“Really? Here?” Gwendith glared at Braden Foster, who shrugged.

Yuriko huffed. The song wasn’t actually that bad, but it was the combination of the singer’s clothing plus the hooting and rowdiness of the audience that surprised her. Most of the people in the common room were men, with only a quarter being women. And those ladies shouted with similar glee, too.

“The Flower House’s got the best rooms for their price point,” Braden said. “‘Sides, they weren’t like this before.”

“Should we find a different place?” Asami asked.

“This is fine, isn’t it?” Sheamus insisted. Yuriko noticed that he had his eyes trained on the overflowing mugs of ale, and the laughing barmaids balancing said mugs over their heads.

“Well, the inn’s official entrance is the other one,” Braden said, pointing towards another door on the other side of the building. They walked a dozen paces between and entered the sedate reception area. The sounds of merriment penetrated through the wooden walls though.

Sheamus and Braden walked up to the receptionist, an elderly man who must have been deaf since he was peacefully snoozing on the desk. Sheamus had to reach over the counter and shake the man’s shoulder before he woke up.

The man’s rheumy eyes blinked at them owlishly, before he reached up and yanked a red cord hanging from the ceiling. Yuriko couldn’t hear anything over the noise, but she imagined the cord connected to a bell or something similar.

“Please wait,” the man mouthed.

Sheamus nodded and leaned on the counter, foot tapping rhythmically to the singer.

A minute later, a young woman rushed into the chamber. “Oh! Welcome, welcome to the Solemn Flower House!” Her greeting was punctuated by a particularly loud roar from the common room, but the girl seemed to brush it off. “How may I help you?”

“Good afternoon,” Braden said in a neutrally accented Wojan. “My family needs lodgings for a few days, maybe a week or so. A couple of boarding rooms would do wonderfully.”

“Ah, two boarding rooms? Let me check the registry if we have any side by side…” the woman muttered as she leafed through a book. The elderly man grunted and pointed. “Yes, yes. I know, but the third one’s occupied…”

Gwendith and Asami sat on a bench and stared around the room. Orrin stood behind Braden, while Heron looked at the portraits hanging on the walls. As for Saki, well, her attendant wasn’t visible at the moment. They were paying for the rooms instead of each person, so there was no need for Saki to show herself.

“Ah! I’ve got it. Boarding rooms 7 and 15 are available. They’re not next to each other, unfortunately, but each can fit up to six people.” The woman said, “Would that be acceptable?”

“Aren’t they in the same hallway?” Braden asked.

“Why, yes. You’ve stayed with us before? Ah, they’re on opposite ends.”

“Very well, we’ll take them. Twenty-five Shekels a night for each room, yes?”

“Ah, sorry, no. It’s sixty a night now.”

“So much?” Braden gasped.

“The higher cost of goods, you understand, and the increased demand. If not for one group leaving today, I couldn’t give you these rooms,” she said regretfully.

“Can we not get a lower price? Say, if we stay for a week?”

“‘Fraid not,” the woman said firmly. “You’re welcome to check the other inns, but mark my words, they’re just as full as we are.”

Braden and Orrin exchanged looks, then nodded, “Very well, we will check first.”

“Alright!” The woman said brightly. “Don’t take too long now, we might have new boarders by the end of the day.”

“We’ll keep that in mind,” Braden said, but just before he could leave, Sheamus grabbed his shoulder.

“This is fine, miss,” Sheamus said, “my boy’s just too eager to prove his worth. Sixty for a room?”

“Yes, one twenty for both. How many nights would you like to book?”

“We’ll pay for one night for now, then we’ll decide tomorrow if we need more days,” Sheamus said smoothly.

Braden’s eyes bulged and he opened his mouth to protest. Sheamus quieted him with a hand on his head. He huffed and snorted, before rolling his eyes.

“Here’s the payment for the first night,” Sheamus said as he fished out a gold coin and a medium-sized silver one. The woman returned five smaller silver coins.

“Thank you. Please, come this way,” the woman said.

She took a couple of bronze keys attached to a wooden rod and gestured for them to follow. She walked towards a door near the back of the reception room, then into the inner courtyard. It was a cosy space, far more beautiful than what Yuriko expected from the city. A garden of wildflowers.

The woman walked across the courtyard, careful to stay on the path. She gestured towards a set of stairs at the corner, and Yuriko noted the directory on the wall. The sounds of the common room had finally been muffled. They ascended up to the next floor, and the woman turned left.

Boarding room 7 was for the girls. The woman unlocked it and showed the inside. It was rather dark, but the receptionist conjured a ball of light. The room was practically barren. Just a few bunk beds were there, and hardly any room for anything else. There was a clothing chest at the foot of each pallet, which was barely wide enough to lie on. There was a tiny window on the opposite side of the room, with wooden shutters. Yuriko walked up to it and opened the shutters, revealing the alley below. As well as letting in the stink.

Clack!

She closed it immediately.

There were oil-burning lamps on the walls. The receptionist tweaked the wick and set it aflame. “Extra oil’s a Shekel for a full tank,” she said happily.

Then, she led the boys down the opposite hallway. Yuriko followed behind them to check which room they had, but as soon as they entered, she returned to their quarters.

“I suppose this is passable,” Gwendith grunted as she pushed a couple of pallets next to each other. There were six in all, and if they were pushed together, it would make for a pretty wide bed for the five of them. There weren’t any mattresses, or pillows and blankets. They had to use their own.

“Bit steep for this dump,” Asami complained.

“You heard the woman,” Yuriko said. “Room’s dear everywhere. Besides, Sheamus only paid for a night. If we find a better place, we can go there.”

For now, they tidied up the room. Saki popped out of the shadows and helped. After half an hour, they had a cosy little nest set up using the hard pallets and their spread-out bedrolls.

Yuriko didn’t completely unpack, since she thought that they may have to leave at any time and urgently. She did hang up her poncho on a hook by the door. The bedrolls were easy enough to replace, but not so her forceweave underwear. She didn’t know what the women in Haveena wore under their ponchos but her bra and panties cost her a pretty penny and were incredibly comfortable and resilient, too.

She was rather looking forward to taking a bath, as they had limited themselves to washing faces and hands during the trip. Normally, her condensed Anima would have kept the dust and mud out, but coming to the city immaculate after travelling through dusty roads was unwise.

However, when she went to the end of the hallway, expecting a bathroom, all she found were more boarding rooms. She puzzled out the signage and found the latrines on the ground floor. At least there were individual stalls, but no bathtub, showers, or any kind of bathing area in sight.

When she went to the front reception area, the girl stared at her for a long minute, reddened, then muttered, “There’s a bathhouse down the road, my lady. We don’t offer more than a washbasin here.”

“Thank you.”

She went back up to her room and dragged Saki, Gwendith, and reluctantly, Asami, along with her. Desire tagged along, and frowned, “Did you go downstairs without your poncho? And without an illusion?”

“Oh. Ehehehe. Oops?”

Desire sighed and applied her illusion, then pointed at Yuriko’s concealing garment. She shimmied into it, then grabbed a change of clothing, as well as a small bag for her dirties. As for her safe pouch and hip satchel, she brought them along but headed to the boys’ room. The other girls brought their valuables pouch, too.

“Here, guard these with your life,” she said as she placed all of the gear on Heron’s hands when he opened the door to her knock.

“Wha-, erm, where?”

“Bathhouse.”

“Go to the one the next block over,” Braden called out. “Saffron Deluge! They’re more private and have segregated baths.”

It was already dark by the time they reached the bathhouse. It did brisk business, with a constant stream of men and women entering. There was a short line, but it moved quickly enough that they reached the entrance in a couple of minutes.

“Five bits each,” the middle-aged woman said when they reached the front. “That’s two smalls and a bronze chip for five of you.”

After fumbling for a bit, Yuriko handed three of the smallest silver coins and handed it over. She received a small bronze coin, square with a round hole in the middle, back. Ah, she had to give the coin to a different attendant to rent waterproof sacks for their clothes since the place didn’t have lockers to leave them in.

The bathing chamber was relatively large, and there wasn’t a pool or a tub. Instead, a large basin of water was constantly being replenished from a pipe on the wall. It was steaming hot and coupled with the dim lighting in the chamber, it provided a modicum of privacy. Women of all shapes and sizes were scooping water into a wooden bucket and using it to sluice the dirt off.

Yuriko held the small square of soap that had been given to each of them at the entrance. She disrobed in the dry area, and stuffed all of her gear, including her towel, inside the bag. Then, she followed in the steps of the others and soon enough was lathered head to toe in bubbles. She would have used her kinesis to scrub her back, but that would have been too conspicuous. As it were, she already noticed dozens of smouldering stares from the other women, though she was certain it wasn’t of lust.

Gwendith and Saki helped her with her hair and back, and they helped each other in turn. Desire aided Asami. After they rinsed, Yuriko poured hot water over her body, luxuriating in the warmth. But alas, it would have been much better if she could soak for hours, ehehe.

Back at the inn, they had a dry dinner of plain ration bars. They all ate in the guests’ dining area rather than the common room. There were grills and cooking spaces on one end. Some of the other guests were cooking their meals, but they had to settle for their travel fare. Their supply of fresh food had already been consumed a day ago.

“We’re going to the market tomorrow,” Gwendith said.

“I’ll go visit our contact,” Braden said. “His family owns a travel supply store. Would you like to join me, Yuriko?”

“Sure,” she answered easily. “Dee, you come with us and see if you can feel the nameless.”

“Yes, ma…er, yes,” Desire easily agreed.

“Great, early tomorrow then,” Braden said eagerly.

“Sure. Heron, you, Sheamus, and Asami explore the city?”

“I’d rather stay here,” Heron said. “Keep an eye on our gear.”

“I’ll do the same until Misses Sharine and Devi come back,” Saki said.

“Not really much to see,” Sheamus grunted, “but I’ll go listen to the people’s whispers.”

“Wait, I think we’ll go with you,” Gwendith suddenly said, looking a bit shamefaced.

“Uhm, sure,” Yuriko said. “Need to buy something?”

“Er, yeah.” Gwendith exchanged glances with Asami. “We’re out of necessities.”

“Oh, alright.”

So that was how, the next morning, right after the sun rose, Yuriko, Gwendith, Asami, and the twins, found themselves in a charming little shop in the Lorenti District, east of the palace. A prominent sign hung over the door, proclaiming the name, Tackles and Bits.