare. Is... everything alright?"

"Those people that you saw? They're looking for trouble."