It's never a direct summons. It's always just a feeling, like a pull at the back of Alptraum's mind. Usually after spending a lot of time at another Temple, but especially after something to do with Inala (but not Sunala). And after 'giving' Inala two unicorns to go with the two rats, it's inevitable that Gorphat will want something to balance things out.
The staff at the Temple of Gorphat are never aware of the comings and going of their High Priestess Scourge. Although there is a lot of extra activity in the Temple now, with the new acolytes and the new 'order' of Mabb ones as well. All with their own horrib and horrib-hybrid companions.
But Nicora is undetected by them. A miracle given that she has to waddle around and wear a special diaper to keep some of her insides inside nowadays.
It's clear that someone is expecting her though, as the dark presence of Hosheb is waiting for her.
It's perhaps that Nicora knows the Temple better than anyone that she makes her way back through the hidden entrances. It isn't but a few feet in as Alptraum that his body is wracked with discomfort, forcing him tl shed his clothing as a forced transformation overcomes his body. Fur falls away, parts sag and look sickly, and then a lurge in her lower belly as something detaches and settles down hard as he becomes a deformed, itchy, oily-slimy 'she' with a rather, ah, unique body odor. From there it takes some time; first to find fittings to push her severely prolapsed uterus back mostly inside so that she can walk (waddle as it is), since the hanging internal weight is heavy and uncomfortable, even when held back in. Slowly and with grunts she makes her way back through and even into her former room. There her ears flik as she hears a familiar buzz. "Hosheb?" the High Priestess asks, "Is that you? Mother Gorphat requested my return." She waddles to her bed and sits down heavily, legs spread to cope with the distension bulge.
"Yes," Hosheb replies, curt as ever. "Gorphat is going to aid you in your quest to bring mercy to the Sabaoth's victims. I will help prepare you for this."
"Ah, then you know where the tree is?" Nicora asks as she reaches between her lets and pushes her insides back up inside her body and tightens the banding to try and hold it in better. Then she's back on her feet and heading towards Hosheb's voice with a waddle still; you just can't walk nicely with anything heavy between the legs. "Where is it?"
"No, I do not know this," Hosheb says. "It is for you to choose the third tree. But to use what is learned, you must be prepared."
Nicora pauses. "Prepared how, exactly?" she says, then coughs up some plehgm. "Am I already not in Gorphat's image?"
"She has taught you to see without your eyes, and to use other senses as well," Hosheb says. "You must now learn to move without that which would impede you."
"That sounds ... worrying," Nicora admits and bites her lip. "And I cannot find this tree without ... this training?"
"The tree is easily found," Hosheb says. "But to follow the roots, this is necessary. You have learned the skills you will need, but your body has not."
"And ... how does this training begin?" Nicora asks, "And is this just for this time, or is it something Gorphat intends of me forever after, like she has does with .." She gestures to her crotch, and the wrapping-diaper suddenly droops as things sag out again. She winces. "Ow."
"It is not my place to know her ultimate goal," Hosheb says. "It is what you will need to meet the coming challenge. This time it is simple."
Nicora approaches Hosheb until she can press up against the demon. She even strokes his cheek some. "At least she has sent you to help me," she coos at the monster. "I have missed you so, lover."
"Missed me?" Hosheb says. "I do not understand."
"You and I have not mated in some time. I have missed it, and you," Nicora explains. "I ... enjoy your company."
"Is that what you wish then?" Hosheb asks, his many mouth-parts moving in a way that shouldn't produce speech. But then, he's a Sacred Demon.
"For you to mate with me? I always desire that. I am not sure I am physically capable of it anymore, though, Gorphat's blessings have all but ruined Inala's gate," Nicora says. "But, I can always tend to any of your needs."
The scorpion tail whips around, and Nicora feels two deep punctures into the base of her wings. They begin to go numb with the paralyzing effects. "I need to prepare you," Hosheb explains.
Nicora's wings sag immediately and she squeaks out loudly! "Ow, dagh!" she complains, looking hurt that the demon rejected her advances. She starts to step away from him!
The next two stabs strike at her upper thighs, which makes walking (or waddling) problematical.
It's two steps back before her legs give out and she collapses to the floor in a heap. She pushes herself upright, her eight breasts sagging down and leaking some. "I would have followed you!"
"And you will," Hosheb says, before stabbing her shoulders.
Augh!" goes Nicora and she falls forward onto her face. Or would if her breasts didn't cushion her fall. At least having so many means a soft landing? Small mercies.
Hosheb squats down further away, the Skedat 'stool' scuttling out of the way for him. He then extends his nutrient tube. "Now you may meet my other needs."
Nicora frowns, but it's not the first time she's had problems, or challenges, and as Gorphat's prime Daughter, she's expected to overcome them. So, with dead weight in legs, arms, and wings, the Eeee starts to try to slither-squirm herself along the floor towards Hosheb. It's awkward, ugly, and she may not even be making much progress at all. It's side to side at first, which seems to not really work at all. Then it's more like inch-worming on the ground since her back and torso work. The weight of her limbs, though, are quite the hindrance, making her slow-moving towards the demon. It's undignified, but Nicora lost all her dignity long ago. And as she inches, she loses her 'diaper' too, leaving her insides dragging along behind her a bit; leaving a wet, slimy, and very smelly, trail.
The dead legs also batter and squeeze the dragging part, making it even more uncomfortable, along with her limp wings catching on things. But the secretions from her breasts actually help a bit, making it easier to drag the numb parts over the floor as she inch-worms towards the demon. Her neck is going to be sore though, moreso than her back.
Onward she goes, leaving a putrid-smelling trail in her wake. One thing can be said for the High Priestess; she surely has the worst body-smell of any living Eeee. Inch by inch she makes it with her head craned back and her neck hurting. But, she's going to make it ... and after a good few minutes her lips are just starting to catch on that tube and she lips at it for a bit, trying to bring it towards her more as much as move towards it.
Hosheb doesn't make it any easier, in that he doesn't move to lower things any further. But Eeee tongues are strong, so Nicora can use it to pull her head up if he won't lower things down.
Nicora has to scoot closer until she can lift her neck enough to wrap her tongue around that tube. It takes a few tries, but she manages to slowly pull her head up and then close her lips around the tube, holding it with her tongue and teeth; grateful for its ridging.
Hosheb's eyes are.. unexpressive. He doesn't give any feedback or encouragement. "Is it difficult?" he asks.
"Mmmmhmmm," is Nicora's reply. Then she tries to suckle/nurse on that tube.
It takes some time before there's a response. It's just a trickle to begin with. It's thick and foul, meant to nourish developing larvae. "You must get used to it," Hosheb notes.
Nicora's ears splay out, wondering what that means? The flavor is awful; putrid, but it's also one she's at least familiar with. It's impressive that she's able to suckle on it slowly, and her throat ripples as she even swallows it, without retching.
It takes a long time before her stomach is full. It's only then that the flow begins to stop.
Now Nicora feels bloated. Her jaws slacken as does her tongue, and she lets the tube go. Her head drops back down and her neck is almost screaming in pain at this point from that horrible strain. Her gut churns slowly with the putrid food in it, and anytime she burps, she can smell it.
"How do you feel?" Hosheb asks.
"Full, and a little queasy," Nicroa admits, "And my neck hurts, and what I can't really feel, feels heavy."
"You must become used to the nutrient fluid," Hosheb says. "It is critical."
"Critical for what? How often am I to feed?" Nicora asks. Great, now she's itchy between her legs and can't scratch it.
"You must feed as often as you can," Hosheb replies to one question. There's also a sound from the corridor. The telltale noise of Otto and his bucket.
"Are you going to mate with me?" Nicora asks as she strains her head up a little, then tilts her ears some as she hears what may be Otto coming.
"As a reward, perhaps," Hosheb says. Otto enters without a word and sets his bucket down behind Nicora. It isn't clear if he notices Hosheb or not.
Nicora strains to look behind herself, and is only partly successful. "What are you doing, Otto?" she asks the rat.
"Special lotion, High Priestess," Otto says. And then there's something cold and slimy being applied between Nicora's butt-cheeks.
That makes Nicora squeak! "That feels cold! Why does it need to go there?" she demands to know of the rat. She ends up wiggling her hips around because it feels so weird.
"Uh.. because?" Otto offers, and then his finger is going up in there to spread it around even more.
"Hello!" Nicora squeaks, eyes going wide, when that fingers goes deeper than she expected it to.
"Yes, hello High Priestess," Otto replies, before scooping more goo into her.
"I am the High Priestess, you know," Nicora comments and turns her head around to try and get a look at that lotion. "Just how much are you trying to stuff into me?"
"Uh, just this bucket," Otto says. "That alright?" It looks.. like snot. It's green and jelly-like.
"That's a lot," Nicora remarks and frowns. She's spread her legs if she could, though. She does focus on relaxing things back there to at least make it easy for Otto to push it in without much resistance (and the sliminess probably makes it easier still). "But, it is fine, continue. The High Priestess must be able to endure whatever is asked of her."
"You don't like it?" Otto asks, sounding surprised. Did he always think she enjoyed the things he did to her?
"It is cold, but not unpleasant," Nicora claims. "I am starting to enjoy it," she lies; so that he doesn't feel he has transgressed.
"That is good," Otto says, and smears more of the goo over her butt and into it.
Nicora remains silent now while Otto works. Except for the occasional squeak when he works his entire hand into her briefly here and there to push it in deep. She also glances up at Hosheb, but knows better then to ask; he's not going to tell her much anyway.
Eventually the rat finishes and stands back up. "Why are your limbs flopped like that?" he then asks.
"They're just temporarily numb, pay it no mind," Nicora comments, and her butt blows a few bubbles. "I will be fine, as always. Gorphat is merely testing me."
"That is good then," Otto says, and then.. just turns and walks out with his bucket.
Nicora watches him leave. Now she's numb, her gut feels full, and now her backside does too. Also slimy, and very cold quite a ways in. She looks up to Hosheb and arches her bare brow a bit. "That was more preparation, wasn't it?" she asks.
Hosheb picks Nicora up and sets her down on the slab that serves as her bed, belly down. "Of course," Hosheb says. And then penetrates her right in the.. cold slime.
Hosheb is not built for comfort, though the slime certainly helps him slide in easily enough. It's all the chintiny bits and semi-barbs that lines his bits that makes it hurt. It also makes Nicora grit her teeth and hiss out in pain. "Yessssssss," she rasps out slowly as she inch-worm-wiggles her butt. "There we go."
He's not built for gentility easier, so there's probably some damage being done. Vampire bowels aren't generally as resilient as those eating solid foods. And of course it's all still cold, despite the motion. Hosheb is not associated with warmth after all.
Nicora accepts that some damage may happen, and right now she doesn't care. She wanted the demon to mate her, and he is. The pain is an odd sort of gift, making her feel connected. The cold pushes deeper too with his help, a cool odd sensation snaking up into her body, along with pulling pains and pinpricks when things snag. Sometimes there's a sharper pain, which might be something tearing, but it just makes Nicora groan.
If there are tears, the cold just seems a bit sharper there. There's the smell of the nutrient fluid as well, so Hosheb is still pumping her up. Will the two supplies meet in the middle somehow? And while her wings are numb, she can still tell that some of his limbs are holding onto them. But Hosheb never makes a sound otherwise.
Nicora is moaning and squirming as a bride may on her wedding night. It sounds pleasurable from her, but it does hurt, and the pumping into her makes her feel even more swollen until her belly rounds out some as she's filled; well her intestinal track is completely filled, with nutrient fluids from the demon. "Yes," the High Priestess hisses out. "Fill Gorphat's faithful child with your essence, help her prepare for her Goddess' duties."
"That is what I am doing," Hosheb replies. But he does pull out eventually, only for the cold goo to fill the space again and plug her up.
Nicora gasps out when the demon pulls out, then she seems to relax down into the slab some. "Thank you, my Lord," the High Priestess burbles; now feeling very unpleasantly full from both ends, and with no way for it to easily get out thanks to that cold goo that seems to gel up and seal her when he withdraws. She basks in sort of a perverse pain-afterglow.
Hosheb then injects the paralytic into her limbs again to keep them numb.
Nicora would complain, but she barely felt that. "I ... I suppose my limbs are to remain numb for a while then," she comments, figuring asking is of little point. "Thank you for tending to me during this, then."
"There will be more training after you have rested for a bit and absorbed the nutrients," Hosheb notes.
"I could use some rest, thank you," Nicora murmurs and lets her eyes close. "I will see you soon."
Nicora awoke to an odd sensation, especially for one who subsists on a liquid diet: a full bowel. There were also some sharp pains involved, and a disturbing amount of internal motion as well. She's also apparently alone in her chambers, save for the menagerie of 'pets' that also dwell therein.
"Mmmmgh," Nicora complains as she comes to and feels .. urges. Then she remembers she couldn't move her arms or legs ... so tries to see if she can so that she can get up and find a way to relieve herself!
They can move now.. but doing so is extremely painful. This goes beyond 'limb fell asleep' and into 'limb is an undead monster trying to devour me' territory. This leaves her in a lying on her belly situation. She could probably roll over at least, and thus onto the floor.
"Why do my arms and legs hurt so much?" Nicora thinks as she tries to move them some. Then it's more of a rocking to get her on the floor so that if she messes, well, at least it won't be on her bed.
This lands her on her side at least, which is the least comfortable way for her lie, as everything sort of sags and pulls. Gravity is such a bully when you can't use your limbs! Especially when your wings flop around, with one blocking most of your field of view as well.
Nicora tries to roll onto her back if she can, wincing and hissing while she does so. Eventually, though, she gives up and sort of relaxes her bowels to see if any of the pressure relents.
The pressure is unchanged, but the pain lessens slightly when she relaxes. The motion does not abate, however, even though it doesn't seem to involve anything moving in one direction or the other. It's just motion in place. There's probably a cooking analogy that involves stirring something, but Nicora doesn't really deal with cooking.
Nicora tries to puss thinks out when relaxing doesn't seem to do much. She also grits her teeth and strains, trying to get her limbs to work, even if they do hurt. "Dagh, what did Hosheb do while I was asleep?" she asks.
Pushing makes everything worse! The pains are sharper, and.. she can smell (and feel) blood trickling out. It's almost certainly her own blood, too: there's that slightly acrid odor to it, probably part of what makes it look green.
Well, that makes her stop pushing at least! Nothing is going to move that way it seems, so she focuses on just trying to get her limbs to work.
Her limbs do respond, they just complain about it. Most horrib victims are spared the post-paralytic reaction, since they're usually being devoured from the inside out by that point.
Nicora tries to get a look at her arms now that she can get them to move.
They look a bit purple but not in a bruised way, just a generally inflamed way as if they are having a widespread allergic reaction. After being paralyzed, the nerves themselves my be inflamed if not the muscles. Or possibly the lymphatic system.
Nicora, whimpering in pain, moves one arm down so she can feel her lower belly. "Ugh," she hisses, eyes watering from the pain of moving. "I really need to go," she complains.
She can't actually feel around to the source of the issue, because her prolapse is blocking the way. But the attempt at least disturbs the flies. There's a distance thunk-thunk-thunk sound now: the telltale rhythm of a wooden bucket banging against a Skreek's leg.
Nicora tries to shove her prolapsed uterus back in to get a better feel of things. "Lovely, here comes the bad news skreek," she commends when she hears the bucket coming.
It's a slippery, sticky battle to try and wrangle her flesh back up where it's supposed to be, and she doesn't get that far when Otto shows up. The Skreek looks confused for a moment, before asking, "Why are you on de floor?"
"I tried to get up. My limbs aren't working well, and I feel like I need to go the bathroom," Nicora complains. "Very, very, ah, full in the butt area."
"Oh, dat's prolly jus' the.. uh.. thingies," Otto says, looking like he's trying to remember something. "Wormy-leechy-thingies." He makes a fist with his free hand, then extends his first and middle finger and wiggles them around a bit.
"Wormy what things?" Nicora asks, "And are you going to help me up?" She also eyes the bucket, worried he plans to stuff more whatever up inside her.
"You want to get up onto your chair?" Otto asks, gesturing to the giant skedat that serves as a mobile stool of sorts.
"Or the bed," Nicora says. "What brings you in here?"
"Gotta collect the fly babies," Otto says, and gets his hands under Nicora's armpits to hoist her up and back onto the bed, on her back this time. It is mildly excruciating. "Oh.. creepers, that was it. Crabs said they special creepers."
"Ow, ow, ow, ow," Nicora hisses as she's lifted up onto the bed and onto her back. "Ugh, the maggots, I forgot about those," she whines; her poor legs spread to avoid squashing her internal-now-external organ hanging out. "Creepers, in my rump? Why are there creepers in my rump and when do they come out?" she asks.
"I 'unno," Otto admits with a shrug. "They there for some reason. Make somethin' useful prolly. Useful but nasty."
"Can you have Crabs bring me the documents on them, at least?" Nicora asks, "I should know what's in me and why."
"Really? Alright, I go get 'im after I pluck the wiggle-babies," Otto says, taking a jar out of his bucket and beginning to pluck the fresh fly eggs and maggots off of Nicora. "You need anyt'ing else?"
"Something to help my arms and legs recover quicker, perhaps," Nicora admits. "It's hard to use them right now; hurts a lot."
"And if you can push that back up inside me when you're done and thread me closed, since i have the holes down there, that would be helpful too," Nicora adds.
"I think I got some.. well, not thread good enough for that. Will talk to doctor people in main temple, they prolly got something better," Otto says. "I ask Crabs about limbs being.. bad?"
"That, or one of the local doctors. Or heck, even the new doctor over at Mt. Blakat. The ... snake? I hear she is good," Nicora says.
"That long way away though," Otto says. "Yodhrinala don't come back here though. I ask one."
Nicora nods. "Do that, then," she requests
Pluck pluck pluck. Otto is quick in his harvest, even if there are twinges when one of the maggots has a good grip already. Then he's pushing things back up inside, and wiping the resulting goo into the jar for the maggots. The rest he just wipes off on his severely stained pants. "I ask for doctor, then go get crabs," he promises.. then sort of crosses Nicora's legs to help hold things in for the moment.
Nicora nods. "Good boy, you do that. I notice you haven't been mounting me any lately either; we will have to fix that," she comments.
"Been busy," Otto notes as he trudges out with his bucket. With everything tucked back up and in, the sludgy flow is back to being internal again, making Nicora feel both gummed up and slimy inside.
"Ugh," Nicora remarks and waves Otto away. "Tend to your tasks." Feeling gunky inside makes one grouchy.
The chair scuttles around a bit, as it is wont to do, until Nicora eventually hears some squeaks of alarm and lots of buzzing. These get louder until a young Eeee is ushered into the room by one of the royal guard horrib drones. She's actually wearing a mask, which is likely a holdover from when the Yodhrinala were banned. It's mostly a veil with little bits of chitin, wood or stone woven in to scatter sonar from piercing it. "Are.. are you patient with the open wound?" she squeaks at Nicora. She's clutching her hands together and has her wings drawn in tightly.
"I'm a patient. I don't know if I qualify as one with an open wound, but you are welcome to examine me. I apologize upfront for my smell, but .. I am the High Priestess and it is expected. My arms and legs are bothering me, too," Nicora comments and gestures for her to approach.
The gesture hurts. "So.. I was told I had to stitch someone up?" the Yodh explains, picking her way carefully across the floor to Nicora's side.
Nicora laughs, "Ah, that. Yes." Nicora pushes her legs apart, which makes her insides go back outside with a wet slurp. "I have holes that can be used to build a net to help hold things in."
"Ughhhh... that seems to be a pretty severe condition," the Eeee notes, and then dares to lean in for a closer look. She has to get a damp, fragrant rag from one of her pouches to wipe things clear just to see the piercing holes. Whatever is on the rag stings a bit.
"If it cannot be done, that is fine," Nicora remarks. "It was a blessing from Gorphat." She hisses a bit while saying that, though.
"I think I have some sinew," the Yodh says, and leaves the rag covering Nicora's crotch while she rummages through a different pouch. She's got a harness full of pouches. She's also mouthing something to herself as she retrieves the necessary supplies.
Nicora tries to make out what she's saying. "Is it safe to do? If not, then I do request you do not," the High Priestess says.
"Oh, it should be safe, the holes aren't fresh or anything," the Eeee says, interrupting her silent litany. Her lips don't move enough for Nicora to really decipher any of what she might be saying, if it's anything more than a nervous habit. "But I will sterilize the cord as much as I can first." The cord in question is very thin, as leather(?) cord goes. She sets out a small bottle and uncorks it before dunking the cord into it. "What is bothering you about your arms and legs?" she asks.
"They're purpleish, which is odd, and they ache. Moving them much hurts," Nicora explains as she watches the Yodhrinala work.
The Yodh pauses in her preparation to look at the limbs in question.. next to the 'healthy' yellow-white-greenish skin. "Did something happen to them?" she asks, and plucks what looks like a claw-protector for another pouch.. but it's an actual claw.
"I was stung with some numbing agents," Nicora explains.
"Stung?" the Yodh asks, pausing in her preparations. "By horribs?" she asks with more of a squeak to her voice.
"Yes, by them," Nicora says as she peers down. "Are you sure that is safe?"
There's apparently a very small hole at the base of the claw, and the Yodh expertly threads it with the now alcohol-smelling cord. "Being stung by horribs is never safe!" she notes, possibly missing the real nature of the question.
"Well, no, but they are Gorphat's sacred creatures," Nicora points out and shrugs some. "But are reactions like this not unheard of?"
"Yessss?" the Yodh suggests, as she wipes down Nicora's crotch and starts to ease her prolapse back inside. "The expected reaction is death, after all. I've never heard of selective paralysis before. But the horribs in here seem.. uh.. different. I haven't seen live ones before, mind you, so I could be wrong." With things roughly in place, she starts threading the first set of piercing holes. She has to wipe things clean again before moving on to the next set though.
"That stuff stings," Nicora comments as she positions herself to watch some with curiosity. "And yes, the ones here are different; very intelligent and they will bond with Eeee as protectors, or even lovers. Do you need a lover?"
"I need a lot of things," the Yodh claims. "But right now steady hands are dry eyes are at the top of the list," she notes. "It stings my eyes as well as your skin, unfortunately. Can't be avoided in close-up work. And I think it's reacting to your.. effluvia. This isn't going to be a tight seal."
"That's probably for the best so i can drain," Nicora admits. "Ever consider becoming a Yodhgorphat? We accept all that wish to join us."
"I'm probably too busy tending to people right now," the young woman claims, not squeaking like she did when talking about horribs. She finishes lacing Nicora up, then uses a fresh cloth to wipe her hands clean. "Now let's look at your limbs. Do you have sensation?" she asks.
"Yes, and it's mostly pain when I move them," Nicora explains and shrugs some. Then she winces and wishes she didn't do that. So, she tries to distract herslef by looking at her laced up gate.
It's hard to see, since the sinew is already being oozed over. It makes the piercing holes and lacing that's visible resemble black serrated teeth.
"Does this hurt?" the Yodh asks, and touches the center of Nicora's right palm. "Or does it feel normal or extra sensitive?"
The touch feels a bit more sensitive, but in itself isn't painful. And moving the limb isn't as bad as when Nicora tries to move it herself.
Nicora now wishes she didn't look at it. Her attention shifts back up the the Yodh as she's poked at. "A bit more sensitive, and I can move it some now myself without so much pain," she says.
"How about your wings, can you close them?" she asks next, since Nicora's wings are basically just hanging limb over the sides of the bed.
So Nicora tries to lift her wings and close them to see.
It's harder than moving her hand was, because it does hurt to get them moving at first, when they feel heavy for some reason, but once she has them furled the pain doesn't last.
"They feel heavy, but I can move them and the pain is easing already," Nicora explains.
"It may just be inflammation then," the Yodh suggests. "If there was numbness I'd worry more, but it doesn't look like gangrene or necrosis. Were they stung as part of a religious rite, if I may ask?"
"Sort of," Nicora admits, "It was done at Gorphat's direction by Her demon. It's good to know it is okay."
That last bit makes the Yodh pause. And the squeak is back as well, so that she sounds like a too-tight hinge. "Demon?" she asks, and starts looking around the chamber slowly.
"Yes, Demon. Hosheb. Do not worry, he is not here right now," Nicora explains. "Thank you for your serviec."
"I know there are many odd salves and other things being produced here," the Yodh says. "They're very useful, so I'm not going to ask too much about how they are produced. But if you need help again you can ask for me by name. I'm Elodie, one of Yodhrinala Zestya's assistants."
Nicora nods. "I will remember that offer, thank you," she says. "I would rise, but things are still sore, and need to recover. As for how they are made, yes, it's best to not know."
Getting up herself, Elodie asks, "Do I need to summon your attendant? Or.. will the horribs see me out?"
"The horribs will see you out. If you decide you want one for a lover, let me know," Nicora offers magnaimously.
"I.. will keep that offer in mind, thank you," Elodie says. Her veil hides her expression, but it probably isn't a cheery one at the thought. She cautiously makes her way outside, and Nicora can hear her ask someone for directions not that far along the corridor.
"Heh, so squeamish. So much fun to tease," Nicora remarks, amused. She massages on her lower gut now, trying to ease that uncomfortable full sensation.
There is gurgling as a result. One side is a lot squirmier than the other as well. "Oy dere, yer majesty!" greets Crabs the Skreek as he enters, and bows low at the waist while clutching a scroll.
"Right, there you are. What was shoved into me and when do they come out," Nicora demands of Crabs and points at him. "And let me see that scroll."
"You mean you want to read it?" Crabs asks, hugging the parchment. "Dey is very special beasties. Kinda delicate.."
"Yes, I want to read it. I am the High Priestess; all knowledge here is open to me," Nicora says, sounding annoyed. "They're also uncomfortable; I feel like I need to poop, but I cannot."
"Well.. uh.. everyt'ing here is uncomfortable," Crabs needlessly points out as he unrolls the scroll and tries to hold it so Nicora can read it without having to hold onto it.
"Why won't you let me hold the scroll?" Nicora asks as she leans forward some to try and read it.
"Well, yer hands are all purply and Otto said it hurt for you to move," Crabs notes, and then sheepishly offers the scroll over.
"Nevermind, just hold it," Nicora says, frustrated. "I will read from here."
The first thing to draw attention is detailed drawing. It's clearly another creeper-based critter. It has the 'Y' shape, but the 'tail' and torso are very drawn out and fat, looking more like a slug with a pinched sphincter at the end than a worm or anything else. "Pathfinder Creeper" is the title of the document, and the first paragraph talks about proper storage and revival of the 'seeds', which in Gorphat-script are synonymous with 'eggs' and 'cysts'.
"Pathfinders. That sounds useful, but ... there has to be a catch," Nicora comments and scowls, then reads on for what they are for, and how long until they come out.
As for use, they are implanted in 'warm, moist cavities' with easy access to blood. Once in place, they will secret a special fluid that makes it easy 'for one trained for it' to track the host over any terrain (although it doesn't specifically mention water, and for Eeee 'air' counts as a terrain). The fluid is actually a sexual lure, even though the creatures are no longer capable of unassisted reproduction.
"So, are dey doing okay?" Crabs asks a bit anxiously.
"I can tell you they're alive, and uncomfortable," Nicora says and frowns. "It doesn't say when they come out, though ... and fluid? Does this mean I will start to leak?"
"Eh.. well, maybe?" Crabs suggests. "I ain't found the bit that talks about tracking yet, but if one is enough, then.. uh.. yeah, probably going to leak a bit, since you got like.. half o' em."
Nicora sighs, but nods. "Very well. Thank you for the information, that is what I wanted to know," she says, looking none-too-pleased about it. But figures being tracked can be useful at some point, even if it means her butt will leak like her gate does.
Crabs gingerly takes back the scroll. "I keep lookin' for the rest of the scrolls," he promises. "T'ings are still a long way from bein' sorted out down in the library. But.. uh.. didn't you ask for dese?"
"I did not," Nicora says, "But I imagine Gorphat demanded it of someone, and I must serve." She shrugs a bit and then flexes her hands for a bit, testing them.
They still feel a bit tense in the joints, but the muscles aren't burning when she uses them now. At least not as much as before.
"Ohhhh," Crabs says, going wide-eyed. "An actual divine.. command? I don't think I ever got one of dose before! Well, maybe I did. Otto doesn't really say."
"You did. Though I am not pleased with Otto for not explaining things to me and just doing it. He oversteps, but ... that is my issue, not yours," Nicora says and shrugs a little. "Thank you for the information. That is all," she adds, and actually tries to stand up.
Crabs hesitates, like he wants to offer to help.. but that could be going against Gorphat's will, so he just bows again and scurries off clutching the scroll while Nicora's legs complain.
"You appear to be ready for the next lesson," the disembodied voice of Hosheb says as soon as the Skreek is gone.
Nicora takes a couple steps, then just sits down again as things complain. "Well, at least they don't hurt too much," she starts saying, then pauses as she hears Hosheb's voice. "What is the next lesson?" she asks warily.
The shadows deepen in the darkest corner, and Hosheb emerges from them. "Locomotion with appropriate navigation," the demon claims, his scorpion tail raised and ready.
Nicora scoots away from the demon. "My limbs aren't liking being stabbed," she admits. "Is that necessary?"
"It is part of the training," Hosheb says. "Was it necessary to blind and deafen you to train you to use your divine senses?"
"That didn't make it pleasant," Nicora points out.
"Gorphat is not Inala," Hosheb points out. "Please present your limbs."
Nicora sighs, spreads her wings, and holds out her arms. She doesn't look happy about it, though.
The stings hurt of course, even more than the first time. There's a burning that spread out before the numbness. It feels like it leaves a ghost pain despite the numbing, as the wings and arms drop limply afterwards.
"Ow, dagh, why is it hurting more this time?" Nicora demands to know as she sort of goes limp, then tips over. "Ugh," she whines.
The legs are next, and the pain is terrible for them as well. "Gorphat is not fond of submission without sincerity," Hosheb explains, as he waits for Nicora to be fully laid out on the floor.
Soon Nicora's limbs are useless dead weight and she's sort of flopped out on the floor. "I do not know what you mean by that," the High Priestess admits. "I have served her faithfully."
"Are you grateful for this training?" Hosheb asks.
"When I know what it is all for, I probably will be. I have not refused it, have I? I could leave or stop this at any time if I really chose to," Nicora points out. "I am Her Daughter and I serve her in all ways I can. Even when frustrated I have not refused her."
"This is to prepare you for seeking out the roots of the Sabaoth's curse," Hosheb reminds. "Close your eyes."
That worries Nicora, but she closes her eyes without argument. "Then it is a noble task to undertake, though very challenging," she comments.
Something splats onto her face. It sticky and stinging, typical of horrib resin before it hardens. "You will cultivate new senses this time."
The goo makes her grunt, and squirms some, but doesn't complain otherwise from it. "All right, as you wish," she tells the demon.
"There are two senses you must strengthen, but they are not new ones," Hosheb explains. "The first is the sense of past. This you know from your time as a hunting grok. You will hone this to focus on the path you now create."
That, Nicora remembers, the odd soundsmellvisualization thing she had as the grok, and tries to bring it back to the fore and see if she can use it here. Having chitin resin on her face probably helps.
The room.. well, it's full of layers and layers of scent. Most of it relates to the fauna within, the comings and going of Otto, the recent visits by Elodie and Crabs. Elodie has the sharpest presence, due to her disinfectants. Some of that clings still to Nicora herself.
"Move around until you have left your own path," Hosheb instructs.
"Where am I to go?" Nicora asks, wondering what ... her own path? She decides to try it, maybe her own smell will be noticeable to her if she does. Moving, though, is slow going, a lot of undulating her torso as she inch-worms her way slowly around the room; it's painful to squish around on your own breasts, and boy does it make her ooze slime from them as she goes. It's a slow, and hopeful circle.
Scent doesn't necessarily work when it comes to stone. So there area few bonks here and there. But it only takes a few body-lengths before her 'past' becomes sharper. It's not the scent of the slime, which clings to her anyway, but a thinner and sharper thread. It's a bit violet with silver shimmers, in the odd scent-vision. It's coming from her butt, of course.
"Lovely, I'm a worm in heat," Nicora thinks as she continues around slowly, tracing out her path as best she can. "Are you angry with me, Mother Gorphat?" she thinks during her slow and squelchy floor traversal.
There's no response to the missive as yet. "Do you have the path of your past now?" Hosheb asks.
"I can sense what I think is, erm, leaking from my butt," Nicora admits. She still feels like she needs to poo, too, but can't.
"Good. Focus on that and that alone. Ignore all other scents," Hosheb instructs. "There is only that one past that matters. The past of your path." The clickiness of Hosheb's voice precludes any ability to lisp, so 'past' and 'path' are very clear and clipped. Hosheb usually sounds like he's biting off the words as they exit him.
Nicora tries to do that. It's hard to ignore everything since it all hurts, and God, does her boobs ache from the splatting inchworm movement. She tries to disregard everything else she smells, and focus just on that sort of violet trail. She also does wonder if she's actually leaking fluid, or if she's just making a scent trail in the air.
It feels a bit like both. There are clear 'blobs' in the trail that show how she was stopping before moving forward. It's just not on the floor as far as she can tell, so likely leaking onto herself and then building up in the air.
And blocking out other smells is tricky when it's the sense you're focused on to begin with.
It seems like it isn't going to work, but then it suddenly seems to click into place. There's just blackness except for that ribbon now.
Nicora isn't sure how she seemed to lock onto that scent, and that scent alone, but Nicora continues her circle, tracking that smell in slow and painful circles. "I can see just that trail now, somehow," she admits.
"Are you able to feel your way around better now as well?" Hosheb asks.
"Some. It's difficult with dead weight, but I'm a little better at it," Nicora explains as she draws to a stop. She can't do anything to feel her butt or her sewn up bits, just the discomfort from them.
At least her nipples aren't feeling as sore anymore. Maybe the green milk really does protect them. "This is good. You must now use another recently acquired sense. The sense of sin, as used by the Yodhmagog."
Sin? Who has sinned here? Still, Nicora tries to remember that from her weird dream training, and the odd colors that came from the corpses of those that sinned; to see if she can sense any of it in here. IT was a smell too, sort of, though an odd one.
The thing is, the sinners in Magog's hell were all dead. But there any corpse-pits that she's aware of in the Temple of Gorphat. And it probably isn't just any sin. It has to be punishable in the eyes of the Kindly Ones, presumably. But.. there is a faint source, like a flickering candle seen on a very, very dark night.
Nicora continues trying to focus on that. She begins to worry if it's her that she's 'scenting' as a sinner. That Gorphat does consider her a sinner after all.
There's definitely a sense of distance though as she focuses more. This poses a challenge, if she's supposed to go to the sin in her current state.
"I can sense something, but it's not in here," Nicora says. "Am I expected to go to it?"
"Yes, hunt it down," Hosheb instructs. "This is vital."
Nicora is not happy about this; it means leaving her room. But, she must do this,so it's an unpleasant and embarrasing inching out of her room and making her way (banging her way) along trying to track that scent down, wherever it is.
It turns out you don't necessarily need to keep your nose pointed in the direction you're going, which spares straining Nicora's neck.. any more that it is already strained. And she can still hear things. The buzzing of the horribs (one of whom, probably Brutus, is keeping near), the clunk-clunk of Otto's bucket as he does his.. rounds? She really doesn't know what Otto does when he's not doing horrible things to her. Probably horrible things to others? And there are a lot of others. But the new acolyte Eeee and Skreeks do not intrude upon her as she inchworms down the long corridor. Sil must still be cleaning things though, since there isn't much in the way of loose rock to get in her way. And people tend to go silent when she slowly passes. Someone is going to have clean up after her, certainly.
Nicora ... hates this. She knows people are staring, and what little dignity she has is rotting away from this. She must have really pissed Gorphat off for her to be inflicting this upon her, and maybe it is time after this to never return to this Temple. When your Goddess loses all faith in you, not much reason to continue.
At least the source of the sin-signal is getting closer and brighter. It's off to the side of the main corridor, probably in one of the old cells turned bedrooms. From her progress, Nicora thinks it's only a few yards away, so there should be a doorway at least.
Onward Nicora goes, towards that bedroom. It's slow-going and her head hurts from the walls she's run into, but what else can she do. Maybe this is the chamber of that Eeee-turned-rat she brought here from back when.
There's very Skreeky screech of.. terror? Nicora has rounded the doorway, and can hear the rattling of ironwood chains. "Aaeeee!" It may very well be Pixus, the transformed 'recruiter' for the cult of now-executed nobles.
"Pixus?" Nicora calls out as she 'sniffs' at the room. She inches forward a bit more, trying to tell, though she does suspect she is right.
"Nonono! What.. what.." the rat blabbers. It probably would look rather terrifying to see Nicora humping her way in, limbs dragging and face covered in a resin mask. And with Brutus hovering nearby as well.
"You are Pixus, are you not?" Nicora asks as she inches towards the rat.
"You know me? Am I dead? Is this.. is this it?" the rat cries.
"You are not dead, you are the Eeee I condemned to live here as a breeder-rat," Nicora points out, "Through Gorphat's blessings."
The sin flickers a bit. "I'm being good," Pixus claims. "I'm pregnant. From the big man, Otto. He takes care of me. Do I.. have to do anything else?"
"No, you just have to have many children, as well as larva to bond with them. So the Horrib will breed with you after this birth, of course."
Nicora says. "I could make it worse, though, if you wish."
"Please.. please no," Pixus cries. "Just let me.. go on. I want to see the baby."
"You will be pregnant, or giving birth for the remainder of your life you know," Nicora comments a bit coldly from the floor. "And now you want to see children? After how many you condemned to die?"
"It's different now," Pixus claims, although she sounds guilty when she says it. "Please, don't take them away from me."
"Why not? What can you offer now for such a boon?" Nicora asks.
The chains rattle a bit, as Pixus breaths heavily. "I have nothing I can offer," the rat admits. "I'm powerless and worthless. I know they'll be taken away from me. But.. where will they go?"
"They will still be here, and live. Perhaps you will be allowed to help raise them, if you prove truly reformed," Nicora relents with a sigh. "You were honest this time, which is a good start."
"I'm not brave," Pixus claims. "I can't serve like you do."
"You can, in time," Nicora says, satisfied she 'found' the sin, and now wants to get back to her room before other people stare at her.
The rat squeaks at the odd promise, not sure how to take it. She's quiet after that. "You found it," Hosheb tells her, presumably so only Nicora can hear. "That is the end of training for now."
Nicora makes her way embarrassingly back to her room by following that scent. "That was humiliating," she admits when she returns to her room. "How can I inspire those to follow my orders when they watch me do that?"
"Gorphat is not about pride," Hosheb claims. "She is about overcoming. Overcoming pain, weakness, illness, loss. You inspire by overcoming. By enduring what needs to be endured to achieve a divine purpose."
"And this wasn't also a punishment for some offense?" Nicora has to ask as she comes to rest next to her bed and ... lays there, undignified. She can't get up on the bed, after all.
So Hosheb lifts her up and places her upon it. "She is making you stronger," the demon insists. "This will allow you end the Sabaoth's curse. A worthy goal." But it's Gorphat's voice that speaks next, saying, "Do you really believe me to be as petty and vindictive as the Lore portrays me? Are you feeling that I should be punishing you for something?"
"I have been helping Inala more than I should, I fear. So perhaps I am feeling guilty because of it," Nicora admits as she lies face down on the bed, oozing. "I haven't forgotten you, and I have sacrificed more to you than any other. And yet, it feels like it was not enough somehow."
"You are not making sacrifices," Gorphat claims. "I do not need them. Only the willingness to be challenged and continue to grow stronger. Have I not made you stronger? Inala takes from you. I give."
"You do, and then I do things like have my womb sewn back in as a way to deal with what you do to me," Nicora admits.
"My blessings allow you to help others," Gorphat points out. "In real ways. No others are so generous as I. I will help you end the Sabaoth's curse. The others stay passive about it. Helpless or bound not to act."
"I .. know. Perhaps part of me also just wants you to touch me," Nicora admits, embarrassed.
A clammy touch is felt on Nicora's cheek. "Ah, dealing with Inala makes you feel neglected?" she asks, stroking down to Nicora's throat. Not being to see any of it is certainly different.
"Something like that," Nicora admits, sounding confused, and disturbed she's actually being turned on by being helpless and caresses by the Goddess of affliction.
"Is she just a pale comparison of me?" Gorphat coo-gurgles, and Nicora can feel some of the spittle on her cheek. There is more cold caressing as she's helpless to move. The touch makes the milk-slime on her chest and stomach tingle.
"In so many ways, yes," Nicora admits while she shivers at the touch. It's always dangerous to be touched by Gorphat and yet she wants it, badly. "You have changed me so much, and I enjoy this form so much better than the ones Inala covets," she claims.
"She is limited in what she considers beautiful," Gorphat claims, touching in more places (and with more hands that she should have, but since Nicora can't see her it probably isn't a paradox). "She does not see the potential, the grace born of struggle. For her everything must be easy and thus shallow."
"You are beautiful and you made me beautiful," Nicora claims as she squirms what little she can. "I adore being both your daughter and at times your lover."
"So I have earned your love then?" Gorphat says, continuing to caress. The touch isn't warm, but.. it's still sensual, especially when it goes past the skin to stir fat and muscle.
"Of course you have," Nicora coos. "I serve you willingly, I want your challenges, your shaping."
The touch continues to go deeper, caressing actual organs. It's probably like a disease or infection, but metaphors really don't capture it well. It just is, and a literally more visceral experience than anything of Inala's. It stirs up the butt creepers as well.
Nicora squirms more, and feels her guts going crazy. It shouldn't be enjoyable, but it is. "I miss serving you, as Nicora, as your doe, or as your buck," she admits. "I miss being yours."
"You are always mine," Gorphat claims, "I am always inside of you, no matter your outward appearance. You respond to me, to my call, on the inside. But there's no reason to hold back from being mine in body as well." If Nicora felt like she was going to burst before, it really feels like it now. As the ghostly hands move through it, it must Hosheb's absorbed fluids that it feels like she's moving around.
Nicora groans out softly and shivers, then shudders hard in some sort of demented orgasm caused by Gorphat playing with her insides somehow. She can feel the sinew between her legs straining, and then lots of ooze squirting out in the gaps.
"You needn't restrain yourself," Gorphat notes. She then moves on to the numbed limbs. She actually sucks on one of Nicora's fingers. It still feels numb in one way, but also un-numb as well. The sensations do not mix well, causing nerve confusion. It isn't exactly pain though, any more than the internal stirring was.
"How am I restraining myself?" Nicora hisses out, confused by the conflict and crazy sensations. Another shudder, and more ooze-squirting.
A cold caress on the length her tucked in genitals may be a hint. They really feel cramped after that. "You punish yourself. Why?" Gorphat asks.
"Because having it hanging out causes difficulties too; this allows me to move easier," Nicora claims and shivers.
"Easier?" Gorphat not-quite-chides. "Is there anything easy about your movement now?"
"No, but when my limbs do work, having my insides hang out is difficult," Nicora explains. "Is it bad to have things secured in your Wound?"
"If they make the purpose for them more difficult, yes," Gorphat notes. "You must allow time for proper cultivation of flies as well, when you are not walking."
"I will consider removing the sinew later then, when I can move my limbs again," Nicora concedes. "I cannot remove it like this, unless you or Hosheb do it for me."
"It is Otto's job to tend to such duties," Gorphat claims. "It is what he is for."
"Then he will have to when the time comes," Nicora concedes and sighs.
"Do not leave it for much longer," Gorphat remarks. "The longer you bind it, the worse things will get down there. Do what you need to do while things are bound."
"Understood, and I will do so. Also, I have a request; there is an old tree that has been her for a long time, as old as the temple, possibly. It needs to be examined by some of the mages. Would you permit such, and where does it rest?" Nicora inquires from her flopped position.
"Of course, I am committed to aiding you in your attempt to undo the Sabaoth's legacy," Gorphat gurgles. "You will find it in the Toxic Garden, beyond the old altar and the Tongues of Gorphat."
"That deep? Hardly surprising, I suppose. Is there anything special I should know of it? And are the mages allowed to enter? Am I allowed to escort them as Alptraum? Or should I be ... this?" Nicora asks.
"Alptraum would not have trouble negotiating the garden, but the mages will need protection," Gorphat notes. "Either my blessing, or one from one of their Life Mages. If they are to accept my blessing, then Nicora must be the one to administer it. It would be interesting to see which choice they make."
"And if you wish to guide them in my name, you may do so as Nicora or as Scourge," Gorphat suggests. "Scourge would be particularly at home there."
"I ... am not sure how they would answer that either," Nicora admits after she has to consider that. "And I suppose their answer guides how they are led through. I will ask them, then."
"I'm not one to impose on those who do not follow me," Gorphat claims, against all pre-Alptraum history. "Once you gotten what you need from our tree, you will be ready to pursue the source of the curse, will you not?"
"I should be able to, yes. We will have three points to figure out a rough position from; where the roots must go," Nicora agrees.
Gorphat smiles, her green teeth a bit more worn looking than usual. "Excellent!" she says wetly.
"You look ... very happy about that. Is there something I should be concerned about?" Nicora has to ask.
"You just need to trust me, my dear," Gorphat claims.
"I ... okay," Nicora says. She doesn't really trust that response, but what can she do? Lie?
"Now now, you always seem afraid at first, but understand my methods in the end, do you not?" the goddess prompts.
"Well, yes, this is true," Nicora reluctantly concedes. "As long as I can still perform my duties afterward, I am sure it will be fine."
"You needn't worry about it at all," Gorphat promises, and pinches Nicora's cheek.
"I'll worry anyway, I cannot help it," Nicora admits, "But I'll try."
"A little worry is fine, it gives you something to overcome," Gorphat claims.
"Aha! So you try to make me worry, while telling me to not worry!" Nicora deduces.
"Has telling someone not to worry ever caused a lack of worry?" Gorphat muses. "Quick, do not think about blood! Are you not thinking about it?"
"That is quite true," Nicora admits. "I even I have used that trick on people before."
"Was it to distract them while picking their pocket?" Gorphat asks, looking curious. "I know so little of your life before you came to me."
"Of course. Or to stop thinking about girls. I had a friend that was a bit obsessed with them," Nicora admits. "It was just one of many distraction tricks."
"Did your friend have trouble doing things because of obsession?" Gorphat asks, leaning on Nicora. "Did he overcome it, or was he weak?"
"Hmm, he was a bit weak. Don't think he ever really overcame it. Just one of the girl caught him and keeps him tied up," Nicora says.
"Well, at least she showed strength then, I suppose," Gorphat muses. "It was a hard life, I imagine? One more likened to my patronage than to Inala's?"
"Extremely. Difficult, no money, chased away often. Unpleasant," Nicora concedes. "In a land full of zombies and monsters."
"And it gave you strength?" Gorphat asks.
"It gave me a dislike for most people," Nicora says. She would shrug but ... she cannot. "And a hatred for establishments."
"So, it turned you into a rebel?" Gorphat presses. "I may have to look in on that sometime."
"Look in on what? My past? Mostly it made me a pain in the ass," Nicora admits. "And it was a very long time ago."
"Not so long ago for one of the Sisters," Gorphat claims, as Nicora's shoulders and hips begin to burn again. The numbing is starting to wear off, if not the paralysis.
"Ow," Nicora mutters when the burning starts up again. "Aren't the buck and doe enough ... amusement?" she asks, "That you now need my past too...?"
"Hmm, thank you for reminding me about them," Gorphat says, and pokes at one of Nicora's swollen shoulders. "I may have an errand for one of them after the curse is dealt with."
"What is the errand?" Nicora asks, wincing from that poke. "And for which one? The doe barely has a mind."
"I haven't decided yet," Gorphat teases.
Nicora frowns. "You are such a tease," she complains and sighs softly. "I suppose I will find out later, then."
"I have to keep you interested," Gorphat says. "So that I will always be in the back of your mind, like an unreachable itch."
"You always are," Nicora admits, "Even if you are trying to replace me with that other Eeee..."
"Oh, I could never replace you," Gorphat insists. "You can endure things like no other, and display blessings that would destroy a mere mortal. Only you can put the full beauty of my art on display."
"That is ... hm. I suppose good?" Nicora admits and shrugs her painful shoulders just a little bit. "And probably the only one that can make love to you, too."
"Oh, anyone can if they please me," Gorphat claims. "But only you can survive it."
"Well, exactly that," Nicora admits. "I also enjoy it, in any form. But then I do adore you."
That earns Nicora a long, if rather bitter tasting kiss. There are streamers of goo that don't break until Gorphat has pulled away a bit.
Nicora follows that kiss as much as she can, trying to keep it. But, given she can barely move, that doesn't last very long. "And you are always welcome to bless me," she murmurs. "I do so welcome them."
"Inala has to seduce you, doesn't she?" Gorphat fishes. "But you come willingly to me. It has been a long time since I felt such devotion."
"She does indeed, where you I come to willingly, and bask in the blessings and discomfort of serving you, and worshipping you," Nicora purrs up at Gorphat. "I wish to ooze in your honor."
"And so you shall, and set an example for others strive for - if never reach," Gorphat replies, holding the back of Nicora's head (and stroking the 'tentacles' on top, which Nicora can actually feel). It helps soothe the sharper pains as the numbness finally ebbs, and the dormant nerves all insist they are on fire.
Discomfort, if only she hadn't said that. Ugh, not a sensation she wanted, but one she knows even in non-magical ways; like falling asleep on an arm. "Good. I shall endeavor to serve," she promises. "Even if I must rest from it now and then."
"Well, you seem to be recovering your limbs," Gorphat says. "Be sure to have Otto see to the blindfold and lacing before you invite your mages," she reminds, as her presence begins to fade.
Huh. Oddly Nicora had forgotten about the blindfold! That could either be good, or bad, depending. But the lacing, yes, she'll have to deal with that before she switches back and before things get bad. But first, maybe a short nap to allow her limbs to recover without her having to be awake for it. If that's even possible.