The opening of the bathhouse was a bigger affair than Arthur had planned, though in some ways he was grateful for the distraction.

This entire week had turned into an exercise in frustration, a fact the rapidly diminishing amount of rat skulls he had in his inventory could attest to. Each day since his transformation, Pydes made him go to the roof to practice with his newfound strength. A training regime that involved him squeezing skulls enough that his grip was firm, not crushing.

By the second day, the elemental had learned to steer clear after one too many close calls with flying bone shards. Not that it stopped them from greeting him whenever he arrived with their normal squeaks and chirps.

He understood though, at their size even the rat pieces could hurt if they got hit. Through his training, Pydes did little but sat on his laptop and type away. An action that had become increasingly common ever since Arthur informed him of the way he’d transformed.

“He seemed so shocked by the gold request,” Arthur thought as he watched the growing crowd of people milling about on the street. “Though I agree, it’s strange, especially with the message.”

A voice called out, and he looked around to see Carly jogging up to him. She waved, and as she did, he noticed Augustus back off a step. Though, from the way he watched her, the message was clear enough for her to pick up on it. Her approach stopped within comfortable talking distance, but well outside her arm’s reach.

“Sir, I wanted to know if you’d given any more thought to hiring more people.” Her tone was excited, and he didn’t blame her.

There was an energy in the air, one that seemed to have everyone in awe. Even those who seemed disinterested in the building itself were simply enjoying the company. It didn’t hurt Lucy, and some others were walking around with plates of finger foods for sale. They were going fast, and he hoped they’d have enough.

With a smile, he nodded. “I have. Actually, I was wondering if maybe you’d like the chance to do the hiring for this.”

“Me?” Carly seemed taken aback. “Are you sure?”

“I am.”

He gestured around to the crowd before pointing at himself. “Let’s be honest; while people are reasonably ok with me, we’ve all heard the whispers.”

No one was saying anything terrible or particularly cruel. However, people were obviously uncomfortable. It was one reason that he’d picked so soon to create the bathhouse, barely waiting for Davey’s team to finish outlining the area with the bricks they’d gathered.

While it may have cost him all his remaining skill points, he hoped they’d understand it as a gesture of goodwill. Plus, he hoped it would be hard to fear the guy who used the same baths as them.

“I have,” Carly admitted.

“So, while they work for me, it’ll be you they interact with. Therefore, getting to know you takes a higher priority. Take Adam as well. He’ll be a senior next to you, anyway.”

“Am I getting a promotion then, sir?”

That made him pause before he nodded. “Yes. Though I might assign it to you until after your mutation if that’s something that still interests you.”

Carly grinned and launched into a detailed description of all the forms she’d thought of over the last few weeks. He nodded, half listening as he tried to come to grips with the fact he wouldn’t be managing that section of the store anymore after this. While he would always have veto powers, it would be something that he didn’t have to handle.

“I won’t need to work the counters anymore.”

As the thought entered his mind, he had to resist the urge to laugh, not wanting Carly to think he was making fun of her. He would have to put some restrictions on her hiring, of course. His hoard couldn’t all go to paying people’s wages. Still, it was a weight off his shoulders that he hadn’t even known was there.

“Arthur, it’s time,” Nyssa said as she moved past Augustus, Splotch sitting on her shoulder.

Her sudden appearance cut Carly off, who looked somewhat embarrassed. Arthur didn’t mind.

“All that sounds good, Carly. Do the hiring, and then we’ll have Theobold and some of Mike’s guys take you out to The Greenhouse. Dr. Muriler should have what you need on hand.”

“Thanks, sir.” Carly smiled and turned, moving into the crowd as Nyssa shook her head.

“I wonder if others will want to do the same thing.”

“Now that word has let out that the knights won’t do anything about it? Possibly.” Arthur shrugged. “Anyway, you mentioned it’s about time?”

“Sure did. Everything should be in place. Davey and Mike are making sure no one’s done something dumb like sit in the building during the transformation. Other than that, we should be good.”

“And what about you?” Arthur asked.

Nyssa’s lips quirked up in a smile. “I wouldn’t worry about me. My place in all of this is easy.”

“I didn’t mean about The Bathhouse. How are you in general?”

That seemed to catch her off guard, and Splotch squeaked as she reached up to rub his head. The elemental, content with the interaction, yawned and squeaked before nuzzling into her furred neck.

“I’m doing okay,” she admitted. “Lots of work to keep me busy, which is great. None of The Archetypes have contacted me in a while; however, it’s making me worried considering what The Explorer said.”

“That’s right. The Artist said he had a project for you.” Arthur vaguely remembered The Explorer mentioning it.

Nyssa nodded. “Yeah. I keep finding fresh paint sketch ideas around my worksites, but he hasn’t contacted me directly. I hope it will be soon.”

“Speaking of soon, all the checks have been done,” Mike said as he walked over with Davey.

Arthur grinned and clapped his hands. “Alright, let’s get this started then. Are you all standing up here with me?”

He laughed at the general chorus of negatives, and he watched them move off as he turned to face the crowd. A raised hand drew people’s attention, and he started his speech. It would be a short one by design, but he hoped it would say everything he needed to say.

After a cough to clear his throat, he began.

***

“Today I’d like to introduce you to a new building, courtesy of our construction crew, Apocalypse Rebuilders, headed by Davey.”

There was a smattering of applause, but it died out quickly as he continued.

“This bathhouse is something we can all make use of and is free to any employee under the Apocalypse Assortments umbrella. Without further ado, let us begin.”

At that, he turned and lifted his hands. He knew Pydes was watching from the roof, a feat made easy as the proposed build site was almost directly behind the original store. Davey had suggested it. Not only would it be convenient for employees, but it would make foot traffic between the two locations relatively simple.

As soon as he lowered his hands, the air filled with a reverberating roar that rattled the few intact windows. Shouts of delight and concern rose from the crowd as a bright light filled the area laid out by the bricks. When the light dimmed, Arthur could see the new building’s outline, and he couldn’t help but be impressed.

It was in a square modern design, with walls in pristine white. As more of the light faded, he could see carvings of sea serpents and fish swimming up and around a series of waterfalls. To his delight, he noticed they were in a similar style that Nyssa had used inside Apocalypse Assortments.

Whoever had come up with the design for the bathhouse had decided on marble for the door, giving it a rather Roman vibe to his eyes. They had also etched the same dragon head that decorated the coins onto the stone.

Next to the door sat a small dragon statue curled around a small box. In its claws, it held a sign declaring a two-gold entry free for non-employees.

A pop-up appeared in front of his face, asking if he wanted to change the price. He declined. As much as he wanted to make more money, it would be pointless if no one could afford to go inside.

“Shall we check it out? Small groups to start,” he said as he gestured for his management team to follow him.

Nyssa, Davey, and Mike all stepped up, with Carly and Adam coming with them. Once they were all together, he pushed open the door that opened with the sound of a tinkling bell and took his first step into his new bathhouse.

His first thought about the sizable room was how clean it was. White tiles shone underfoot, and everything from the reception desk in the center of the room to the small signs pointing at the various rooms gleamed.

Dragons were everywhere in the room. From the large mural that ran along the right-hand wall depicting the beasts shooting jets of water at each other to the series of statues that looked like they doubled as coat racks for visitors.

Out of curiosity, he walked over to the reception desk and looked around. Behind its white marble exterior was a simple wooden desk, without a chair. He tried not to growl at that. For two perk points, he’d expected some basic furnishings.

“This is nice,” Carly said in what he thought was a voice meant to be quiet enough not to be overheard.

“It is,” he agreed.

Nyssa, he noticed, had moved over to the murals. She ran a hand over them, the other one reaching up to stop Splotch, who seemed like he wanted to get a closer look. Theobold and Augustus stuck with him, the same as Davey and Mike. Though he could see the obvious interest in the faces of the two men.

“Did they do a good job?” Arthur called over to Nyssa, who started and turned.

When she calmed down, she nodded. “Yes. I could learn from this. Did you tell them to add these? The last time we got an entire design menu.”

That made him frown, even as she shook his head. “No, nothing like that. Maybe that’s a store-only feature?”

“Maybe,” Nyssa said. “At least they gave us separate bathrooms.”

Arthur nodded quickly, looking at the back wall. There was a female and male area, and a quick poke of his head into both showed him a similar thing.

Inserted into the floor, the jacuzzi-sized baths let up plumes of steam. A series of doors led to small rooms that contained a basic shower, toilet, and sink.

All the taps and the shower head were actual gold, Arthur noted as he leaned in closer to examine them. The water that flowed through them came out both hot and cold.

None of the rooms held any form of soap or shampoo, but he figured he could fix that fairly easily. Someone in The Mall had to sell something that would work, and if not, perhaps Dr. Kunibert would feel generous enough to trade for his batch.

“Well, this was certainly worth the expense,” Arthur said as he dipped a hand into the water.

He heard murmurs of agreement from the others as they admitted the area. With a reluctant sigh, he turned and gestured for them all to follow. As much as he simply wanted to collapse into the bath, things needed to be purchased, and one last room needed to be found.

“Come on, then. Let’s find out how much this place is going to cost me to keep running.”

That earned him a laugh, and they all searched for where the maintenance section was. It turned out to be behind a false wall on the male side of the bathrooms, with the generator hidden in a small basement area. Piles filled the room, and almost everyone had to duck to get to the opening for the crystals.

On the generator itself was a note that told him it would only accept grade E or higher crystals and would need to be fed once a day. That, he knew, shouldn’t be a problem with the sheer number of them he had. Though he would have to hire someone to keep an eye on it.

“Is there anything else?” he asked, and when everyone shook their heads, he nodded. “Time to let the next group in, then.”

***

Arthur spent the rest of the day doing tours when he wasn’t busy talking to people about maintenance jobs and manning the desk.

He had to admit that it was a pleasant break from the struggles that had befallen him recently. Though he still did his best not to touch too much on the off chance, he broke it. The last thing he wanted to do was need a repair crew on day one.

When everyone had gone through and the day had wound down, he found George. They were sitting by themselves, watching the crowd. When he approached, they did little except wave.

“Are you ok?” Arthur asked as he took a seat next to him.

George shrugged. “Yes. I was thinking about how different everything is now. How it’s only going to keep changing.”

“That it will,” Arthur admitted. “Not in a bad way, I hope.”

“No, not in a bad way.”

For a moment, they simply sat and watched the world around them. It made him realize how often he did that now---watched the world. Back before he’d arrived here, he’d stayed on his own. Another thing that changed, he supposed.

“Did you need something?” George asked at last.

“Yes,” Arthur admitted. “I was wondering if you would go see Dr. Kunibert and ask if he might trade up some soaps and towels. General bathroom stuff. I know he has plenty.”

“Sure.”

George got up with a grunt. “Thanks Arthur. What do you plan to do now?”

“For now?” Arthur asked, and then shrugged. “Enjoy the break while it lasts. I have a feeling I won’t be getting another for a while.”

That earned him a laugh, and as George walked away, Arthur found himself happy to settle in and watch the world go by. Everything else could wait.