There Will Be Dragons

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

The bathhouse was all the way across the encampment from the apprentice hall and it afforded them a look at the growing town. More buildings had gone up, mostly of logs but a few of cut planks with tile roofs. Most of the permanent structures seemed to have something to do with the burgeoning industries that had formed only in the last week. They displayed signs indicating potters and smiths, coopers and weavers. Most of them were only half finished and they allowed the three to see the people inside, hard at work.

“Rome wasn’t built in a day,” Herzer muttered.

“What?” Mike asked.

“They say that Rome wasn’t built in a day,” Herzer repeated. “But it looks like they’re trying.”

“Where’d all these crafts come from?” Courtney asked.

“Oh, the reenactors do all this stuff. It was their hobby before. Now, I suppose, it’s more than a hobby.”

“I guess these are going to be the people we’ll be working with,” the girl said. “I hope I’m better at this than woodcutting.”

“I want a farm,” Mike said. “I don’t want to work in a shop all day.”

“We’ll get one,” Courtney replied, soothingly.

“But which one?” Herzer asked. “I mean, do you just wander out and start one? Where do you get the tools you need?”

“I don’t know,” Courtney replied. “I’m not even sure what sort of tools you have to have. Or how you plant and all the other stuff you have to do. Where do you get livestock?”

Mike didn’t say anything, just grunted.

“Well, we’ll find out in time,” Herzer said. “I wonder if they’ve got a guard force?”

“Is that what you want to do?” Courtney asked.

“Something like it, yes,” Herzer replied. He gestured with his chin at a person who was apparently a guard, standing by the entrance to a rather sturdy building. The man had on a surcoat with an embroidered Raven and carried a spear, but he was slouched under the awning of the building, apparently trying to keep out of the late afternoon sun. “But not like that. That’s not a soldier, if you know what I mean.”

“Are we going to need soldiers?” Courtney said. “Why?”

“Bandits,” Herzer replied. “Eventually other towns will be causing us trouble, too. And then there’s the war.”

“Not much of a war,” Mike said. “We haven’t been attacked.”

“Not yet,” Herzer admitted. “But if we’re going to oppose Paul, eventually we’ll either be attacked or have to attack him.”

“How can you attack a council member?” Courtney said, angrily. “They still have power!”

“So does Sheida and her group,” Herzer replied with a shrug. “From here it looks like a stalemate. And I don’t think Paul will let it stay that way even if Sheida is willing to.”

This talk carried them through the encampment and up to the bathhouse where some people were hanging around the entrance.

“Wash your clothes for you, sir, ma’am?” a boy who looked as if he very much needed to use the bathhouse asked.

“Clothes?” Herzer asked, remembering Jody’s advice. But the clothes did need work, not just washing but with a needle and thread. And he realized that they were the only thing, besides the basket and blanket Bast had left behind, that he now owned. No, he had a cloak that didn’t fit, but he wasn’t about to ask Daneh for it back.

“Oh, aye,” the boy replied. “I’ll take them and wash them when you’re in getting your bath and bring them back for you.”

“Dry?” Courtney asked.

“Well, I can’t be promising that,” the boy replied. “But dryish, yes.”

“Errr,” Herzer said. “I think I’ll try to figure something else out. Thanks just the same.”

“Only a tenth chit, sir,” the boy said earnestly, tugging at his sleeve. “And I know a lady that can mend them up for you, too.”

“How do we know we’ll get them back?” Courtney asked, pulling at her shirt which was, admittedly, filthy.

“Well, I’m here all the time, miss,” the boy answered with a smile. “If I went stealing my customers’ clothes, I wouldn’t have many customers, would I?”

“Is that rapscallion digging at you?” a woman said, coming up behind them. “Darius, when are you going to get a real job?” she added with a smile.

“Ah, Mistress Lasker, I have a job,” he said with a smile. “Would you be needing your clothes washed today?”

“Not today,” the woman replied with another smile. “How is your mother?”

“Fine ma’am, thank you for asking.”

“He’s safe enough,” the woman said. “I’m June Lasker. I’m sort of the town secretary. It’s his mother who does the washing and mending.”

“Is there a way to get some more clothes?” Herzer asked, pulling at his torn shirt. “These are getting raggedy. And I don’t really want to be wandering around in wet clothes.”

“There’s a few clothes sellers,” the woman said with a sigh. “But with no way to fab them they’re terribly dear. Hardly anyone brought anything besides what was on their backs. They’ll be fairly dry; there’s a hot room that he can hang them in to dry out. It depends how long you’re in there. If you wait an hour or so they’ll be dry enough.”

“All right, Darius is it?” Herzer asked.

“Darius Garsys,” the boy said, touching his forelock.

“How do we pay you?”

“It’s a tenth chit for a bath,” the boy replied. “When they give you your change and you get a sheet, just come out with your clothes. You can pay me when they’re done.”

“Works for me,” Herzer said. “I’ll see you in a bit.”

“I’ll show you how this works,” June said, stepping up into the first room of the bathhouse. There was a desk by the door and behind the desk were bundles of clothing and other gear. On the other side of the room were baskets with bundles of cloth and bricks of yellowish soap.

“Hello, Nick,” June said to the man behind the desk.

“Hello, June,” he replied looking them over. “Brought me some newbies have you?”

“And they’ve already been waylaid by Darius,” she said with a smile. “I don’t know you young people…” she temporized.

“I’m sorry,” Courtney said. “How rude of me. I’m Courtney and this is Herzer and Mike. We’re in apprentice group…”

“A-5,” Herzer said.

“Been out in the woods have you?” Nick replied. “Okay, take off your clothes and put everything you’re leaving in a bundle. Then I’ll give you a receipt for it and when you’re done come back and pick it up.”

“Undress right here?” Courtney asked, wide-eyed.

“Unfortunately, dearie,” June replied, suiting action to words. “You can use one of the sheets for modesty if you wish, but the baths are co-ed. They’re working on another bathhouse that will have separate sections, but everyone’s getting so used to bathing together I don’t know why they bother.”

Herzer hesitantly undressed then bundled his dirty clothes up. He quickly grabbed a bath sheet and wrapped it around himself. It was a thin piece of smooth material and he was pretty sure it wouldn’t be very good for drying.

“I’ve got this basket…” he said, holding it up. “And what about our money.”

“Well, I’m the one that sits on it all to make sure it stays where you left it,” Nick said. He took the bundle and wrapped a strip of ribbon around it, tying it to a wooden marker. He handed a similar marker on a cord to Herzer.

“Put the bundle over by the others,” he said. “Stuff your money well down in it so nobody can get it out without digging. I’ll make sure it stays there.”

“Okay,” Herzer replied, doubtfully.

“Before you do, the cost of a bath is a tenth chit,” the man said, holding out his hand. “That’s for the soap, the water and the sheet. If you want anything more it’s extra.”

“What else is there?” Courtney asked digging out her money.

“Well, there’s wine and snacks and body oils,” June replied for him. “But, again, it’s terribly expensive. I think once things get more established the costs will go down. But it’s a full chit for a cup of wine and a few cuts of meat. Most people don’t get it.”

“It’s not much more than my cost,” Nick said defensively. “There’s not much wine to be had. Nor the good meat that I serve. I have to buy it from McGibbon out of what he doesn’t sell to the town. Prime wild boar isn’t cheap.”

“I know, Nick,” she said with a shrug. “I’m just telling them the truth.”

“Well, Nick, we’ll pass for now,” Herzer said. “We’re not making much as apprentices.” He handed over one of his chits then watched, fascinated, as the bath manager made change. The money he gave back was a mixture of small coins made of various types of metal and a few out of wood.

“This is a tenth piece,” Nick said, holding up a small piece of what looked like steel. “The cost is a tenth and so I owe you nine tenths. But this is a half,” he continued, holding up a small bit of the reddish metal. “It’s made of copper like the chits but it’s smaller and it’s got a half inscribed on it. Another way of thinking of it is fifty hundredths. And this,” he said, holding one of the pieces of wood, “is a hundredth. They’re going to start making them of something else, but for now it’s wood. The wood’s no good, though, cause it cracks and you get in a fight and you end up with a pocket full of useless splinters. So that’s nine tenths. I’d pay that rascal outside in the wood if I were you. Please pee before getting in the bath, not after.”

Herzer took his clothes outside and dubiously handed them over to Darius then went back in and followed Nick’s directions up the steps and into the first room. The walls were wood logs and the floor was made of sanded wood, logs that had been spit with their flat sides up. There were openings between the logs, apparently to let water through, and the surface was covered with a thin pattern of sand. On the left were pegs to hang their bath sheets and on the right there was a trough set well above head height. There were holes cut in the bottom of the trough, and steady streams of water flowed out of them. Under one of the streams June Lasker was already turning in place and rubbing a piece of the yellow soap between her hands.

“Don’t rub the soap on your body,” she said, stepping out from under the stream. “It will strip your skin right off.”

Herzer noted in passing that her skin hadn’t started to get the dry look that many older women’s skin had and that she was pretty well set up. The thought triggered a memory of Bast bathing and he quickly turned away and willed himself to think about something, anything, else.

“This is one of the reasons that it’s almost more embarrassing for men to take these communal showers than women,” June noted with a chuckle. “That’s what’s called an involuntary vascular reaction.”

“Well, Herzer’s got nothing to be embarrassed about,” Courtney said with a chuckle.

“Neither does Mike,” June replied.

“Hey!” Mike growled.

“Mine,” Courtney said, giving him a pat on the rump and getting under the water. “Yow! This is cold!”

“I can tell,” Herzer replied, maliciously. Like Bast, Courtney had pink nipples but they were about twice the size. Or at least it appeared they normally would be; they currently were drawn up tight.

“Mine,” Mike chuckled, but there was an edge to it.

“I’m putting my eyes back in my head,” Herzer said. He stepped across the room and under one of the streams of water and gasped. It was as cold as any of the streams he and Bast had bathed in and after the warm afternoon it felt even more frigid.

“Well that took care of his involuntary vascular reaction.” Courtney chuckled, picked up the soap and rubbed it in her hands. “Ow!”

“Rough, isn’t it?” June sighed. She had soaped all over and now stepped back under the water to rinse off. “It’s lye soap. Be careful in your private parts.”

“What did you do when the… you know, the curse was hitting?” Courtney asked.

“Stayed home and washed as well as I could with a bucket,” June admitted as she rinsed off.

Herzer soaped and rinsed without comment, hoping that the women would keep that line of conversation to a minimum.

“It was bad out in the woods but at least you could get some privacy to wash,” was all the further comment Courtney made.

The far end of the shower room had a doorway covered with a leather flap. Stepping through it Herzer stopped and shook his head.

There was a catwalk down the middle, made of logs again, and on either side of it were six vats, three on the left and three on the right. Each of them was about two meters across and looked to be a meter and a half deep. And each was filled with steaming water.

“Down below there’s an arrangement that lets hot air run through them in pipes,” June said, lowering herself gingerly into the third tub along. “And they are very hot.”

“Oh, this is wonderful,” Courtney said, lowering herself into the tub next to the older woman. “Oh.”

Herzer had to agree. The hot water immediately caused muscles he hadn’t even noticed start to loosen. It also made him need to pee, badly.

“Uhmm…” Courtney said, before he could open his mouth.

“Far end, dear, left for the ladies, right for the gentlemen,” June said, leaning back in the seat.

All three of the apprentices got out of the bath almost simultaneously, which caused a chuckle from Mike.

The latrine turned out to be a rather clean four seater and Herzer quickly dumped his bladder, heading back to the bath. He noticed as he did that the room was not particularly steamy, then saw that there were openings in the wall at the top and bottom.

“Whose idea was this? Nick’s?”

“No,” June said. “And he doesn’t own it, although sometimes he acts like it. It was Edmund’s idea and the town built it and maintains it. The construction up the hill is where we’re building a larger one, more ornate. We need to get rid of the logs and get some tile in; people keep slipping on the wood.”

“It’s very nice,” Courtney said, easing into the water as Mike walked back. “Whose idea did you say it was?”

“Mine,” Edmund said, pushing aside the flap. “Hello, June, mind if I join you?”

“Not at all, Edmund, plenty of room.”

All three of the apprentices were wide-eyed as the mayor lowered himself into the water. They were amazed to see the already semilegendary leader simply joining people in the bath.

Herzer was covert in his study but he had heard so much about Edmund Talbot that he knew he had a case of hero worship going. The smith’s body was unusually hirsute; most people inhibited hair growth to a much greater degree. It also was immensely muscular, not like a bodybuilder but like a person who used a wide variety of his muscles every day for hard physical labor. He also had a full beard and mustache, which was unusual. Herzer had had all the hair on his face and most of his body inhibited except for a straggling mustache and he knew very few people who even had one of those.

“I’m surprised to see you,” June said.

“Think I’m too good to hang out in the bath?” Edmund chuckled.

“Not that. I just thought you’d be too busy,” June replied.

“I’ve got a couple of hours between meetings and for a wonder nothing was coming apart. So I thought I’d catch a quick bath. I can’t stay long though.”

“Sir, can I ask a question?” Herzer said.

“Ask away, I won’t promise to answer,” Edmund said, sliding down in the water and closing his eyes. “We haven’t met by the way.”

“I’m Herzer Herrick and this is Mike Boehlke and Courtney Deadwiler, sir.”

“Herrick?” Talbot said, opening his eyes back up and peering at the boy. Herzer felt as if his brain was being probed but he just nodded.

“Heard a bit about you. Sorry, we had met before, hadn’t we? Thanks for helping Daneh and Rachel on the trail.”

“I… yes, sir,” Herzer said in reply.

“Hmmm…” Edmund said and Herzer could tell that his evasive answer had been noted. “What was the question?”

“Err… is this a Roman bath? I was thinking about you being in here, too. It was said that the Roman senators would take the public baths because that way it proved that they did not think that they were not one of the people.”

“You’ve studied history,” Edmund replied after a long pause, staring at the boy again.

“More like dabbled in it, sir,” Herzer replied. “Mostly military history but the Romans were such a major factor in preindustrial military thought that paying more attention to them than, say, the Egyptians just made sense.”

“It’s sort of a Roman bath,” Edmund said after another pause. “Some aspects of Japanese also. The Romans would wipe their bodies with bent pieces of metal or wood and then take steam. Then they would swim or bathe in cooler water in the frigidarium. When the new baths are done we’ll probably have a steam room as well as a sauna. But the hot soaking bath is a Japanese item as much as anyone’s. And I prefer it to steam so I thought that would be the way to go.”

“Some softer soap would be nice,” June said acerbically.

“Working on it,” Edmund said. “As soon as someone comes up with an industry making softer soap, we’ll buy it. In the meantime, the apprentices are making lye soap and lye soap only.”

“Because that way someone will start making better, sir?” Herzer asked, cautiously.

“Got it in one,” Edmund said with a nod, lifting himself out of the water. “The town will keep people reasonably healthy and alive. As long as they work at it and as long as we can support them. But if I had my way all the town food would be nothing but gruel, and thin gruel at that.”

“So people would find other work to get better food?” Courtney asked.

“Well, right now there’s not much better than what people have been getting,” Edmund admitted, drying himself off sketchily. “But there will be. And I don’t want anyone permanently dependent upon the town. In a democracy that leads to bread and circuses and eventually to despotism. In a despotism it leads to bond labor. I won’t have even the beginnings of either one as long as I’m mayor.” He nodded at them and walked back out of the room.

“Wow,” Courtney said.

“He’s intense,” June said with a nod.

“Actually, I think the term I was considering was ‘charismatic,’ ” Courtney replied.

“Oh, that too,” June chuckled. “Very charismatic. The one thing nobody has ever seemed to find a gene for.”

When Edmund got back to his house it was nearing midnight, but as he entered the main hall he could see Daneh sitting by the fire, staring into it pensively.

“You’re up late,” he noted, walking over to the matching chair and sitting down in front of the fire. “And, frankly, you should be getting all the sleep you can.”

“I’ve got a lot on my mind,” Daneh replied. She stood up and bent over to poke the fire. “I guess I dimly realized how much I depended upon technology to do my job. But it’s really gotten driven in lately. I’ve got a couple of cases… I don’t think they’re all going to live, Edmund.”

He thought about getting up and giving her a hug but since… the encounter with Dionys she had never touched him. And he wasn’t going to press her about it.

“Anything I can do?”

“Not unless you can cure gangrene,” she sighed. “Or figure out how to repair an internal bleed with no dissolving sutures, no anesthetic and no sterile conditions to open somebody up.”

Since he didn’t have any of those things he kept his peace. But he knew that wasn’t all that was on her mind. He had known her for a long time and her body language told him that there was more. Not what, but more.

“Anything else?” he finally asked.

“Yes,” she said after a long pause. There was another as she poked at the fire again, this time with more vehemence. She finally set the poker down and sat back in the chair, still looking at the fire. “I haven’t started bleeding.”

He waited for more revelation than that, then shrugged. “Don’t they… skip?” he asked.

“Sometimes, but almost all the women in the town have had the ‘curse.’ ” She paused and then closed her eyes and her face worked. “I asked some of the ones who didn’t and they’d all… been engaged in sexual activity between the time of the Fall and now. Every. Single. One.”

“Oh,” Edmund said then thought for a moment. “Shit. Is there anything that we can do?” he asked.

“Like get rid of it?” she smiled, wanly. “Perhaps. But I’m not sure that I want to. Edmund, this will be the first child born of a woman’s body in millennia. Surely such a wonderful miracle should be considered carefully before we decide to end it?”