Soon enough Angerla came to my new temporary chambers and curtsied deeply. “I’ve drawn your bath. If you would follow me I will show you our amenities.” She offered a robe of some kind. “For your modesty while you traverse the home. The bathing room is downstairs so that it will drain properly when you are finished.”
The robe was silken on the arms and where it brushed against my ankles. I tied it shut properly and followed wearing some slippers so that my feet wouldn’t dirty themselves on the floor. The clacking of the servants hard soled shoes on the wooden floors as we snaked through the house till we got to a lavish bathroom.
The tub was copper and shined with a polish. The water inside it steamed with a promise of relaxation and warmth. There was an array of oils and soaps spread on a table near the tub with a stack of towels. “I’ll take your undergarments and wash them so that you will have clean clothes when you are finished. Please enjoy your bath.”
I nodded and walked wordlessly to the tub as the door closed behind me. I stripped off my clothes and folded them. Now draped in only the silken robe I returned to the tub. Baring myself to the room I gingerly stepped into the water and the heat of it was almost too hot and it took me some time to settle into the tub. I rang the bell on the table and listened as Angela stepped in to take the clothes and walk away with them.
For a long moment I let the heat soak into my muscles and soul. The rain had lingered a coldness in my bones that was being dispelled by the luxury of the bath. I was used to bucket and rag for far too long. Taking a deep breath the water rippled with the beat of my heart as I let a little of my shapeshifting fade for a moment as my skin turned to scales and I let them soften with the water and heat. The desire to wash my scales and not revert back into my human form was too enticing so I grabbed the soap and started to scrub the hard scales of my body.
The cleansing of my true skin brought such a deep satisfaction to me that I felt a rumble in my chest from the pleasure. A knock on the door brought me from my reverie and I quickly reverted to Dolan. “Come in,” I called out.
The male servant that had brought me into the home stepped in and had a special tray to drape over the bath. On top of it was piles of food and snacks. “I’ve brought you some refreshments for you to enjoy while you relax good sir. Your service to the good Duke and his family needs reward.” He walked forward and placed the tray across the tub but he kneeled down to whisper something. “If you have any way please tell the Duke not to come to the capital. There are whispers that none of the noble families of importance are allowed to leave. This isn’t official but please if there is any way for you to help protect our master we would be grateful beyond measure.”
The fear was thick in his voice and I could smell it mixed with the soap in the air. I looked him deep in the eyes and spoke in a whisper, “Why haven’t you sent a pigeon?”
He looked around quickly, “None of the servants have been allowed to go anywhere without the escort of a guard. They keep saying it is for our safety as there is kidnappers about but who would take a servant? What communications we’ve had with other servants in homes is confirming that even the noble’s are being escorted to their destinations. Maybe since you are marked as a messenger they’ll allow you to do something. Some of the ledgers in the master are written in code. If you can figure it out you might be able to send a message that otherwise appears harmless. None of us have figured it out.”
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I took his words into my mind and mulled them about. I wasn’t sure how I would do with deciphering some subtle code that Duke Ursal’s family had crafted. Could they figure out who had sent it and follow through with that? “I can’t guarantee I’ll figure out the code but I’ll take a look. No promises.”
The man bowed his head, “Thank you good sir. All my prayers to the gods for your success.”
No sober from my thoughts of relaxation I ate the food and stayed in the water until it was getting close to cool. I was clean but there was a little tension in my shoulders now from the warning from the servant. Angela returned with fire warm clothes and set them down by the door with a curtsy. “Here are your clothes, let me know when you are ready to return to your room.”
Now alone I stood and used their soft cotton towels to dry off as I stepped back into the slippers that were provided to me. The food tray was gone and the water had trails of soap left inside it from the scrubbing of my body. Dry, dressed, and back in a robe I stepped back and returned to my room. Dressing in my lesser minstrel’s clothes I stretched my arms and pulled the rope once more.
Angela stepped in a few minutes later with curiosity on her face, “How may I serve you?”
“The lead butler told me to look through the study so that I can compile a message to the Duke telling him of my safe arrival. I’m sure he will have the proper writing implements.” I ignored her look of confusion and focused my mind.
“I’m not sure that you should be allowed into the private study. I’ll have to discuss this with the head servant. Please relax until I return.”
There was a quiet suspicion growing in my chest that maybe each of the houses here in the city would have an informant in them to report any relevant movements in the home and politics of each family. I could plunder the memories of each servant with magic but I would have to be private with them. It was easiest to do that while someone was asleep so that I could manipulate their dreams to be memories.
Listening to the clopping sounds of their wooden shoes crossing the house I stretched my senses to their peak and tried to hear the conversation through the walls of the house. Taking a deep breath I used my shapeshifting magics to alter the ears on my mortal form.
Muffled through the walls I strained to hear what they were talking about. The sweet sounds of the youthful Angela. “Our guest requests to be allowed into the private Ursal study. I think this is highly inappropriate. What if he tells people secrets.”
The sonorous tones of the head servant responded, “We will allow him access. He is a messenger from the Duke himself and I think it would be wise for him to be able to go into the study.”
“I don't think that is wise. However, I won't go against your wishes.”
Someone in the kitchen dropped some heavy pans and bowls and the clatter rang in my ears painfully. I had to revert my ears as the noise grew too loud for me to eavesdrop on the conversation that was taking place in the house. I stuck a finger in my ear as it started to ring painfully. The dangers of altering my body without control over my environment. With a hiss of discomfort I stepped away from the door and relaxed in the lounge given to me as the painful sounds diminished in my head.
Gentle knocking pulled me away from that and Angela stepped inside. “Please, I thought that we would need the advisor’s permission for such a thing. Follow me.”
This time we went up another set of stairs and came upon the master bedrooms. They were truly large and lavish with padded fainting couches, tables and plenty of ways to entertain close friends. I could glance at a massive four poster bed large enough for several people through the bedroom door. The opposite side of the room led us into something that took my breath away.
Four walls were covered in shelves of leather bound books. None of which had imprinted titles upon the spine. I assumed lifetimes of journals cataloging the history of the Ursal family. Treatise on trade and war, one shelf had scrolls stacked in pyramids of knowledge. The heavy scent of leather pages, ink, and dust filled the room. Stepping past Angela I ran a finger along the spines and was amazed at what I could learn from this room. Though a thick layer of dust came free on my fingertip.
“You should make sure this room is cleaned more often. I’m surprised you said that an advisor was staying here. Does he now use this study?”
“Patrick doesn’t do much in studies, his strength is in interactions with others. He tells of all the trades he has been able to manufacture for our homes. I cannot thank him enough.” She flushed and looked a little hot under the collar. I guessed the young woman was enamored with this Patrick. “I’ll come get you for dinner. Please, make sure you don’t damage anything.”
I pulled one of the many journals and say with the natural light of the window illuminating the pages and opened it up. Time to see if there was any real thoughts of there being a code to learn.