Sonder left the tavern.
The sailors, mostly the woman, had told her everything she needed to know.
Tomorrow, at noon she needed to be at the harbor in front of the big ship.
They told her that she was only allowed to bring two bags of luggage. That wouldn't be a problem, as Sonder had nothing more than the one pack with her.
She adjusted the pack and began walking along the edge of the town, away from it.
It didn't take long before she was outside the town again, standing on the beach.
She searched the greener patches around the town.
She thought she might find a stream or a nice pool of water.
And did she find a stream? Yes, but a very weak one.
She crouched beside it.
She had read about sailors and sea voyages often enough.
How people got sick on the swaying ships, and how weeks could pass without proper washing. Illnesses that usually afflicted those who spent long periods at sea. Salt spray and sweat and cramped quarters.
It sounded uncomfortable.
She didn't know if she could even get sick. She slept little and ate little anyway, so that wouldn't be a problem, but she'd rather be as clean for as long as she could.
She dipped her hands into the little stream and watched the current carry away the dirt and sand from her fingers.
Thin streaks of gray and brown swirled downstream and disappeared.
After a moment she cupped water into her palms.
It wouldn't be enough to properly wash herself.
She had considered using the sea earlier, but the thought had bothered her.
She had also read that salty water, like that of the ocean, was bad for almost everything: hair, skin, drinking, and washing clothes.
Sonder straightened slowly and glanced back toward the town.
She didn't want to wander too far from it.
But… she was a sorceress.
She sighed quietly and stepped away from the stream.
It felt wasteful to her.
Not wasteful in terms of effort. Conjuring water was not difficult for her. But something about it felt strange to use it.
Water summoned from nowhere could save someone, or be used to attack and defend in danger, but now she thought about using it just to wash herself.
And there was a feeling in her that also told her that it might even be embarrassing for the water, if it could feel that emotion.
But she still did it.
She lifted her hand, and it already began to let a small rain begin to fall beside her.
Usually, when she summoned water or any other element, she used only enough mana to summon it, but this time, she gave it some more.
Not an extravagant amount, but just enough so the water got a good deal in return.
She looked around to make sure it was private and then used a bit more magic to create a solid square of stone instead of mud with three thin but solid stone walls, again giving them a little more mana than usual, just to make it fair.
"There," she said.
It made for a decent shower cabin.