He woke to a knocking on his door. Startled awake, he sat up in bed, unsure for a moment where he was. The events of the previous day flashed through his mind in a chaotic rush; his journey to the new world, his meeting with Dele, the tutorial... morning light shone through the curtains on the window, and Jay's mind finally caught up to the present. Oh fuck, I must have fallen asleep. I guess it’s good that I got some rest. His stomach growled loudly as he stretched, and he groaned in response. I’ll have to take Diyan up on breakfast; maybe she’ll let me do the dishes to repay her.
The knock came again, firmer this time. Jay called, “One second! Hold on!” as he rolled out of bed, shoving both feet into his pants. With only a moment of consideration, he magicked his jacket into his new inventory, not stopping to marvel at how cool it was. When he had done his best to smooth out the wrinkles in his shirt and finger comb his hair, he opened the door.
The man standing outside was tall, with dark skin and a handsome smile that broadened upon seeing Jay. He had a small afro, into which brass leaves were woven, and they gleamed brightly in the morning sun. He wore a yellow shirt and pants that left Jay in no doubt that this was Diyan’s husband. “Hello, Outsider Jacob! My beautiful wife advised me to wait for breakfast to be ready before I bothered you, which I could see was the right decision. My name is Ndubuisi, and I am very glad to meet you.”
He held out his hand, which Jay took, but the man corrected him gently, guiding him to clasp his wrist instead. “This is the way we greet others, Outsider. You touch hands where you come from? Very interesting. You’ll have to tell me more over our meal.” They held the embrace for a moment, and then Ndubuisi took his wrist back from Jay. “Ah, but first! We have a bath just downstairs, and I have taken the liberty of acquiring some clothes for you. Diyan said that you looked very warm, and I can see why. Trust me that you will feel better after washing, although if you refuse the clothes I will understand.”
These are the nicest people ever. I’m really glad that Dele found me in that alley. Jacob nodded, giving the man a thankful smile. “I would love a bath, and I would be very grateful for a change of clothes. Thank you for your kindness, Ndubuisi.” The man waved off his thanks, but Jay could tell he was pleased.
The washroom was on the first floor, which seemed to be half rooms and half utilities. It was same size as Jay’s room but was tiled and had no windows. It also had no pipes or faucets; the bathtub was a solid bowl of stone that sat directly on the floor, with a rack full of towels next to it. In comparison to the rest of the inn, the washroom felt sterile. The only decoration, as far as Jay could tell, was a pointed blue crystal that hung from a chain at the far inside edge of the tub. It was murky and pitted, as though it had been shaped and polished carelessly. Jay stared at it, and then at Ndubuisi, who seemed to catch on that Jay had no idea what he was doing.
“Ah, yes. Normally, someone asks me to summon the water, and when they are done bathing, I unsummon it as well. You do not have the ability to summon water, then?” He said this last part in a hopeful tone and looked a little crushed when Jay shook his head. “It is no problem. I will fill the tub for you, and then go to get your clothes. I will leave them outside the door so that when you are done you can dress. When you have dressed, knock on this wall three times—” he gestured to the righthand wall, “—and I will come and drain the water for you. Then, we will go to breakfast together. Alright!” He clapped, rubbing his hands together, and then it happened.
The crystal over the tub started to glow a delicate blue, like oceans with white beaches in photographs from far away. A hum filled the room, low and soft, and the crystal grew brighter and brighter until water started to trickle from the point. The trickle soon turned into a stream, and the tub was full in only a minute, gently steaming in the morning air. The crystal went silent and dark as though a switch had been flipped, and the silence was almost startling.
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Jay turned to Ndubuisi, who laughed at his open-mouthed shock. “Ahhh, you really are not from here. This is magic, Outsider Jacob. You will get used to it soon enough. Now, I will leave you be; there are bars of soap on the bottom shelf there, under the towels. Take your time, but not too long, eh? My wife’s cooking always goes fast.”
Jay stuttered out an affirmative, and then he was alone, the bathroom door shutting softly behind him. He closed his mouth, turning in a circle helplessly, unable to articulate just how cool that had been to see. When the initial shock and awe had worn off a little, he started to strip, grimacing at the smell of his clothes. I really hope they have magical deodorant here. And laundry detergent. Maybe there’s a spell to just clean my clothes, that would be perfect. He threw them to the floor as he removed them; first his shirt, then his pants, then his sports bra, then his boxers.
He grabbed a bar of sweet-smelling soap from beneath the towels, pausing only momentarily when his new tattoo came into view. He sighed. I guess I’m going to have to get used to that sooner rather than later. At least it isn’t a skull and crossbones, or something. The warmth of the water had seeped into the air of the room, but even so Jay was glad to sink into the tub. The first thing he did was touch the crystal that had produced the water, but it felt just like a normal rock under his hands; there were no magical sparks or flashes of light. He made a thoughtful noise, satisfied for now, and started to wash.
It only took him a few minutes to scrub himself clean, and by then a gentle knock on the door had told him Ndubuisi had been by to drop off his new clothes. He wrapped a towel around himself before cracking open the door, peeking out into the hallway to make sure that no one else was around. Luckily, he was alone, and he snatched the clothes sitting on the ground next to the door, surprised to find with them a pair of woven sandals.
In the privacy of the bathroom, he examined his new outfit. He had chosen to put his sports bra back on, but the rest of it he put into his inventory; after all, there was no need to carry them around. After a moment, he also put the bar of soap he had been using into his inventory as well, hoping that it wasn’t super expensive.
The clothes themselves were made of something soft and breathable, and colored the same yellow that Jay was starting to associate with the family of the Rooted Dryad. The shirt was embroidered around the collar and cuffs with leaves in brown and red and came down to just below his belly button. The sleeves were long but open, perfect for the warm weather.
His pants were also embroidered at the waist and cuffs with the same leaves. I’ll have to ask about the significance of that. Diyan and her husband both had metal leaves in their hair, and it’s on their clothes; is it a cultural thing, or maybe a status symbol? If so, should I be wearing it? I guess if it wasn’t okay they wouldn’t have let me wear these. They were just a hair short, but in this climate, Jay figured showing a little ankle wouldn’t kill anyone. It was a different experience to go without underwear, but he drew the line at wearing dirty drawers. He took a few experimental steps, grimacing as the air flowed past places that were not used to airflow. It’s definitely cooler, but I don’t think it’s something I want to get used to.
At last, he pulled on the sandals, pleased to find that they fit. He knocked on the wall to the right three times, and in a flash, Ndubuisi was at the door, nodding approvingly at Jay’s new threads. “You and Dele are close to the same size. He is shorter, but only for now. In a year or two he will be almost as tall as me, I think.” His eyes shone with pride, and Jay couldn’t help but copy his smile; it was infectious.
The process of unsummoning water was the inverse of summoning it; The crystal glowed again, this time with a higher pitched hum, and the water in the basin started to flow back upwards into the crystal. Jay watched with wide eyes, not even wanting to blink in case he missed something, and when it was done, the glow and hum faded away, and the tub was empty again. He let out an impressed breath. “That is probably the coolest thing I’ve ever seen. How do you get it to do that?”
His host shook his head, smiling widening an inch. “We must go to breakfast first, Outsider. Come, we will sit at the family table so no one will bother you.”
