by M. Gregg Roe
A huge, two-story stone building sat in the middle of an enormous lush garden. There were bushes, flowers, trees, curving stone paths, streams, and a pond with a lovely arched wood bridge across it. The building itself was of an odd design, with lower portions jutting out at angles on both sides. The exterior was decorated with frescoes and carved figures of dragons. It was totally unlike the other large and grandiose houses that they had passed on the way there.
Draymund walked through the gate and her parents promptly followed him, seemingly at a loss for words as they looked all around. Saxloc motioned her inside and then closed the gate. She turned to him and asked, “How many people live here?” It looked like there was room for all of Farmerton to fit inside.
“Just me and my parents,” he replied in an offhand manner. When he saw the disbelieving look on her face, he continued. “We have gardeners and maids that come by several times a month and help keep up the place. We also hire help whenever my mother throws a party.”
Audrey was in shock. She had no idea that such a level of wealth even existed other than in stories. “How …” she began, but couldn’t think of what to ask.
“My father slays dragons for a living,” explained Saxloc. “That’s why the house is decorated that way. I think it’s kind of tacky myself, but my father gets paid very well. And he’s made some good investments. He helped Celebern get started. The two of them grew up together.”
Audrey just stared at Saxloc, who now looked very amused. She simply could not picture Draymund fighting dragons. He and Celebern both looked like wealthy businessmen, which apparently they were. But slaying dragons? It just wasn’t conceivable.
After noticing that Draymund was still talking with her parents, Audrey spotted a short woman approaching from a side path with a purposeful stride. Her slimness was made evident by a black-and-gold dress that fit her perfectly. To Audrey, the dress looked both expensive and well-made. She judged the woman to be about thirty-years-old and admired her long light brown hair and large green eyes. The hair covered her ears, but Audrey was certain the woman was a half-elf.
Saxloc frowned as he told her, “That’s Almera, my mother, and she is not going to be happy about this. We weren’t supposed to bring any of you back with us, and especially not your parents.”
“I didn’t want them to come,” she said sadly, and his eyes widened in surprise. “If I had known how wealthy your family was, I would have found some way to stop them. You have no idea how greedy my father is.” From the way that his frown deepened, she knew that he didn’t believe her.
Almera arrived smiling, and Draymund swiftly introduced her to Audrey and her parents. She then led them to the front door of the house. Audrey noted that there didn’t seem to be a direct path from the gate to the front doors, and the path they were following was only one of many. The paths were clean, and the flowers, bushes, and trees all looked healthy and neatly trimmed. She spotted many birds and squirrels about and caught a glimpse of a large black-and-white cat running away at one point.
Up close, the house looked even more amazing. The front had two large iron doors, both colorfully-decorated with dragons. To the left of the doors was a brass bell pull and chain. The pull was shaped like a dragon’s head. From the doors, the walls angled outward and upward to join the main house. Above the entryway, on the second story, were two round, segmented glass windows, each nearly two yards across.
The inside of the house was even more impressive than Audrey had anticipated. Almera led them through the entryway into a large sitting room that could easily have seated twenty people, and which had large fireplaces to either side. The furnishings and decor all looked incredibly expensive. Beautiful rugs covered much of the polished wood floors. The walls and high ceiling were also of polished wood. At the far end of the room, a hallway led straight ahead, with carpeted stairs leading upward on both sides. Almera led them up the left stairway, and then down a wide hallway that had large windows on the left and five doors on the right.
“This is the guest area,” stated Almera. She was smiling and sounded polite, but after Saxloc’s warning, Audrey could spot the signs of repressed anger. “I will show Anton and Marilee into the first guest suite. Saxloc, please show Audrey into one of the small guest rooms. Someone will come to fetch you when breakfast is ready.”
Saxloc began to head down the hallway with Audrey following. He pushed open the third door and went inside. She followed him in and stared in disbelief. The front portion of the room had a desk with a wood chair off to the left, and two upholstered chairs in front of a wood lattice beyond which she could see a large bed and two tall windows. There was a door immediately off to the right, and another door across from the bed next to a large wardrobe. The walls were all covered with polished wood, and everything looked beautiful, expensive, and clean.
Saxloc dumped the bundle of clothing on the desk and left without saying a word. She closed the door to the hallway and then went to explore. The door to the right opened onto a small room that contained nothing other than wood shelves on the far wall. She assumed that it was intended for storage. The bed was the largest she had ever seen, and it was covered with a soft, dark blue quilt. There was a nightstand to the left of the bed, and a dressing table with a mirror and chair to the right. The windows on the far wall looked out behind the house, and she could see more lush gardens and winding paths through them. The windows had sections that could open inward, and she opened them to help air out the room.
Opposite the bed was a large wardrobe made from a beautiful dark wood. She opened it and was surprised that a robe and a pair of sandals were already inside. The robe was dark blue, and it was made from soft flannel. The sandals were also dark blue, and the soles seemed to be made of thick cotton. Audrey wondered if a previous guest had left them, but then it occurred to her that they might actually be there for guests to use when visiting. The sandals were probably only to wear inside the house.
She went and retrieved her bundle of clothing and laid it on the bed. She carefully unpacked everything and then put all of her clothes in the wardrobe. They barely filled any of it and looked utterly pathetic. Most of them were also badly wrinkled. There was a wicker basket inside the wardrobe that she suspected was probably for dirty clothing.
Audrey opened the door next to the wardrobe and went in. The floor there was composed of light brown, square ceramic tiles instead of wood. To the left, in front of a window, was a large and deep brass tub. Two brass pipes extended from the wall and extended a few inches over the side of the tub. Each was topped by a white ceramic knob. A shelf to the left of the tub held seven white ceramic jars with labels she couldn’t read. To her immediate left was a wood table with a large white ceramic bowl on it. It also had two brass pipes with knobs extending over it, but the pipes were smaller. There was a hole in the bottom of the bowl, and she saw a brass pipe that extended down from it and through the floor.
“It’s a drain,” said Audrey in wonder. She went over and twisted the knob on the left pipe and water began to run out. She twisted the other knob and water ran out of that pipe too. She felt both water streams, and the one on the left was actually warm! She noticed a cake of soap sitting on a small plate next to the bowl, and she used it to wash her hands and face. The soap was incredibly mild and had a floral scent. By the time she had finished, the water from the left pipe was fairly hot. “I can take a hot bath,” she said to herself in wonder. “This is amazing!”
To the right of the door she had entered through, there were wood shelves piled with thick white towels, and she used one to dry her hands and face. There was another wicker basket next to the shelves, and she dropped the damp towel into it. There were two things on the wall to the right, opposite the window. One was a huge mirror, nearly a yard wide and over two yards high. The other was an enclosed area in the far corner. It had wood walls and a door, but they didn’t reach all the way to the ceiling.
Audrey went over and looked at herself in the
mirror. It was large enough to completely show her, and it had none of the defects or distortions that she was accustomed to mirrors having. She looked at herself sadly. Her hair was disheveled, and her clothes were wrinkled and dirty. Dark circles under her eyes were a result of her father’s incessant snoring.
She opened the door of the enclosed area. Inside was a low wood box with a round hole on top. Below the hole was what looked like a white ceramic funnel. There was another of the ceramic knobs to the right, and a shelf piled with plain pieces of paper on the left. Audrey just stared. It was an indoor privy; it had to be. She sniffed, but it didn’t smell at all. She turned the knob and water shot into the funnel and then swirled around and down. It was incredible, and she couldn’t resist trying it out.
Audrey stripped off the clothes that she had been wearing for days. She smiled happily as she washed up, making liberal use of the soap and hot water. When she was done, she put on clean underclothes and the pale blue cotton dress that she had brought with her. A drawer in the dressing table contained combs and brushes, and she managed to get her hair looking halfway decent. She put on her leather shoes and then went out and sat in one of the upholstered chairs, finding it remarkably comfortable.
She was already starting to worry. The house was so amazing that she couldn’t imagine her parents ever leaving of their own accord. She certainly didn’t want to leave now.
After a few minutes, there was a light knock on the door, and she got up and answered it. Saxloc was standing in the hallway frowning. He had cleaned up and put on elegant-looking clothing that made her feel badly underdressed.
“Breakfast is ready,” he said curtly. “But I also need to show you how to use the plumbing.”
“Plumbing?” She had no idea what he was talking about.
He looked annoyed as he said, “Plumbing. The sink. The bath. The toilet.”
“Do you mean the bowl with water and the indoor privy?” she asked.
He was startled and briefly smiled. “Yes. A bowl or basin with running water is called a sink. I guess a toilet is something like an indoor privy, but with water to flush it.”
Audrey nodded. “Okay. I just didn’t know those words. I figured out how to use everything. I’m looking forward to taking a hot bath later.” Saxloc actually looked a bit embarrassed, and she suspected that he was imagining her bathing.
“All right,” he said. “I had to explain everything to your parents.”
Audrey shook her head. “I’m not surprised. Uh … there was already a robe and sandals in the wardrobe. Are those—”
“Those are for guests,” he interrupted, now looking impatient. “Let’s go to breakfast.”
“Okay.”
She followed him to the stairs and then down them. They went down the hallway to the left and into a large room on the right that was dominated by a dining table measuring two yards wide by seven yards long made of a beautiful dark wood. The room was paneled in wood, and there were paintings and tapestries on the walls that all depicted dragons. Draymund and Almera were already seated on the far side of the table at one end, and Saxloc went around and sat by his father. Audrey sat next to her mother on the other side, finding herself directly opposite Almera. There were plates and cups and utensils already out, as well as platters heaped with a variety of foods.
They all began to eat and Audrey tried to sample everything. There were two vegetables that she didn’t recognize at all. The scrambled eggs had been flavored with something very aromatic and were delicious. The butter also had something mixed into it, and it was so good that she had a second piece of bread just so she could have more. The cup contained fruit juice, but it was from no fruit she had ever encountered.
There was hardly any conversation. Her parents looked tired, and they hadn’t even changed clothes or cleaned up. Saxloc and Draymund simply concentrated on eating. Almera observed her three guests closely as she ate.
When everyone had finished, Marilee said, “Thank you, Almera. That was a great breakfast. Anton and I are still tired and we want to go back and lie down.”
Almera smiled at them and said, “That’s fine. I know you had a long trip to come here.”
As soon as they had departed, Draymund and Saxloc stood up, and Draymund nodded at Almera before he and Saxloc walked out. Audrey began to stack the dirty plates.
“What are you doing?” asked Almera with a surprised look.
“I’ll help you clean up. It’s the least I can do. This must have been a lot of work.”
Almera was frowning deeply, and it was making Audrey nervous. “There’s no need. You are our guest, and you look tired.”
Audrey lowered her head. “Yes, I am. I didn’t really sleep last night.”
“I see. Then why don’t you go back to your room and rest? I can take care of this.”
“Okay.” Audrey stood up. “Thank you for breakfast.”
“You are welcome, Audrey.”
♦ ♦ ♦
When Audrey arrived back at her room, she went straight to the tub. It had a circular drain at one end, but there was a piece of cloth-wrapped metal that could be folded down to seal it. She began running hot water into the tub and then undressed. She found it tricky to get the water to the right temperature, but she eventually succeeded and climbed in. The tub was deep enough that she could submerge her entire body if she liked. It felt absolutely wonderful, and she stayed in until the water became too cold to be comfortable.
Audrey climbed out of the tub and dried herself off with a towel. Then she went and retrieved the clothes that she had worn during the trip, and she used the water in the tub to clean them as best she could. After draining the tub and wringing out the clothes, she hung them over the walls of the toilet to dry.
After all that work, Audrey found that she was no longer sleepy. She was also very curious about the house, so she decided to go explore. She dressed, brushed her hair, and then went out into the hallway. She soon found there were two more rooms just like hers, and one more suite in the so-called guest area. The suite had two bedrooms, a larger bathroom, and a large sitting area.
Next, she went down the stairs to the ground floor and then up the stairs on the opposite side. It looked like a mirror image of the guest area, except that there were three doors instead of five. Audrey was worried that they might be her host’s bedrooms, so she didn’t open any of the doors.
She had noticed stairs leading up from the guest area, and there were stairs on this side too. She went cautiously up them and found herself in a short hallway with a sturdy iron door on the right, and another hallway leading off to the left. Ahead were stairs that would clearly lead her back down to the guest area. She hesitated and then decided to go down the other hallway, finding doors on each side and at the end. She didn’t hear any voices or noises, so she opened the door on the right and then gasped. The entire room looked like a giant wardrobe, with numerous racks and shelves full of the clothing. There were both men’s and women’s clothes, and they all looked expensive and well-made. She closed that door and then opened the door on the opposite side. That room was clearly for washing up and bathing. It even contained a huge brass bathtub that could easily hold more than one person.
Audrey was now certain that the entire upstairs was solely for Draymund and Almera. The room behind the iron door was probably their bedroom since it would look out the front. She hesitated for a long while before finally opening the wood door at the end of the hallway. When she saw what was inside, she nearly shrieked in fear.
This room just had to be Draymund’s trophy room. It was huge. There were heads and other dragon parts preserved and mounted on the walls or as free-standing displays. There was a long list written on one wall that she assumed must be a record of Draymund’s kills. A beautiful sword and shield were displayed on a polished wood stand. They looked like they were made of some exotic reddish-gold metal, and Audrey suspected that they were magical. She didn’t dare touch them, or anything else. She carefully cl
osed the door and went back downstairs.
The door to the kitchen was closed, and she could hear noises and voices from inside, so she went the other direction, toward the front of the house. Across from the dining room was a room with a large desk, two tables with chairs, and numerous shelves that appeared to hold hundreds of books and scrolls. Audrey was curious, and she paged through a few of the books. She couldn’t read them, but it was clear from the illustrations that some of them were about plants. She wasn’t at all surprised that most of them seemed to be about dragons.
She put a book back on its shelf and then listened. She could dimly hear voices, but they sounded like they were coming from below her. She hadn’t seen any stairs that led down from the lower level, and the floor seemed very solid. It definitely sounded like two people talking, but she couldn’t make out any words. After a moment, the voices began to fade as though the people talking were moving away. There was obviously something under the mansion, but she had no idea what it was or how to get there.
There were small rooms across from each other just before the large sitting room, and they each contained a toilet and a sink. Audrey went through the sitting room to the entryway and then outside through the front door. It was a warm day, but somewhat overcast. She strolled along the paths at random. Everything was beautiful and clean and perfectly maintained. The pond was full of large, colorful fish unlike any she had ever seen. When she drew near, they all moved toward her and then swam rapidly about. She realized that they must be expecting her to feed them.
The design of the house still puzzled her. All of the windows were rectangular or square, except for the two large round ones set back above the front door. Audrey now knew that those windows looked out from Draymund and Almera’s bedroom. She was also certain that Saxloc’s bedroom was in the section opposite the guest area. But she didn’t understand why the two sections were at a small angle to the main house. The whole thing was very odd.