relief, Gelthius caught the scent of bathing oils and felt heat from dissipating steam on his face. Stepping through the archway the two legionnaires came into a tiled space with shelves stacked with jars of unguents and powders. They cautiously passed through another archway at the far end of the narrow chamber, checking that the room beyond was empty first.
Wooden partitions separated out a dozen curtained spaces, each with its own small chair, low shelves and row of hooks, where bathers could hang their belongings. A quick search revealed that nobody was using the baths at the moment, which was not unusual for the middle of the day. It would likely be several hours before anybody would, and that gave Muuril and Gelthius the opening they needed.
Stripping off their armour and uniforms, the two men hung up their gear in the two partitions furthest from the entrance, leaving them in the tunics they had been wearing underneath their regulation clothes. Gelthius unravelled the slender hose he had wrapped around his waist beneath his armour and put them to one side while he removed his sandals. He pulled the hose on, the sensation odd after wearing his legion kilt for so long; he remembered when the kilt had felt new and strange too.
Searching through the cupboards opposite the partitions, Muuril found pairs of backless slippers used by bathers and tossed a pair to Gelthius. He pulled them on, to find they were a little big for his feet. He searched through the cupboards for something a bit smaller, but they all seemed to be of a similar size. He shuffled about in the slippers for a few moments to make sure he could walk in them, and then stowed his sandals with the rest of their uniforms. The two men went back out to the previous room and grabbed two jars of coloured salts each. With these under their arms, they moved into the main bathing chamber, where two pools were filled with water, separated by a narrow walkway. One pool steamed heavily, heated by a lava pit beneath the palace; the other was a cold plunge pool.
Cutting between the baths, they found another doorway to the private chambers; the servants' entrance. This arch led into another storeroom, filled with towels and tongs, empty braziers, scrapers and other cleansing tools. Nobody saw them emerging into the corridor beyond, and a quick scout around assured the two infiltrators that there were no blackcrests in the immediate vicinity.
Carrying their salt jars as if they were badges of office, Gelthius and Muuril set off in search of the governor's chambers.
III
Gelthius was not sure how one man and his family could use so many rooms. As well as the audience chambers, feasting halls and gardens where he met with citizens and officials, Asuhas had more than two dozen private rooms: lounges, dining areas, banqueting suites, a personal kitchen, seven bedchambers, wardrobes, a cold bath and an indoor garden filled with exotic plants sent up the Greenwater from nearMekha and Cosuan.
It was the middle of the day, and there were very few servants around. The majority of the governor's staff were attending to their master as he went about his official business in the public areas of the palace. The lack of activity in the apartments meant that Muuril and Gelthius were able to wander freely through them. They had abandoned their bath salt jars on the second storey when it became apparent that they would attract more attention with them than without.
Near to the stairwell on the fourth storey they came across a locked door, which Muuril reckoned to be a personal office of some kind.
"Should we break it open?" he asked, taking a step back, readying for a kick.
"No!" replied Gelthius, standing in front of the sergeant before he could put his foot to the door. "A busted door is a sure a way as any of saying that somebody has been sneaking around looking for things that they ain't meant to find. Beside, the noise might bring
Wooden partitions separated out a dozen curtained spaces, each with its own small chair, low shelves and row of hooks, where bathers could hang their belongings. A quick search revealed that nobody was using the baths at the moment, which was not unusual for the middle of the day. It would likely be several hours before anybody would, and that gave Muuril and Gelthius the opening they needed.
Stripping off their armour and uniforms, the two men hung up their gear in the two partitions furthest from the entrance, leaving them in the tunics they had been wearing underneath their regulation clothes. Gelthius unravelled the slender hose he had wrapped around his waist beneath his armour and put them to one side while he removed his sandals. He pulled the hose on, the sensation odd after wearing his legion kilt for so long; he remembered when the kilt had felt new and strange too.
Searching through the cupboards opposite the partitions, Muuril found pairs of backless slippers used by bathers and tossed a pair to Gelthius. He pulled them on, to find they were a little big for his feet. He searched through the cupboards for something a bit smaller, but they all seemed to be of a similar size. He shuffled about in the slippers for a few moments to make sure he could walk in them, and then stowed his sandals with the rest of their uniforms. The two men went back out to the previous room and grabbed two jars of coloured salts each. With these under their arms, they moved into the main bathing chamber, where two pools were filled with water, separated by a narrow walkway. One pool steamed heavily, heated by a lava pit beneath the palace; the other was a cold plunge pool.
Cutting between the baths, they found another doorway to the private chambers; the servants' entrance. This arch led into another storeroom, filled with towels and tongs, empty braziers, scrapers and other cleansing tools. Nobody saw them emerging into the corridor beyond, and a quick scout around assured the two infiltrators that there were no blackcrests in the immediate vicinity.
Carrying their salt jars as if they were badges of office, Gelthius and Muuril set off in search of the governor's chambers.
III
Gelthius was not sure how one man and his family could use so many rooms. As well as the audience chambers, feasting halls and gardens where he met with citizens and officials, Asuhas had more than two dozen private rooms: lounges, dining areas, banqueting suites, a personal kitchen, seven bedchambers, wardrobes, a cold bath and an indoor garden filled with exotic plants sent up the Greenwater from nearMekha and Cosuan.
It was the middle of the day, and there were very few servants around. The majority of the governor's staff were attending to their master as he went about his official business in the public areas of the palace. The lack of activity in the apartments meant that Muuril and Gelthius were able to wander freely through them. They had abandoned their bath salt jars on the second storey when it became apparent that they would attract more attention with them than without.
Near to the stairwell on the fourth storey they came across a locked door, which Muuril reckoned to be a personal office of some kind.
"Should we break it open?" he asked, taking a step back, readying for a kick.
"No!" replied Gelthius, standing in front of the sergeant before he could put his foot to the door. "A busted door is a sure a way as any of saying that somebody has been sneaking around looking for things that they ain't meant to find. Beside, the noise might bring
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