He- He didn’t know there was that much hidden in Hreysti’s mind, so much that was plaguing him. All Dyo could wish for was that he could be there for him from now on and that Hreysti would be willing to let him hear him. He couldn’t let Hreysti bear this by himself any longer, not after this and the night in the forest. From now on it would be better.

That was part of the reason why he couldn’t let go of him, but the infectious warm feeling in his heart was also part of it. Dyo would maybe need a few more excuses to do this, just in the time that it’d take him to finally ask the question…

“Now, I know I was the one who suggested we should relax here…” Shani murmured, “But even I’m feeling bad about our lack of work here.”

Dyo’s and Hreysti’s hug faltered somewhat as the two’s eyes fell.

“Whoa! Hey, don’t make me feel guilty for this loverboys!” She sputtered.

Yet again there was silence from the two as they just stared at her.

She sighed, heaving herself up from the bath. “Come on, let’s get moving.”

The two sluggishly followed her out as they finally separated from each other’s embrace.

The warm bathroom which Dyo and his friends found themselves in was much like the cold one. Faded patchy frescoes, scuffed mosaics on the floors, yet surprisingly large pools for a place in such a state.

Where would you hide anything in here?!

The walls didn’t have any exposed bricks. Instead they were covered by the aforementioned frescoes or by plaster, both white and red. Looking between the partition walls between the rooms, they were well built, but probably not thick enough to hide anything inside of… There certainly wasn’t anything hiding around them, and even if there was, nobody would take kindly to all the already damaged frescoes and plaster being wreaked even further.

The floor?

Scraping his foot against the cold tiles didn’t yield much either. If anything had been put under here it must have been done before the tiles were ever laid. Dyo didn’t really have much of an education in the arts so he couldn’t quite tell when it had been laid by the art style but…

Looking closer at it he saw a goddess amongst a crowd in one section. Perfect. He stepped a little closer to it, examining her. She had long flowing hair and a loose, flowing dress that was almost transparent. Surrounding her were admirers and couples, all pining for her or sitting in reverence. Yet, she only had one head, and was the only one sitting in the place of divinity.

Dyo smiled to himself. That was a depiction of Venulia before they split and became twins with Venalia who are both separate and the same. So, the mosaics would have to be at least five hundred, six hundred years old! And uh- That still didn’t help him much… When was Vibius Opsius Ennius born? And change…

He gently stroked his horns as he walked back over to Shani, Hreysti following him.

She looked up, “Found something?”

He shook his head. “No… I only know it can’t be in the walls or in the floor and we really need Ercole.”

She cocked her head, “What do you need the professional cunt for?”

A slight jab poked at Dyo’s heart at that comment for some reason. “Because he knows everything about history, and right now we nothing about the habits of the person whose treasure we’re trying to find. Hells, we don’t even know how big the hoard might be…”

“What do you mean by that?”

“I think he’s thinking we might be looking for something rather small,” Hreysti answered, “Not everything that’s worth much is large.”

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“And over the years myth and legend exaggerate and change what was once the truth.” Dyo continued, “It might only be a small stash of coins hidden in a hole in the wall and over the years it may have been exonerated into a larger prize. So we need to be on the lookout for one as much as we’re on the lookout for a great hoard.”

Shani looked somewhat crestfallen at that, the dreams of all financial woe being banished slipping between her fingers. “Right… We’ve still got a lot of area to cover then, even if we might only be looking for fuck all. Couldn’t it be hidden in any old wall in this city then? Or taken by some fucking drunkards as drinking money five hundred years ago!?”

“I might have been.”

“Fuck…” She mouthed in Cudeshian before speaking up again. “I’ve checked the hot room then, but I found nothing.”

“So we can get out of here then!?” Hreysti asked, perking up as his feet shifted across the floor.

“Not yet. There’s a door with some writing scrawled on it that I can’t read.”

Dyo jumped up, “Let’s find out what’s behind it then!”

She sighed and lead them along into an even warmer room and right to a solid and heavy build solid wood door. It’d been treated well with lacquer and had been printed with some writing alright. The style was a little odd though and Dyo couldn’t quite read it…

It was better than the other options though. There seemed to be a archway on one of the other walls of the room, but that had been blocked off with brick and plaster. It probably led to the part of the bathhouse that had been converted into a barracks.

Shani approached slowly and knocked. First once, then again when it wasn’t answered. She was even winding up another, much firmer one when the door was suddenly opened a crack with a soot-covered face peering through.

“Wha’ are ya looking in here for woman!?” The man barked with a horse voice, “This door is for bath workers only! This is where the furnaces are, it’s none of your concern!”

“We are here on the authority of Necia Opsius Ennius,” Shani growled, “I’d suggest you step aside rather than incur the lady’s wrath.”

The man behind the door simply laughed, “And wha’ evidence do you have for that!? There’s always drunkards an’ household staff who like to use that around people! Look, if she wanted something, why wouldn’t she send the guards instead of a naked lass!?”

Dyo and Hreysti took the moment to step into view of the man, with Dyo yet again letting his magic roil slightly to make his eyes glow.

That, as predicted, made the man’s eyes fly wide as he scanned him up and down.

Dyo couldn’t resist rubbing it in a little bit more in the moment as a large smile tore across his face. “But she might send people more powerful than the guards too, if it was worth enough for her worm.”

“Fine, fine! Come through!”

He let the power slowly slip. Wait… Why am I smiling? And why did I say that?

Dyo shook his head and just walked in with the rest into the furnace room. The first thing that hit him was the blazing heat roiling across his naked body which reminded him how exposed he was. Second was the darkness that was only pierced by the firelight beaming from two of the three furnaces in the room. The last one in the row didn’t have anything burning inside of it, even with the three men sitting shirtless and caked in dust from the charcoal and coal piled up along the walls. Presumably the fuel for the fires.

Unlike all the other walls in the bathhouse, the walls here were left free of plaster too. Perfect.

“Mind if we have a look?” Dyo asked.

All the men shook their heads rapidly, stepping out of his way.

“Nice impression Dyo…” Shani muttered with a slight smile across her face, giving him a quick clap on the back.

The emotions he felt were… A little mixed… That’d be something to piece together later though…

Now though, he, Hreysti, and Shani preoccupied themselves with inspecting the wall, dragging their hands across it and trying to find loose bricks. But, at least from a cursory inspection there didn’t seem to be anything out of the ordinary apart from a few which stuck out a little, but Dyo didn’t dare to try taking them out just yet.

Instead, his eyes were drawn to the unfired furnace. “What’s that one used for?” He asked, pointing to it.

“Er- It’s used for a sorta steam room in the barracks sire! It don’t get used much!”

“Is it cold?”

“R-right now? Yes! What are you doing to do!?”

“Just have a look…”

Dyo crept towards it, bending down and reaching in, yet again feeling the bricks. It was built in a way that he’d never seen a furnace made. On one side seemed to be a sort of brick tank, and beside it was a long brick tube filled with ashes of an old fire, and on top of it were several massive jug-like things, likely more water tanks. Through all the soot it was impossible to feel anything though…

He signalled over the workers to clear it out, with one of them bringing out a broom to quickly sweep away the worst of it.

Yet again reaching in, there wasn’t much to feel and even less to see in the darkness inside. But- Maybe-

He felt it, one little brick that was just a bit out of place and maybe, just maybe, he felt a bit of movement.

But it was too far in, stuck. And it was just one small brick. Maybe it had been misplaced when this way laid? Maybe over the years and the shakes from earthquakes had left it a little loose? It was too much of a hunch all in all to have the furnace ripped apart for to get someone to really reach in…

Dyo sighed. “Come on, it’s getting late and we need to see how Ercole is getting on… We might have lead, or we might not…”