The Dark Remains - Mark Anthony [115]
Lirith nodded. “I had wondered if this might come to pass, if a mystery cult might form around her. Only I had not believed it could happen so swiftly. Do you see how Melia’s mood has lightened? Gods have been slain, but here is a new goddess born.”
Durge did not understand the first thing concerning the workings of gods and goddesses. If he could not heat a substance in a crucible, or drop it in a vial of acid in order to observe its properties, then it was beyond him. All the same, Lirith’s words heartened him for a reason he could not name.
The House of Nine Fountains was situated on the east side of the city, not far from the wall of the Third Circle, on a slight prominence that afforded a view of the sea.
Falken had said the Fourth Circle was inhabited by the merchant class of Tarras, and to a great degree the hostel reflected that. It was large and comfortably appointed, if not particularly luxurious. The walls were white and clean but mostly unadorned, and the mosaics that covered the floors were simple in design but pleasing to the eye. The hostel was a square building of several stories, built around a roofless courtyard in the center. In the courtyard were a number of bubbling fountains from which the hostel evidently took its name.
The hostel was run by a woman named Vil, her black hair streaked with gray but her face still smooth and lovely. This surprised Durge, for in the Dominions it was not usual for a woman to own a business, except if it were a brewery—for the making of beer was women’s work. However, this was a strange land, and its customs were bound to be just as strange.
Besides, Vil seemed to run a prosperous and efficient establishment. In fact, the more Durge thought about it, the more it made sense. Would he not rather stay in a house kept by a woman than a man? This might explain the poor state of inns and taverns in Embarr. Perhaps some of the peculiar customs in this city were not so bad.
While most of the guests at the hostel appeared to be merchants visiting from one of the cities near Tarras, it was clear from the rooms Vil led them to that, from time to time, the hostel also accommodated more important—or at least wealthier—guests. The floors were covered with blue tile. Large windows opened onto the courtyard below, and sheer curtains billowed in the breeze.
The sound of water reached Durge’s ears; it was coming from a bronze basin set into a marble stand. A small pipe protruded from the wall, and water bubbled from it into the basin. Yet the basin seemed never to overflow. Durge moved to it.
“But where does the water come from?” he muttered. “And where does it go?”
Falken laughed. “Behold the magic of plumbing, my friend.”
Durge shook his head. Plumbing? He had never heard of this particular magic before. But then, to his eyes it looked more like the art of an engineer than the craft of a wizard. Even as he looked, he saw a small hole near the rim of the basin through which water drained. There must be a pipe to take water out of the building even as there was one to bring it in.
“Is it to your liking, mistress?” said the proprietress of the hostel.
Melia moved to the window and drew in a deep breath. “It’s wonderful, Madam Vil.”
Falken handed the proprietress several coins. She bowed and departed.
There were three sleeping rooms off the main sitting area, one for Melia, one for Aryn and Lirith, and one for the men. There was also, Durge discovered, a room that contained a tub for bathing with more of the ingenious plumbing to bring water to it, and even a kind of chamberpot that cleansed and emptied itself with water from a small cistern above. Durge had never seen such a thing before, and he tipped the cistern into the pot and watched the water drain away several times until Melia clucked her tongue and told him not to waste water, that it came many miles from the mountains to the north. After this, Durge sat and tried to imagine a way in which fresh water could be brought over many leagues from mountains to a city by the sea.
“So, we’re here,” Falken