crafted in dull bronze hues and deep yellows against cream. This is the sort of extreme luxury that few might ever experience.
With a raised eyebrow, Grimsal steps inside and gives a low whistle.
“For me, eh? It’s a bit much. That bed alone I could fit myself and four of my siblings,” he observes cheekily.
“Quite,” the elf murmurs. “Unfortunately, guest quarters don’t come in a stockade version for rowdy companions, so I trust you won’t defile this room.”
“Gotcha. No defilement. There shall be no pissing on the walls or livestock brought in to satisfy my carnal appetites,” he says drolly with an unveiled look of disgust.
It seems that the deference that Grimsal endured earlier on our behalf is now well on its way out the door.
“Somehow it wouldn’t surprise me if that were your unusual nighttime activities,” our guide replies, his lips curling at the goblin. “I’m just thankful that you are housebroken enough to recognize the necessity of refraining.”
Grimsal laughs and flops down in a finely upholstered chair, drawing out his knife as he does so with the bit of wood he’s been whittling. A look of tight fury crosses the elf’s face as he watches tiny bits of wood fly and fall upon the intricately dyed rugs, but as if sensing that the goblin is baiting him, he withdraws the rest of the way onto the balcony with us and pulls the door shut with a bit more force than necessary, slamming it.
He doesn’t so much as say a word to us as he stalks by and heads farther down the balcony to the next door. This he opens in a similar manner, but crosses his arms over his chest.
“And these are your rooms,” he growls. “If you have any insulting or provocative remarks, get them done with now so I may leave.”
Steph slides off my back, her feet hitting the floor so I can freely shift. My horn aches demonically as I morph, but it’s over quickly and I am able to step into the room a pace ahead of her just to make sure that there are no dangers waiting for us.
Like before, the lamps lit the moment the door opened, and so everything is clearly visible as we step inside.
It is almost identical to Grimsal’s room except that the decor is done in shades of royal purple, heather, and lavender on cream instead. There isn’t one dark corner that I can see, or any place that one might be hiding. Even the bathing chamber is well lit and the screen door slid back completely against the wall.
“Well?” the elf snaps.
“No complaints,” Steph sighs happily. “It would be nice if we could have some food and drink to tide us over to next meal.”
“And water for our baths,” I add.
The elf wrinkles his nose in distaste at the inconvenience of doing anything else for us but nods his head.
“I will send someone shortly,” he mutters with a sharp nod as he closes our door firmly behind him.
Steph takes a step toward the chair and fidgets in place.
“I can’t sit… Not dirty like this,” she says in dismay. “I wonder how long it’s going to take for water to be brought down—oh!”
She jumps as a port in the wall above the tub opens and heated water sluices out of it into the tub.
“Dibs on the first bath,” she shouts as she hastily strips, her clothes dropping in strategic muddy patches well away from the rugs as she makes a beeline for the tub.
“Agreed,” I reply silkily as I pick up a cake of soap. “That just gives me the pleasure of washing you.”
“Oh my,” she whispers, her eyes widening as I stalk toward her. “Yes, please!”
Chapter 28
Steph
The tub is huge. It’s less a tub as I understand one and more like a miniature Roman bath, complete with brilliant mosaic tiles depicting pink lotuses amid a watery scene created in patterns of green and blue. Rather than sitting on the floor, the rectangular structure is set into the stonework with multiple drains, each one currently plugged. There’s so much room that I could float from one end to the other if I wanted to. Certainly, the structure seems more a bathing pool than bathtub. I notice that about halfway in the floor inclines down, creating a deeper end for who knows what.
There’s little doubt in my mind that it could comfortably fit two more men Eliph’s size. It’s more of a hot tub than bathtub in my opinion, which