Arriving at Casper’s “home”, wasn’t as difficult as I’d imagined it would be, with her voice directing us though the rubblish maze which was the city, but I certainly wasn’t prepared for what we found when we got there. Surrounded by collapsed walls and mounds of stone rubble, the entrance was nothing less than a huge staircase descending deep down into the earth. With an entrance over twenty feet (six meter) wide, the stairs descending down were even wider than the narrow streets which we’d been crisscrossing to reach the place!

“Be careful, I think we’re here,” I warned the girls as we stood at the precipice of the descent.

“Groooww oooowww woooo!” Growling pitifully, Shadow reminded us all that he was still not happy about being trapped inside Alaina’s pack.

“I think you can set him down here,” I told Alaina, reassuringly. “From what Casper says, the boogermen won’t come here. We should be safe, if you ladies want to take a break and rest up here before we go down.”

“I’d like a break,” Laulaia said, flopping to the ground.

“I really don’t like being out here so exposed,” Alaina frowned, “even if your pet mindweaver says it’s safe here.”

“You can relax better, if you’ll come on down the steps,” Casper whispered tantalizingly in my mind. “It’s just a short walk, and all downhill from here,” she promised.

Groaning from my own fatigue, I slowly bent down and scooped Laulaia up in my arms. “Casper says we can rest better if we go down the steps.” Being careful not to drop her, I slowly began to carry Laulaia downwards.

Finally free from the hateful pack, Shadow barked and yipped happily, running down the steps in front of us. After he was a few dozen steps down, ancient lanterns of the wall lit up automatically, illuminating the rest of the way with a bright and cheerful glow.

Examining the lantern as I walked by the first one, I was astonished to see the craftsmanship involved in it, and that it was still rust free and as shiny looking as the day it was crafted. Engraved with designs of various flowers, the shadows the lanterns dappled across the wall gave the impression of a wild garden blowing in the wind, as we carefully worked our way down the old steps.

And, even though it was obvious that the steps were just as old as the city around them, from their color and material, they held up incredibly well to the test of time. All the edges were perfectly square. None of the steps were cracked, or chipped. They were smooth, dust free, and showed no sign at all of any wear or damage to them. It was obvious they were carved from the same stone as the city walls, but if one didn’t know better, they’d swear they were carved from that stone yesterday.

The whole descent down into the ground was one of serine surreality, and when it finally opened up into a luxurious hot spring, I could not have been more surprised. We emerged in a chamber larger than any home I’d ever lived in, with a steaming pond a dozen times larger than any Olympic swimming pool awaiting us. Warm, cheerful braziers burned some sort of oil, releasing a pleasing scent of both cherries and jasmine, and what could only be described as long solid stone benches lined the edges of the walls. One large set of stone double doors was across from the area from which we entered, and each wall to the left and right of us had two sturdy wooden doors shut tightly, stopping us from seeing beyond the pool area itself.

“A… A bath? Casper lives in a public bath?” Looking at first confused, and then utterly delighted, Laulaia began to squirm happily in my arms. “Put me down! Oh Gods, I’m going to soak and sleep, and soak and bathe, and soak and soak, and then soak some more!!”

“Is it safe?” Ever cautious for her lady’s safety, Alaina stared me in the eyes waiting for my response.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

SPLOOOSH!! Not caring what answer I might give; Shadow happily plunged into the pool and swam around cheerfully.

“There you go,” I laughed lightly, feeling my own tension slowly relaxing in the comfort which this place seemed to emanate. Chuckling, I took several steps forward and then gently tossed the still squirming Laulaia out into the pool, clothes and all.

Patooooh! Spitting out a mouthful of water, Laulaia popped up laughing. “Oh my gods! This place feels so amazing! I can feel the energy circulating in this pool. It’s a natural node of the earth’s essence!”

“It’s a magic pool,” Alaina translated, taking off her pack and stacking her weapons and supplies in the corner.

“No, it’s a pool of magic,” Laulaia corrected. “A magic pool would be a pool enchanted to do something, such as keep itself clean. This one is simply a pool where magic gathers naturally and condenses. It doesn’t do anything, but it’s got so much magic in it that a wizard could use it as a natural source to feed their magic. Using the energy here, I could probably burn the whole city to ashes,” Laulaia crowed.

“I don’t think you need to,” Alaina reminded her. “Besides, if you channeled that much energy, you’d probably turn yourself into ashes as well.” Completely naked now, Alaina slowly worked her way over to ease down into the steaming water.

“Probably,” Laulaia laughed, swimming over to the edge and pulling herself up onto it. Alaina helped pull over her boots and sit them beside her, as Laulaia squirmed out of her shirt and gloves. Once she was completely naked herself, Laulaia splashed back down into the pool. Rolling over to her back, she began to float happily in the water, her long golden hair floating out all around her, while Alaina leaned back against the edge and closed her eyes.

“And it’s just us now,” Casper whispered sexily into my ear. “They’ll both sleep and heal, safe in the pool, while we have ourselves a little talk.”

Staring at the girls, I was both surprised and worried to see that she was completely right – they were both sleeping soundly now, fully relaxed in the embrace of the pool’s warmth. “What do you want?” I didn’t bother to speak mind-to-mind, half hoping that my voice would wake one of them. Neither stirred the slightest at the sound.

“A question for you first. What do you wish for me to be? Should I be as these people who lived here so long ago saw me? Would you desire me to be something else? Someone else? What should I be?” Casper’s voice was a gentle, teasing whisper in my mind. “I can be anything you imagine me to be.”

“Just be yourself,” I snorted, not knowing what type of game she might be playing at.

Joyous laughter echoed throughout my head, as Casper asked, “Are you certain? Can you handle meeting me, if I’m myself?”

“Just be yourself,” I told her again, stubbornly. I’m not some child who needs someone to don a mask just so I can force myself to talk to them.

“Very well.” Casper laughed merrily once again in my mind, as a warm glowing light appeared over the alter at the far side of the pool. Stepping gracefully down from thin air, from the light, to the top of the alter, was…

A woman? A deer? Snake? A winged-snake-deer-fur-woman?? What the hell do I call her, now that I’ve seen her?!! Casper was…

Casper was…

Hell, even seeing her with my own eyes, I can’t find the words to describe her!

Standing over seven feet tall, Casper towered even over my massive frame, as she gracefully descended and walked around the edge of the pool towards me. Legs, arms, and torso resembled that of a human woman’s – except for the short downy fur which resembled a cat’s, which covered it all evenly. Casper’s feet had short, sharp claws at the tips of them, and she walked on her tiptoe, as if wearing some sort of invisible heels, highlighting her tall willowy frame even more.

Massive white wings, resembling those of a dove’s hung from her back, reaching all the way from the tip of her head – errr… her antlers – to her heels. And as for antlers, she definitely had those as well! A massive set of at least thirty points and two feet height, majestically grew from the long, flaming red locks of hair which topped her face.

And her face? Her face resembled what I’d call a mixture between a humans and a deer’s, though fine silken scales covered the outline instead of fur. Extending from her face, down her neck and all the way to her long, graceful fingertips, the scales were a prism of color, starting purplish at the face and ending bright reddish-yellow at her fingertips.

“What… What are you?” My mind was so shocked by the alien figure before me, I could scarcely get the words out.

“God,” Casper whispered softly in my mind. “I am what you people would refer to as the Goddess of Life, and you are going to be mine now.”

It was all too much for my poor brain, as it shut down and I very manly fainted to the ground.