Something waits just outside my dreams, so I keep them calm and quiet.
Anyway, today was another icky day. I got up early, harangued Leorah until I got some icky threadbare clothes to wear, and got ready for the day. I decided to have breakfast at the Tavern, since I'd be meeting the rest of the privy crew there anyway. There were three of us elves, and three humans. Even steven works. We all had oatmeal with canned peaches for breakfast. Sera was snoring in the corner. I didn't realize she slept in the common room of the tavern.
Then the six of us trooped up the Chantry to get the job done. The way you clean a privy vault is you have people climb in and pull the sludge up with buckets. Smallest people are down in the bottom, and the bigger people up at the top hauling. Yes, it's nasty and awful, and you're knee deep in liquid shit. The good thing is that they're clearing the public bathhouse for us at the end of the day.
We skipped lunch, because we REALLY didn't want to eat. I skipped dinner. The thought of food was making me gag. We got the vaults lowered significantly and the refuse out into the pit someone else dug for us. Thank goodness. Between buckets falling and slipping, there wasn't one of us six that hadn't landed face first in the muck at least once.
It was only my second time in the bathhouse, actually. This must be a dormant volcano, considering these are natural hot springs. We did things the Japanese way, though. We stood over the grates and poured buckets of water over each other, then washed ourselves until we squeaked. We were way too dirty for any of us to be overly body shy. Thank goodness some kind soul had provided robes. I think we're going to burn the clothes we were wearing.
Honestly, it was nice spending a day doing nothing intellectual at all. No trying to figure out what to do or how much to say. And we're all going to soak here until we can't smell the ammonia and the shit anymore. I decided to check on my people while soaking. They're doing well. Shiny threads, no one appears to be very afraid. Cautious, yes, but not afraid.
The soldier that had the altercation with Tanya met us at the door of the bathhouse. He kindly volunteered to walk us each to our homes. The humans demurred, but the rest of us agreed. The other two lived in the village, and I was the only one heading to Ethelathe Cottage. The young man didn't make any effort to touch me in any way while we walked. He thanked me for saving him some stripes, and I thanked him for walking me home. It was a very cordial interaction.
When I got in the door, Andrew was inside with the Tweedles. He'd brought his bedroll with him. Eadras had said he could stay, so he was. I asked if he needed to talk, but he shook his head. Looks like we have another in our midst.
I revealed my notebook in my area, and Andrew came running in. "What the hell was that?" he choked. I stammered that it was just my notebook. Then I realized he'd felt me reveal it. "Come in and slide the curtain, please," I said. Then I asked him not to panic, and blew the visibility off the pages in my hand. Then I revealed them again. He stood there, agog. "Don't tell anyone, okay? There's things in here that are private. Like HOME private."
He nodded, thank goodness. I could feel the icy increase drastically when he closed his eyes. I shivered. He stopped after a moment. "You don't feel like any mage I've seen, except when you do things. That's fucking CREEPY, Chrissy."
"Well, hold on to your socks, because now you need to think back a few days and what your fellow Templars did."
He paled. I'm writing this as he paces and curses, actually. He looked me over, actually touching my limbs and face and turning me about, and now he's muttering and cursing about things being weird. I think I'll wait to tell him that I can "find" him in the general area, and have a good idea how he's feeling when I do. He called what I've done with the notebook "veiling" in his mutterings. At least now I know what to call it.
I'm heading to cuddle the Tweedles for a while. Goodnight baby girl. I miss you. Be good, wherever you are.