It hasn't been easy cleaning this place. The Temple's lack of cleaning supplies and the way that Nicora occasionally drips worm-slime from her nethers add to the difficulty. But eventually she manages to clear out the husks of dead insects, the still-living insects and the tough (and probably toxic) fungal mold that clings to the various blood stains.
Not being easy has actually been quite a boom; it has been a superb distraction from the warmth and tingle that Gorphat's blessing radiates from her reproductive system. Granted, she does have to stop every hour or so to change the bandages there; she didn't know that so much goo can be generated from one person. And that's on top of the slimy-green worm slime from her accidentally falling asleep in the pool the other night. But, not that things are mostly in order, Nicora had to take a break to 'relieve' some of that pent up tension. At least when she squeals and cries out, she is the only one in the Temple to hear. "Time for new bandages again," the Eeee then mutters. She simply cannot keep herself looking remotely clean; always damp and icky in certain areas. And it doesn't help her chest(s) throb uncomfortably, and do staining of their own as things leak. "And I smell ripe," Yodhgorphat Scourge complains to herself.
"You must overcome such annoyances," Gorphat's voice whispers in the Eeee's ear. "That is the purpose of the blessings."
"So I have to get used to ... smelling musky and sour?" Nicora (Scourge) asks as she uses a spare bandage to wipe away the slimy coating on her thighs and partway up her stomach. Soon she is wrapping her swollen body parts back up again si she can resume a bit more cleaning.
"No, you must overcome it, not merely get used to it," Gorphat replies.
"I'm not sure how," Nicora admits and shakes her head. "But, there is solace in that you gave them to me, Mother. They are an honor in addition to a challenge."
"Soon you may even surpass Phlagaea's trials," Gorphat says approvingly.
"I will? But I thought you were only to lay claim to me until she returned to you?" Nicora asks.
"Why can't I have you both?" Gorphat asks, sounding a bit growly about it.
"I never said you could not, Mother. I am honored to be You daughter," Nicora claims as she resumes a bit more straightening up. "I find I crave your ... attention quite often, and that I wish to worship you more and more."
"Are you willing to take the final test of devotion?" the goddess seems to coo.. even with the gurgle.
"/Final test? Have I not shown you I am devoted through my love?" Nicora asks, pausing mid-step. Her left ear twitches nervously. "Is not my body a testament to Your glory?"
"You have passed all physical tests and mental tests," Gorphat says. "But there is yet a final test of faith and trust in Me."
"I trust you with all my heart," Nicora claims, and even puts her hand over her bot-fly tattooed left breast. She swallows, but she knows refusing to take the test would be very, well, bad. So, she says, "I will take the test." Granted, her tone is one of someone who may have just heard they were given a death sentence...
"Hosheb will need to assist you," Gorphat notes. "This requires someone be there to.. help. Go to the third tunnel down from this corridor and follow it until you reach the chamber of Gorphat's Blood."
"May I mate with Hosheb before the trial?" Nicora asks as she sets down the remaining stuff and walks back to the main chamber.
"That would drain his energies, and endanger you," Gorphat explains. "You have already lessened his energy once today."
"Forgive me ... I find him ... attractive," Nicora says and even bows her head. That's when she thinks of Hosheb, and that she wishes the demon to be at her side; that she needs his help.
Heading down the indicated tunnel eventually brings Nicora to a rough-cut domed chamber. The bulk of the floor is taken up by an irregularly shaped pool, which is full of the glowing green liquid used in the glass lamps used throughout the temple (and carried by the Yodhgorphat as well).
"Oh, it's the glowing light goo," Nicora says as she circles the pool, looking at it and tilting her head. She then looks for a carving or some sort of a note as to what this room is for. "What do I do in here, Mother?" she thinks.
"Drown yourself," Gorphat instructs. "Trust that I will revive you."
"Should not Hosheb be here?" Nicora thinks as she eyes the pool nervously.
"He will be there to lift you out when needed," Gorphat says. "He is not needed yet. You must give yourself to my blood, swallow it, breathe it in."
"That doesn't sound any worse than when I was reborn," Nicora thinks, back to the original trial. So, she walks up to the edge of the pool, then turns so that her back is to it. Her eyes close and she takes several deep breath. On the exhale of her last one, she thinks, "Here goes nothing. It's trust. I am of no help if I die." That's when Nicora ... Scourge, tips backwards, falling towards the pool of glowing liquid.
The stuff is thicker than it looks, so that Nicora feels the impact when she hits it. It also takes time to sink.. and there's some sort of suction at work, like quicksand.
Nicora's heart is pounding as she slowly sinks into the goo. "You'll be all right. You have to have faith. Just ... relax" the near-panicing bat keeps thinking to herself as she slowly sinks. Once she feels it creeping up the sides of her cheeks, she closes her eyes. She also ... keeps breathing. Gorphat ordered her to breathe it in, and she'll try to honor that command.
The moment the goo enters her mouth and nose, Nicora feels violently ill! It's like swallowing the ocean, if all the foulness were concentrated. It tastes green, and the texture is not smooth.. it's like slimy oatmeal.
Soon Nicora is gagging and coughing when it enters her mouth! "Oh Gods!" the bat thinks, and even does start to flail a bit, through the goo clings and her limbs. And yet, she does show her trust and devotion ... she swallows some of the goo as it enters her mouth. Worse ... she then inhales deep, feeling the heavy, lumpy, material ooze down her throat, even to her lungs.
The Eeee even strains to spread her legs, so that the goo can invade her lower down too, if it can.
It's impossible not to go into convulsions - one just cannot 'relax' while drowning. Nicora's body tries to expel the goo, which just makes it worse when it has to breathe it back in it. It's horribly painful, and Nicora begins to black out. The next thing she knows, she's on her hands and knees next to the pool, vomiting up the stuff onto Hosheb's feet. Her entire body aches, her heart feels like it is going to burst through her chest, and her blood feels sluggish. Her head feels fit to explode from the blood pressure.
Nicora doesn't even think about anything right now, not with th convulsions and spasms to vomit out the goo what she swallowed. It's minutes before she can even manage a coherent thought, much mess make weak attempts to wipe the gunk off her arms. "Ow," she say, eyes wincing shut again from the throbbing headache.
Even shut.. there's a green tint to her vision. And each deep breath causes another bout of dry-heaving, so that her diaphragm feels like it's on fire now. She's also having hot and cold flashes.. sometimes both at the same time.
"You can expect a fever," Hosheb says in his buzzy voice.
Nicora starts blinking her eyes. She wobbles a bit, then tops over, landing with a squelch in the splatters of the green gunk that surrounds her. "What happened? What did I ... swallow?" Nicora asks, possibly to see if she can even speak. She also tries to look at her convulsing body.
Maybe it's the green tint to her vision.. but it looks like her veins are glowing green through her skin, but it's beginning to diffuse outward as well.
"The Blood of Gorphat," Hosheb answers. "This is the trial of Gorphat's Kiss. It affects each Yodhgorphat differently."
"I feel awful," Nicora says weakly on the floor at Hosheb's feet. "Feels like my blood is barely moving."
"That will pass, in time," Hosheb says. "It may only take a day for the effects to pass, if you survive the infection."
"If I survive?" Nicora gags, "I could die?"
"Few fully recover from the Kiss," Hosheb explains. "Half perish, a quarter are crippled, and the rest are altered in some way. This is how Phlagaea got her green fur. The other active Yodh at the time did not undergo this trial."
"Then why did I have to?" Nicora asks weakly. "And can you carry me to my room? Or must I remain here in this .... slime?"
"You must do everything from this point on your own," Hosheb claims. "I was only to pull you out before you suffocated."
Nicora grits her teeth and tries to push herself up to her feet. This goes .... badly. So Nicora finds herself clawling along the passageways back towards her chambers. "I want to see that makeshift mirror I cobbled together," she mutters to herself.
It seems to take forever to crawl back, and the fever and chills and other issues (like her bowels loosening along the way) just make it more hellish. Nicora is completely exhausted when she reaches her chambers.
And she smells even worse, but that is of little concern to her right now She drags herself over to the shell piece she has been using for a mirror to try and get a look at herself. "Why are you doing this to me, Mother?" she thinks in agony.
She looks horrible, of course, but even worse: with every pounding beat of her heart, she can follow the pulse as a wave of green light spreading outward along her blood vessels. She's flushed green as well, and.. the milk weeping from her multiple teats looks like the same glowing green goo she was just drowned in.
"Gods, I hope this passes," Nicora thinks weakly as she looks at herself in horror. She thankfully cannot ponder on this too long, because exhaustion claims here and she collapses in a heap on the floor. Sweet darkness claims her. Only one good thing can be said about this, really. She at least isn't feeling horny.