The Sword of Retribution

Departures - Part 3

The questers spent the 'night' in a hut that the Ukranians put up for them, it taking only a few minutes for them to lash four woven grass panels together to form what could really be better described as a square fence, since it had no roof. There was no need for a roof in the vast underground cavern where the temperature was never lower than comfortably warm and the only rain was a very light sprinkling as darkness fell that they found rather refreshing after the hot 'day'.

They slept on very comfortable cotton mattresses stuffed with duck feathers, a luxury after several days of sleeping on hard ground, and although it was warm enough to sleep out in the open in their underclothes, they covered themselves with a single thin sheet, just out of habit. A mosquito net hung in a tent over their beds to keep out the clouds of gnats and midges that gathered around them, and even so Thomas counted seventeen separate gnat bites on his arms and legs when he woke up. Only the trogs were spared the attentions of the blood sucking insects, their skin being simply too thick for them to bite through.

When morning came, the first thing they did was take the opportunity to bathe in the village's communal bath, a rectangular pool just outside the village's circle of huts that was lined with glazed clay tiles and had a low wall around it to prevent, or at least hinder, leaves and dirt from blowing in. Diana and Lirenna went first while the others kept a careful watch over them, eyes discreetly averted, just in case the villagers decided to turn nasty again. Shaun, Matthew and Jerry went next, and Thomas was last, along with the two trogs, who looked hideous when completely naked, like maggots with arms and legs. The villagers were terrified of them at first, seeming to think they were demons of some kind, but they were too scared of the wizards to make an issue of it and tried desperately to treat them the same as the others.

Putting the trogs out of his mind, Thomas decided that the bath was the single most thoroughly pleasurable experience in his entire life (second best, he hastily amended). Even though they'd all had a thorough wash the night before, to remove most of the sweat and grime they'd accumulated during their journey, it just didn't compare with being able to just lie there and soak while a crowd of villagers splashed and frolicked all around him. It was almost good enough to make him forget their crushing disappointment at having come all this way for nothing.

Taking their baths a few at a time while the others stood guard over them was taking quite a risk, they knew. Powerful immortal wizards wouldn't need to take such a precaution, and for them to do so ran the risk that the Underworlders would realise they weren't as powerful as they were pretending to be. They had discussed taking their baths all at the same time, and if logic had been the only factor they would probably have done so, but there was no overcoming the force of modesty.

Thomas found himself pondering the situation as he sat at the shallow end, the water lapping about his waist. Here I am, he thought, in a bath with no clothes on, surrounded by men, women and children who can all see me, and it doesn't worry me a bit, but if Lenny or Di were to suddenly turn up, I'd be embarrassed and probably try to cover myself up, even though Di's perfectly used to seeing her brothers in that condition right from when they were children. It's crazy! And if I were to catch a glimpse of either of them without their clothes on, my first impulse would probably be to avert my eyes and apologise profusely, even though we've already seen each other naked, in the mad woman's house, but I can look at all these beautiful women with no trouble at all.

He picked out an especially good looking young lady just a few feet away and stared at her, to prove the point to himself. She saw him looking at her, though, and stretched luxuriantly, deliberately showing herself to him, and the wizard tore his gaze away in sudden embarrassment, afraid he'd given her the wrong idea. If Lenny were to find him fooling around with another woman after what had happened at the bottom of the wyrmhole, he knew she'd tear him apart.