The noise of the meal was phenomenal, so much so that to be heard even between us involved almost yelling, therefore we did not try to hold a conversation. When we were finished, he gestured with his head, and we rose from our place, those around us quickly filling in the gap.
We took the stairs down to the next level. He knew where he was going, leading the way confidently down the hall, to a chamber at the end. Light glowed bluely from the torches in the walls, and a wooden screen blocked the view from the doorway into the chamber beyond.
“This is much better,” he said, putting my bag on the bench seat in the screened area. “Sunken baths are much more civilised than tubs.” He pulled his soiled tunic from my bag and tossed it carelessly beyond the screen, before pulling off his sh
