The Cloth Banner

The house was three storeys high, the tallest in the settlement. It seemed to be the property of a rather powerful Harmoniser, judging by the luxury she felt the moment she entered.

The floor was carpeted by dry straw that was woven into a mattress. It was a material that wouldn't absorb the moisture in the air, making it comfortable to tread on during the rainy season. The room was pretty large, enough for her to make a small dash. Sofas were laid on one end, made from fur stuffed by a material that provided hardness amid its cushioning property.

The sofas made a large semi-circle; placed in the centre was an animal pelt, a granite table rested above it. Some goatskin parchments were lying about on its top, scattered around in a hurry. Re'Kha opened the parchment, noticing that she was unable to see anything on the grey sand texture of it.

She ran her fingers across it, failing to understand anything through the indentations. She hadn't been trained in this regard, so her finger sensitivity wasn't enough to read based on the faint depressions made by the quill.

She placed the parchment and inspected the room, strolling around to find anything of use. The living room seemed to be solely to entertain guests of value, so she only noticed cutlery and items that were boast-worthy in there.

She entered the kitchen, watching many vats placed in the stone racks. It was full of food and spices, causing Re'Kha to heave a sigh of relief. She then probed around the kitchen, soon finding a lever behind a vat.

She pulled the lever and watched the stone cupboard slid to the side, allowing for the passage of two people side by side. Within it was a granary, the household's reserve of food in times of need.

"Seems they have stocked up enough to feed the entire settlement for a week." Re'Kha was surprised for a moment before she closed the door, judging that the food in the kitchen was enough for her to get by until she made a full recovery.

"It is for the best that they evacuated now. I can plan and organise myself here for the time being until I am ready." Her expression morphed in fury, only now thinking of the sequence of events that led to her becoming blind.

It was a struggle for power in her Clan, and when a chance presented itself, Re'Kha lost her sight. Unfortunately, her attackers were killed by the Sha she had been pursuing. On-time, the three-headed beast rescued her from the Sha after which she met her master.

Now that her survival was no longer threatened, she could think about other complicated matters. Re'Kha then headed to another room where a lot of medicinal herbs were stored. She couldn't make out what herbs were stored in which vat, after all, she couldn't read through her perception. And, most of the herbs were either in a powdered or paste form.

So, it wasn't possible for her to fully treat herself for the time being. She had to carefully take her time by identifying them based on their smell and find her target. There was another room on the ground floor where weapons were stored.

A fair amount of them seemed to have been taken out to be used in the previous battle. But, some were still left behind in their hurry. Re'Kha planned to take her time and choose one later.

She then headed to the first floor, entering the dressing room. Through her perception, she identified the room where the lady of the house dressed, picking herself some suitable outfits. She didn't pick anything fancy, focusing more on the comfort of the fabric and her ease of movement after wearing it.

Once she had chosen them, she picked up a towel to dry her body and headed towards the bathroom. The bathroom spanned thrice her height in breadth and five times her height in length. The ceiling was also fairly up, positioned beyond her reach even after making a jump.

A sophisticated mechanism was placed on one corner, embedded with a red gem. In her perception though, the gem looked like a sharp blank space. She immediately identified it, "It seems this family has enough wealth to enjoy a life of luxury. As expected of the people in charge of a settlement."

Re'Kha slowly untied her dress, folding it neatly before placing it outside the bathroom. She approached the bathtub placed in the centre, turning one of the taps open. Hot water gushed through it in a steady stream.

She turned the pipe adjacent to it, sensing cold water fall through it. She experimented with their ratio until the water felt appropriate enough for her. The moment the tub was half-filled with the water, she could no longer control herself, gently entering it.

The warm water caused her to moan once, the chillness in her muscles steadily dissipated. She felt her sore muscles relax under the warmth, imbuing a bit of vigour in her. Re'Kha relaxed, only starting to wash herself after a good time had passed.

She cleaned her wounds of the dirt in them and scrubbed her body while using a soap. After that, she changed the water to a new batch and just relaxed in the place. Even though her eyelids were heavy and she wished to just sleep, she didn't wish to remain in the water for so long. Grudgingly, she got up, dried herself and wore the new pair of clothes she had chosen.

She then carried her bag and jumped on the bed in the bedroom, finding the soft mattress comfortable to her injured body. She placed the bag next to her, draped a thick fur blanket over her and relaxed.

It wasn't even long before she fell asleep. Through the gap in the door slid the cloth banner, steady in its motion. It gently arrived near her bed and folded itself into the same manner she had folded it and kept outside the bathroom. Without doing anything else, it rested on the floor.