Sanctuary

The howling, icy winds made it hard for Samuel to keep his map steady, even with both hands. "Are you sure you know where we are?" Sigrid asked. Her tone was as rough as her weathered armor, but Samuel had learned not to take it personally. Warriors were gruff people by nature. "I'm positive," he replied. "A snowstorm doesn't affect a compass." "Well it's certainly affecting me!" Lucius protested, his voice full of exaggerated strife. "I had to give my coat to Pleione so she doesn't freeze to death!" The silver-haired rogue had a number of pastimes, but complaining was one of his dearest. Pleione stood beside him, her pointed elven ears fitting awkwardly under the hood of a fur-lined leather jacket that looked comically large on her. She was sporting a warm smile, despite her shivering. "I would have been fine, you know." "Nonsense, my dear! You're still shaking like a leaf! This atrocious cold is now my burden to bear." "You speak as though there's a burden to bear at all," Sigrid snickered. "I hide my struggles well, dear Sigrid. Now why are we stopped in all this snow? Why's your nose in your map again, Samuel? Trekking through mountains has never tickled my fancy, and our pace is certainly not helping my opinion of things." "You see that glow in the distance, a bit to the east?" Samuel said, gesturing with an extended finger and not looking up from his map. Lucius took a moment to peer through the flurries of snow, locking onto a dull amber radiance at the edge of his sightline. "Sure I do." "It's not supposed to be there. This pass between the mountains is abandoned. Nothing on the map but trails and trees." Sigrid clutched at the pommel of her greatsword. "Roaming bandits?" "Can't be," Samuel said. "I've been keeping tabs on it for the last half hour, and despite our movements it hasn't budged. Whatever's throwing off that light is stationary." "Maybe it's just another party of adventurers who've set up camp?" Pleione offered. Samuel made a few hasty marks on his map with a charcoal stylus, and then started rolling it up. "I like your optimism. Whatever it is, we need to find out so we don't risk an ambush or anything later down the line. Plenty of trail left to cover, and I don't want to put this behind us without knowing what it is." "Prudent. I will accompany you," Sigrid said. "Like the rest of us aren't coming," Lucius chuckled, sporting a wry smile. "You'd be mad to split a party in weather like this." Samuel nodded, and slung his rucksack back onto his shoulders. "Shouldn't take long. By my calculations it's only couple dozen paces off-trail." *** True to his word, Samuel didn't have to lead his three companions far for the glow in the distance to grow more pronounced. The closer they came, the more cautious their movements—a guided trek became a careful advance through the trees as they continued to peer through the haze of snowflakes. Lucius was the first to speak up. "Looks like a building. Scratch that, a series of buildings." "No way," Samuel rebutted immediately, "there's no buildings out here." "I am simply telling you what I see, Samuel." The grin on Lucius' face was how Samuel knew he was about to be proven wrong. It took another few minutes of steady, stealthy advancing for everyone else to see what Lucius saw, but when they did there was no doubt about it: they were gazing upon a large inn nestled among the pines, built beside an expansive series of hot springs. "I don't believe it," Samuel muttered, taking in the scenery with an awestruck expression. "Oohhhh... that looks so cozy..." Pleione said with a heavy, longing sigh. She drew Lucius' coat around her a bit tighter. There was a moment of silence following Pleione's comment, and Samuel turned to look at Sigrid. She was already looking at him. "Sigrid—" "We're going." He slumped his shoulders in defeat, scrapping all his planned objections and warnings of potential danger. "And if there's a fight, you can blame me," she said, already marching forward through the snow. The rest of the party was quick to follow, falling in line behind Sigrid with Samuel at the back. The closer they drew to the steps of the inn, the duller the snowstorm around them became. What had once been a thick haze of powder had turned into a pleasant dusting of flakes by the time Sigrid was knocking on the heavy wood of the front door. The first few raps of her gauntlet's knuckles against the door were met with silence. All four adventurers traded nervous looks, and Sigrid knocked again. There was another delay—this time broken by distant, panicked squeaking from inside. "Oh my gosh, visitors! No way!" the far-away voice cried. Pleione giggled to herself. "I think we caught someone by surprise." "Well, not anymore," Samuel said, clearly lamenting the situation. Before anyone had the chance to berate Samuel for his persistent negativity, the front doors to the inn came swinging open to reveal a kimono-clad silhouette in the entryway. The party's eyes adjusted from the overcast daylight outside to the bold lantern-light inside, after which they took a moment to study their host. She was a short and modest woman with medium-length hair kept in neat, ribbon-adorned braids that rested on her shoulders. Her kimono was a river of swirling red, green, and golden fibers that had a unique metallic luster to them, and behind her fluttered a thicket of fox tails colored just like her hair. "Welcome, welcome, welcome!" she squeaked, waving one hand with remarkable enthusiasm. "My name's Koharu, and this is Sanctuary Inn!" "Sanctuary Inn?" Samuel echoed incredulously. "There's no such place on any of my maps." "Of course not, silly! Sanctuary Inn appears wherever there's travelers in need of rest! It's part of being built next to a spirit-realm onsen." "That would explain her being a Kitsune," Pleione mumbled to herself. Lucius was quick to interject. "So you're telling me this is some sort of magic hot spring hotel?" "Exactly!" Koharu nodded. "Come on in, I've got so much to show you!" Despite their suspicions, the tangible warmth flowing out from beyond the inn's doors was enough to convince the adventurers to accept Koharu's invitation. Crossing the threshold, they found themselves in lobby that radiated a sense of perfect tranquility; from the arrangement of the sitting cushions around a luxurious kotatsu, to the gentle amber glow cast across the room by various wall lanterns. Ornate incense holders were placed around the lobby, filling it with a mixture of forest-like scents and faint undertones of more exotic fragrances. In mere moments, the cruelty of the weather the party had been stuck in all day felt like a lifetime ago. Together they followed behind Koharu in a wonder-struck daze, marveling at each new sight as the fox-woman led them past lavish guest rooms and through the mystifying gardens that connected the buildings. Bizarre plants without names in colors beyond description grew there, in displays of beauty only the spirit realm could be host to. The adventurer's sense of awe grew and grew, until they were lead up a one last winding stone path to the entryway of the hot springs. The various pools were spread across an isolated outcropping with a perfect view of the mountains beyond. The waters themselves were a gorgeous, vibrant shade of turquoise—made all the more enthralling by thick curls of steam that came peeling off the surface. Hinting at the water's magical nature was the alluring smell of sage mixed into the crisp alpine air, without a trace of sulfur to be found. By that point Koharu didn't even have to talk, and merely observed the four's amazed expressions with amusement. After a short moment, she spoke up anyway. "You're all free to take whatever open room you'd like. If you need anything, I'm here to help until sunset. After that, you can find my sister Amaya for assistance. Please enjoy your stay!" With those final words, she bowed deeply before disappearing back down the path towards the main building. "This place is incredible..." Lucius whispered to himself. "We should check out our rooms," Pleione added. "And then get to relaxing," Sigrid finished. The group nodded and exchanged looks of approval before making their way back down the path to the main inn. "Wait, did the fox-lady say there'd be two of them?" Samuel asked. "Yeah, you missed it while you were admiring the hot spring," Lucius said, shooting a sly grin back over his shoulder. "It was pretty distracting." "And the garden. And the lobby." "Yes, I get it. I'll do a better job paying attention, alright?" Pleione's melodic giggling put a swift end to their playful bickering, and the four quickly found themselves wandering through the halls of the inn once again. They had all elected to take rooms near one another, and were busy trying to figure out which ones were unoccupied. "This place seems pretty empty, all things considered," Sigrid mused, taking a glance into the room closest to her. "I was just thinking that too," Lucius replied, leaning against the doorframe of the room across the hall. "Doesn't seem like we're going to have to worry about crowding." "Might even get the hot spring all to ourselves," Pleione added. Samuel looked up from a guest register he'd found near the front desk. "That's because we're here early. Says the first rush of visitors usually happens right around sunset. We should be able to soak for a few hours at least." "Well we better find our rooms and change before we do," Lucius said. "Right." The four quickly agreed to their plan of action, and set off in search of their quarters. As she made her way through the inn's halls, Pleione couldn't help but marvel at the craftsmanship and attention to detail that had gone into every inch of her surroundings. She found herself wondering if the decorators were Kitsune, or even if the owners were Kitsune, as it had seemed to be the case with Koharu. She also wondered what a pair of fox spirits would look like. Would they be like the fox-lady who had welcomed them, or would they have an even more striking appearance? After a few moments, she finally came to a stop before a wooden sliding door, adorned with an intricate arrangement of vines and leaves. She took a quick glance around and noticed the hall had ended. The other side of the hallway was occupied by a wide balcony and a few more sliding doors, the windows of which were covered with bamboo blinds. A faint noise of surprise and a sudden thud caused her to turn. It had come from behind one of the doors on her side of the corridor. Pleione's first instinct was to knock, but something held her back. Instead, she pressed her ear against the wood and listened. "I told you not to get the water yet, i***t!" an unfamiliar female voice hissed. "And I told you I wanted to make sure the bath was ready, stupid!" the second voice snapped back, clearly belonging to Koharu. Pleione was taken aback by the argument and stumbled away from the door. It took her a moment to regain her balance, after which she turned and made her way back down the hall, trying not to dwell on the harshness of their voices. It took her a few minutes to find her room, but when she did, Pleione wasted no time getting settled in. Her bag was left neatly arranged next to the futon, and her armor was draped over the nearby armchair. With the comfort and familiarity of the guest room established, the elf woman set about removing her clothes and preparing a bathing outfit. The onsen's changing rooms were stocked with a number of fluffy towels and robes, but Pleione had brought her own bathing attire: a light blue, loose-fitting dress with matching bloomers. After folding her regular clothes and placing them in a neat pile, Pleione was left to gaze at her reflection in the mirror, running her fingers through her silky silver hair. "Ready for a hot soak?" she asked herself, and was answered with an excited giggle. With her bathing outfit secured, Pleione exited her room and made her way through the inn. The sound of her sandals clicking against the hardwood floors echoed through the hallways, and soon enough the hot springs were within sight.