The bathing pools

With hardly a second thought, you strike off toward the bathing pools. It's exactly what you need this morning - a bit of relaxation in Elyssia's natural hot springs before you have to spend three whole days of practically nonstop "being King." Of course, the pools will likely be crowded as many others have no doubt had the same notion, but if being King has its drawbacks, it also has its privileges!

"By your leave, Sire, I shall remain at the inner gate," Captain Navarre says as you pass through the great stone archway through the high wall around the pools. It is his usual practice; by your command, no weapons of any kind are permitted in the bathing area, not even the swords of the Kingsguard - and Captain Navarre is loath to relinquish his sword. You nod your assent.

"Sire!" exclaims the young maidservant at the gate as you enter. "We did not expect you today. I fear the baths are nearly full... they are most popular with the visitors, after all."

"I don't mind sharing a pool, as long as the company is good," you reply. "Is Arethousa present?"

"Of course, Sire; by your leave, I will fetch her at once."

"I imagine that for you to leave your post would put the baths in some disarray," you reply. "I will find her, she is not hard to identify even in the pools."

"Yes, Sire," the maid says, blushing slightly.

You disrobe within the small foyer provided for that purpose, passing your garments to a servant who secures them among the clothes of the nobles and lords, which are rich enough that theft is a concern. Captain Navarre hands the lad a gold coin for his trouble, and with your only remaining clothes the borrowed sandals on your feet, you enter the main bathing area. Captain Navarre, still clad in his uniform and armor, with his sword in his belt, remains just inside the gateway.

The Sun beats down on a large number of people walking the paths, resting in the pools, or relaxing on the rocks; you've never seen the place so crowded. In the large main area, men dominate the crowd, as most women prefer to use the pools designated for females only (a rule which does not apply to you, of course!). You are glad of the regular workout regimen with General Ferdinand which has kept you fit; as a blacksmith's apprentice, the work kept you strong and hale, and as King you were determined not to soften as you have seen other lords and monarchs do.

One of the more relaxing thing about the pools is that without your clothing and indicators of royalty, it takes a moment or more for anyone to recognize that the King is in their midst. For that moment, you can pretend once again that you are just one of the people, if only for a short time. Inevitably, someone WILL recognize you, but until then you can -

"It's disgraceful, I tell you, what Xavier did to this place," comes a voice from off to your left.

You look that way, and see a group of men you recognize even without their fancy clothes and jeweled ornaments (though, unlike nearly everyone else present, they do wear cloths tied about their waists). The one in the middle is Lord Bertrand de Pomeroy, probably your most consistent detractor among the nobles of Elyssia; he objected mightily to the idea of choosing a King by lottery in the first place, and was incensed that the common folk were even allowed to participate. He was able to insist that the nobles and lords be given the privilege to choose their coins first, and it seemed to anger him all the more that you succeeded after he failed. He bent the knee to you with more **** than you have ever seen any man take any action. Barely a decision you have made since then has not met with objection from him, it seems; even when he "supports" you, he does so only with silence.

"This place was built by Emperors of ancient Rome, to be enjoyed by people of standing and nobility," he says to the men standing with him (you do not recognize them). "Look at the muddiness of the waters, now that the pools are polluted with the dirt from the fields and the offal from the stables. Utter rubbish, I say."

Obviously, Lord Bertrand has not seen you... you could pass him by if you chose. Confronting him hasn't done much good in the past.