Chapter 21: Down (2/2)
Ah wow, five minutes into a medieval bordello and the head pimp already reminded her that she stank. She sniffed one of her sleeves. Eek.
The courtesan sat by her side at a respectable distance, not close enough to trigger a reaction.
“You just arrived in town, yes? From an expedition? Many of our regulars enjoy our comprehensive services. For two silver talents, I will personally take care of you. Bath. Massage. A good meal. You will leave tomorrow a new woman, ready for whatever business led you here. And no intimacy, as you said. I remember.”
She had many silver talents in her purse.
And that sounded exactly like what she needed right now. An afternoon of rest, then a war council with Solfis to decide what they should do next.
It was almost… too perfect.
She frowned.
“Are you using a skill on me?”
“Yes, one of my abilities as a courtesan allows me to be in tune with the mood of my client. I take it that you have never used the services of my fellow pathmen and pathwomen before?”
“I...no.”
“Then you are up for a pleasant surprise, I assure you.“
It was just a medieval spa day with underage prostitutes floating around that had nothing to do with her. That was it.
“Fiiiine. Erm. Do you accept Baranese currency? I was paid with that.”
The man waved off her concerns.
“We have many notables from different nations coming here to relax, courtesy of the Church of Neriad. We accept most currencies used by the greater kingdoms including Baran. Please, follow me.”
“Squee!” came a voice from outside.
“Ah.”
Change of plans.
In the end, a pair of teenagers (one boy, one girl, both ‘whores’) pulled the sled inside of the courtyard, which turned out to have a small garden in its center. A covered promenade lined the inner walls, with four doors leading to different wings of the Spotted Feather. She took five minutes to give Arthur a new nest in one of the corners. The dragongling settled into a new, clean cover with interesting snake patterns that she immediately found fascinating.
“I will have one of our girls bring it fresh meat. Don’t worry, she is good with animals. Even the territorial ones.”
Viv followed the man upstairs.
“Oh, I did not ask your name,” she remarked.
If the man was annoyed by her lack of manners, he did not betray it.
“My name is Yan. May I ask yours?”
“Viviane.”
“Vv—Vvivviane?”
“Almost.”
She was shown into a large bedroom, and once again appreciated that she was in another world populated by strangely similar humans, if one ignored the strange skin tones. The ground was rough wood planks mostly hidden under fluffy hand-woven carpets showing intricate designs. In her old world, it would have been infinitely cheaper to redo and polish the floor. Here, paths and stupid magically enhanced bodies meant that some things were easier to obtain, perhaps? Otherwise this made no sense.
In a way, the rest of the room reflected the paradigm shift. Anything related to cloth was here in abundance, including pillows and covers for the cozy-looking bed. On the other hand, there were no traces of glass or metal-based decorations. The only exception stood on the far wall. She took a step in its direction with a bit of awe. It was a full-length mirror.
Her reflection greeted her, in all its strangeness. The reflective surface was made of ice. Cold radiated from it in subtle waves, and yet the quality of the surface rivaled that of modern contraptions from her own world.
The rest of the room contained a table with two chairs and a wall partition hiding a tub made of wood, already filled with steaming water.
“I will give you some time to relax, and return with some refreshments. Is there anything I can get you?”
Viv almost answered no as a reflex, then remembered something a bit embarrassing.
“Yes. If you could get me a sharp razor…”
“A razor? As in, to shave a beard?”
Why, there is no need to… oh, maybe the local women… nevermind. Enough about hair.
“Yes.”
“Of course. Anything else?”
“No, thank you.”
“Understood. Just relax in the bath, I will be back shortly.”
The man turned and left. Viv noticed a small basket next to the door and decided to dump her stuff there. Hopefully, they had a skill to turn off their sense of smell.
She undressed and placed the cloak and armor down. Then came the turn of the skinsuit.
The temptation to open a window was strong, despite the frigid air.
“Wah. Pungent.”
She quickly checked herself in the mirror again. The cut on her flank was nicely scabbed. It had been very shallow anyway. She still had discoloration of her shoulder. Otherwise, there were no scars.
What she had were visible veins, not the normal blue that sometimes happened naturally, especially when the skin got pale. They were black. They snaked under her skin in dense networks that sort of looked natural. There were no bruises, no strange spills, it was as if her blood had turned dark. She knew that it was not the case. The whole thing was strange, as she had never seen such symptoms before. Not even in educational content.
Hopefully, they would fade after she recovered from near-constant poisoning.
The skinsuit joined the other stuff in their basket, and she dropped in the bath with delight.
“Aaaaaah.”
She had not cleaned herself properly since the Cassian springs.
Viv luxuriated in the amazing sensation for a while, before a knock on the door reminded her that the refreshments were on her way. She grabbed her knees to her chest and allowed the courtesan in.
She was presented with more of the fresh water plus weird vegetable-things and drank it all down. The man gave her the razor, a simple tunic to wear, and left with the dirty laundry without comment. She left the bath and toweled herself dry when she was done.
The simple tunic felt smooth against her skin. Viv ambled to the bed and collapsed.
She was asleep in moments.