Loch followed the maid inside the manor and was left blown away by the size. Even though from the outside the building looked modest, inside it was anything but. Although Loch wasn't in the know of what counted as luxurious or not, he could still tell that everything inside the house was clearly well crafted and must have cost a fortune. Exquisite paintings and beautifully crafted weapons of all sorts adorned the walls. Loch wasn't able to take too much time admiring the various objects on display in the atrium entrance, as the maid soon entered a set of doors to the left.
The manor was all one floor, after exiting the entrance area through the doors to the left, Loch entered a short hallway that ended in a sharp right turn after only a couple of doors. The maid briefly explained to Loch what was held behind each door and even opened them briefly so he could take a look. To the left a lounge room, filled with comfortable-looking chairs and couches, was held behind the door. Just the sight of the soft cushioning made Loch want to give all the seats a whirl. A large library, filled from floor to ceiling with books, was behind the right-hand door. This room made Loch's eyes truly sparkle in delight. A couple of high-backed chairs facing a fireplace on one side of the room looked perfect to his eyes. He could already picture him spending much of his time on one of those chairs with a book.
"Can I really read any of the books I want?" Loch asked the maid after she closed the door and began walking down the hall. After a pretty tittering chuckle, the woman replied, "Of course, young master, the lord has already informed us that you have free rein of the premises, besides the stone building out back and his personal chambers. Eventhough we aren't allowed to enter the stone building." Hearing the woman's words, Loch's grin almost split his face in two. Hearing about the mysterious off-limits stone room again, Loch couldn't help thinking, 'Why is no one allowed in there? His own room, I can understand, but what's in the stone building? Is it his treasury? Filled with golds and jewels.'
Loch's mind began to spiral with outlandish thoughts about the stone room, as he listened to the maid explaining the different parts of the house with one ear as they walked further down the hall. The house was laid out in a U shape, the right side held the majority of the spare rooms and Tobias's own. While the right side held the kitchen, bathroom, and several training rooms. The servants didn't live in the manor, except for Jeeves; the others lived in the small fenced houses Loch had seen previously. There were also several farmhands who lived on the premises, but their houses were located on the other side of the farmland.
Loch was shown several bedrooms that were sparsely decorated. Each one had the same set of furniture, with sheets draped over them to stop the collection of dust. Loch eventually chose one at random, as to him, they all appeared the same. That's not to say he was flippant about the actual room, as each bedroom was larger and nicer than the dorm he had lived in for half his young life. Once he entered his room, Loch realized he had left his luggage inside the carriage,e but when he went to retrieve it, the maid told him that Robert would bring it in and clean up their room while he bathed.
At the maid's mention of a bath, Loch took a whiff of himself and realized he needed a clean. He realized that, aside from a quick wipe-down in his room's basin, he hadn't bathed properly since before Randall and he were punished by being locked in the shed earlier that week. Remembering the orphanage and his best friend Loch, he couldn't help feeling a slight pang in his heart, but he quickly buried the feeling of sorrow as he didn't want to embarrass himself in front of the maid after just meeting her. 'I don't want everyone to think I'm some crybaby. I'm going to be a Hunter. Hunters don't cry.'
Following the maid, Loch went back down the hall and into the atrium entrance, and now, entering the right side door, Loch was met with an exact copy of the previous hall. The maid indicated the kitchen was on the left, and unless he wanted to go hungry, he should always check with Rufus before pilfering food. She then led him through the right-side door and into a large bathroom. The room felt especially foreign to Loch, with its marble tiled floor and large gilded mirrors over motif covered washbasins. He felt as if he had stepped into a King's bathroom. One half of the room was dominated by a bath set into the floor. The bath was ringed by a stone seat, that had smoothed out ledges for the comfort of the user.
'How in the soil does one fill this bath? It'll surely take over an hour and a hundred buckets of water.' As Loch pondered over how to fill the bath and whether he was meant to do it on his own, the maid walked over to a faucet set against the wall over the bath. Like it was magic to Loch's eyes. The woman twisted a handle and clear steaming water came flowing out of the facet and into the bath. "What sorcery is this?"
The maid looked over to Loch in surprise at his outburst before a gentle smile overtook her face as she asked, "I'm guessing this is the first time you have seen indoor plumbing. It swept the city over a year ago, another miraculous invention from the Gearmen of the Clocktower. Are you perhaps from the Shambles? Or even possibly from one of the Nomad tribes outside the walls?" Instead of answering her question, Loch answered with a shocked face, "There are people who live outside the walls? Like all the time?"
After a gentle laugh at Loch's opened mouth face, the maid replied, "Of course there are people who live outside the walls. Some powerful lords even set up farming communities due to the large tracts of useful land, although it is still very dangerous to live outside the walls of one of the nine cities, the pay I hear is almost as good as some low-ranking cultivators make. There are, of course, also the Nomads, they are large roaming tribes filled, they have lived in the outside for generations. I have heard they are close to wild beasts themselves, though, drinking the blood of demons and fiends alike."
Loch's world was once again broadened as he truly realized how much he was like a frog in the bottom of a very deep well. Thinking about that small world of the Shambles was already extensive enough. A feeling of exhilaration ignited in his soul about hearing of the wild Nomads. As he waited for the bath to fill, the maid told Loch several stories she had heard tell of the nomads and general life outside the walls. The more he listened, the more he yearned for the sights outside. A great need of exploration began to well up inside of the young Loch. Even though he already wanted to head out and begin to explore this magic world being revealed to him, he was still aware that only through strength was one truly able to travel from the mountains to the sea. 'I can't wait to start training!'
The maid turned off the tap once the bath was filled, just as she had finished telling Loch a story she had heard about from a friend of a friend, in which a Hunter, who found himself split from his party and chased by a horde of Demons found himself falling into a hole and knocking himself out, after he came to, he found himself in a glittering cave filled with rare minerals. Upon returning to the city, he had sold the location of the mine and became one of the richest men in the Stem district over night. The maid instructed the dazed-looking Loch where the soap and towels were and that she would bring him a fresh set of clothes before she left.
It took several seconds of silence before Loch came out of his daze, as he had been picturing himself as the one who had found the mine and sold the location. After which he had filled a bath, the size of the one he was next to, in gold chits, after which he bathed in the wealth for days. 'One day. I sweat it. I'll be so rich I'll buy all my brothers and sister a manor of their own.' With a clenched fist, he vowed to the heavens, then swiftly undressed himself and sank into the bathtub. He couldn't help letting out a very satisfactory sigh when he entered the warm water. Loch was used to the cold water baths all the children used in the backyard of the orphanage when the weather wasn't hot enough to swim in the local river.
Looking over to this still wrapped up left arm, which he was holding above the water, Loch pondered for several seconds but decided to give the lame arm a wash too. Unwrapping the bandaged style rags, that covered his left arm from shoulder to the tips of his fingers, Loch revealed his withered grey skinned arm and black pointed nails and placed the ghoulish appendage into the water. A little piece of Loch was hoping his unfeeling arm would react to the rare act of being immersed in the heated water, but after several seconds of being submerged and feeling nothing, he pushed it from his mind.
Grabbing a bar of soap the maid had left out for him, Loch began to scrub his entire body with the nice smelling lather, leading the water to become a lot murkier within moments, especially after he washed his left arm. In comparison to the almost pool-length bath of water, though, it didn't affect the overall cleanliness of the bath. After Loch had finished scrubbing his sandy hair, he sat down on the stone bench surrounding the bath, his chin only barely peeking out of the water, and lent his head back, truly relaxing for the first time all day.
The tension from the day's affairs as well as what had happened the night before began to melt away as Loch let the heat of the bath relax his entire body and soul. Not realizing it, Loch at one point had drifted off into a light sleep. He was brought back to the waking world after a gentle knock on the bathroom door announcing the return of the maid who led him around the house. She entered the bathroom in gentle steps, causing Loch to be slightly flustered in his naked state. He curled his knees to his chest and ducked his head under the water, leaving only his eyes above. The maid gave Loch a motherly smile and placed a set of clothes atop the basin as she said, "Here are some simple clothes for you to get dressed into."
Loch nodded his partially hidden head at the maid and then waited for the woman to leave. Evidently, she wasn't planning too, after several seconds the maid stood in the same spot and just gave Loch a gentle, patient gaze. Running out of breath, Loch lifted his head out of the water, with his legs still curled up, covering his privates, he asked in a small voice, "Um, do you need something mam?"
"No, thank you, young master, and you can just call me Susan." The maid, Susan, replied with a smile. Two dimples on the side of her face made the middle-aged woman appear younger. Loch with his face scrunched in a frown waited for the woman to explain why she was just standing there for but after a minute of silence, Loch couldn't help but ask as a reason that made him grimace ran through his mind, "Why are you still here Susan? I don't need help dressing, I'm not some invalid."
Susan's smile slipped from her face at the sudden defensive tone and words. Her eyes briefly glanced at Loch's dead looking arm and a flash of pity reached her eyes before disappearing as she met Loch's stern gaze. "Young master, I do not believe you are an invalid. I had an uncle who also suffered from a Taint blockage, and it didn't stop him from providing for his family. It's not as uncommon as you might think. Although some ignorant fools might think otherwise, people with a little knowledge know that it doesn't mean one is cursed or any nonsense of the sort either. Not a soul among this household will look down on you for it. I also imagine it won't be a problem for you much longer, either." Loch's frowning face lifted after Susan's kind words, as he realized his previous tone was a bit too harsh for a woman who had been nothing but nice to him so far.
"Sorry, Susan." Loch mumbled as he diverted his eyes to the water below him. "No harm done, young master. Now, to answer your earlier question. I'm waiting for you to get out of the bath, as instructed by the Lord. I'm going to get your measurements for your new clothes. I can't get your exact bodily measurements if you're dressed." Susan said with a smile as she pulled out a rolled up tape with units of measurement running along it. Loch's eyes couldn't help but widen at the woman's words, as his little heart began to panic. He wasn't one for exposing himself. Even among his brothers and sister in the dorm, he never felt comfortable being naked in anyone's presence.
'Come on Loch. Just get it over and done with. You're going to be a Hunter for soil's sake! Is a woman old enough to be your mother with a piece of tape in her hands going to leave you shaking in your boots? How will I ever face the terrifying Fiends in the future if I can't even face my own nakedness?' After Loch berated himself for a whole minute. He sucked in a large breath and with a determined face, as if he was about to face an army by himself, rose from the bath and walked over to Susan. He attempted to walk with his back straight and an air of confidence, but it was somewhat ruined by the way he used one hand to cover his privates as he looked everywhere but at the woman before him. Loch felt his cheeks going red all the way to his ears but convinced himself it was due to the heat from the bath.
Susan didn't let the clearly embarrassed boy suffer for long. She rolled out the measuring tape across the Loch's shoulders, then around his waist before measuring his arms and legs in a practiced and efficient manner, writing down all his measurements on a notepad that once done was tucked away in a pocket. "All done, young master. Now dinner is still an hour away, and the lord has asked for you to meet him in the library once you are out of the bath." Still not daring to meet the older woman's eyes, Loch mumbled a mouse-like yes. Susan just smiled in response and left the bathroom swiftly, much to Loch's relief.
After gathering his bearings again, Loch swiftly dried himself and got dressed in the clothes prepared. They were a simple but comfortable pair of brown pants and a long-sleeved cream-colored shirt. Loch hesitated as he looked at his dirty and ragged arm bandages on the bathroom floor. 'Susan's right. What's there to be embarrassed about? I need to get over it, and Tobias already knows of my arm.' Loch peped himself up and, after rolling the bandages up and putting them here in his pocket, he left the bathroom with firm steps.
Following the way back he had come to the bathroom, Loch arrived in front of the library door. Knocking gently on the door, Loch called out, "Master? It's Loch." After hearing Tobias's voice call back for him to come in, Loch entered the Library and saw his master seated on one of the high-backed chairs, looking over several papers that looked freshly written. Seeing Loch entering, Tobias indicated towards the other high-back chair facing his own. Loch took a seat and seeing that his master was still engrossed in reading over the papers in his hand, he began to read some of the titles of the books on the shelves surrounding him. Almost all the title sounded foreign and exciting to Loch. Especially a couple that read, classification of Demon followed by a specific element like, Water-based Demons.
After resisting the urge to reach out and grab a book over the several minutes Loch sat there, he finally gave in and was in the process of reaching out to a particular book that's title caught his title reading, 'Ancestors of the Divine Beasts' but he stopped halfway as Tobias finally placed his papers on the table next to him. "Sorry about that, Loch. I was just getting an update on the current status of the surge." Loch placed his hand back in his lap and tried to look as innocent as possible as he asked, "What's a surge, master?"
Hearing the question and looking at the eager boy before him, Tobias couldn't help the feeling of dread that came over him as he thought about all the knowledge he seemingly needed to impart to his truly naïve disciple. With a sigh, Tobias replied, "Let's put the surge aside for now. Before dinner, I wanted to at least gauge a couple of things in regards to your totem and future cultivation path. As we need to get started on your Aura training first thing in the morning. It isn't something that can wait."