“All right, let’s give it a try.”
I led the way through the raucous streets, as a cacophony of noise assaulted us from all around: Wagons rumbling over the cobblestones, horses’ hooves clattering, last-minute hagglers trying to squeeze one last deal out of the vendors, women chatting in loud tones as they headed towards home, and the sound of children laughing as they raced through the streets. Even though it wasn’t home as we knew it, in some ways the noise was welcome. I had missed the sound of civilization and hadn’t even realized it.
As we came to the door of the inn, I tried to reach out, to sense what kind of place this might be. But all I got was a wash of mixed emotions coming from every which way. Shrugging, I opened the door, and we entered the establishment.
Inside, a number of lantern lights gave off an amber glow, and a massive fireplace against one wall crackled as the flames filled the room with an ambient warmth. The smell of roasting meat and warm bread drifted through the air, and my stomach rumbled. We had been trying to conserve rations, and now I realized that all the activity and walking had made me hungrier than I ever expected to be.
Thornhold rubbed his belly. “I could go for a plate of burgers.”
“You’ll probably have to be content with stew,” I said as we headed over to the counter. I motioned to the innkeeper. “How much for a room for the night?”
He glanced over our party. “A double room with six beds will cost you twenty silver. It comes with dinner. If you want a bath, I suggest you go to the sauna across the street. It will save you coin and it will save my maids some work.”
Twenty silver for two rooms seemed more than reasonable, so I told the others, and they agreed. At our last stop, I had portioned out a small amount of money so that nobody would see just how much coin I had, or where I kept it. I placed the coins on the counter, my mouth watering at the thought of food.
“How late is the sauna open?” I asked.
“Till midnight, though I suggest you go before the nightfall hits. Especially since you and your friend are women. I serve dinner until closing, so if you go now you’ll have time. I’ll have the maids make up your room.”
I didn’t want to leave our backpacks out in the open. Neither did I trust leaving them in the rooms. “Do you have a safe what we can keep our supplies?”
The innkeeper gave me a single nod. “For five silver. Each.”
It was worth the extra twenty-five silver to avoid getting robbed. And I had a feeling the innkeeper was honest, at least as far as this was concerned. He wouldn’t have much business if he were known to rob his patrons.
“All right.” I produced the coins — I had taken out enough to cover other expenses — and the innkeeper led us back to a private room. It was heavily fortified, with five locks on the door. When he opened the room, a row of seven metal lockers sat there. He pointed to the biggest.
“You can fit all of your goods in that. You might want to keep enough coin handy for the sauna and bath — the owner will charge you five silver per person. And as I said, watchyourselves. It’s not particularly safe for women, but I expect you want to have a wash-up before you go to bed.”
I knew we were grimy from the road, but as I glanced at the others, I realized just how grimy we looked. The owner stepped outside so we could fit our gear into the locker, and I made sure to take out enough money for the sauna and for incidentals. We also made sure we had clean clothes for after our bath.
As we padlocked the chest shut, once again I thanked my lucky stars that we were in a game that utilized certain modern conveniences. If we were truly in a medieval society, we would be shit out of luck.
We emerged from the room and he locked it again, then led us back to the front, where he gave us our room keys and told us to hang onto them. As we headed across the street to the sauna, the noise had dissipated, and most of the vendors had gone home.
The sauna was run by a busty woman who looked like she might be a saloon girl.
“Are you here for a bath, orotherservices?” She asked.
I realized right then that the sauna provided more activities than just a mere bath.
“We don’t need a steam, but we do need hot baths before dinner. That’sallwe’re looking for.” As I paid her the fee, she kept trying to flirt with Ray, but he just looked the other way. Disgruntled, she led us to a private room with a water-filled tub set into the floor. It made me think of a hot tub, and I wondered how it was heated. The water didn’t look exactly pristine, and I cringed to think of who might have been soaking in it before.
“I’m not so sure about this,” I said.
“Don’t worry,” Reggie said. He reached into his pocket and pulled out several tablets. “Remember? We have water purification tablets.”
“Yeah, but that’s to purify the water we’re going todrink.”
“I know, but we really do need to wash up. We can’t afford any infections or anything caused by getting too dirty, and we all have scrapes and cuts across us from various things. I say we splurge and purify this tub of water and have a long scrub.” Reggie gave us a questioning look, and — after a moment — we all agreed.
I stripped off all my clothes, as did Brynn and Reggie. Thornhold and Ray kept watch, just in case anybody decided to try to join in. As we eased our way into the steaming water, my body let go of all its tension, and I let out a little moan as I sat down on the bench in the tub. It felt so good that I almost wanted to cry.
“Oh my God, I can’t believe how good this feels,” I said.
Bryn nodded, leaning back and closing her eyes. Reggie ducked under the water and began to wash his hair. We spent twenty minutes enjoying the bath and, before it could cool too much, traded out with Thornhold and Ray.
Both scrubbed themselves spotless, and in another fifteen minutes, we were toweling off with the rough cloths the owner had provided us, and dressed in the clean clothing we had brought with us. As we headed back to the inn, my stomach rumbled again. But at least I felt halfway human and ready to eat.
