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The billow of steam that enveloped Beartongue and Istvhan when the door to the baths opened was a welcome relief. And Beartongue sighed gratefully as she straightened up from where she had been unintentionally leaning against Istvhan. He took this as a signal to step away and bowed more gracefully than most would expect of a man his size.
"I don't suppose you'd care to join me in the bath?" Beartongue asked impulsively.
Istvahn looked surprised and perhaps tempted for a moment before he shook his head. "I still have work to do today, Your Grace."
"Oh, do call me Beartongue, Paladin Istvhan. You saved me from falling into a mud puddle for a second time in as many steps today. I think that makes us close enough to use my name." She felt a pang when her words made him frown.
"I didn't save you from the first fall."
Beartongue suppressed an eye roll, "That is only because I got out of the carriage before you were done ensuring Alice hadn't been replaced by an assassin with a convincing limp. And you still made it back across the courtyard in what I'm sure would be record time if anyone had bothered to time themselves crossing it before."
Istvhan looked shifty in a way she'd come to associate with the former paladins of the Saint of Steel doing something that only they thought was in any way reasonable.
"You've all timed yourselves crossing the courtyard, haven't you?"
"Well how are we supposed to get faster if we don't know how quickly we could do it in the first place?" He grinned then, "I think I beat my personal best though."
"A feat for which I am very grateful, Paladin," she said. She moved a bit and was reminded of the fact that she was still covered in mud and that standing in the doorway to the baths wasn't going to fix that.
She must have let some of that realization show on her face because Istvhan bowed again and said, "Go wash up before the crowds get here, Beartongue."
"Try not to work too much longer, Istvhan," she said as she turned away and made her way into one of the side rooms where she could sluice off most of the mud before moving to one of the larger soaking tubs."
