Maeve jolted awake, her hands immediately scrambling to find her grimoire in a panic. She held back a scream as she imagined the fae hovering over her, cackling. Her lungs wiggled loose as she started rolling on the ground in desperation.
Rennia, still nude and going through the mess of gear laying on the ground, rushed towards her and extended her hands to lift her up. "Maeve," she murmured, her voice low, "you're safe. I've got you."
Maeve's eyes immediately scanned the entire cavern, her body tense, searching for a threat. As though she didn't believe it, she found her grimoire on the ground next to her, kept it open, and put her fingers on the casting steps.
She looked at Rennia, her face turning reddish. Rennia was bare naked, covered in steamy water, and she was semi-erect—the pathfinder's cock, thicker and heavier than the night before, rested half-hard against her thigh, as if she was seeing a reflection of that same night.
Rennia made no effort to hide herself. Her overconfidence sometimes, was mildly infuriating.
"You're—you're still naked! Your round tits are out!" Maeve hissed. "Where's the fae? Do you even realize anyone could walk in on us? Where are your damn clothes you shameless maiden?"
Rennia knelt beside her. She was still exhausted from the affair before—Gossamer had brought out something she'd kept dormant. Just how much of it did she have to tell Maeve? Rennia took a deep breath and slowly started unraveling the information with her companion, tweaking the details here and there.
Maeve, who was trying not to stare at Rennia, went cherry red at this point. "You're blushing really hard maeve, were you in the spring too long." Rennia teased her. Maeve brought her arms together and then fumed.
"You had sex with a fae? Are you nuts? Are you crazy? You did the thing with the Gossamer person—are you okay in the head?" She faced Rennia, her fist curled into a fist and every punctuated word was met with sharp tap on her shoulder. "Have you lost your mind?! And are you just fine with it?"
"Relax," Rennia shrugged. "I genuinely don't see what the big deal is. You know how my class works. Sex is part of the deal—Gossamer offered, I accepted. No regrets. She made a bargain, for your life I might add and I took it. Nothing else happened. Besides, I got this neat glamour ability from her. Don't really understand what it does, but—" She trailed off, mouth grinning wide. "I'm sure we'll find out together."
Maeve jumped up, ecstatic about the prospect that Rennia may have attained something unique. Rennia backed away slightly as Maeve moved all in her face, scowling at her. "You got an ability and you leveled up?"
"Prety much." Rennia said happy.
"And I happen to miss this whole business? And we came here for what again? I need to—"
She needed to think, refresh herself. She had just woken from a very weird dream, after all, and she didn't expect Rennia to comprehend. She moved away, staring at all the gear piled up and the disappearance of the spirit—or rather, the fae—and then despaired.
She spoke softly. She was defeated. "I didn't do anything, did I?"
"What?" Rennia stepped closer, shadowing her from behind.
"I didn't do a goddamn thing and it's already over. I am ashamed. I am not true to my house name. I'm sorry, Rennia." For the moment, Rennia's naked bits didn't matter one inch. Her embaressment and pride, overshadowed by an act of kindness. "But thank you for saving me from the fae."
Perhaps it was just the unfair nature of the world. Perhaps it was because Rennia was special and she was not. Perhaps she was an ill-fitted sorceress. Perhaps she shouldn't have fled here.
"You got put to sleep, Maeve. It happened to me too. We should be thankful Gossamer wasn't malicious. Besides, I may have learned some serious information regarding the individual that hexed me, so I don't see the problem here. It was never a battle to the death."
"I don't even wanna know." Maeve felt exhausted, horrible, drab, and weary. What she wanted now was her bed—everything else could wait. She blinked for a moment and then realized where exactly she was. "The hot springs?"
Rennia nodded, covering herself. She kicked at the pool of steaming water. "We were told we could use it, right? You wanna take a dip?"
Maeve's face brightened for a moment, then gloomed again. "I… it doesn't sit right with me."
"What do you mean? You don't want to relax in a nice, warm bath?"
Maeve shook her head frantically. "No, no, it's not that. I'm supposed to be a powerful sorceress. I got overpowered." She thought about the dreams she'd had—the lewd ones, the familiar ones, the one where her family was whole. She slapped herself on the cheek lightly. "Can we just finish the request? I'll make this right somehow. When we're back in Ivarcant, prove I have more skill than being Rennia's slut."
"M-Maeve, come on now, of course you have done more than—" Rennia shut her mouth, probably to prevent blurting something she shouldn't. "Look, um, speaking about that night, I have a serious question."
Maeve's eyes lit up with sudden interest. "Oh? You mean the night I gave you a handjob and swallowed your cum?" Maeve could see Rennia cringing at the words, but she kind of liked it.
"Yeah, that night. When you, uh... after you swallowed, did you notice anything... unusual?Gossamer, the fae, might have gone through something similar. I think it's connected."
Maeve's brows furrowed and then she leaned forward. "You made the faerie suck your cock too?"
Rennia started giggling. That's not the point!" She dismissed the motion. "What I'm trying to figure out is whether you experienced something... unusual after."
Maeve started blushing furiously. She gritted her teeth. "Yes, I had a vision of some sort. It was brief. I saw a woman—a giant—sitting on her throne, glaring back at me. And then, I kid you not, I gained a level in [sorcerer]. Like the Living System blessed me for 'pleasing you.'"
"Really? Then what Gossamer said was true." Rennia smacked her hands against her face. "Oh my god, my cum gives people levels!"
Maeve held up her hand. Rennia was jumping to conclusions. A level, yes, but nothing beyond that—and probably not the same thing. "Hold on, Rennia. I think it may be a one-time thing. For example, I got this strange skill thrown at me: Enhanced Mana Battery. But it was so absurd, I didn't investigate it. It may be that this seed gives various blessings. Yes, the 'goddess seed'—those were the words that were flashed to me."
She walked closer. "You've talked about your issues, but you've barely mentioned the goddess. So, what—are you some kind of chosen one? A hero?"
Rennia shook her head. "Hero? Don't be ridiculous. I'm not that corny, am I?"
Maeve was confused by her reaction. She saw heroes as valiant wherever they appeared—champions, chosen, revolutionaries. "Wait—is this why Ishmere is so obsessed with energy? Is she taking this from you?"
"No!" Rennia's voice sharpened, her hands flying up in frustration. "I haven't even told Ishmere about this. It happened in the mines, and it's—it's not something I want spread around.""
She pressed her pams to her face. ""Maeve, can you please just drop it?""
"Whoa—what's with the hostility?"
Rennia put her hands on her face. "I'm sorry. I just—I don't need people knowing about this. That I can... give people levels or boons when...
Maeve wondered about that. That implied she was still planning on fucking a lot of people. But yes, she could shut her mouth. She understood the logistics and social reasons. The amount of people who'd want to get ahold of her would be outrageous.
"Serious—I don't wanna be used as someone's sexual power farm. Oh god, can you imagine being hooked up to some fucking device?"
The image was lewd and depraved enough that Maeve didn't have to imagine. She waved her hand. "I'll shut the fuck up, don't worry."
"Wait—" Rennia winced. "I didn't mean to snap at you like that."
"I get it. Let's just... pretend this never happened. For now."
She agreed it was the best course of action. "Right. Nothing happened here."
The sounds of boots and voices echoing, armor clanking and swords swishing came at a serious pace. The sounds of banter and chaotic singing were hard to miss. Those were definitely more adventurers.
"Reinforcements from the town? The Fyrne woman's group, perhaps?" Maeve questioned and shot Rennia a look. "You need to get dressed like now!"
Rennia shot up in panic. Maeve gestured towards the static gear lying on the ground. The problem was, everything was jumbled together with other people's stuff. Why was it all thrown together? It was probably the faerie's work, but Maeve didn't know where to start. The problem with Rennia's gear was it was so damn generic and common—Maeve wasn't able to differentiate easily.
"Shit, shit! I can't find my leggings or my panties. Did that fucking bitch steal my underwear?" Rennia asked in a frantic state. A panty-stealing fae was a peculiar thought.
"Just grab whatever! Don't waste time looking for the right stuff!"
"I can't do that—that's disgusting! I refuse to wear other people's clothes. Not to mention, I am the only female adventurer around here with male equipment. That's just weird."
Oh god. This was a nightmare.
Maeve noticed that Rennia's body was reacting to the stress strangely—her penis had started swelling again for whatever reason! It was a weird sight to behold, but she would have to wait until she was back in Ivarcant before she could resume analyzing the futanari girl again.
The footsteps came closer. And Maeve just sighed as a group of six armed adventurers flooded the spring entrance. All had a weapon in their hands—a bow or some staff. They were mostly men, but the pink-haired wildborn was hard to miss.