Amelia had nearly returned to full strength. She had trained outside every single day, now that it was warm enough to do so. At any moment, she thought, Korath’s letter might come and she would need to spring into action to capture Castien Brielwa.

But it was definitely too early to be thinking about these things, she realized, considering that it had only been two hours since the meeting.

Her stress had reached peak levels, and then some. The entire train ride from the Coliseum to Beechhurst, she found herself looking over her shoulder, expecting to see a mage shove a wand in her face, or that Dimples person the shopkeeper warned her about. Every golem she passed felt like it was watching her, recording her movements. As she left the station, she still could not shake this nervous feeling, and her body practically begged for SOMETHING to happen, so that she could unleash herself on someone.

It had been nearly a month since her last fight, nearly a month since the dungeon dive that provided so much power to her. And if it was not too much longer without some action, she worried she would simply snap and start attacking trees in the forest just to blow off steam.

A meeting set up to capture Castien. But done with a necromancer, through a Seer. All of it was so tenuous, so untrustworthy, that the thought of each step filled her with dread that everything would soon fall apart.

She sighed audibly, and let the cool, late winter air blow over her.

“Just relax,” she told herself.

Her stress did not go away, but the urgency of it eased.

For now, at least, she could contain that feeling of figures in the forests following her footsteps, of future failures fragmenting her life, and let it wash away like everything else in the day. For she had returned to the Beechhurst International Co-Lodging House, her home for now and for the foreseeable future.

She opened the door—

“Hey, it’s Amelia!” Phelia chirped. “Everyone, come on!”

Before she could ask what was even going on, the whole group gathered in the common room, everyone carrying bath towels and wearing loose, flowy clothing. Phelia, Aeo, Hummer, and Mino—all the hostel’s boarders were here (All the boarders but Gruzut, who was presumably already asleep.) There was also Yik, that cute goblin girl from Phelia’s weapons shop, who was up nuzzled against Aeo’s torso, giggling. A second date, with Aeo? That was certainly a shock.

“Amelia, hurry to your room and get changed,” Mino said. “We’re about to leave.”

Wh... What? “Wh... What?”

“Isn’t it obvious? We’re going to the hot springs. C’mon, or else all the areas might get taken. Well, probably not, since it’s the off-season, but still.”

“The hot springs...”

Mino looked like her like she was stupid. “Yeah, like, the really hot baths where we soak and relax and talk girl stuff and all that.”

“Uh.”

“You’ve never been, have you? Never been to the world-famous Beechhurst Hot Springs.”

“I’ve been. For laundry.”

“But not for baths.”

“Um, no.”

“My Gods, you’ve gotta,” she insisted.

“Well.”

Mino understood the implication and laughed mischievously. “You’re embarrassed, aren’t you? Amelia’s embarrassed!”

“I’m tired,” she said.

“And I’m tired of your excuses. C’mon, let’s go.”

“It sounds lovely, but I need to rest. It’s been a long day.” Amelia spelled it out as courteously as she could.

“Refusal ain’t an option,” Mino said. “Be a good friend. I know you love baths.”

“Sorry.”

It did sound fun, if a bit awkward, but Amelia really did want to go to bed. She was extremely tired after all the intrigue with Korath and the Seer and her increasing stress, and while a hot springs was probably a good stress reliever, power-saving mode seemed much more attractive at the moment. Going tonight simply was not an option.

“Last chance, Amelia.” Mino looked at her with the eyes of a child who just broke their favorite toy.

“Can’t.”

“Can’t, or won’t?”

“Won’t,” Amelia said. “Not tonight. Sorry.”

***

Amelia stripped off her undergarments and stepped into the outdoor bathing area. The air was much colder when she was completely in the nude, and her body begged her to jump straight into the steaming-hot baths.

The hot springs were apparently created using some volcanic flow deep in the soil that naturally heated all the water in the area. Some enterprising businessperson found these nice little pools, separated them into a dozen or so sectioned-off baths, and charged a small fee for them, which was one of the most shrewd tactics anyone had made in centuries.

Glossals of all races loved baths. It was an eternal business model because people simply always got dirty.

Hummer followed Amelia out, giving her body a once-over, as she suspected each one of her friends would probably do in the coming minutes. It was not as embarrassing as she imagined, but if the comments came, she would probably still feel annoyed even if they came from a good place. Her half-golem body was simply very different than what others might have seen in their lives.

Actually, Hummer herself still had a huge gash across her stomach, only slightly healed from the grievous wound Amelia had to seal up in the dungeon.

“Can you bathe with that?” Amelia asked her.

She shook her head. “I’m just dipping my toes in. Can you bathe with, um, rocks?”

Here the comments came. “Yeah. It’s fine. It just takes a while to dry off, so...”

“Yeah, Hummer. Amelia takes baths all the time at home,” Mino said, followed by Aeo, Yik, and Phelia. All of them completely naked except for the towels they carried—not wore—in their arms or on their shoulders. “Gods, I love this place. I hope you all don’t mind if I got the mixed bath. I guess we’re all girls here, so it doesn’t matter, but I like the view from this one better. You can see the hostel, hehe.”

Mino turned to look at Amelia’s body and stared for much longer than anyone ever should. Her cheeks turned from pink to scarlet.

Amelia was about to make a sarcastic comment, until she, too, looked at Mino. A lot more slender than she expected from her clothes. And...

She blinked a few times.

“Oh.”

“Mhm,” Mino said, her blush going even redder than it already had been.

“I didn’t know.”

“Why would you? It’s not like we’ve...” She began nervously moving her hand around, which cycled the flow of the water in the bath next to her. Aeo, already soaking inside, glared at her until she stopped.

“That’s a nice tattoo, Mino,” Amelia said, mostly to change the subject.

“Oh, this?” Mino pointed to the figure above her right breast. “Yeah. It’s the Maelion family crest. An elven warrior with a shield, and a hoe. We used to be expert farmers, or something. I guess? It’s a little silly, but I do it to help me remember my family, even if I forget everything else.”

That was kind of sweet. Elves had such a difficult time with memory as they aged that a tattoo like that might have been the perfect way to silently memorialize their pasts.

“I like it,” Amelia said. Mino smiled at her and entered the bath. Amelia followed suit—letting the super-hot water wash over her body and take all the stress of the day away. She let her entire essence melt into the hot spring, with her only negative thought being to kick herself for never coming here before on her own.

“I’ve got tattoos too!” Phelia exclaimed. She and Yik sat in the bath, but their heads barely bobbed above the water in the shallowest section. It was admittedly adorable. So when Phelia stood up to show off the sword and axe on each one of her shoulders, she barely reached above the water level anyway. “They’re my two favorite weapons. Lucky charms so I can be better at fighting.”

“Gonna let you guess who made all these beauties,” Aeo said.

“Was it you?” Amelia asked.

“It was! You’re so good at this.” Aeo folded her arms. “My tattoo parlor’s open every day I’m available. Always got time if you want ‘em.”

“I’m good,” Amelia said. “No interest.”

“What? Really?” Aeo whined. “No way. Tattoos are the best.”

“I just don’t see the point,” Amelia said. “Look at me. I already have enough marks and scars.”

“I’ll convince you someday,” Aeo said. “How about you, Hummer?”

Hummer, dutifully sitting at the bath with just her feet in, swept the suggestion aside. “Can’t. It’d cause troubles with my royal responsibilities. I hate it, but I can’t fight it.” She thought for a second, then added, “But If I could get one, I’d probably get something cool and wavy like Aeo’s across my back.”

Aeo narrowed her eyes. “Noted, noted.” Then she grabbed Yik around the arm and kissed her on the top of the head. “My girl’s getting her first next week.”

“Yeah. She convinced me,” Yik said. “I’m still deciding.”

“Are you two official now?” Mino asked.

Aeo shot a death glare at her friend and let Yik respond: “We’re taking things slow. Just friends trying things out. At least, that’s what we say now...” She giggled yet again.

Phelia raised her hand and waited for several moments before Mino pointed at her like a schoolteacher.

“Hey, Aeo?” Phelia asked. “Where do YOU get all your tattoos?”

She laughed. Really laughed hard. “Oh, Phelia. You can’t ask questions you don’t want the answer to.”

“But I do want the answer...?”

“No you don’t.”

Why was Aeo playing coy about one of the most pointless things in the world?

“I really like spending time with everyone here,” Hummer said. “When I leave, I think the hot springs are going to be my fondest memory. We have them on Saxonia, but we don’t have, you know... you.” She sniffled and a few tears came up. “You’ve all been great friends and supported me all the time and you even put up with my crappy... cooking...” The waterworks came. Immediately, Mino and Phelia hopped up to the edge of the bath to attend to her and hug her plenty.

Aeo and Yik sat across from Amelia. While Aeo was mostly preoccupied with the goblin in her arms, Yik herself stared at Amelia with great puzzlement.

“Okay,” Yik said, finally, “I gotta ask something. I don’t know you that well, but, what’s up with you? What’s your deal?”

The hug-squad ceased, and everyone turned their attention directly to Amelia. Everyone had been wanting to ask, but waiting on someone else to start the conversation. Now that the young goblin had made the first move, everything had shifted.

Phelia hopped back into the bath and swam up close to Amelia, eager for an answer.

Amelia rolled her eyes. “Half my body is made of flesh. The other half is made of stone conglomerate. The soul gem in my core powers everything and holds me together.”

“Why’s it look like that, though?” Phelia asked. “How’d you get all the rocks?”

“I...” Amelia shrugged. “How’d you get your wings and your horns? Same question.”

“Oh... Wait, but I was born this way. Didn’t someone make you? Since you’re a golem?”

“Well...” She could not tell them the true story of her current form, involving an ancient golem core, a dying farmhand, a too-ambitious golemancer, and a whole lot of luck. So all she answered with was, “Story’s too long. Ask me again sometime.”

“Aw." Phelia swam back over to Hummer’s feet, apparently done with the questioning.

Yik, on the other hand, did not seem particularly satisfied with these answers, and was not adjusted enough to the group to understand that Amelia was not a very polite person. “But my real thing is, what’s with the one breast? Isn’t it weird?”

Amelia looked down and sighed internally. Everyone was staring, so she decided to lift her body up a little and show off her chest to everyone. “Same story. I—the original owner of my body—got caught in a big explosion. Then when my core was put in, the golem part of me filled the rest in. That’s it. One breast made of flesh. The other, made of stone.”

The embarrassing part had finally come in full. Amelia temporarily despised the hot springs.

“Kinda seems like they’re different weights,” Aeo said, trying to puzzle out how it must feel. “Won’t you always be leaning to the right or something?”

“It’s fine. I’m well-balanced.”

“Are you sure? It just seems a little...”

“It’s fine,” she repeated.

“Do you shave?” Hummer asked. “I just realized, you don’t have anything down there. Or on your legs.”

“No. I don’t grow hair... It’s...”

Mino waved her hands around to shush Hummer, and then everyone else. “Let’s let Amelia enjoy the baths and stop pestering her on her body. She’s really shy about it, okay? You can’t just go in rifles blazing at this poor girl.”

Amelia wanted to say thank you, except that the comments sounded a little condescending.

Mino reentered the bath next to Amelia and brushed her arm against hers. Once the conversation started to break into different groups, Mino said quietly, “I like you the way you are.”

“Likewise.”

“I’m so glad I got you to come here. I really didn’t think it’d work.”

“Well, I do like baths.”

“Honestly, for a long time I thought you hated us. You were so rude when you first got here, but now I kind of get it. You’re doing a lot of dangerous stuff, and you didn’t want us hurt. That’s super thoughtful of you, Amelia. You’re great.”

“Th-thanks.”

What kind of response was Amelia supposed to give to a statement like that?

The rest of the time at the hot springs went unremarkably. Phelia accidentally slipped into the bath head-first while trying to scrub Hummer’s back, while Aeo and Yik’s impromptu kissing session was met with many angry splashes from the others.

Amelia sat back and watched her friends have a good time. And she, too, had a good time. It was impossible to say otherwise.

***

Amelia brushed her teeth, spat out the toothpaste, and gurgled mouthwash. Even at night, keeping her mouth clean was a top priority, because she knew with some certainty that if she ever lost a tooth, it would come back as dirt-brown rock, and that was a life she absolutely could not allow.

Still warm from the hot springs, and now dressed in light pajamas, Amelia was finally ready to go to bed and have a peaceful night’s rest. She did not know what power-saving mode might bring her, but she hoped it would be memories and no more of those nightmares.

She quietly crept into Room 2, where Aeo was already fast asleep. Yik, surprisingly, went home by herself this time, which was a sign more than anything that she and Aeo might actually have future couple potential, Amelia thought.

Now, she sat down on the bed and—

CRASH!

Something crashed through the window and landed on the floor.

Amelia bolted to it.

Aeo jumped from her bed so high she hit her head on the base of the top bunk.

When Amelia reached the object, she expected a battle to break out at once. What she did not expect to find was a literal arrow plunged into the floor, with a plain note attached.

Aeo was too dazed to do anything, and fell back asleep moments later, leaving Amelia on her own to understand what this message might have been.

It was written out by hand, but the script was entirely unintelligible. Random, confusing symbols that had seemingly no pattern or meaning.

And just...

From the moment her module activated, everything changed.

Some unknown, unmarked part of her system automatically kicked into fear and decrypted the code before her very eyes. She could read the message as if it were any other random letter:

“Amelia, come to Blankenville,” it read, and then listed a specific address.

She sat back against the base of the bed and stared at the ceiling.

Was this...

It had to be.

---