Gasps echoed around the cavern as the men stepped forward, light rippling across their features as it reflected off the large pool in front of them. Thousands of gallons of clear water lay before their wide eyes, my own torn between watching their expressions and looking at the painfully rare sight that was filling them all with awe.

Even Judar was quiet for once, his eyes darting around as he seemed to calculate how many peach trees he could have with this much water before deflating slightly as he realized David would end up the one having total say over how the water was used. Once they found a way to bring it back, that is. If they could.

Kneeling down, I dipped one of my canteens into the clean water, filling it before moving on to the next one. I had filled my second canteen and taken out the cook pot to fill it. Turning to look at Leon and Judar, I shrugged my shoulders and spoke.

"I would take the chance to fill your own canteens if I were you. It will be some time before we have another chance like this." I smiled when I heard the sudden shuffling of the other men begin scrambling for their canteens as Leon and Judar retained their mostly calm outward appearance. As if I wouldn't notice Judar casually flicking water at Leon who responded by pushing the dark-haired male into the water face first.

I made a very hasty exit when the other men began pulling off their clothing as the hopped towards the temptation the pool of water was, the pot of water sloshing about in my hurry.

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It was nearly an hour later that they made their way back up the tunnel, laughing and shoving each other about as I sat on the floor near the now gently boiling pot of stew, made mostly from a mix of root vegetables and some of the dried meat we had brought with us. I had already added a pinch of the seasoning I had 'borrowed' from one of David's men, a red-head I saw near Anneth.

He'd been adding it to his food so I knew it wasn't poisonous before I tested it after we left the city. It had tasted good, bringing back nearly forgotten memories of the meals mother used to make after a long day of helping father in the garden.

It was with those fond memories filled with smiles and laughter as we sat at the kitchen table, that I had made the stew for tonight's meal, even though I am sure Judar wouldn't like it when he found that his knife had been used to slice the vegetables. Maybe I could bribe him to forgive the incident if I offered him some of the dried peaches I had stashed away in my pouch.

It was when I saw Leon shivering as he cast a frown at Judar, grumbling about how cruel it had been to use his Artifact to freeze the water around him, that I changed my mind and decided to keep them for another time when maybe he would actually deserve the treat. I would just give him a bigger helping of stew to shush him instead.

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"Anneth, do you know what happened to my bottle of spices?" Koumei's voice carried into the room, followed by the young man himself as his eyes cast about searching for the missing item. "I've been looking everywhere for it..."

"No, I haven't. Did you check with Sinbad? He does enjoy the luxuries life has to offer and you did do a rather good job on blending those spices." The offhanded compliment caused the young red-head to blush, knowing that Anneth did not offer them if she didn't actually mean them.

Something that often put a frown on David's face, wishing to hear more compliments from her as he struggled to find things to impress her with. Not the easiest thing, when he seemed to have to back-peddle his way out of messes. Like the one with Sinbad and secrets. He was still working on that one and the man had already been there for two days!

"He hadn't seen it and I even had Kouha watching him at meals to see if he'd been using it, since we both know he wouldn't be able to resist adding it to the bland food David has been serving him since he got here. I'm telling you, he's jealous of the guy being around you." He'd nervously looked around before adding the last line into his mini-rant, making sure David wasn't around to hear him say that.

"Hmm... Well, I'm afraid I can't help you find it then, but I believe I have some stock of the base spices and herbs you had used for it if you want to make a new batch!" Anneth smiled at Koumei as she pondered how much she could guilt him into if he took up her offer, smiling even more when he practically jumped at the opportunity.

She refused to tell him that she always kept a small stash of them just for when he ran out and needed more, with the thought of what he would owe her in mind. After all, with water such a scarce resource, not everyone could afford to grow the plants needed for a luxury item like seasonings that did nothing but change the flavor of foods into something more palatable.

It's not like she had to tell him she grew them anyhow as a way to bribe David when she needed new test subjects and he didn't want to offer them.

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"Has anyone seen my dagger? Oh, nevermind. I found it! Wait a... Why is there STUFF all over the blade!"