Karl stood at the front of the line of the tribe. On his left were his friends, Sam, Emily, Julie and Bob; on his right was Nichole, then Valentina and Tatyana. The rest of the tribe stood behind them under the shade of the trees; before them were Cameron, Erika and Bryan. Today was a special day. The five were about to see their first town on Corsavvott.

"Friends, I give you," Camerons said to the five, "Mira'i, town of trading, worship and most of all, bathhouses."

Julie asked, "You mean no more cold streams?" Her face lit up.

Cameron chuckled, "Not while we're here, no."

"How long are we staying?" asked Emily.

"Not long," Cameron replied. "Enough time to rest, bathe, and trade for supplies. I'd say ten days."

"That's enough time?" Bob asked with a smile.

Cameron laughed again. "Hey, I have other errands, too. I've sent for one of our allies in another town for some information, too, so take your time. Enjoy the sights. Eat some food." Then he led the long line of over one hundred of his tribe-brethren into Mira'i.

Too small to be considered a city, and too large for a village, Mira'i was still large enough to hold some grandier and small enough to be quaint. From atop one hill in the fields at the outskirts of the gates, Karl was able to estimate the diameter to be only a few miles. There were a few blocks worth of buildings near the center-- and one near a wall-- that were above three levels high, but most looked to be one or two. Karl was excited to see how life had managed its communities different from Earth.

Bryan and another member of the tribe ran ahead to the gate. The rest kept up a calm, steady pace, although the chatter had grown excited. Cameron stayed near Karl and his friends until they were right on the gates. He stopped, Erika by his side, and started speaking loudly so the tribesfolk walking by could hear: "This is your time, do as you please. Eat, sleep. Buy, sell, trade. Come or go, but try to stay in groups. We can use the central gardens to sleep. Find an inn, find a friend. We have ten days. Group accord in three days, four and three in the garden." Cameron finished then repeated for those walking past. Karl guessed he would repeat until the whole group had entered the town.

"What does he mean by 'group accord?'" Karl asked Nichole.

"It means we can do what we want to, but he would like everyone to try to meet up in the gardens in three days, then four days later, then the last day before we leave."

"Is it mandatory?" asked Sam.

"Not so much," she said. "It's nice when everyone can show, but it's nothing official. Just a large get-together to share stories and pass around some meats and herbs."

"So basically a big party," said Bob.

"I guess you could say that," Nichole said with a short laugh.

"If you are all so welcome here," started Julie, "why haven't any of you settled down here?"

"Why haven't you?" Nichole asked rhetorically. "Some of us have in the past. Every year someone grows tired of the fighting and the loss and settles down. Or they find someone worth settling down for. Sometimes an injury stops the journey.

"I, for one, am young. There is a whole world to explore If I settle down now, there will be a million places I'll never see, a billion people I could meet."

"And think of all the food," Bob added.

"Exactly!" Nichole said. "It may be dangerous out there, but there's only so much adventure you have have living in a single town the rest of your life."

"I see," Karl said.

"Besides," she added, "how do you think we get our informants?"

"I'm tired of standing here talking," Tatyana spoke up. "Let's go find something to do."

"I heard bathhouses," said Julie.

Tatyana laughed. "Trust me, you want to save that for the end of the day when you can relax all evening."

"We can go window shopping," Sam suggested.

"What's that?" asked Nichole.

"Sorry, I didn't think that you might not know the term. It's where you browse through shops just to appreciate the merchandise, but don't plan to buy anything."

"I like the sound of that," said Valentina, "but I know I'll wind up buying everything."

Emily laughed and put her arm through Valentina's. "A girl after my own heart. Lead the way!" The pair started walking deeper into the town, Valentina leading, the others followed, with four trying to take in the town while not falling behind.

Karl stepped a little too close to Nichole and nearly bumped into her. She did not seem to mind, however, and slid her arm into his.

He left it there as they walked, a light smile on his lips.

*** ***

The rest of the morning passed by quickly; the group enjoyed browsing the marketplace so much that time seemed to fly by. A quick trip down a row lined with food carts led the group to lunch. The tribesgirls were able to barter for much of the meal using strips of jerky from Karl's own hunt. As it turned out, jerky smoked and dried by the tribe was seasoned with many spices not native to the area, so even the most common meats could add value to a trade. The girls only had to buy items from two stands who had already seen business by tribesfolk, and overall came out with a large haul of food essentially for free.

The group found a spot to eat near one of the town's two small ponds. No fire was needed since all the food they received had been cooked or could be eaten dry, so they dug into the meal once they settled into their spot.

"This is good," Bob said after swallowing a small square of some kind of meat. "What is it?"

"Unicorn," said Tatyana.

"What?" said Bob. "Isn't it bad luck to eat unicorn?"

"Where in the world did you hear that?" Tatyana asked. "Someone has been telling you troll tales."

"Honestly, where are you from?" asked Valentina.

"Not from around here," Bob said under his breath.

"Obviously," said Tatyana.

Valentina said, "Unicorn is pretty common. You'll have to try a unicorn steak sometime. It's the best!"

"I'll have to take your word for it," Bob said. "Not sure I'll be ordering unicorn steak anytime soon."

"Hey, your loss," Nichole said.

Despite his doubts, Bob finished the squares of unicorn meat on his plate and even went back for a second helping.

Karl liked the unicorn meat fine; it reminded him of venison. But he was more partial to the bits of native fowl that Valentina handed him. It tasted nothing like chicken, the like-all to every Earth food, but was more like honey ham.

After lunch, the group sat and talked for the longest time, enjoying the rest and the sunshine. Bob and Sam were able to clean off a plate and make a frisbee, something apparently unknown on this world. The three girls from the tribe were ecstatic to learn the game, even as simple as it was.

Soon enough, everyone began to feel dirty and grimy, and finally, of all people, Karl spoke up. "Do I remember someone mentioning bathhouses?"

"Yes you did," said Valentina. "I'm glad you said something."

They packed up their belongings and set off down the road, Valentina leading the way and Emily at her side. Karl and Nichole followed the others at the back, keeping a little space between them. They did not talk, merely kept their space.

From the pond to the bathhouses was not a long walk, but feeling sticky and gross made it feel like forever. They passed the temple at the center of town, people walking in and out of the doors. It made Karl think of how he knew nothing at all of the religion on this world. He would have to remember later to ask.

Another row of food stands, some larger shops and a lot of little houses later, and the group was finally seeing the bathhouses. They were taller than Karl had pictured, with little vents in the roof. The bathhouses were not so much houses as they were large structures two-and-a-half stories tall, connected by much shorter walkways, some at ground level, and many more above. One of the structures was surrounded by a balcony near the top, only half of which was covered.

"Magnificent," Emily said.

"It's enormous," said Julie. "How many rooms are in there?"

"Over one-hundred-fifty," Tatyana said. "Split over four houses."

"Why so many?" asked Sam.

"Everyone has a different preference," answered Nichole. "There is one large room for a community bath, for anyone wanting to meet new people. Then many smaller rooms for anyone wishing for a private bath or private parties."

"There are hot tubs, steam rooms, mud baths, hot rock treatment, aroma therapies, oils, a large cold pool to swim, and that's not even everything!" Valentina said.

"That's just crazy!" Bob exclaimed.

"I'm not sure I'm going to want to leave," Julie said.

"We never do either," said Nichole. "Every time we stop through Mira'i, we get days. I think Cameron understands."

"Or Erika makes him," Bob joked. They laughed and went inside.

The girls stopped at a desk just inside the main entrance of their particular building, and Tatyana asked about open rooms for private parties. The attendant listed some off, and Tatyana picked one with a steam room, gravity shower and hot tub, then lead the way to a staircase leading upward.

The interior of the bathhouse was eloquent, much more so than the exterior. The walls were covered in stone carvings of all types of pictures. Animals and men, faces, even small scenes telling short stories. The style and methodology reminded Karl fo the way ancient Egyptians had decorated their pottery. The stone work of the actual carvings sent Karl's thoughts back to the first time he had entered Franks Roberts' house back on Earth.

Nichole must have seen him staring. "It's Flerdgish work," she said.

"What does 'flerdgish' mean?" Karl asked.

"A flerdge is a distant relative to the dwarf," she responded. "Dwarves, flerdges and gnomes are all the races of littles in the world. Honestly, where are you from? What races do you have?" The last part was said teasingly.

Karl thought for a moment. "Lots of humans," he said. "And some fairies," he added.

Nichole burst out laughing. "There are no fairies," she said. "That's just a myth. You're funny." But she let it drop. They followed the rest of their friends to the rooms they had been assigned.

An attendant waited just outside the door to the suite. "Welcome," he said. "There are towels and robes in the closet to your left. If you would like to take advantage of our laundry services, please place your clothes in the basket there on the floor and we'll have those back to you in no time at all." He bowed low, and as he rose Valentina handed him some currency and a stick of jerky. He smiled wide. "Thank you much," he said. "Enjoy your visit!" Then he scurried away.

They filed into the changing room. It was a good sized room with lockers lining one wall. There was no door on the far side, just an opening that lead into the gravity shower, so called for the lack of pressure in the spouts; water trickled out of five showerheads then swirled to a draw in the center of the room.

Sam spoke up. "Bob and Karl, why don't we step out and let the ladies change first?" The other two nodded and stepped back into the hallway. When they were done they slipped into the shower room and rinsed off before passing through the door on the opposite side into the sauna-- or steam room, as they called it here.

Steam billowed out as Karl opened the door, and the trio hurried in. Nichole and Tatyana were standing at the altar adding hot rocks to the steambed. The other girls were already sitting down. Karl took a seat on the lower level adjacent to the girls and leaned back against the riser.

For once, to sit and sweat profusely, Karl felt like he could be in Heaven.

Nichole finished at the steam table and sat near him.

Definitely Heaven.