Battle Admin System 4

4 - Hot Baths

Someone from the tavern had spread a warning of a drunk giant on the move. In truth, she was plenty sober. Alcohol was a weak poison. But it was best to pretend she was affected heavily.

The thoroughfare from Gimmer’s Throne to Hina’s Hot Baths was mostly clear. The guard captain appeared leaning against a wall, watching her sharply. She waved at him drunkenly before singing a song her mother had sung.

It was night. The moon was out, bathing its wounded child in pale light. The song honored the moon, and the moon honored Lillea.

Half an hour later, the hot bath laborers used steam magic to raise a thick screen around Lillea. She stripped down, passed her armor off to some little hands for cleaning, and accepted a cold bath to wash her down.

Thankfully, she bathed in a lake before returning to Cold Tooth, so she was not the worst case of hygiene. Once cleaned, she lay prone as Hina moved in front of her face and Yui moved around her back.

“Will you be staying for a week just like before, Lady Moonstrider?” asked Hina, a slim black-haired woman with skin as white as snow. “We’ve been working on improving our accommodations for you. It saddens us that such an esteemed patron must struggle with designs made for small minds and bodies. You can certainly afford the cost of proper comforts.”

If Hina could squeeze a copper coin out of a random rock, she would turn the whole city into a quarry. Every smile glinted with a dash of greed and fanged pinpricks sticking out from between her rose colored lips. Intricate silk robes with flower patterns adorned her body, fluttering in the wake of her ghostly movements. She kept Lillea’s eyes focused on her and not on the ten-foot female oni beating on the left side of her back and shoulder.

“Not bad work from the metal minds. But I’m disappointed in the healer. Shame on them for not tending to you further. You have too many knots. I’ll smooth them out.” Yui punched harder, raining down blows that healed.

Pain and pleasure intermingled. Lillea sighed, eyes fluttering as her vision faded in and out while trying to track Hina.

Just like the other nonhumans that made up a part of Cold Tooth’s population, Hina and Yui had left behind their origins for new opportunities. They found great success here in Cold Tooth.

But to have gotten here would require them to pass through Port Precipice and travel the road. A road occupied by bandits who would murder foreigners and nonhumans faster than natives.

Hina and Yui were over the 200s. They seemed like capable adventurers. But that could not compare to the services they provided, a necessity for Lillea’s comfort in Cold Tooth. She would want them and their business safe.

“I will only stay the night, unfortunately,” Lillea said. “But I’ll be impressed if you can accommodate a giant fully. It’ll be harder for me to leave while having a home here at your establishment and the service of Yui’s legendary healing techniques.”

Hina smiled like Lillea was made of gold. Yui grunted in appreciation at being acknowledged as a healer. Hot bath servants finished preparing a solution for oiling Lillea’s arm. Somehow, Hina had gotten ahead of the potential rust issue.

Once Yui finished punching out the knots and left, Lillea slid into the water, laying all the way back. Her metal arm stayed on the ground to be treated.

Servants unbraided her hair. A whole team worked in and out of the water, pampering her entire body. The women took their jobs seriously. They were experts of their craft.

It was a costly procedure for Lillea to take care of herself. Having the noble lifestyle of a giant lady burned through coins and resources.

Grimmer’s Throne, Hina’s Hot Baths, and other amusements had adapted to Lillea quicker than others. They recognized the fortune she brought.

Nobody was swindling each other, either. There was no need to endanger a relationship with their golden whale. Lillea’s payments in one day of unbridled enjoyment equaled what four adventurers would pay in a month.

Sometimes more.

I’m almost tempted to accept one of my many suitors. Let them pay for my pleasures.

Lords and ladies had called upon Lillea. They themselves weren’t always capable warriors. So she was both a prize and a protector for them. And a political leverage like no other: the Unofficial Cold Tooth Lady.

Lillea liked her independence, however. Maybe she should cut back more.  But I worked for this. It’s both my right to enjoy and a means to an end.

These pleasures eased the burden on her mind. They reassured the residents and adventurers of Cold Tooth she was committed to them. And she was truly committed. She could easily stay out in the wilderness and keep grinding.

But then she might not have Ogun’s sincere passion for building a giant arm that could last. She might not have dwarves setting aside other commissions to work on a project that seemed impossible. She wouldn’t have her little goblins, either. They were more useful than people thought.

“Lady Moonstrider. It’s Pruz. My eyes are down. No looking upon the lady.”

Lillea’s eyes were closed while she basked in comfort. “Come forth, Pruz.”

She heard his little feet. He stepped harder than normal until he stopped by her left ear.

“Girls, leave,” Hina ordered. “Lady Moonstrider, do you trust me to stay as I care for your hair?”

As a pitter-patter of human feet dashed away, Lillea thought about the question of trust. No. Her fleshy hand rose out of the hot water and waved Hina away. The woman disappeared into the mist with a quiet flutter of her flower patterned robes.

A hum traveled through the air. A barrier was raised. Weak but decent for private conversations.

Some humans knew the goblin language. Barriers were penetrable without fully breaking. To mitigate potential spies, Lillea went further than most people would expect.

She spoke to Pruz using a distinct dialect from his homeland. The common goblins wouldn’t be able to understand.

Pruz loved it. He became more animated but had the professional courtesy to stay on topic. As part of her eyes and ears in Cold Tooth, he fed her all the information she would care about…

Noble humans moving in and out.

Interesting nonhumans moving in and out.

Sales of wares, materials, resources that might pique interest.

Big waves spurned by successful adventurers or failed ones.

Expedition arrivals. Deaths. Notable attacks from outside and inside the walls.

Guard rosters and rotations.

Criminal activity.

New laws.

Potential blackmail.

Reliable rumors predicting the movements of the empire and its rivals.

Important rumors surrounding Lillea herself.

It seemed like a lot. But speaking in goblin shortened phrases and cut past niceties, especially with Pruz’s unique dialect. The equivalent was like speaking shortly with a sailor minus the cussing.

Pruz was also good at starting with the humdrum and rounding out with the most exciting material. There were no updates on the stalker, but the ending concluded with something important for the goblins.

“A matriarch is here,” Pruz said. “Been here for a week.”

“Thoughts?” Lillea asked.

“Strange. Distant. Keeps to herself. Leaves us free.”

Goblin society deemed all goblin females to be matriarchs since there were so few. They could give birth to many males, however.

Matriarchs tended to be more powerful. More magical, too. Goblin decorum required males not in service to a matriarch to submit themselves when one roamed nearby.

I might have a teensy problem with the goblin girl if she tries to take my goblins.

But the matriarch hadn’t. She was keeping her distance. How long would that last, though?

Should I check this matriarch out myself? Should I leave her alone?

“Give thoughts?” Pruz asked.

“Give,” Lilleah ordered.

“Matriarch is young. Strange. Nose always in book. Not like a real matriarch.”

So, she’s different. That made Lillea more curious. “Sense of power?”

Pruz shivered. “Noble. Maybe high 300s.”

Strong for a goblin. Lillea had Pruz tell her more details about the goblin girl. Then she ended business with an order regarding the bandit commission.

Pruz offered to gather some eager goblin fighters to scout ahead and cause the bandits some mischief. Lillea approved.

Then they shifted the focus on Pruz and his comrades, less work, more fun. There were sake barrels to the side. She had Pruz drink for him to relax and speak more openly.

To be honest, goblin antics were the most entertaining and scandalous of tales. It was unfitting of a lady to listen based on human decorum, but Lillea couldn’t help but enjoy tall tales from Pruz.

He talked about one goblin falling from a rooftop and snatching the brassiere off a whore looking out the window. It helped break the fall and was now revered as a lifesaving totem. Three goblins were now on a quest to find an enchanter to expand the power of the brassiere.

When Hina arrived with her servants to pick up where they’d left off, Lillea had Pruz collect coins from her pouch before she bid him a farewell. With a smile, Lillea exited the water and accepted being oiled and cleansed from head to toe.

She figured it was unlikely for Hina to eavesdrop on her and Pruz successfully. She would have certainly tried. The barrier belonged to her, after all. But she was foreign. Most of the servant girls heralded from the same land across the ocean or were common humans from the empire.

Pruz came from the desert far, far west. Lillea copied his home language perfectly for this reason.

Moonstrider Learning V leveled up from 241 to 242!

And that’s why it’s important to learn. It’s important to be prepared for battle, physically and mentally.

The last time she let small folks catch her unaware, her ignorance nearly killed her. Lillea learned from that experience. Her learning skill would never let her forget important lessons.

Moonstrider Learning V (Level 242): Under the light of the moon, let the day’s knowledge seep into your bones and breathe new magic into you. *Perk 1: You learn quickly and retain information like a book. In time, you will recall details close to perfect. *Perk 2: Rune scripts are easier to read, learn, and cast when given the appropriate attention they deserve. *Perk 3: Your deductive reasoning is deep. Your mind is innovative. Puzzles are yours to solve. Clues will tend to seem obvious. Critical thinking is a simple exercise.

Lillea smiled at her inheritance. At the very least, spying and anti-spying efforts helped exercise her mind and raise her skill. It had cost 4 system points to get perk two and perk three. She would have to pay 5 more system points to get perk four, a costly investment.

Doesn’t seem necessary with these three perks

She wove, strung, and checked everything Pruz had told her tonight with knowledge from prior. Some places in her brain lit up with recognition. Certain doors closed as shut cases. A few things seemed out of place.

She would question Sleek in the morning. He led a different team of goblins and was a touch more ambitious but not overly so. His dialect was from the south. Not as rare as Pruz’s, but different enough from the goblins here. Humans and foreigners would struggle to understand even if they knew some words in the goblin language.

Having two goblin leaders who were decent rivals kept them honest. She could trust them more and focus on her goals: adventuring, training, and killing.

***

“Lady Moonstrider, the arrow through my heart, it is good to see you!” shouted a human adventurer with red hair and golden armor.

Lillea had seen him from a few miles away while walking to the caravan staging area.

He was trying to stand his tallest on the ramparts. “When I saw the roster with your name on it, I knew it was fated for us to meet again.”

She knew his name. She knew he was born to nobles and of noble rank. He was Level 300, too. He wanted to be on her list of suitors, and. He seemed like he could pay for her Cold Tooth pleasures. But she was aware of his house troubles and unsavory practices.

She jumped over him with a disinterested expression. She landed outside the walls, shaking the earth and scaring the pack horses. The lizard folk held tight to the reins. A few hissed at her boots but didn’t dare look up at her eyes.

She found the guard captain standing undisturbed by her left boot. He nodded at her. Turned. Nodded at the caravan leader. Then strode back inside the walls, leaving the guards to their gate duty with the caravan and adventurers.

I swear that man is always standing coldly wherever I’m going. She wondered what went through the guard captain’s mind. I should invite him to Grimmer’s and see if alcohol will loosen his lips. The goblins could barely figure him out even after infiltrating the guards.

“Ah, I see you’re as focused as a spear’s point.” The golden noble ran up to her boot, thrusting his shiny spear at an imaginary enemy. “I still remember when you assisted me last year. Bog Swimmers. Dreadful cretins. Their mud magic is more potent than one would think.”

Lillea lay eyes on the other adventurers. There were three. Each in the adventure rank. She felt for their experience levels with her Expert Hunter’s Perception. It would never be exact, but she could feel their power press on her face when she looked hard enough.

Ranks were easy to feel through intuition. If you were knowledgeable enough.

First was the common rank. Then the adventure rank. Third came the noble rank. Fourth was the legendary rank. Most people weren’t aware of the legendary rank, so they assumed Lillea was noble. A grave error. Ranks spoke highly of potential capabilities beyond levels.

In contrast, levels weren’t as easy to tell right away. A skill was needed to get within range. Again, mostly by feel. But it helped to know when something was hundreds of levels above you. High levels meant high skills. And high leveled skills with multiple perks could be deadly.

The other adventurers were Level 300 just like the golden noble. They consisted of a dwarf warrior with a sword and shield, an elven female archer, and a human spellcaster. The golden noble would be another warrior, but more magical.

It was a balanced setup.

Reliable.

They’d grown fast compared to their levels months ago. They’d been on northern expeditions, which had served them well. This southern escort mission was a slow affair for them, especially when they had a team to work with.

Lillea tried not to grimace. She mostly went solo out of necessity. She couldn’t afford to share experience. Giants gained experience slower than others.

She also had fewer tools to work with compared to most adventurers. And she’d been down an arm. An issue that had presented many struggles.

This wasn’t the first time she’d been lapped by smaller folks. But perhaps it could be the last time. Maybe I’ll stay out in the wilds longer now that I have my arm.

A flare of excitement lifted Lillea’s mood. Her goals were more palpable than ever before. She could almost reach out and touch them.

“I know a commission like this is beneath you,” the golden noble said as the head lizard drove the caravan forward. As Lillea moved, the golden noble jogged nimbly at her side.  “So do not concern yourself. My compatriots and I will take care of the riff raff and let you enjoy a leisurely stroll!”

Lillea finally looked him in the eyes and saw determination behind his vow. He was a ridiculous fellow, but she understood what drove him. His pride still hurt from when she’d saved him on this route. That had been his welcome to Cold Tooth.

She smiled and unhooked her club with her metal hand. “Hey ho, everyone. And apologies. I’ve been rude, haven’t I? My mind being elsewhere is a poor excuse.”

She whirled her metal arm around with the club. It felt sluggish. Heavy. Her right hand twitched to use the club like prior. She kept limbering up her left arm with the club. It needed the levels.

Prosthetic Adjustment leveled up from 25 to 26!

“Firstly, I’ll ensure your safety through the worst of the journey,” she said. “The south of Cold Tooth still has its hidden dangers other than mud. Secondly, don’t get in my way. Please.”