Climbing out of the tub, Mobkin saw he was in a small room with wood plank walls and a ceiling made of some white material that he didn’t recognise. Opposite the door was a window but the glass had been shaped so as to prevent a clear view outside. He noticed a faint smell of smoke and saw that behind him was a small furnace, from which a pair of pipes ran under the tub.
There was a vigorous little fire burning in the furnace and Mobkin began to air himself in front of it. He had seen a towel on the rack across the room but didn’t think he’d feel comfotable using it without permission. Within a few minutes he’d stopped dripping water on the floor and steam had begun to rise from his still very damp clothes.
“Hello, can you understand me?” said a voice from behind him.
Turning around, Mobkin recognised the face of the woman who’d fled earlier peering nervously through the door.
“Hello, yes. Sorry for frightening you. I don’t fully know how I came to be here.”
The woman appeared to relax a little and gracefully stepped back into the room before continuing to speak.
“One moment I was here by myself and the next you were in the bath. Your sudden appearance was what startled me, but I only calmed down when I heard you speak because you don’t seem to be an elf.”
Extending her right hand toward Mobkin: “I am Hester Swaalk. Currently the only resident of this house.”
Politely shaking her hand: “Mobkin. I only have one name. I’m a grelling from Oakflat Village in the Kingdom of Tonkel. You mentioned me not being an elf: is that what you are?”
“Indeed. Are there no elves in the Kingdom of Tonkel?”
“In Tonkel everyone is a grelling or a thelk. I’ve heard there’s a human in another kingdom to the East but I never met him, and I’ve never heard of elves before.”
“How curious! In any case, the bath should be hot enough now. Since you’ve already been in that water perhaps it would be best if you were the one to use it. If you like I could obtain some dry clothes for you to wear.”
“Oh, yes please, and thank you!”
Hester left Mobkin alone again. He had bathed the previous evening and had barely worked enough since then to appreciate the chance to do so again, but the offer of properly dry clothes held great appeal. The water was hotter than he was used to, and the soap was scented with some flower that Mobkin didn’t recognise. After scrubbing down he soaked for several minutes before hearing a bundle of clothes land on the floor.
The light brown clothes had been made for someone about twice as tall as Mobkin but once he had rolled up the sleeves to a fraction of their original length they fit well enough for the meantime.
Leaving the bathroom, Mobkin found Hester waiting for him in the hallway.