Morning Bath

*Splash*

"Woah what the fuck!" Rudely awakened by a splash of water, Harkon sprang up from the ground and looked around confoundedly. Looking up, he saw Reht standing there with an amphora in his hand. "Rise and shine soldier."

"Urghh my head." Harkon groaned and stood up before turning his head around to dust off his clothes, but the wet dirt only got smeared everywhere instead. Then he noticed Werten sprawling on his bed and drooling all over the pillow.

"You got any more of that?" Harkon turned around and asked Reht, only to be replied by him spinning the amphora upside down and giving it a few shakes.

"Then why me?"

"A wet bed is a real pain after all."

"Yeah, alright." Harkon sighed in resignation, yet he still refused to be the only one who had to endure a rude awakening. He bent down, grabbed Werten's collar, and started to repeatedly smack his face. "Hey wake up! It's already..." Harkon then turned around and asked Reht. "What time is it?"

"Almost midday."

"Holy shit! Wake up! It's midday already!" Harkon urgently continued with his slapping and yelling. After the fifth strike, Werten drowsily opened his eyes before sitting up, and, unsurprisingly, clutched his head in agony. "That was some real gods' wine."

"I know right. If only the guy didn't have that weird hobby of fucking orci, he could just open a brewery in the capital and make bank." Harkon lamented.

"Marrying an orc. So bizarre. Going by the Temple's law that's heresy of the highest order." Werten nodded before conveniently doing a few more neck flexes.

"Gotta give him some leeway since he's a human ruling over orcs. Marrying one of them is just a matter of course. But still, isn't that just bestiary though? Kinda even grosser if you look at it like that."

"To be fair that one doesn't look like your typical she-orcus."

"Damn right she isn't. Put on a dress and you could really pass off as an orcus maid you know." While Harkon was gleefully snickering at his own joke, he did not forget to take a few extra steps away now that Werten had stood up and was menacingly doing some stretches.

"I really am amazed at you two." Reht waved around the empty amphora and interjected. "You literally just saw water appear out of an empty tube and that's all you can talk about."

"Ohh right. That's exactly the same as what was recorded in 'The Empire of Old" isn't it? Water continuously pouring from fountains carved out of stone?" Harkon quickly recalled the orcus maid who could conjure water even without magic.

"The content of that text is still subjected to much debate amongst scholars." Oga entered the tent and promptly rebuked Harkon. The fat nobilis albeit looking a little pale was still neatly dressed and in much better shape than the two. Evidently, Reht had also paid him a little visit before coming here.

"Fuck you Oga!" Harkon took no time at all to resort to profanity. "Did you not see those fountains in the capital? Some even leak a few drops of water from time to time! I saw them with my own two eyes."

"Irrelevant." Oga snorted. "Did you even read the full text or did someone just read you a few lines about 'what an oh so wonderful place our empire used to be'?"

"I have fucking read the whole thing!" Harkon furiously bellowed. This fat nobilis' condescension had always managed to make him blow his top in a matter of seconds.

"Alright, stop stop." Reht stepped in and played the mediator. "Sorry I even mentioned that, okay? We have another problem at hand. I haven't heard anything from Her Grace since yesterday."

Everyone stopped what they were doing and all collectively stared at Reht. "Her Grace is not here?" Werten was the first to ask.

"She drank even more than you yesterday I'm afraid. I had my hands full with the three of you. Plus... it was not proper for me to bring her back the same way I did you all."

"How did... never mind, I don't even want to know. And Lady Reni?"

"She stayed behind with Her Grace. She wasn't exactly all that sober either."

The three of them silently nodded. Since all of them share the blame equally, this time no one was quick to point the finger.

"Since they didn't just slit our throat and be done with it, I doubt Her Grace is in any danger." Oga was the first to try and ease their mutual guilt.

"Yeah no shit Oga. You think Reht would've let us sleep in if she were?"

"While I do agree with sir Oga." Reht quickly chimed in before another row started. "We still need to agree on a course of action. Do we wait for her or do we go over there now?"

"Going over unannounced is not really proper. How about we send..."

Oga's plan to engage in some novel form of orckish diplomacy was cut short by a soldier entering the tent. "Legetus, there's an orcus praeco here to deliver a message."

"Show him in." Werten was quite taken aback by the coincidence.

"He did not seem to speak Common, sir. He gave the guards this... thing and took off." The legionnarius passed along a white rectangle to Werten and returned to his duty.

Werten looked at the blank rectangle for a while before flipping it over and noticed a red circle in the middle, bearing the image of three spears over an empty pentagram, presumably the emblem of Kezzil.

"Oh ho is that their seal?" Harkon poked the wax seal and found it to still be warm. "Very nice emblem. Not as much as our standing eagle of course."

The other three unanimously nodded in agreement. Werten broke the seal and a triangular part on the top became loose, after lifting that up, he saw another rectangle tucked inside. Upon pulling it out, Werten realized it was a papyrus folded twice, which read. "Further negotiations will be held at the eighth hour of day at the Lord's residence."

"That's two hours from now. I'd better go and make some preparations." Oga hastily left and headed back to his own tent. Reht was staring at the papyrus this whole time and finally asked. "Can I see that?"

Reht received the letter, flipping it over backward and admired. "Their papyrus is on another level. Look how white it is."

"Now that you mention it, the cover is also some kind of elaborately folded papyrus glued together," Werten commented while tracing his finger along the seams.

"And look how resilient it is." Thumping sounds were made as Reht repeatedly held the two shorter sides of the letter, bending it in half and quickly straightening it.

"Oh let me see!"

"No wait!" Harkon snatched the papyrus from Reht's hand and pulled them apart with full force, where the important document was unceremoniously torn in half, much to the dismay of the two onlookers.

***

Rubi's mind gradually regained clarity as tiny rays of water continually showered her face and steadily cascaded down her body. Above her head was a circular metal plate, which was riddled with punctured holes arranged in an orderly manner, and connected to a pipe from the wall. With a turn of a knob, water surged forth much like the hand-washing station from yesterday, and despite having experienced this already, Rubi was still startled by suddenly having cold water splattered on her head. On the wall on the opposite side, a small shelf was built into a corner, holding a soap bar, which, unlike the previous one, smelled of roses. The bathing section was only a portion of this room and quartered from the rest by a simple cloth curtain. The other section consisted of another hand-washing station, and a hollowed-out painted-over ceramics seat attached to a small water tank, which she was told was the latrine. Apparently, while she was sleeping, Val visited their room and instructed Reni on how to use the various appliances. She was told that after she had finished her business, simply pulling on the lever on the water tank and the water from above would rush down and wash away whatever was below. After that, simply turn on the outlet above the tank and let the water fill it again for the next use. Although she must admit this was very convenient, it was still a bit too complex just to take a dump in her opinion, as a person holding a bucket of water should already suffice. The thing she was more amazed by was in fact the little bit of water at the bottom. At first, she thought it was simply stagnant water, but after one use she noticed another bit of water was still stuck behind, which when she thought about it was quite strange, since water was supposed to flow downwards, and she was almost certain that all these discharged water was being guided to somewhere underground. But then how was this bit of water kept levitating here? She was almost tempted to use magic and tried to scope them out for a closer look, but in the end, she managed to rein in her curiosity, not because she thought that being overly interested in latrine water was unbecoming of a princess, but because she was afraid that if some mishaps were to happen, if not Val then that Vietas would certainly figure out what she was doing.

Pulling the curtain aside and stepping out, Rubi's feet were greeted by a fur rug, which quickly absorbs all the droplets trickling to her feet. She grabbed the towel hung on a metal bar, dried herself, and put on the red dress that the host had prepared for her. Although the deep red color was very much to her taste, the fabric felt rugged, the overall design was simple and she could tell it was quite clumsily sewn. For the first time, Rubi found something for which she had mentally prepared the day she left the Capital, a downgrade in her standards of living as she told herself, or as her many subordinates' put it: outright orcus barbarity, a sentiment with which she silently wholeheartedly agreed. But now, faced with a substandard dress, her first thought was joy, and pride in her homeland that they could make a much better dress as if she was a princess of a small nation casting her eyes on the glamor of a vast empire for the first time. Such crude clothes were clearly unfit for a princess of the Empire, but she couldn't bear to wear her old clothes, which were now giving off some funny odor. Rubi wondered if someone had puked on her dress at some point last night, or did she herself had done that. Just as the princess was wondering how she looked in orcus' clothing, she caught a glimpse of herself and noticed that there was a mirror above the hand-washing station, one that she had apparently missed since her head was still quite woozy at the time, and was once again amazed by how astonishingly clear the images were. She stepped in for a closer look, and everything was reflected as truthful as it was, the grainy wooden walls surrounding her, the dress draped around her slim body, coarse as it was, still perfectly complemented the damp fiery red hair falling down her shoulders and flowing all the way down to her waist, even the few odd strands of hair above her forehead which she quickly brushed aside. All she could tell was that it was made of glass and not polished copper like your usual mirror, but as far as she knew glass was transparent, yes, but not reflective to this degree. Rubi intriguingly slid her finger across the surface, leaving behind a trail of water, confirming that it really had nothing to do with magic. She grabbed the towel and cleaned up the smudge before leaving, and as soon as she opened the door, Reni sprang up from the bed like a soldier caught napping on duty.

"You don't need to act so nervous Reni. You're not a maid." The princess chuckled at Reni's jittery while continuing to dry her hair with the towel. "Where did you even sleep last night?"

Reni timidly pointed at the wall opposite the bed, where Rubi could see a well cushioned couch carved from wood.

"Why didn't you just sleep with me? Were you cold?"

"The couch already had some beddings yesterday. I gave them back this morning."

"Did she give you some clothes as well?"

"Ah, yes! She gave me this blue dress and a towel." Reni picked up a thin stack of clothes, neatly folded into a square.

"Go take a bath then we'll go back. The others must be worried."

"Is that alright Your Grace? We can go back right away."

"No need to rush. You should enjoy this as well. Remember to try the soap out."

"Thank you, Your Grace!" While Reni was willing to leave now, she was still visibly excited to try out this new style of bathing, and perhaps her new dress as well.