The Grand Weave

The meeting with the guildmaster ended on a very anticlimactic note. We quickly arrived at the adventure's guild. The receptionist took one look at Teddy's face before she promptly disappeared and came back with the guild master a step behind her.

Describing her as bulky would be an understatement. This woman appeared to be part beastkin with rabbit ears, a large fluffy bunny tail, and ash-colored fur running up and down her arms and legs. At first, I thought it might be a costume, but her ears started twitching towards us, proving otherwise. Her lion-like mane of hair only added to her impressive size.

As soon as she caught sight of us, she gave us a mischievous grin that showcased her sharp fangs. She quickly approached Teddy and stopped just inches from his face, towering over the rest of us due to her height. Without warning, her muscles bulged, and her already impressive bodybuilder physique became even more striking. She easily picked up both Teddy and Igas and slammed them onto the guild floor like a professional wrestler.

Celanae looked disappointed, Eodyne was stone-faced, Isaac was snickering, and the receptionist looked ready to raid the nearest pub and drown for the night. After that colorful introduction, I was introduced to the guildmaster of Helio. Her name was Panasia. And while she was obviously strong, she had only tiered up to tier three a few months ago. Apparently, she took over when the last guildmaster decided to retire.

Once we were in her office Eodyne and Teddy thoroughly explained what happened at the gate and what they discovered after Eodyne returned. The guildmaster frowned but didn't show nearly as much concern as I thought she would. After promising to investigate things, we bid goodbye and headed for the inn. I wanted to ask many questions, but I refrained from talking about things in public and decided to wait until after we settled in.

The inn itself was unimpressive from the outside. The buildings next to it were colourful and detailed, but the inn was made from unpainted wood that lacked any design. It looked unblemished but boring. While other places in the district tried their best to draw customers in, Uzu's inn seemed to just exist. But if one stopped to listen, they would hear numerous voices coming from behind the two wooden doors.

As we stepped inside, a wave of comforting heat and appetizing smells blasted forth. There was a small desk with a lone elf sitting behind it. On the left led into what looked like a massive, people-filled room. They sat on plump cushions near low tables only a couple of feet off the ground. The room was packed with people, including several children who ate with their families.

To the right of the receptionist was a long hallway that had three doors. This hallway most likely led to the baths because I could feel the heat radiating more from that side.

The elf waited till we were closer before he greeted us. "Good evening, travelers. Welcome to the Slumbering Drake. What can I do for you?" His voice was suave and polite, carrying with it a melodic tone.

Teddy walked up and pulled out a small token. It was wooden and plain, much like the inn's exterior. "Is the Dreamer's suite available? If so, we'd like it for the next two days. And do you know if Uzu is around? We have something to discuss with her," he asked charmingly.

The elf picked up the wooden token, and then he put his thumb in the center, where there was a slight indent. The token lit up with purple runes, and then the wood chipped off into dust, revealing a gleaming marble coin. He then proceeded to grab a giant book from beneath the counter and flipped several pages till he stopped and read something on it. After finding what he was looking for, he closed the book and placed it beneath the desk.

Standing up, the man bowed and raised his head with his shoulders straighter than before. "My apologies, sir. I greet the members of Broken Tower. The Dreamer is available and ready. Lady Uzu has made it clear that your stay will be free of charge, as well as meals. However, I am to inform you that due to circumstances that I am not privy to, that all alcohol is to be up-charged three times the normal price. I apologize if this is an issue."

There was a series of grunts and boos from the group, but I was only curious as to what they did to constitute such a rule.

Celanae poked a finger at Isaac's chest. "I warned you guys. You knew it was a bad idea, and you did it anyway. At least this way, you can't abuse Teddy's ability to clear hangovers," she reprimanded.

Igas was busy inspecting the walls while Eodyne inspected the floor. Isaac had the decency to look Celanae in the eye and gave her a defeated smile. "No booze sucks. But I won't apologize for what we did. That man was a boar's ass. And he learned to show Uzu respect, did he not?"

Celanae's right eye twitched. And she lowered her finger. "Freezing his privates to the chair is not a socially acceptable response to mockery. Even if that man was a blundering, useless show-bird, it doesn't mean you can escalate to such a degree. Not publically, at least."

Igas gaped and pointed a finger at the elven woman. "Wait a damn second! When he returned the next morning covered in mud and beast dung, he went on and on about losing his balance and how the gods were unjustly conspiring against him. He said! He said that sometimes it felt like he kept moving too fast or that the road was idiotically built. Damn those roads and the uneven ground, damn the roads and those bothersome pebbles! You two had something to do with that, didn't you!"

Eodyne joined Igas in his pointing, her face filled with righteous accusation. "That's why you guys were gone that morning! Gathering extra supplies, huh? Dragon shit. You two are just as bad as we were."

Isaac stepped up beside the two and silently pointed, donning a faux mask of rage. Celanae turned around and raised her chin in the air. Teddy affably smiled but kept silent.

"I did tell you guys. You can't go retaliating in public. Walking home alone in the early morning, where few can see him, is perfectly acceptable. Besides, I only helped him refill all the shit he must have depleted the night before," Celanae mumbled.

Teddy finally stepped in and silenced the bickering before it could escalate further. "We can discuss this later if you need. For now, if you can please lead us to our room, that'd be great. And what about meeting with Uzu?"

The elf led us down the right hallway but turned to a hidden staircase behind the archway. As we walked up the stairs, he finally answered. "Unfortunately, Lady Uzu is away on a business trip in the capital. She won't be back till the end of the month. I can send her a message if that will satisfy you."

We reached the third floor and found three doors. The elf guided us to the second door on the right, similar to the other doors, except for a blue strip on its edge. The elf used the marble token to knock on the door three times and opened it for us. After returning the token to Teddy, he stepped aside and allowed us to enter.

"I'll hand you a letter tomorrow. Thank you again for your help. Have a good night. If I may have your name, good sir?"

The elf bowed low and placed a hand over his heart. "The pleasure is all mine. My name is Krem. I'll be at the desk till eight sharp. Have a good night, sirs, madams."

After the man left, we entered the room, and I was stunned by its size. It was much larger than it appeared from the outside, resembling a two-bedroom apartment. Although the building's appearance was plain, the room was anything but. The ceiling was a mesmerizing display of colors, resembling cosmic dust swirling across a pitch-black sky from every angle. The walls were made of black material, with silver specks shining in and out instead of colorful clouds.

Teddy clamped a hand on my shoulder and nudged me forward. "Beautiful, isn't it? We all had the same expression you did the first time Uzu gave us the room. The other two rooms on the floor are equally amazing but not like the Dreamer. Wait till you lay on one of the beds."

I followed him deeper into the room and stood back as he approached a wall covered in intricate runes. He placed a hand in the center circle, and I felt a rush of mana flow into the wall. The mana spread throughout the room and raced like water down a pipe. After a couple of seconds, he took his hand off the wall and grinned widely as the ceiling came to life. Six different coloured clouds floated down and settled on the floor in a semicircle. The clouds bobbed on the floor until they flattened into a more circular shape.

Igas was the first to flop onto one of the clouds. Instead of falling through it like I thought he would, the cloud-like material acted like foam and held his form. The 'bed' was only slightly depressed, which meant whatever the material was, it was solid enough to hold up the large oni even with his armour on.

Seeing how comfortable Igas looked, I rushed over to a purple cloud and held out my hand. It pushed into the material, and it felt like the softest cotton. It was perfectly cool, cold enough without being so cold to be considered chilly. With my curiosity satisfied, I copied Igas and flopped onto the material. I felt myself sink into it slightly, but like Igas, it held up and conformed to my shape. The expression sleeping on a cloud had never been more true. It almost felt like nothing. The bed was so soft I felt like I was floating. I could have laid there for forever, but Celanae came in and tossed something on my face.

"Hey! Get up, you two. None of us have had a proper bath in days. Let's go clean up in the bathhouse first. Then we get dinner afterward," Celanae ordered.

After distributing cream-colored bathrobes to everyone, she left the room. Unlike others who wore armor, she didn't have to take it off. I quickly summoned Chomperz to swallow my gear and noticed others doing the same. Although I suspected they had storage spaces, I didn't see them use portals or anything to store things away. I hope to learn more about this during my time with them, but I refrained from asking as it might be too personal for people I hardly know.

Celanae led us back down to the main floor, and we continued down the hallway. The warm air continued to grow warmer, and as we reached the end, the door was blocked by heavy curtains that blocked sight into the room. She gently pushed through the cloth and passed into the bathhouse.

I was the next to enter, and as I did, I took a deep breath. The air was warm and carried the pleasant scent of fresh air and wildflowers. The bathhouse was split into three sections. One area served as a place to store clothes and unwind, while the middle contained three connected pools with narrow pathways carved into the stone. The steam from the water rose into pockets of hot air above the pools.

The third and final area had a bubble of cool air surrounding it. There was a series of ten pools, in two rows of five. Whenever steam drifted into the barrier, it dissipated into nothing.

I joined the others as they walked to the first area and began taking their clothes off. They stuffed their clothes into small cubbies where they placed their thumb on the small rune circle on the edge. As they took their thumb away, a small blue barrier appeared and locked their items inside. The entire setup was surprisingly modern. Even if it included magic instead of electricity, the bathhouse as a whole was more aligned with what I'd see back on Earth.

It was only when I looked away from the barrier did I noticed they were all completely naked. I had gotten so entrenched into the marvel of runework that I failed to notice that there were no separate changing areas for men and women. And by how none of them seemed to care about seeing each other naked, it seemed that co-ed bathing was the norm.

Teddy gave me a questioning look and placed his hand on his hips. It took everything I had not to compare him to a particular god of thunder. "Is something wrong? Never been to a bathhouse before?" he asked.

"Errr, no. I have. I'm just a little surprised. Where I come from, you usually have a separation of sexes when it comes to bathing. That and this entire building is filled with runework. It's incredible. Do most places in the city have things like this?" I answered awkwardly.

Teddy shook his head. "Not really, no. Uzu is an enchanter, so she does most of the work for her business. And you haven't seen anything yet. This is only one of the inns she owns. Her biggest inn is in the capital. She only has one in Helio because she grew up here. Maybe she'll build more in the other four cities in another couple of years." He waited as I slowly stripped and used my cubby. When I finished, he walked to join the others who were already relaxing in the middle pools. "And you are usually right. Most places have separate areas for the sexes. You'll find that in bigger cities, most bathhouses only cater to one or the other. Uzu, though, believes in none of that. She was raised by dwarves, and dwarves have no issues with nudity or the sort. She incorporates that into her buildings. To her, family is important, so it's something that's always open and welcoming. Hence, you see so many children eating with their parents in the dining hall."

"So you guys are completely okay bathing with each other?"

He laughed deeply before walking into the pool and relaxing along the edge. "That's easy to answer. Let me ask you a question in return. We have spent years together growing up. Since we were children, we've known each other and trusted each other. And we've been adventuring for several years now. Do you think any of us care about seeing each other naked when we've seen it multiple times before? If a raging elemental burns off all your clothes, you don't stop fighting just because your dangly bits are hanging out. And a lot of ambush creatures like to aim for your heart. I don't need to tell you what that means for Eodyne and Celanae. If we couldn't handle seeing each other bare, then we would be horribly unfit to be adventurers."

I couldn't help but notice how much my life had changed since coming to Inoria. My old puritanical sentiments were fading away with each passing day. Looking around, I saw everyone else chatting and unwinding. Even Teddy had his eyes closed in relaxation. The hot water was soothing my muscles, and I felt myself drifting along with it.

Even if the calming hot spring only made me wish Sam was with me, I pushed those thoughts away before they could boil into anger. The only thing I'm doing tonight is relaxing. Someday, I'll bring her here, and we can relax together. But for now? Now I'm going to enjoy my first hot spring.