Chapter Text
Mollymauk had always wondered why he never saw Caleb take a bath. Yes, his friends liked joking about it. So did he, and it was a source of great amusement for them all, but the fact was that Caleb always seemed to stink. When it came down to it, Mollymauk simply could not understand it. He had heard of people having aversions to water, but Caleb had seemed fine traveling on the boat to the island of the Ustaloch. He also knew that Caleb had spent a lot of coin in Trostenwalde when he had the chance to go to a bath house. But when the water was warm and free, Caleb wouldn’t budge.
That was why it was so strange when he went up to the room he, Fjord, and Caleb shared and found Nott sitting with her back against the door, arms folded and a stern expression on her face.
The goblin girl frankly freaked Mollymauk out. It wasn’t that he had anything against goblins, and he had met weirder people on the road, but the mask that she wore seemed to hint at something that set Mollymauk on edge, and the glint in her eye showed that she was no stranger to death in her life.
Mollymauk walked slowly towards her, cautiously, and knelt down at her level. She looked up at him, and Mollymauk felt his guts twist at the sight of the pure white porcelain against the dark green of her skin.
“Am I allowed to go inside?”
He flashed her a grin, and was met with an icy gaze. Her voice wavered when she spoke, as it nearly always did, but she seemed firmer than he had ever seen her. “Caleb doesn’t want anyone to see him right now. He’s busy. You need to go away for a while.”
This puzzled Mollymauk. He was torn between curiosity and indignation at the fact that Caleb had taken over their shared room. “Surely I can just go in for a second. I just need to grab something. He won’t mind.”
“Actually he will mind and you can’t go in. Not yet. Just go away.”
Mollymauk’s curiosity was piqued, and he instantly knew that he would do anything to get inside that room.
“Well,” Mollymauk manipulated his face into a mournful expression, “I guess you don’t want to know about the rich gentleman that just walked into the tavern, then?”
Nott’s eyes narrowed. “I might not be all that smart but I ain’t dumb neither. I won’t fall for that. Not again. Not from you.”
“Fall for what? I would never lie to you, my dear. Pop downstairs to see for yourself. I won’t go in. I promise.”
Nott frowned but got to her feet. “I swear if I find out you’ve been lyin’ to me again you won’t live to see another sunrise.”
Mollymauk put his hand on his heart. “I swear to you, Nott the Brave, that I would never lie.”
And he wasn’t lying. Not quite. There was a rich man downstairs, but Mollymauk had already robbed him blind for a bullshit tarot card reading. But she didn’t need to know that. Mollymauk still knew that the man had plenty of shiny objects on him that would keep Nott occupied for at least ten minutes. That should give him plenty of time to see why Caleb was being so secretive.
Mollymauk watched Nott scamper down the hall, and when she went out of sight in the stairwell, Mollymauk opened the door to the room.
When he stepped into the room, the first thing he saw was a pile of dirty clothes on the floor. The second was a large copper tub that had been set by the fireplace. The third was Caleb Widogast, soaking in water, and very naked. From his position, Mollymauk couldn’t see much, but what he saw was enough. Caleb turned his head, not having seen Mollymauk yet.
“Nott, what is it? Did you need so-“ Caleb saw him. Caleb saw Mollymauk standing in the doorway, mouth agape, staring pointedly at him. At his chest. The flush in Caleb’s cheek from the hot water immediately went pale, and he let out a small shriek, instantly covering himself, his chest, with his arms.
“Molly! What do you want? Where’s Nott? I told her to guard the- Did you- How much- Go-“
Mollymauk saw Caleb’s breathing get faster, his eyes wide like a deer about to be shot down. He put his hand up over his face and ran to his pack, pulling out a coin pouch, before fleeing from the room, apologies flying from his mouth.