Chapter 17: Whirlpool

“Where do we go now?” Beca asked.

“It’s a big city with lots of visitors,” Bryn said. “People need places to stay. We should be able to find an inn.”

The one they found was small but clean and away from the rush of residents and tourists. The innkeeper was unusual looking, part elf and part human. The previous regime were racial purists who considered humans inferior, but since their collapse, the number of human-elf couples had grown to the point they were no longer considered questionable or even remarkable—it had become another part of their everyday life.

Bryn rented the room for one day, although Aidan only wanted to use it to complete their spell. It was small but clean, and it had something they had only heard about—a water closet instead of a chamber pot. They stood shoulder to shoulder and stared in amazement at the contraption.

“How does it work?” Beca asked.

“Pull that chain and see what happens,” Bryn said.

Aidan did as she asked, and a rush of water filled the sink-like seat and swirled around in a miniature whirlpool until it drained through a hole in the bottom.

“Amazing,” Aidan said. “They don’t have to go outside to use the privy.”

“No wonder so many people want to visit here,” Beca said. “I wonder what else they have?”

“Let’s focus, girls,” Aidan said. “Remember why we’re here. Let’s mix this potion, and then we can find out where the book is located.”