13 Summer, 514 Evening was falling around Lhavit and the streets were nearly empty as Dusk’s Rest approached and bade the city’s citizens to relax. Asha found herself once again wandering the city’s streets as she often had since she had come to this city. Lhavit’s layout still confused her so she spent her free time wandering and building a mental map of the plazas, gardens, and magnificent skyglass structures that made up the city. She was still unused to the city’s strange resting and waking schedule and could not make her mind and body rest during the segmented breaks. Her body felt tired and weary from days spent exploring the city and short forays into the Misty Peaks. The few trips she had attempted into the difficult mountain terrain had especially sapped her muscles of vigor and she felt heavy in a way that had nothing to do with how much she ate. A city built on such difficult terrain and geography as mountain peaks must surely have a place for its people to rest and recover their strength. She need only find it on one of her explorations. Asha’s gaze rested on a middle-aged human man standing to the side of the road, arranging the contents of a wooden box in his hand. Or perhaps she could skip the exploration and go straight to a hopefully knowledgeable source. “Pardon me, sir. Do you by chance know of a good place to relax and rest one’s body?” Asha approached the man slowly and spoke with a smile on her face. He started at the sight of a large ape walking towards him but her speech seemed to reassure him that she was not an apparition or a danger. At least Asha hoped that was why he was seemed alright with conversing and not the several Shinya that seemed to be loitering casually on whatever street Asha was strolling down. She had tried to convince herself that the Shinya were merely out for regular patrols, but ultimately she knew she was being watched. She couldn’t blame them, she was a stranger and a member of a species that did not exactly blend in well. “You might try the hotsprings? Kinell Hotsprings is the name of it. Lots of pretty sounding birds around, gave the springs it’s name.” he responded, nervousness made his voice wobble. “Where could I find this hotsprings?” Asha asked, forcing herself to continue smiling. She did her best to not take offense to the man’s obvious discomfort of her general appearance and existence. “ It’s about two miles from the Amaranthine Gates, the trail is rough but obvious. You can’t miss it.” He said and started to lean away, clearly wanting to leave. Asha thanked him and then stepped back to give him room to leave. The man walked away, glancing behind him occasionally to stare at Asha. She shrugged and turned to make her way to the Amaranthine Gates. She shouldn’t be too far from them. A quarter bell later and the gates were rearing up before her, the skyglass catching twinkles of the first stars that were beginning to appear in the sky. Walking between the Amaranthine Gates Asha spotted a dirt trailing leading off into the Misty Peaks, although it appeared to hug the city boundary somewhat. Her feet carried her forward and soon dust was raised on the dirt path. It was only two miles, Asha should have easily made it there in half a bell, but the trail was rougher than she had expected. The man had mentioned it was rough, but Asha had thought that to mean lots of zig-zagging up and down hills. On this trail she found herself clambering over fallen rocks and edging around mind-boggling sudden drops at the side of the path. Almost a full bell from when she left the Amaranthine Gates Asha suddenly found the hotsprings stretching out before her. The waters appeared green and twinkled with the reflection of starlight. Asha stepped her foot down onto a rocky ledge two feet beneath the water and lowered her body, sweaty and weary from the jaunt on the trail, down into the steaming water. A contented sigh escaped from her and she settled back against the edge of the hotsprings. The journey had been rough but this contentment was certainly worth it. |