Chapter 46: The hot spring episode
/Uxbeyn, the goddess of the forge, is one of the more tangible deities we have. She is flexible, yet tough, as well forged steel. She can be as cold as a sharp blade, or as warmhearted as the coals at the bottom of her godly smithy.
Her residence is found in all volcanoes this land has to offer. When their rocks start rolling, or lava bursts forth from them, it is often caused by one of her victorious screams, when she has yet again succeeded in beating magic into metal.
She is an artist, the greatest of all time perhaps, and goes by many names. The godsmith, the relicmaker, the mistress of the anvil, the iron hammer, and sometimes the anvil on which all things are born.
She is not the major goddess of creation, but she is heavily worshipped by races who use many metals, as well as any smiths. Her heart blazes with passion for her makings, and if anyone were to insult it, she would not even turn angry. Instead, she would strive with all her heart to improve the thing they criticised.
Of course, that is only so, if their criticism was valid. Uxbeyn does not tolerate unwarranted insults to her craft, and if one were to make fun of an aspect of a piece she views as perfect, one might face her full and unstopped wrath.
But that is not where the godsmith's tales stop. There are more than a few of her pieces in possession of different countries, perhaps some of the more famous one being the mask of mischief, one which is impossible to lock away, or perhaps the golden shield, one whose surface never scratches.
Of course, there is also the claws of silvermyst, the pole of many faces, and the divine spear Aegisbane, the crusher of many fortresses.
It is believed that many more of her relics lay scattered about, always sought, but never found, and some even speculate that the goddess takes some sort of pleasure in us mere mortals searching for the things she has made.
Perhaps it is through this belief in her creations that she is able to make more, and perhaps the only reason she seeks to make them powerful is to make them sought after. But these are only speculations, for who could ever hope to truly understand the mind of the anvil on which all things are born.
Her creation is questionable, perhaps she does it out of pleasure for war, or for creation's own sake. All we know is that she makes, and continues to make, with the everlasting fire of her forge burning hot in her heart."
An excerpt from "Of greater Beings" by Matthew Lexicon, the stubborn historian.
- - - - - -
When Mercury woke up, he was feeling more than just sore all over. Like, seriously, every muscle in his body hurt like a total fucking bitch. Actually, even more than that. He could tell that even his mana veins were bruised and battered, and to be honest with himself, he didn't know if he could even get up.
Additionally, he also had a splitting migraine. He had never been prone to have them back at his old home, but now he could certainly tell what made them so bothersome. Every time he heard someone take a step or laugh out loud, he could feel it growing, like they were mocking him.
Then he also seemed absolutely sensitive of light. Every single ray of sunshine from his windows sent his head into waves of pain, and he was dizzy and felt like throwing up. Ugh, fuck.
He tried bringing up his status window, but honestly, he really couldn't. The slight light it gave off was just too much, and even if that weren't a problem, there was no way he could focus on the letters.
Damn it all, wasn't this supposed to be the easy part? Just resting a little, getting back into top shape? Why did everything hurt more now than it did when he fought? Ugh, fuck.
Of course, the migraine was probably brought about by his overuse of his mana. He had absolutely ran his reserves dry, and quite frankly, even now he was unsure of whether they were full or not. Probably not, though. His mana took a rather long while to regenerate if he didn't specifically meditate on it.
His stamina should be in better shape though. He had, after all, just now found out how to use it. Honestly, it seemed more likely that he would have overcharged his muscles, rather than his stamina deposits. He did train his body quite a bit usually, and he was slowly making progress, but not nearly enough to justify what he had done yesterday.
Of course, he had an easier time dodging than a human would because he was so small, but he had moved faster than he thought himself possible back there. Man, old Dreamweaver was seriously no joke. Just one hint at a technique from them, and it boosted him this much?
He'd have cracked a smile if his face didn't feel on fire right then and there.
Well, what to do then? He definitely needed to show up and collect his payment today, right? Shit, maybe Davis had some painkillers stocked? Would medicine even work for this? Hell it was worth a try.
Getting out of his bed was already a task and a half, but when the glaring light of the hallway punched his eyeballs, things seemed to get exponentially harder. Well, not much to do but to bear with it...
Mercury slowly took a few shaky steps forward, feeling all of his legs burning with every one of them. Was this what it meant to do leg day? A truly most cruel fate.
He took a break just before the staircase, just for a moment, lying down and breathing heavily as he felt the muscles in his chest ache maybe even more than the rest of him. Man, this really sucked.
What do people with migraines usually think about? How much pain they were in? How annoying the people talking and walking and living around them were? Or maybe how the fucking sun should shut its mouth for once? Ugh, he was getting more annoyed by the minute.
Oh well, nothing more to do than go down the stairauaaagh!
And thus, another obstacle was cleared, as Mercury immediately lost his balance, stumbled, and fell down all the way into the dining room.
"Uuuuuuughhhh....."
"Good morning, sir. Anything I should get you? You look... well, pardon my wording, you look like garbage," Davis said, letting out a slight chuckle at his own joke.
"You got any painkillers? I think I overdid the whole mana thing."
"Painkillers, yes, but none that would prove effective with your troubles. Perhaps you should seek out a pharmacy? Maybe even the Mages' Guild, they know much more about mana than me, sir."
"Mmmmmm," Mercury grumbled, but slowly picked himself up, now just a tad bit more battered and disheveled than before.
"Rough day, fella?" one of the patrons called out to him, but Mercury could only flinch and put his paws to his head.
"Ooooh, hangover," they said, now quite a bit quieter. "Bad 'un too, by the looks of it. Sorry 'bout that, didn't mean 'tah..."
"Okay. All good. I'm just gonna... ugh..." and with those truly wise last words, Mercury somehow stumbled out of the dim interior of the inn out into the bright and busting street. To be fair, the sunlight really brought out all of the dirt and crusty blood he still had on his fur, and beautifully accentuated the deep, all-consuming blackness under his eye.
Arduously, Mercury began dragging himself through the streets. He was already irritated, and the many carriages and people made it much, much worse. If he had brought a rope with him, he just might've strangled some of those noisy ass children. Argh.
Shit man, on days like this he truly didn't envy people who got to experience something like this regularly. Fuck.
Really, if the rope he hadn't brought with him had been sturdy enough, he might have just lassoed the sun and shot it out of this galaxy. Then again, he doubted there was such a rope.
After a LOT more murring, yelping, grumbling, and sighing, Mercury had finally dragged his sorry self back the the gloryhall. By god, what an ordeal. His legs were screaming at him more than ever, his chest felt like someone had doused it in gasoline, then lit it on fire, used it to heat up a thick slab of iron, and was now forging said iron on it, and his head was still singing a thousand melodies of pain.
"AHH- Ah, fuck!" Mercury tried screaming his frustrations out, only to immediately regret it, when in exchange for his annoyance, another headache slammed into him. Why oh why were the heavens so cruel to him?
Of course, his shout had been all but silent, and just a handful of moments later, Marcel managed to open the door for him.
"I knew I recognized that voice. Come on in, Mercury," he said, keeping his voice low enough to only slightly irritate the mopaaw in front of him further.
"You got some fucking painkillers in there?"
"Yes, I believe we have some emergency medicine for what you're experiencing right now. Just a moment for me to fetch it."
And just like that, Marcel disappeared through the door, with Mercury slowly trailing behind. The inside was even louder than the outside, with many godseekers yelling and congratulating each other over a few too many drinks.
Luckily, it only took Marcel multiple small eternities to return to his furry friend. He brought a bottle of pills with him, funnily enough. Small, white ones.
"Do you need any water with th- okay, it's gone, alright. Give it a few seconds to help you out," the receptionist said with a smile
"Uh-huh," Mercury managed to grumble in response. And with that, he was left to his own thoughts again. Allow me to vocalize them.
Hr-Hrm: Ow. Ouch. Damn it. Ugly ass one eyed man, shut the fuck up. Ow. My head hurts. My legs hurt. Everything hurts. Why do you have to toast your glasses so loudly?! Urgh! Fuck. I'm thinking too loud. Everything is too loud. Why are these damn light so bright. OW! Ah, damn it all.
And then, slowly but surely, things seemed to get a little better. At least after a good 10 minutes, he felt human again, instead of some broken and battered piece of shapeless, pained flesh. What an ordeal. Why hadn't this been a trial, huh?!
Seems like his anger didn't fully recede with his headache.
"Hey Marcel?"
"Yes?"
"You got some place for me to go take a bath in here? Preferably quietly. So like, ideally 7 floors underground."
"It seems your humor has returned partially," Marcel replied with a smile. "But yes, it is godseeker policy to have some sort of washroom. Luckily for you, little one, we have something of a hot spring in a small, natural cave below here."
"A HOT SP- OW! Fuck! Okay, fine, just... where?"
"Keep it quiet though, seekers only. Stairway down, past the toilets on the left, then another stairway down. To the right there's the locker rooms, and to the left the showers. Please use those before- aaaaand he's off. Alright."
Marcel gave a soft sigh to himself and shook his head. This mopaaw he had found himself was quite a handful, but oh well. He had chosen this job as receptionist, and while sometimes the mopaaw's antics were a little annoying, he had to admit that he didn't mind too much.
There was a good heart, somewhere in there. And of course, he would also profit from Mercury's rise in ranks. Maybe that was his first reason?
Marcel shook his head. He was thinking too much again, and he still had work to do.
Mercury meanwhile really was feeling quite a bit better. Down here there weren't as many lights, and the sounds from above were muffled at best. Mercury took in a somewhat deep breath, trying his best not to overwork his chest.
He quickly headed past the toilets and into the showers, where he would at the very least make sure to wash himself off before going into a hot spring. That must be proper manners, right?
The showers each had their own designated stall, with lockable doors. They also had a few different sizes, maybe because there were some giant godseekers, Mercury thought. He hopped into one of the smaller ones, turned on the water after some trial and error and enjoyed it washing by him.
To be quite frank, he had never enjoyed the sensation of water. It was fine enough for showers and washing himself, especially warm water. But he still hated baths, so he wasn't even planning on going into the hot spring. But fortunately for him, if it was a hot spring, there would be steam.
He would instead use it like a sauna! A truly evil ploy. He had never been to a hot spring before, truth be told, but he imagined that sitting next to it with maybe just his feet dangling in the water could be nice.
Wrapped in a nice, fluffy towel, sitting at the edge of a steaming pile of clean water. Yes, that sounded quite appealing. As long as it wasn't something like a pool, or a bathtub, or a wild lake with fish, or the ocean, or... Well, anyway. Steam, yes.
And so, after watching the shower water drag away the filth that had settled itself on his fur, he walked back out, and shook himself off, before grabbing the fluffiest towel he could find, and wrapping himself in it, by lying down on it, holding it in place with his mouth, and performing a smooth roll.
His back hurt during it, of course. This really left him feeling like an old man...
After having wrapped himself, Mercury grabbed a second towel, this one to lay on, and started strolling towards the hot spring.
He even started humming to himself, his best, quiet rendition of "Utopia City" by Rifles n' Tulips. Good band, great song. His dad had played it a lot back when he was a kid and they went on some roadtrips. Those were nice memories, he thought to himself.
But by the time he was back outside his thoughts, he had almost reached the spring. The lights were now all small oil lamps, which probably needed refilling only rarely. They let off a dim, soft light, that Mercury could now endure after some medicine.
So, he stepped in, and immediately noticed two things:
1. There were people here and
2. There was no gender separation.
Well, he just hoped he wouldn't scare anyone.
Luckily for him, there weren't too many people. There was a slightly older looking woman who Mercury didn't recognize, along with Lucia and Iris... wait, what were those two doing here? Wasn't this the Godseekers' Guild? And finally there was also Avery.
Of course, everyone was fully wrapped in towels, and he wasn't an absolute creep, but Mercury couldn't quite help staring. At Avery.
"Shouldn't you be doing some work right now?" he asked the man, who was still wearing sunglasses while in an underground bath. "Wait, are those water towels?"
"Well, finally you turned up. I was starting to get worried, kaha," Avery said, letting out a small laugh. "No, seriously, good work yesterday. How'd you make it here, Mercury?"
"You aren't answering the questions," Mercury simply said, a little disappointed as he slowly walked around the pool, looking for a spot to settle in.
"Yes, he should be, and yes, they are. I do not know about other countries, but since there is only this one hot spring, anyone who behave poorly will simply be banned, yet these towels are still mandated."
"Yeah, this is supposed to be a spot of relaxation for anyone," Avery said. "If you infringe on someone's comfort, that's your fault. Be considerate."
"Well spoken, master Beckham," the slightly older woman said, as Mercury was now establishing himself a spot to lay down on. It was as he had hoped, the air was warm and calming, even with the quiet chattering of the other people.
"It is indeed important to allow anyone to be comfortable here, especially since there are no other hot springs in the city."
"Then again, if anyone I don't like wants in here, I can just have them banned. It still belongs to my guild after all," Avery said, shooting a glance at Lucia that carried both warning and some mockery in it.
"You dare?!" She flared up.
"Ugh, my head..."
"M'lady, I don't quite know if this is the best time-"
"Hmpf!!"
"Well then," Mercury said, keeping his eyes on Avery as he admired the man's dedication to a style, "What have you gathered here to discuss?"
"Nothing, really. I just wanted to hang out. I didn't know anyone else would be here. I'm hiding from work. Nira?"
"Hiding from work," the older lady said with a slight smirk. Mercury could certainly notice some rings under her eyes, must've been a harsh few days. He'd been there.
"Taking a well deserved break!" Lucia half-yelled, only holding her tongue after another yelp from Mercury.
"Bea- Ahem, godseeker Starlight, is there any problem?" She asked, quite probably trying her best to be polite. Mercury respected it a little, but today his tolerance was maybe too low for a little.
"Rough day. Fought some mafia boss bastard, kicked his ass, blew up some birdfaced monstrosity, but it still moved, so I bit the shit out of it. Went a little far, ended up pulling a muscle or 30, probably got some bruised bones, hopefully no breaks though. Other than that, I overused my mana, probably my stamina, and definitely my chest," he said calmly, only to be met with some slightly surprised looks.
"What?" he asked.
"That seems a little much to use for one fight?" Iris squeaked.
"I mean, yeah, but birdface had a spiky axe-spear thingy-"
"A halberd?" Nira asked.
"Yeah, that. I wasn't taking any chances, so I used all I got. Threw a mana bomb at it too and all."
"You had a mana bomb?!"
"Yes, and I also have a headache, dear head priestess, so if you would please, for the love of fuck, lower your damn voice."
"I- you-!!" for a moment Lucia seemed lost for words, before she shook her head and grit her teeth. "Fine," she growled out, but kept quiet. "I'll humor you this time, godseeker Starlight."
Avery gave a small chuckle at this. "I gave him the mana bomb from the shipment we got from Birk. Luckily, too. Wouldn't wanna lose a promising recruit."
"Promising?" Nira raised an eyebrow. "This young one has more feats to back himself up?"
"A handful. Keeps taking down commissions a rank above him. If he gets another one done, he could raise in rank again, which would be pretty darn quick," Avery said. "Though yeah, taking down a birdface and a criminal surely deserves some credit? Especially without weaponry, other than the mana bomb?"
"Actually," Mercury said, bringing forth his many rocks, "I use a lot of weaponry."
"Rocks?" Iris asked.
"Yup, rocks. With runes on 'em, too!" Mercury said proudly.
"You do runework?" Nira raised an eyebrow yet again, seemingly confused, so Mercury gently threw one of his carved stones over towards her. "Hm," she turned it in her hands after picking it up from the water, "pretty decent work, too. Of course, still first grade, but certainly mid-tier runes, no? Only basic sharpness and reinforce, though. Say, godseeker Starlight, do you not know more advanced runes?"
"Nope, thought those would unlock with the Skill levels."
"Some might, certainly," Nira said, "but not all. Runecarving is an art, and not all runes were created by the system. People have chained them into arrays, invented new ones, created items with them, all such things. There are many who seek to hoard their secrets, and few willing to teach them, but I could certainly get you a guidebook or two."
"Oh, really? That would be awesome!"
"At a cost, of course," the woman said with a smile. "I'm still a merchant. Giveaways are not my expertise. I believe that if you want something, you should earn it."
"I agree," Avery interjected. "And Mercury has, in fact earned something. You feeling better yet? Because I think that you've got payment waiting for you."