I Hate Dungeon School

We returned to the Kobold village before night fell and were greeted with great fanfare. I was starting to wonder if this is how Kobolds always greeted each other after a journey.

Witty and all of Smitty's pup came to greet us with embraces and licks to the face, which I was very much not accustomed to.

"You never do that, Smitty!" I said when I was released from the tight hugs.

"Was told is rude in Mortal Kingdoms. Did not want anyone mad at Smitty yes yes!" She explained very seriously. That admittedly did make sense.

"You succeeded elf. The dungeon stink has gone from you. Your friends reek, though, but it is a different reek." I heard a familiar wheezing kobold voice. I turned and saw Auntie glaring at me, but her tail wagged subtly, betraying her true feelings.

I approached her, taking the talisman from around my neck. "Thank you Auntie. This saved me! I could feel it holding my soul in place. The lich and the dungeon, it all threatened to destroy me, and I don't know how it worked, but it did."

I held it out for her.

"I do not want it back. Keep it. It has elf stink on it now. Glad it could help friend of Smitty." She huffed and growled at me before turning and returning to the hut she shared with Smitty and her family. Her tail continued to wag as she walked away.

I smiled to myself and put the talisman back around my neck. I guess I had a new luck charm. I could use all the extra luck I could get.

"Come friends! I show you to hot spring! We relax while we wait for food to get made yes yes!" Smitty called out to us. We gratefully followed her.

We hadn't really taken any time to explore the village, so I had completely missed the cave just behind Smitty's house. It was a much nicer cave than I had been in before, most of those being dungeon entrances and all.

It was well lit and warm too. It also smelled heavenly, full of floral scents and other aromatic herbs complementing them. It smelled like a much nicer version of the baths back at the school.

I couldn't help but gasp as we entered the main chamber. Burgotova had experimented with bath houses at one point in its history, but discontinued the practice for one reason or another. The old buildings were kept around as a historic curiosity and little else. But this put them all to shame.

Not out of ornateness, or luxury or anything of the baths. No, this bath was simply a large pool of hot spring water surrounded by stones, the water a soft green, no doubt colored by the medicinal herbs infused into it.

There was a low layer of steam hovering over the water, giving the room a slight dream-like quality. The real highlight though, was the view. The bath was open to the air and looked out over the mountain, into the valley below, revealing a sea of snow and trees, all illuminated by soft moonlight. The moon was full and bright, keeping the darkness of night at bay. One could almost forget we were deep in the wilderness, with all its dangers and perils.

"Oh, this is lovely!" That was all I could utter, my voice quiet as if I was afraid that being loud would cause the scene to disappear.

"Well, c'mon gals, let's get soaking!" I heard Cori exclaim. I turned to see that everyone else was already stripping down and putting their things in baskets lined up against the walls.

It felt good to get everything off me, and just feel the air on my bare skin. Soon enough,h though, it was getting to be too cold.

"Friends, we have a shower, so you can get clean first. Friends are best when friends are clean. No want dirty hot spring no no!" Smitty pointed to a little alcove with a row of shower heads in it. Next to each one was a shelf with a variety of soaps. There were also lots of products for fur care, which I imagined took a lot more work than just the simple grooming for the rest of us.

For some reason, the idea of the Kobolds having working plumbing surprised me, but it made sense. They weren't stupid or even backwards. They just had trouble speaking Mortal Common, and preferred to live simply. How they got plumbing working up here was a question for another time, and one I wasn't in a hurry to answer.

We all clambered into the shower and cleaned ourselves up, scrubbing each other's backs, and together we worked as a team to help Smitty get good and clean.

After a good rinse off, I made my way to the hot spring itself, and gingerly stepped in, sighing with satisfaction at the warmth. I slowly sank all the way to my shoulders and just sat there and luxuriated.

I could feel the medicines and everything in the water soak into me, relieving a soreness I had barely noticed until it was gone. All the troubles, woes, pains, and injuries that I had collected since we left Revenstahd just dissolved into the waters around me, and I just sighed with delight.

"Oh gods above and below, this is wonderful! I would never have imagined trying something like this all the way out here." I heard Mariana's voice next to me.

"Do you noble types live like this all the time? I'm even more jealous now." Cori piped up before sinking up to her nose.

"You said it. Oh, this feels so good! Better than herbs and sex!" Myth cooed as she stretched out in the water.

"Crass, but fair," Helena said, finally joining us.

Eira slipped into the water next to me, and just silently rested her head on my shoulder.

"We should bathe like this more often." She whispered to me, and I felt a blush that was unrelated to the heat cover my face all the way to my ears.

"T-That would be nice," I replied, and rested my head against the top of hers.

We all sat in silence, appreciated the warmth, the healing scents, and the soft moonlight.

-

I must have drifted off, because the next thing I knew, I was jerked back to the present by the ringing of a bell in the distance.

"Alarm?" I sputtered as I stood suddenly, before losing my balance and landing back in the hot water with a splash.

"No no friend Alta! Is dinner bell! Food ready! Come friends! Dry and dress! Dry and dress! We eat! Many much meat! Yes Yes!" Smitty said as she climbed out of the water.

"Oh thank goodness!" I felt my heart calm at her words. "I'm ravenous! I could eat a whole-"

My words were cut off by a sudden spray of water as Smitty shook herself dry.

"Sorry friends. Habit." She manned to look a little bit embarrassed.

"It's all good, Smitty. At least you did that before we dried off." Myth said as she wiped water from her eyes.

We all broke out into laughter, which we barely got reined in enough to get dressed.

As we emerged from the delightful hot springs, back into the cold air of the village, the smell of cooking food wafted in our direction, and I could feel myself automatically begin to drool. I was famished, and my stomach growled angrily to emphasize that fact.

I don't remember much of the feast. I ate, a lot. I ate so much, I thought I was going to be sick, and ate some more.

I didn't follow any of the conversation, but I knew Eira was by my side the whole time. The full stomach, combined with the comforting warmth of the hot spring, and the presence of Eira at my side, made me feel really sleepy.

The stress, fear, and pain of the day had caught up to me, and I quickly felt myself shutting down.

I don't know exactly how I got there, but the next thing I knew, I was lying down, covered by blankets in the makeshift sleeping area we had slept in a few nights before. Eira had her arms wrapped around me, holding me close, her warmth squished against my back.

"I'll never let you go again." She mumbled in her sleep and nuzzled the back of my head.

I felt myself tear up slightly. I didn't know of any time when someone had treated me so warmly. I smiled as I felt those tears run down my cheeks, and I nestled deeper into the warm cocoon of her arms and let myself drift off into a deep, restful sleep. All worries were a problem for the future me.

The chaos of the previous days and the chaos to come were a problem for tomorrow. I hoped tomorrow would take its time getting here.

I deserved this moment of peace, and I wanted it to last forever.