Chapter 39: Chapter 32, Bathtime

Chapter 32, Bathtime

 

 

I stop and buy a strange treat from a vendor minding a stall on my way back to the bathhouse. The line of excited looking people getting their own ‘Masetto’ as they call it convinced me to buy one on Ari’s urging. It cost 20 copper and what you got in return for the coin was a paper cornet filled with warm, thin and long noodle looking fried dough. It’s coated in melting chocolate and I have no idea on how to approach eating it until I see one of the previous customers bring out a fork from a pocket and twirl it around in the cornet before raising a ball of it out, greedily chewing it with a contented look on her face.

Who walks around with a fork in their pocket?

Everyone else who purchased a Masetto just walks away smiling happily without touching it and I guess they’re also going to get their own forks. Why not include a basic paper fork in the price as well? Shaking my head in bewilderment I manifest my own fork out of crystalline mana before doing as the customer I’d seen eating it and twirling it around before raising it to my mouth, continuing my walk back.

The strange treat, dripping with chocolate, tastes amazing and both Ari and I moan in pleasure as we munch on it. The dough must have been covered in sugar after the frying as I can taste the small crystals and feel them crunching between my teeth as I chew. The chocolate is dark and not as sweet as the one I had on my bun bought at the bakery but it complements it nicely and the overall sweetness reaches a satisfactory point.

The treat is gone all too soon and we’re both sad to see it disappear. We should have gotten two while we were at it as it’s not like we’ll get fat or anything. Licking my lips clean of the chocolate I burn the paper and disperse my fork before stepping into the bathhouse. It’s now around midday and there doesn’t seem to be that many people going for a luxury bath at this hour.

Walking to my door leading upstairs I open it before closing it behind me and locking it. I walk up the stairs before dispersing all clothes and weapons except my crop top and panties, seating myself in a slouch on the couch. I manifest my pipe and summon the Candied Peach pipeweed, keeping them afloat using telekinesis and letting the bowl pack itself.

I light it up before returning the pipeweed to storage and taking a pull, looking out of the window as I smoke and just relax. The Candied Peach strain is as good as I thought it would be and I might have just found a new favorite. It’s sweeter than a real peach but the overall flavor is still there and the exotic aroma hits the spot just right. After the bowl is done I pull a random book out from the bookshelf with some telekinetic force before reading it while riding the high.

It’s a book on the history of the Riverflow kingdom and it has some interesting information on large events and catastrophes having taken place during the centuries of its existence. I’d been under the impression that the Riverflow kingdom was at least a few millennia old but apparently not.

 

The kingdom was originally part of the Terosvar Empire but got split from it after the event known as Redrecur’s Rage. I’d never even heard about it but it apparently took place about seven centuries ago when the then champion of the emperor, Gormen the Great, stole a dragon's egg from the wind and fire dragon Redrecur in the untamed region far up north.

He took the egg to his region granted by the emperor, now known as the Riverflow kingdom, and displayed it in his trophy room. As the dragon descended from the far north to catch the culprit she learned of the region holding her egg, unleashing her rage as she battled Gormen the Great who refused to give up his trophy. In the end he was killed but no one mourned his death as the destruction from his foolish act of daring made him into a villain in the eye’s of the people living in the region he managed.

Redrecur had used wind magic to tear down towns and split the earth, burning large swaths of forest to nothing and making traveling in the region almost impossible for a whole century. The rents torn in the landscape by her eventually became the many rivers now flowing through the kingdom.

The people had been incensed that the emperor had granted one of his reckless champions such a large region and when the imperial legion tried reasserting itself two centuries after the catastrophe the people revolted. They didn’t want to be under the leadership of the Terosvar Empire once again as they feared a return of the dragon that had once torn their homes asunder.

After several wars and long conflict the Riverflow kingdom established itself as a separate nation and the empire eventually stopped trying to reclaim it. The kingdom had now stood for 4 centuries and the current king seems to be a descendant of the leader that unified the region against the empire, the royal line yet to be broken.

 

It’s quite fascinating to read about as it gives more information on the world we want to explore than merely the kingdom we’re currently in. It described the destruction caused by the elusive and almost godlike beings known as dragons and it also painted quite the picture of the empire I was born in. An empire that was no more.

“I never knew the empire I was born in had emperors this foolish in the past. It seems like real incompetence to me to not only let a champion manage a region instead of someone educated in its matters and not even being able to reclaim their lost territory once the people rebelled.

"I mean, wasn’t that the same reason the empire collapsed in the end? The ruling class and imperial family got killed by the people rebelling before the civil war, madness and the undead brought it all down.”

“Yeah. I guess you’re right, Zel. I’m honestly quite curious on how this region looked before the landscape was altered by the dragon’s rage. There might be maps of it in some old archives but we’ll probably never get access to those as they’re old enough to be seriously valuable. They’re probably in the king's vault or something.”

“True. We’ll never get into the palace. We’ll probably never even see the inner district before we leave this region. Not that I mind as there’s surely much more impressive capitals in other kingdoms and empires out there just waiting for us to visit them”

“You know, Zel. We never did find anything of real substance about your parents origins or powers in our memories. They appeared to be simple jewelers, making bracelets and necklaces, living a modest but comfortable life in a quaint village. And the soul only contained hints at being manipulated as the soul melding distorted the traces left behind too much to give any concrete insights.

Now that the Terosvar Empire is gone and the undead have trampled our birthplace to the ground, we'll never be able to get the answers directly from them. We hadn’t planned on going there after visiting the Riverflow kingdom anyway but not having the option to visit them feels sad.”

I sigh. Ari’s right about that. We’d never really planned on going back to my parents even if to seek answers as I’d left them so long ago. When I left them at 14 years of age I knew I’d never see them again. I didn’t think they’d live long enough to welcome me home after I’d explored all that the world had to offer as the human lifespan is too short without reaching ridiculous levels of power.

Since they apparently were an elf and half elf they would of course have lived long enough for me to return one day and ask them about my heritage but now that our home doesn't exist anymore we will probably never meet again. I don’t think they died as they were definitely powerful enough to hide their nature to everyone around them and should have been able to fight their way to safety. I still have no way of finding them and don’t even know if I really want to either. I still love them but I apparently never truly knew them. Did they even search for me after I’d left them and the empire collapsed?

Putting the floating book back into the bookshelf and selecting a new one I continue reading while riding the high. Ari and I pass the time like this before the sun streaming in through the window tells us it’s time to go downstairs to take a bath in the public luxury bathhouse and hopefully catch Alysha there.

 

Still feeling a little intoxicated from my second bowl I manifest my clothes before walking down to the bathhouse. I lock the door behind me after walking through it and approach the counter where a good looking, if not young, woman is standing and polishing her sharp and long nails.

“Hello. Are you the one renting the property above?”

“Hi. Yes, my name's Zelaria.”

“I’m Cat. Pleasure to meet you. Are you looking to enter the bathhouse?”

Ari giggles at the name she presented herself with but I only take it as a nickname. Surely no one would name their child ‘Cat’?

“Yes, I’d like that. 20 silver was it?”

“That’s right. You may stay as long as you like but when you’ve left you’ll have to pay to enter again.”

I pay Cat the twenty silver, feeling the sting as I only have enough coin now to enter here once more before I go almost completely broke. I really need to complete the postings I’ve accepted to earn some more coin before I set off again.

I walk through the only other door to the left of the counter and am greeted by a short hallway that leads to another door. Opening this one I’m greeted by an unexpected sight. It’s not strictly demanded to keep the genders separated in bathhouses but I hadn’t thought that the luxury bathhouse I was currently in was a mixed one. I assume so now though as there’s both men and women in the changing room undressing or getting dressed after their stay here.

“Zel, isn’t it strange to have mixed genders even in the changing room?”

“Yeah, I thought so too. I suppose if they’re going to see each other naked anyway when in the bath they might as well do it here right away. It saves space to not separate everyone but it’s definitely unconventional in human cities.”

“In human cities?”

“We don’t know how other races do it. The orcs might only have mixed baths and the elves are known to not be especially shy about their bodies. In a society where everyone naturally lives for millennia there’s practically no way of keeping others from seeing you naked at least once. Might as well make it the norm in the whole culture to get the embarrassment over with and acclimatize to it.

"I have no idea about dwarves either but I could just picture them sitting in large steaming barrels, drinking and laughing merrily, not caring about the gender of the occupants and just having a good time talking about rock, metal and engineering.”

Ari and I chuckle slightly at that imagery and I continue into the changing room, looking for the exit to the bathing area. I find it as a door opens on the other end of the room to the right and a cloud of steam flows out with the appearance of an older man, drenched and with rosy cheeks from the heat of the bath.

He walks towards one of the locked, thin doors in the walls before summoning a key from his storage ring and using it to unlock the door and get his clothes that he hadn’t put in his ring. There are many such lockers around the room and maybe half of them have their keys missing, already being used by someone else.

I don’t really need a locker for myself though and simply disperse all my clothes, sheaths and daggers, keeping my hair tie in place as I walk towards the door. My display draws a few curious eyes and some of them linger on my body but no one comments and I close the door behind me.

 

The bathhouse is one large open space with white marble pillars holding up a dark wood ceiling. The floor is also made from the same white marble with some dark wood here and there, lining the edges of the pools of steaming water. There’s quite a lot of steam in here and the visibility is very poor but I can still make out the general layout of three pools of different depth and with different amounts of steam rising from them. There are also three round baths raised above the ground and standing on the rightmost side of the room.

There’s space for maybe five people in each one and there’s bubbles constantly rising to the surface, making it look like it’s boiling hot. It probably isn’t though as three people are currently luxuriating in them and looking very pleased. On the left most side of the room is a door made of glass but I can’t see what’s inside as the steam on the other side is thick enough to block everything out.

The middle pool straight in front of me is the one with the most occupants and also the one which has the best view of the entry and exit point. As I’m waiting for someone to join me I choose to walk towards it. I pass a few comfortable looking, reclining chairs with tables on my way there and one is occupied by a young man resting with his head against the headrest, eyes closed. On the table next to him is some sort of bowl filled with a white cream and he seems to have smeared it all over his body.

I draw a few eyes as my alluring figure descends into the large pool of steaming water but the ones having conversations merely give me a glance before continuing to discuss various subjects. The water reaches just below my breasts as I stand on the bottom and wanting to get a more thorough soak I walk to the other side of the pool, taking a seat on the ledge below the waters to the left of a young man and lean back. The pool's walls are slanted slightly backwards from the underwater seating to allow someone to comfortably lean into them.

I drape my arms and elbows along the ledge of the pool above water, sighing in contentment. My position is comfortable if unintentionally seductive as my slightly arched back accentuates my bust, barely covered by the water and nipples sometimes surfacing between the small waves and my breathing. I close my eyes and just exist for a while. Listening to the conversations going on around me.

 

“Did you hear about the delayed deliveries from the south west? They’ve been saying that there’s some sort of problem going on in the region and that the merchants refuse to travel through the mountain passes or even around them further south.”

“Yeah, I heard about that. Someone mentioned in the bar I frequent last night that there’s some sort of mushroom monster on the loose. I don’t really believe that though. They would have just sent an adventurer to kill it if that was the case.”

 

“Cecilia said that her husband brought home another woman last week when she was supposed to be at work. Apparently she caught them fucking when she arrived home much earlier than usual.”

“Really?! Rasmus cheated on her? What will she do now?”

“I don’t think she really knows herself. She’s still got the kids to feed and if her husband leaves her she’ll have to move somewhere else as he owns their house. I’m honestly amazed that it took this long for her to catch him at it. She told me she had seen him chatting various girls up when he thought she wasn’t around but she’d never caught him doing anything really improper with anyone else before.”

“Poor Cecilia. I could understand someone else going behind her back to bed Rasmus though. He’s definitely hot and he’s got the money to spend on you if you just know how to milk it out of him.”

“I definitely agree. Had Cecilia not been my friend I would have been tempted to milk him of everything and not merely money. Can you imagine the feel of that body of his against yours? I shiver just thinking about it.”

 

“I heard from a friend at my job that a friend of his told him about this new statue they’re erecting in the inner district. It’s supposedly a depiction of the Fertility goddess worshiped by the elves far to the west along the continent's coast.”

“Some people are just too superstitious but I don’t blame them for wanting to dedicate their lives to a higher purpose. I just can’t get behind the idea of worshiping something or someone if there’s no evidence to the god’s existence. Why put it up here though? Are there any believers in the inner district?”

“No idea. I still much prefer this type of statue being raised instead of something from a faith worshiping the god of war or some such. There’s enough bloodshed in the world if you ask me and you can’t really go wrong with a statue of a nude godess fucking and spreading fertility through the lands.”

 

“Did you hear about the news regarding the Golden Goose?”

“Something about a new break in? A mansion in the inner district had something important stolen if I remember correctly.”

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“Yeah. That’s right. Apparently she got away with a priceless artifact from the Tellas family estate. It’s said to have been locked up in their most secure vault and no one can figure out how she did it!”

“What did she steal?”

“From what I heard it’s some sort of magical contraption able to make gold from scrap! Can you believe it? No wonder that the Tellas family would be so rich if they had access to something like that.”

“That merely sounds like speculation to me. They’re almost infamous for their wealth and spinning the tale to make it sound like they’ve been having an easy time making money while we in the middle class struggle to make ends meet is the kind of thing born of rumors and envy.”

 

The conversations are varied and it’s quite fun to just relax and eavesdrop on various topics. I bet this place would make an excellent spot for intelligence gathering.

“We should visit more luxury bath houses in the future, Ari. This is good information gathering and really pleasant.”

“Mhm. Might make a good first step when entering cities in new regions if we don’t want to eavesdrop in a pub.”

Ari and I continue relaxing for what must have been a few hours before our dreamy relaxation is interrupted by the young man sitting next to us. He’s been here the whole time as well even if some people have left and a lot more have come in. It’s getting a little cramped and I can feel him barely brushing against my right side.

“It’s your first time here, isn’t it?”

I open my right eye and tilt my head slightly to look at him. He’s really close now that I can see him but he hasn’t moved closer to be a creep. He’s being squashed by a large bald man to his right and he looks a bit uncomfortable in his current position. I open my left eye and look to my left and see another young woman next to me, almost touching me in the confined space.

“Yeah, it is. You’re looking uncomfortable though. You can move closer if you’d like. I don’t mind.”

“Oh, alright.”

He moves closer, pressing himself against my breast. I can feel his heartbeat through his skin as it starts racing.

“I’m Holly.”

“Zelaria. Holly sounds quite feminine to me. Is that what your parents named you?”

He looks embarrassed and squirms slightly, his movement jostling my breast he’s pushed against and he freezes in place.

“I’m sorry about that. I didn’t mean to-”

“It’s alright. I don’t bite. Sorry about calling your name feminine. It might be a sore spot.”

“It’s fine. It’s what my parents named me and I honestly quite like it even if a lot of people find it funny.”

I give him a curious glance. It’s not that strange a name, is it?

“It’s a nice name. Don’t listen to them.”

 

I yawn and stretch, rubbing myself even more against him by accident and he moves his hands beneath the surface. Looking down I can barely see them covering his growing cock through the rising steam. I smirk slightly at the sight, always happy to be appreciated.

Not minding his increased blush as he fidgets, I ask him something I’ve been wondering.

“I’ll take it that you come here often since you didn’t recognize me.”

“Yes. That’s correct.”

“Do you know someone named Alysha?”

“As a matter of fact I do know her. Not well but we’ve spoken a few times.”

This is perfect! What good luck to be seated next to him.

“When does she usually come here? I’d been planning to talk a little to her since she seemed nice but she hasn’t arrived yet.”

“She’s usually here by this time and leaves after an hour or so. She might not be coming here today.”

“Fuck!”

Did I really just come here on the day she just happened to not take a bath? What are the odds?

“Why did you want to talk to her?”

 

I deliberate about making some sort of excuse but I really have no reason to hide my thoughts to anyone here since I won’t be staying in the capital for any great length of time anyway.

“Honestly? She’s absolutely stunning and I wanted to make my interest in fucking her known. I also wanted to talk to her if she wasn’t interested but I suppose that won’t happen now.”

“You wanted to fuck her?”

“Well, yeah? Don’t you?”

He gives me another embarrassed smile before shyly looking me up and down. I know that look he’s giving me all too well.

“Sorry, Holly, you won’t get to taste this.”

I wave vaguely down my body to emphasize my point before squeezing my left breast to drive another spike into his heart. Contrary to my expectations though his embarrassment vanishes almost at once and he looks quite dejected.

“Fuck. You're definitely my type and I’d hoped you’d be interested.”

“You’re good looking, don’t get me wrong. I’m just not looking for a male partner at the moment.”

It was a slight lie as neither Ari or I were looking for anyone else to fuck with at the moment. Alysha was a sort of split second crush as we’d been without sex for so long when meeting her and highly anticipating to get our release later that evening.

“I guess I’m out of luck then. Don’t hesitate to tell me if you ever change your mind though. I’ll have wet dreams for a week after today.”

I laugh slightly at that as I stand up from the seat of the pool. Deciding to tease him a little more I turn towards him before stretching again, showcasing my perky breasts while biting my lower lip and doing a slight backwards bounce to move towards the other side of the pool, making them jiggle entrancingly.

“Do me a favor will you, Holly? Tell Alysha I was here and I hope to see her another time if fate wills it.”

He stares at me wide eyed, practically drooling and I wink, searing the image and comment into his memory. He’ll never forget the sight of me or my last words, making sure Alysha gets some sort of goodbye correspondence from me at the very least. I haven’t met her like I said I would but I at least tried to.

“He’ll have wet dreams for a year now, Zel. Honestly. You’re too good at making someone want you.”

I can feel Ari’s own lust emanating from her and even if Holly won’t be getting a taste tonight I’ll make sure she gets to taste it all.

“Let’s get to bed and fuck like animals, darling.”

 

As the sun rises the next morning I float the book I’ve been reading into the bookshelf before standing up and dispersing my panties and crop top. I walk through the disheveled looking bedroom and into the bathroom, filling the pool with the Ocean Breeze salt and climbing in.

This salt smells like salt. I’ve never really smelled salt as its own scent before but it’s unmistakable. It also carries a faint scent of something else. I’ve never been to the ocean myself but I’ve heard that it’s salty. This special fragrance is quite pleasant but really hard to describe and might just be the ocean's unique smell or something. I honestly have no idea.

Last night had been spent much like our first five days here but we didn’t smoke the Devil’s Haze since we’ll have to leave soon. It had been really pleasurable though and I can’t imagine us getting too aroused any time soon after this. Our mental space skill had also gotten some work done as we’d tried to incorporate different ideas into our session but we didn’t manage anything more impressive than altering the environment slightly or making a few new toys.

Ari is apparently very into double penetration and I can feel a slight content buzzing coming from her even now when I try to check her mood. She’s really tired herself out though and fell asleep in my arms after we were done. Our mental space is curious that way as we can get tired in there but may also prevent ourselves from sleeping if we so wish. By just willing myself to not sleep and merely holding my lover while running my fingers through her soft hair I felt my tiredness leave me in a matter of minutes.

It’s like our minds behave like they would for a normal human while in there but we still have full authority and may control how much we are influenced by it. I can’t see any real use for it except in moments such as tonight when cuddling my tired darling. She’s just so beautiful when asleep.

 

Sighing in admiration of my lover and sending her the mental equivalent of a still image of the moment she fell asleep in my arms, packaged with the emotions going through my heart at the sight, I let my mind unwind some more and just enjoy the bath.

Ari reciprocates with her own series of still images and feelings. I get to see my own naked form staring into Ari’s eyes with my golden ones, licking the pleasure off the cock I’d just rammed into her while touching myself. My eyes staring into hers are hungry as I push it deep down my throat and my slit drips down upon her stomach.

The feelings accompanying the images are of such strong love, desire, greed and protectiveness that I almost feel overwhelmed by it all. It’s a beautiful concoction of them though and my heart skips a beat once more as I take in the unfiltered and personal thoughts Ari so willingly shares with me. We’re perfect for each other, aren’t we?

We spend another hour in the bath in relaxation as the sunrise passes and the morning begins in earnest. This is our last day of our rented period but we both feel like we’ve been here long enough by now. Drying myself on a warm towel before hanging it back and walking into the living room I give it all another long look to check if there’s anything I’ve missed.

“We didn't use the scented candles in the bedroom, Zel. Might as well take one with us.”

I go back towards the bedroom and pick up a candle smelling of honeysuckle before going back to the living room. There’s no Violi Wood left as we’d already used it all while reading and I can’t think of anything else that might be worth delegating space in our storage ring for.

Manifesting on clothes, daggers and styling my hair I study myself briefly and am satisfied with what I see. Nothing has changed really but I still feel lighter. Like a burden has been lifted from my shoulders by taking this well deserved break from our adventuring. I can’t wait until I feel the need to do it all again in a different city and get to spend more days like this with Ari. Some tensions are worth building up if only to make the release that much sweeter.

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