Chapter 3

Aston worked several hours before he paused to have some food. He had spent the morning checking the horses that had been brought over to him to look at. Most just needed their hoof’s trimmed back, two had needed new shoes on the forehooves. One had a stone trapped in the hoof under the iron shoe and was in danger of rendering the horse lame if he couldn’t free it up. He was able to get the stone out fixed up the gap in the hoof that had allowed the stone to be trapped. He had another discomfort that needed immediate attention. He asked the last man that had brought a horse with a bad shoe, “Where can I find the nearest public jakes?”

The man looked at him funny, trying to figure out what Aston had meant, then saw how he was acting and smiled. “Just over at the building with the tables out front. It is a tavern and lady’s house they will let you use them if you buy something on the way out.”

“I’ll get some food there then, thanks.” He took off at a fast walk, hoping he could hold long enough to avoid an accident. He arrived at the indicated building and stepped inside. The front room was dark after being out in the sun all morning. He saw a serving girl and asked, “The public’s?” She pointed to a door near the back and he took off across the room at a trot. He just made it before his sphincter gave up the fight. When he finished, he looked around for something to clean himself off with. A nasty looking sponge in a bucket of nastier looking water was all he could find. He decided to forgo to wiping until he got back to his camp shop. He would bring his own material next time.

As he stepped out of the backroom, he was greeted by a worrisome sight. A large woman had a dagger, or small sword out and had it to a smaller man’s throat. She spoke, “Willy! I told you, come here again and I would gut you, you little worm. You will stay away from my girls, you hear me you worthless little shit?” She grabbed him one-handed by the throat and shook him hard enough his eyes looked like they would pop out at any second. “The treatment you gave Lindia killed her Will. Now get the hell out of my house and stay out!” she roared. She all but tossed the little man across the room to land at the door leading outside. The big woman slid the dagger into its sheath at her waist and turned away from Willy. Aston watched him, on hearing he had killed one of the working girls, ‘This man was to be watched closely,’ he thought. Aston pulled his bullwhip loose from his belt, so it would be ready to use should the need arise.

Willy was only five feet tall, scraggly black hair partway down his back, pale-skinned, and had a rasping wheeze as he breathed. Aston could see his teeth, black and brown, had rotted when he bared them in a snarl. Aston waited for the man to move, either to leave or attack. Willy pulled a small knife from his tunic and charged the big woman from behind. Aston reacted instantly as the knife appeared and the whip snapped out, making a cracking sound that caused every head in the room to turn towards him. The man, on the other hand, was now still, his knife hand cut open, the knife on a table where it had landed as he dropped it. The big woman spun about, studied the situation, and started towards the bleeding man. He tried to back away from her only to hit a table and stumbled, falling to his knees.

Aston said quietly, “He came at you with the knife, I stopped him.” The woman turned on him.

“If I wanted your help, I would have beat you for it.” She turned back to Willy, holding his hand and whimpering in pain. She grabbed his throat and squeezed, lifting him off the floor like a rag-doll, his feet flailing about, kicking at her in hopes he could force her to let him go. He only succeeded in making her angrier, especially when one foot drove into her rather ample left breast. She spun about, slamming him into a heavy wood support post. His head had sounded like a rotten melon hitting a stone floor from a ten-foot-high drop. He went limp and she carried the fresh corpse to the door and tossed it outside. “Let the corpse collector get that one. Feed it to the hogs,” she yelled out the door at the passersby.

She spun on Aston, “Sorry about that, that little monster has been a problem for every house in the city of late, he and all like him.” She turned to one of the serving girls, “Did you empty the waste wash bucket and put in a clean sponge this morning?”

The girl shuffled her feet, refusing to look up or answer, “That is answer enough, get in there and see to your assigned duties girl, or I will assign you to the other rooms for a week.”

The squeaked and ran past Aston into the restroom. Aston heard a banging sound and then silence. “I hope you weren’t brave or foolish enough to have tried to clean yourself with that?”

“No Ma’am, can’t say that I was,” said Aston.

“Smart man. Since the rules are, you use it, you buy food or time with a girl, what will it be?” she asked. She had returned to a serving station that held meats, slices of bread, and cheese in ice. He was surprised to see ice this time of year so far from the mountains.

She saw his interest, “A small shop a few weeks run from here lucked out and got hold of some new freezer enchants. He makes and sells ice over the entire region.” She held out a plate to Aston.

He took it, asked, “How much?”

“The food is a silver coin, the girls are two gold for an hour. Plat for an overnight. Specials cost more.” she said.

Aston took two thick slices of bread and put some meat and cheese between the pieces. He added a bit of mustard for flavor, paid the silver, and thanked the woman. He hadn’t asked her name and wasn’t sure he wanted to know. He exited the brothel and walked back to his wagon while he chewed the tough bread and meat. He could see another woman standing by the wagon before he got there. She spotted him and waved in excitement. He suddenly knew who this was, no name, but excitement oozed from her as she ran up to him, arms outstretched to snag him up in another bear-hug. He managed to sidestep her charge to save his food and waited for her to stop and come back at a more sedate pace.

“What, you don’t want a hug from old Anne?” she exclaimed.

Aston smiled, he now had a name to go with the walking, happy mood. “Well Anne, I was just preventing the destruction of my lunch.” He held up his food to show her.

She blushed when she saw what she had almost ruined. Sorry, mister, just get so excited, I forget to look at what will happen when I go charging in.”

“Not a problem this time Anne. My name is Aston, Aston Grey. We weren’t properly introduced last night,” said Aston, holding out his free hand to her. She smiled and grabbed it, shaking it up and down almost faster than he could handle. ‘This woman is nuts,’ he thought as he retrieved his hand. He looked around, not seeing anybody with a horse that needed tending, he asked Anne, “There wouldn’t happen to be any public bathing facilities nearby would there?”

Anne cocked her head at the question, smiled and giggled at him. She spun away and pointed at a small group of buildings on the other side of the caravan marshaling yard. “All you could need is right over yonder Aston. Showers, tubs, toilets, even a barber believe it or not. We have it all. Food is from local establishments, but you have already found that out.” She spun around again, arms flying, her skirt flipping up and down wildly. He smiled and thanked her. She took off and disappeared around a nearby wagon and that was the last he saw of her for a few hours.

He put up a sign saying he would be returning shortly, checked to see that his horses were doing alright then gathered some fresh clothes, his soap, and a couple of towels.

Before he entered any of the buildings, he walked down the line, glancing in each one as he passed by the doorways. The barbershop turned out to be what it was called, with a bonus. The woman was on her knees in front of the man she had shaved and was fellating him. He watched only for a few seconds before moving on. He felt his chin and decided he needed a shave. He kept his coins purse on him and figured a haircut and shave were in order. He grinned at the thought, then shoved it down for later.

He went to the toilets first and cleaned himself off. Feeling better, he headed into the showers in the next building. He looked in and was surprised at what he saw. Just inside the door, a woman sat at a desk. She explained how it worked.

“First, strip, placing all your clothing in this bag,” she handed him a burlap bag. He put all his belongings except his soap, washcloth, and towel in it. He buried the coin purse in the middle of the cloths. “Now, seal the bag with the wrap and keep the matching wood tag with you. Without it, you can’t recover your belongings.” She sealed it, handed him a wooden tag with a number on it. “Place the bag up on the shelf with the matching number.” He did so.

“Now, use the shower first, wash and rinse completely, then go to the toilet before you get in the hot soak. We don’t want folks peeing in the tubs.” He followed her instructions and was soon clean of the road and shop grime. Working with horses was a dirty job. He was finishing rinsing when she stuck her head in, “It also cost two silver to use the facilities. Pay me before you leave. I should have collected when you came in.”

“Ok, not a problem Ma’am,” he said.

When he entered the next room, it was quite warm, the air heavy from the hot water. He started to step into the nearest tub when he remembered the instructions. He saw a sign for the men’s room and went to empty his bladder. He was glad he did, he had had to go again. Once this was done, he settled into one of the tubs. There were ten total tubs in the room, five on each side of the walkway. The tubs were made of wood slabs and shaped like a giant barrel that had been cut in half. Each could seat eight people comfortably at a time. Since the yard was mostly empty, nobody else was soaking at this early hour. He wondered where they got the hot water. He hadn’t noticed any smokestacks for burning fuel to heat it. He would have to ask later. For now, he just relaxed and let the heat soak in and wash away the aches and pains being on the road caused.

He must have nodded off for a few seconds and had begun to sink into the water. He sputtered and coughed, clearing his lungs. “Ok, enough of this.” he climbed out, the colder air making his skin tighten. Even that felt good to him at this point. He dried off and wrapped the towel around his waist, then went back to the lobby to recover his bag. The woman saw him and asked, “Feeling better now?”

“Much better. Those hot soaks are wonderful,” replied Aston.

“Glad you liked them. Two silver please.”

Aston handed her the tag, and he was able to retrieve his belongings when she opened a hatch cover he hadn’t seen before. He reached in and found his coin purse, pulled out two silvers, and handed them to her.

“Dress over there, out of the walkway please.” She pointed to a cleared area by the door and pulled out the fresh clothing he had brought with him.

He finished dressing then asked her about the barbershop. “It’s open, you do need a shave or a trim at least.”

“How about laundry?” he asked instead.

“The fifth building. It has what you need to get your clothing clean,” she said. “The forth building is a supply shop. It’s for caravan staff and yards personal only though.”

“I guess that leaves me out. I am temporary here. I need to rest, resupply, and prepare to head further south, then to the Cove.”

“You’re on staff until you leave. I saw you working with the horses this morning. Have a pleasant evening.” She went back to reading a book she was holding, dismissing him.

Rather than go to the laundry building first, he returned to his camp and saw that he didn’t have anybody waiting. He gathered all the clothing that needed cleaning and a clean bag. When he entered the laundry building, a man looked up from the paperwork he was going over.

“Can I help you young sir?” he asked.

“I need to wash my clothing. I have been on the road for a week and need to clean everything I used.” He looked at the oddly shaped tubs and doors along the wall.

“Well, it is easy, you need to buy some soap for your clothing. Normal soap will make a mess of the place by making suds overflow. Once you have that, place the items to be washed in an upright drum, open the water valve, add the soap. Fill it until the water just covers the cloths. Close the top, then start cranking the handle on the side. You shouldn’t need to do it for too long. If you want to time it, turn the nob on top for the number of minutes you want and it will ring the bell when you need to stop. Open the valve at the bottom of the tank to drain it. Bring the clothes over to the wringer to squeeze as much of the soapy water out as you can. Place them in the barrel labeled rinse and close the lid. Closing and setting the lock will add fresh water to the tank. Turn the crank for a few minutes, drain it, then wring them out again.”