Tal picked up another bucket and rinsed off the soap, then moved to the next room, which was clouded with steam. The bath was very hot, and Tal entered slowly, feeling the hair on his neck and arms rise as he forced himself into the deeper end of the pool, where he could sit on an underwater bench, lying back with his shoulders against the coping that ran around the edge of the pool.
A plump matron entered, handed her towel to the attendant, and got into the water. Tal had traveled enough since being saved by Robert to have some sense of the various ways different people regarded the showing of parts of the body and other personal practices, but Roldem seemed among the oddest. Female fashions tended to the conservative, except for grand occasions, at which time women wore clothing that was revealing to the point of being entirely scandalous. The Countess Amandi had arrived at Baron Gruder’s gala the previous week in an ornate Keshian gown which left both breasts uncovered, something she had compensated for by wearing a complex choker of pearls draped down her chest. The constantly moving pearls had provided a provocative attraction, to say the least. Plunging backs and deep décolletage at such events were common for women who during the day went about the city covered from neck to ankle. Even more strange, to Tal, was the way in which women and men changed in separate rooms, yet bathed together publicly. Talon assumed that at some time in Roldem’s history someone in authority had decided that nudity was fine, but dressing and undressing in front of members of the other gender was a bad thing.
Talon found himself chuckling over that, which gained him a raised eyebrow from the matron. He smiled at her and said, “Remembering a jest, m’lady.’’
She nodded, not quite convinced.
Talon felt himself relaxing and his thoughts began to drift. If he fell into a doze, the attendants would keep an eye on his property, and, given the number of seriously intoxicated customers over the years, he knew they would also prevent him from falling facefirst in the water and drowning himself.
Pasko would prevent him from staying overly long, and he would soon be there with the clothes he had selected for this evening. So Tal dozed in a warm haze of well-being, his momentary sadness passing quickly.
Sven appeared some time later and said, “Salmina can take you now, m’lord.’’
Tal rose and accepted the large towel provided for him by one of the boys in attendance. He followed Sven to a small room curtained off from the changing area. Salmina was a Rodezian woman who stood nearly as tall as Tal’s six feet and an inch. She was strong, with powerful hands, but nature had conspired to keep her slender. Tal knew from personal exploration that she had a well-muscled and supple body under the short tunic she wore.
As soon as Sven departed, pulling the curtain closed, she slipped out of the robe and started pouring scented oil upon her hands. “The complete massage, today, m’lord?” she asked playfully.
Tal lay with his chin on his arms, and said, “Not today, my dear. I must save my energy for another, tonight.’’
She applied oil to his naked buttocks with a playful slap, just hard enough to let him know that she was slightly disappointed at his answer. Despite being past forty years of age, she was a striking woman, and years of experience made her a prodigious lover. Tal had left with wobbly legs the first time he had consented to the “complete” massage.
“A lion like you? You should be able to make me smile and be ready for half a dozen others in less than an hour.’’
Talon had to laugh. “I can barely remember my name or the way home when you’ve finished with me, Salmina.’’
“I take pride in my work.’’
“As well you should,” he said with genuine affection.
“Who’s the lucky girl?” she asked as she set to, kneading his shoulders.
“Could I call myself a gentleman if I named the lady?’’
“Many do, but I suspect you’re a bit more discreet than most.’’
“Thank you.’’
As she always did, she clucked her tongue as she ran her fingers along the many scars on Tal’s body. “So young to have suffered so many wounds,” she observed, not for the first time. “Do you think you’re ready for the contest?’’
He sighed as she started working at his neck. “If I’m not, I’ll find out as soon as it begins, won’t I?’’
“There is that,” she said with a chuckle.
They exchanged banter, then Salmina turned away to get another vial of oil from a table next to the wall.
Suddenly, a sense of danger shot through Talon, and he lunged to his right.
Pain exploded in his left arm as a blade sliced through the skin from his shoulder to a point halfway to his elbow. He rolled off the table and hit the floor in a crouch, ignoring the burning pain.