The Trip to the Meeting

After leading Inoshana and Malza through the town, Thelsia brought the pair to the bathhouse. The priestess and paladin were a bit perplexed as to why they would have been led through the town in a maze-like pattern just to come to this strange structure with a blend of Roman and Japanese-styled architecture they had only recently been made aware of; they both looked to each other for a moment as if thinking the other might have some insight into why they were there. Thelsia’s voice brought them back to focusing on her when she spoke.

“This is the bathhouse,” said Thelsia, “an innovation from another world we became aware of through Yuri. Our historical experts, especially Lithira, have informed us that there are no facilities like this in any of our surviving historical records. As a result, we had to basically figure it out as we went, with only hints and clues provided by Yuri himself; he said he was far from an expert on the matter, but he knew enough to help us at least get a few templates up for review by the builders and the like we did have available to us. The facility has its own rules, and is treated as neutral ground by all powers in play for the area, in the event they decide to be hostile with each other for one reason or another; the dictation that this facility is neutral ground was written into law, and local divine law, by the mayor, local guild masters, and high priestess in a unified meeting when the facility was in the final stages of completion. Now,” she clapped her hands together for a moment, “are there any questions before we continue?”

“Um, yes,” said Malza, why were we led here for a meeting?”

“That was one of the first questions we anticipated,” said Thelsia, “and sorry for the late introduction; my name is Thelsia. The reason you were led here for the coming meeting is because of the surprising level of security this facility provides. The bathhouse has a special rule that we are to all follow, regardless of status, it helps put everyone on a more even level, and that is we are not permitted to have any attire or gear on us while in the facility; everything is dropped off in special storage chambers near the entrances,” she gestured front of the building they were facing, “so that means it’s much more difficult to have someone come in with their own little surprises; granted, spellcasters will still have the spells they prepared beforehand when they enter the facility, and we can’t completely shut down that sort of thing due to how the facility works, but we could still put in safeguards to limit their effectiveness.”

“Makes sense,” said Inoshana, “how do all the important parts work?”

“From what I have been told,” said Thelsia, “a series of pipes bring in water from a nearby source; as the water draws near the facility, it goes through a set of guards to keep things like fish and debris from mixing into the water that is bathed in, and once the water has been sufficiently cleansed for bathing purposes it passes through a system that heats the water to a temperature that hot to the touch but not necessarily scalding, that is when it enters the basins that act as the bathing chambers; that’s the area you are permitted enter. But the water is still circulating, much like the seemingly still waters of a lake or pond, and what Yuri referred to as the ‘wastewater,’ which was described as the water that everyone had bathed in, is pumped out through a different set of pipes and goes down a network that helps to irrigate the neighboring farmlands and forest, after sufficiently cooling on its journey, it turns out all that dirt and grime that builds up on your skin, hair, fur, and feathers can be used to better feed plantlife.”

“Well, that is interesting,” said Malza, “and I can see something like this catching on once more people become aware of it. Are you aware of any communities working on their own versions of this facility?”

“Yes,” said Thelsia, “Usagi, she arrived with Lithira a while back, took extra interest in this sort of project for her own village; they practice intentionally isolating themselves from the rest of civilized society, and sent them a few copies of some of the more completed templates we had on hand for them to make use of. To my knowledge, they’re probably still in the planning stages as they modify what they were given to be more in line with their distinctive approach and aesthetic.”

“I see,” said Inoshana, “please, lead the way.” Thelsia led them to the undressing section of the entrance and demonstrated how it worked, she put her attire into a basket that was then raised up to the ceiling, and a magical tattoo-like mark appeared on the back of her right shoulder. “After loading your items into the baskets,” she gestured to the rising basket, “it is carted up the ceiling, and you are marked with a temporary tattoo which summons that same basket when you approach one of the exits for the facility, which also act as entryways.” She strolled into the next section of the facility, completely naked, with her bare ass and bosom on full display. Inoshana and Malza followed her lead, watching as their equipment and attire were carted up to the ceiling before magically moving down rails in that same ceiling before continuing their following of the half-fey woman. The accomplishment was an impressive, if seemingly simple, feat of magical engineering.

“What about theft and maintenance for the facility,” inquired Malza as the three made their way through the inner chambers of the facility, passing a number of artificial pools that seemed to be of different temperatures, even wading through a few, the water didn’t really get much higher than a little above any of their ankles.

“The filled baskets are in a space that is inaccessible without setting off a number of alarms, mystical and mundane,” said Thelsia as she led them through the facility to the gathering point at one of the cooling chambers.

“What is this space,” inquired Inoshana as she grabbed one of the clean towels off the shelf as they approached the cooling chambers.

“The cooling chambers,” said Thelsia, “it’s possible to overheat pretty easily in hot water; these rooms are meant to help you cool down in a safe space before leaving the facility.”