NOVEL SIMPLE 1.84 – Nostalgia
"Out."
Thera repeated herself and made a kind of throwing motion with her arm. A ghostly limb stretched out of it. Remi spoke hastily.
"Okay, okay. No need to shove. Deal's a deal."
Thera paused her motions, and the ghost slid out of her peacefully. Feathered wings stretched out from her back, nearly twice the length of her arms. They flapped once before folding up neatly behind her. She looked around at the group. The third eye on her forehead often looked in a different direction than her other two.
She was nude, like the rest of them, and had some kind of radiant appeal. A natural attraction that drew the eye, similar to what Maple noticed succubi and incubi had.
Probably. She was not in the best state of mind to judge such things. Her body felt hot, parts of her ached with the need to be touched. She could only be sure of the basic facts. Remi was the ghost of some kind attractive bird-human; translucent, white feathers, blue hair that went just past her shoulders.
Maple took a couple of calming breaths and stood while Emma eagerly greeted the overly friendly ghost with her usual note, along with an outstretched hand to shake.
Hi, I'm Emma. I'm a soap slime.
Remi leaned in to read it, mildly surprised, and grabbed Emma's hand.
"A pleasure, Emma. I'm Remi, an erogelic...Are you trying to suck me into you?"
Emma nodded with a grin and slapped her tummy. The silly little goofball—did she want the ghost to possess her, or did she want to eat her? Remi pulled her hand back and gave Thera and Maple an apologetic look.
"I won't be doing that again. I apologize. One gets a little stir crazy and, thirsty, after what, [Date and Tim—actually. I'm not sure I want to know. I haven't looked since hitting 200 years, and I feel like it's been much longer still."
She froze with a despondent look similar to how they'd found her. Maple and Thera exchanged a glance. Maple decided to answer her initial question.
"Uh, I'm Maple. That was my Skill; [Telepathic Orgasms]. I'm a—one of my classes is [Slut]."
She felt like owning up to it, now that it might be the last time she could say it. The goddess had been vague, but she'd been hoping the gift was something to replace those perverse classes. The closer she came to that possibility, the more she felt she might miss them.
"Oh! You'd have fit right in here, back before this place...died. Ah but—we're absolutely teeming in power. No sense in still keeping the lights off. Sorry for the mess. I stopped bothering...ages ago, but—welcome."
Remi's tone went from happy to sad every other sentence. She looked at something invisible to them and motioned with her hand. Light came down from the ceiling, fully revealing the dusty room, and making Maple feel rather revealed herself. She covered herself with her hands and noticed Dort and Sylla doing the same while looking around.
Maple had been expecting—her treasure, for one. She coveted it. An actual goddess had promised her something priceless, and she already felt like it was hers. She also strongly hoped there would be something worthwhile for Azure Bond to take, enough to waive their fee at the very least.
So an old temple belonging to that goddess would have made sense, or a—she hadn't been that imaginative in coming up with possibilities. Just as long as her treasure was there. This room defied anything she would have thought of.
It did have grand pillars rising to the ceiling, as one may find in a temple. Near the center of the room was a dry fountain, and in the center of that was a statue of a winged figure much like Remi's, but possessing many more eyes than just a third; it was kind of creepy but still somehow attractive as a whole.
That all fit well enough, as did the cryptic roman numerals marking some of the hallways and stairs leading further down.
The cushioned seats, couches, and small tables took something away from the temple atmosphere, but what really did it were the other signs and plaques. Primarily, the embossed gold lettering above two shut doors, marking the...Gift Shop.
Of course, there was also the Sensual Massage, Ero Pool, Bar, Ceremony Halls...
She'd swear to god—at that goddess—if this ended up being another prank. Remi had gone despondent again while they took in the room, each with disbelieving expressions like Maple's when they saw the gift shop. Remi seemed to remember they were there again, and gestured at Thera.
"Oh, you said you were adventurers. I suppose it's been long enough that someone finally showed up to loot everything?"
"Uh..."
Thera scratched the back of her head and looked to Maple and her team. That was exactly why they were there.
"I won't stop you. I suppose it's about time I moved on. Glad I could have some fun first."
She nodded to them all one last time, ready to be beamed up to the next plane of existence. Maple took a step forward.
"Wait, but, a voice in my head told me there was a priceless treasure here for me."
"Who? Was it my mistress? She hasn't told me anything."
She sounded sad and...jealous that time. Maple hesitated. They weren't entirely sure who the goddess was, or that it even was a goddess, let alone who this lady's mistress was. Giving her a name might ruin their chances at cooperation, if a priceless treasure was here. Rather than go despondent again, Remi examined the room.
"I suppose that might be ready again. And who could still know about it after...you're really going to make me check. [Date And Time]—"
She froze and tears shortly began rolling down her face. It was the saddest thing Maple had ever seen, like an angel weeping right in front of her.
"Aw, there there..."
Maple patted her shoulder, but the instant she touched her, Remi's hand blurred and grabbed her by the wrist. Maple yelped and tried to pull back, but her grip was firm. Alas scrambled to her feet from a couch she'd wandered to and was nocking an arrow. Thera shouted.
"Let her go."
Before anyone else could do anything, Remi pulled Maple against her and sniffed at her neck. She felt cold against Maple's bare skin, and Maple was terrified for a moment, but her body reacted with delight.
"I smell her on you. My mistress."
Remi inhaled deeply again, nuzzling into her neck. Maple shuddered. The ghost hadn't hurt her—this was just really weird.
"Um..."
"Oh. Sorry. I didn't mean to. Uh."
Remi let her go and took a step back. She looked apologetic, slightly confused and awkward. Not sad anymore, for whatever that was worth. Thera guided Maple away from the ghost, and Emma also moved protectively in front of her.
"It's okay, uh, she didn't do anything."
She'd just moved so fast. Maple's heart raced in her chest. Azure Bond was on full guard; naked, but weapons in-hand. Remi smiled sadly and kept her distance.
"Sorry. I think I know what you came for. I'll need to get it ready, and—the trial. You should do the trial. One last time, before this place is lost for good and I move on. Any of you who wishes to. Please?"
Maple still felt kind of bad for her. She seemed lost, and sad, maybe slightly insane. But not hostile.
"What's the trial?"
"The Trial of the Erogel. If you passed it, you'd get your name engraved on a plaque and honorary rights to visit whenever you wanted. I'll show it to you, but first, how about a soak in our mineral-rich spring water. This way, please."
They followed her after a moment of whispered hesitation. In the end, they didn't have a better option. Maple was even more worried about the validity of her priceless treasure.
"Uh, what is it I came for exactly? The voice—or your mistress, she didn't even tell me her name, by the way—she just said it was valuable. It's not a uh...silly thing is it? Or a prank? Or—what even is this place? Just a spa? I'm so confused."
Remi stopped and turned around with a serious expression. Maple grimaced, worried she'd offended her, but then the ghost laughed.
"She didn't even say? That would be just like her."
She shook her head, laughed some more, and wiped at her eyes.
"We are primarily a spa, but also...more. You shouldn't be disappointed. It is valuable, not some novelty item, but...not everyone would want it. Let me make sure that it is ready, and then I'll explain. The trial, too. That's nothing dangerous, by the way, just good old fashioned fun. For now, please relax and enjoy this facility one last time."
She led them to a room of marble basins. Empty pools, of various shapes and sizes. The room was split in half by a wall in the center, an open path at either end that you couldn't quite see around once inside one section.
The lighting was flat, slightly dim. Both sections of the room were spacious, and they were the only ones there. Empty chairs were scattered about, and for some reason Maple got a slightly ominous feeling from it all. Perhaps being led there by the ghost of an erogelic...whatever she was, added to that feeling.
"These baths were typically separated by gender, but since you're all together...I'm sorry, they're all a little dirty. Give me a few minutes to scrub one clean for you."
Remi was deciding which one to give them when Emma grinned, and moved to the edge of one of the larger round pools. She emitted a stream of liquid.
"Excuse me, urinating in the pools is strictly—oh. Soap slime. Thank you, yes this one will do."
Maple shook her head with a smile holding back laughter. Emma's [Purifying Solution] dissolved all the dirt with ease, but where she chose to emit it from...The silly. Once the tile was sparkling clean, Remi did something with her hands and water began gushing in from multiple holes along the side. The sound echoed through the room, and Remi had to shout over it.
"A natural underground hot spring feeds this place. The water is rich in minerals and great for your skin, but not for drinking. There are separate fountains if you get thirsty or need to refill your supplies. We usually have other beverages, but I'm afraid..."
She indicated a fountain along one of the walls and looked at risk of going despondent again. She shook it off and gave them a smile.
"It'll shut off automatically when it's full. Please, enjoy yourselves. I'll be back shortly."
The ghost left. They stood around the filling pool, all slightly bewildered, but then got to setting their things down nearby. Maple put an arm around Emma to make sure she was okay; she had bathhouse-related trauma.
Emma smiled happily and rested a hand on Maple's butt. Maple's body was still raring to go, and they were in front of everyone, but the action wasn't quite lewd enough to put a stop to. Maple watched the water fill with some nostalgic happiness herself. She hadn't had a real bath since first arriving to this world.
