As Dirk passed between the trees with the silver stakes, there was a physical change in the pressure of the atmosphere. The camp was sealed off magically from the outside world, no light, or smoke, or the smells of the cooking escaped the magic ring. Passing through the spikes had another effect on both Dirk and Briar. A gentle hum began in their ears, and as they moved further away, the hum gradually grew faint. When they sought the safety of the camp, the hum would guide them back, should they find themselves lost or separated.
It was not a long walk to the small stream with the rock-cut basin. At some point the stream had probably been a more powerful river, but now it was shallow and flowed gently. That made the basin perfect for bathing. The water the passed across it and around it was only a few inches deep, but the basin was deep enough, with a shelf at the right height, that they could sit. Briar would be up to her chin, but at least she could relax.
"Here we are," Dirk said to Briar, as he set her down gently, next to the stream. He then set down his kukri and haversack, then pulled from inside, the two stones that worked together to heat water. He tied a them together with a piece of twine, with a long tail that he staked to the ground by the stream. He tossed them into the basin, and they quickly went to work warming the water. He pulled the pieces for another small rack from the bag, and set it up in the stream, right next to the basin. On it, he hung several thick, fluffy, cotton towels. He could feel the sleight chill in the air, so he hung a large bead on the end of the rack. Inside the clear glass, a tiny fire spirit could be seen dancing, and the charm warmed the rack, and the towels.
Dirk pulled a few more things from the sack and began setting them up. A few feet down stream of the basin, he put a post in the shore, that rose to his knee. He looped a thin, white silk rope through a ring at the top of it, and crossed the stream to put a matching post there as well. Rope secured, he walked back across hanging a few glss beads, similar to the one with the fire spirit, on the silk cord. Some contained air spirits, and they pulled the heat from the water, returning it to the temperature it was before it was heated in the basin. Others contained water spirits, and they would purify the water of the things added by Dirk. He and Briar could enjoy a hot bath, whithout damaging the balance of nature.
The water was warming nicely, and steam was beginning to rise up into the air, but the flow of the water was gentle, and so within the basin, it had grown murky. He dropped a white marble into the water, and as it sank to the bottom, it pulled all the soil, and detritus into itself. The water was crystal clear now, and the marble, black. He dropped another magic stone into the basin, this one grey with large pores like holed cheese. In the water, it began to let out bubbles of warm air, at a steady stream. Last Dirk tossed a sphere of soap into the basin. It began to dissolve, filling the basin with soap bubbles that smelled faintly of vanilla. He moved his kukri into the shallow stream, within easy reach of the basin, and returned to Briar.
"Would you like assistance with removing your bandages, and the robe," Dirk asked Briar.
