On The Road Again

The next day, Kir awoke to aches and pains in places he didn't know could feel sore.

Stella was sleeping on top of Amarena, so Kir took the chance to get up and slip away.

Stella had provided cleanup for all the exertions of yesterday, but Kir wanted a bath anyway, and he vaguely recalled there was a stream near the town on the north side.

He found the stream readily enough, but the part that was deep enough for him to bathe properly was unfortunately close to the bridge. Even so, he stripped and waded into the clear waters, shivering a bit from the cold and holding mostly still as his body acclimated.

Using his uniform pants - which cleaned themselves - he started to scrub all over, taking off the dead skin and other things that Stella's magical cleaning had missed.

He was starting to feel more clean than not when he heard the sound of marching.