SS - Chapter 42 - Relaxing

So, I've been thinking about the story and I really like it, for the most part. I did come to a realization though... Selena is such a non-character right now. I had long term plans for her, as a character that shook things up then slowly engratiated herself with the main group, but that didn't happen. Through most of the story she was just kind of there. I don't know if I should change her origin, make her another long term friend of Medea, rewrite a lot of the current scenes to make her more stand-offish, or move her to be a background character before full release. I love Camille and Medea's relationship, and that just makes the fact that Selena is such a non character even more apparent. Which way do you think I should go?

“You know, when I said we should rest I was thinking we could spend a couple hours in the sauna, then get a massage from the maids. Did you know there was a sauna in the citadel? I was so excited when I found out…” 

“We can do that afterwards,” I replied. “Since we were already outside I wanted to take this chance to stretch my legs, explore a little.”

“The maids probably give amazing massages! They’re a lot stronger than you’d expect for something their size. I haven’t had a proper massage in months…” Camille continued, oblivious to what I said.

“Explore my foot,” Selena muttered. “You found something on the map and you wanted to check it out, didn’t you? You’re supposed to be taking the rest of the day off, not finding more to do.”

“After the massage I’d slip into a nice long bath. There aren’t any flower beds around, but I’m sure I could find enough wildflowers to add a nice floral scent,” Camille whined.

“Fine! I get it! We’ll take tomorrow off. No going into the office, no exploring, no work at all. I’ll pick up a couple books from the village hall, and browse the reference tab of my system window,”

“That sounds suspiciously like work to me,” Camille muttered, narrowing her eyes.

“I like reading!” I exclaimed. “And besides, we don’t have a ton of other social activities, or areas set up. There’s the dining hall, which doubles as a tavern, or the village hall, which doubles as a library. We always had plans to expand, build a bath house and such, but we never got a chance.”

“There’s a bath house in the citadel,” Camille said. “I’ll let you read your books in peace, as long as you come to me to enjoy the sauna and baths for at least two hours.”

“Fine,” I grumbled.

“Excellent!” Camille proclaimed, sticking her chest out triumphantly. That little display put her a couple steps behind, so she had to rush to catch up after that. “So, what are we looking for anyways?”

I paused, and looked back at her. “A wellspring.”

Camille looked at me blankly. “What would we need a well for, the city is surrounded by a lake.”

“Not a water well,” Selena sighed. “A magical wellspring.”

I blinked, then turned to look at her. “How do you know about them? I’d never heard of a wellspring until I started doing research.”

“Because my former town was built around one. It was used to help replenish the wells, and promote crop growth,” Selena explained. “I was told we were authorized to use it to help support the village, but looking back I wonder if that was really true, considering we were driven out of the country.”

“I doubt that was the reason, or at least the whole reason. If they wanted you off the wellspring all they needed to do was drive you away, they didn’t need to follow you all the way out here,” I said. “They also wouldn’t have persecuted the other elfish communities.”

“I guess that’s true,” Selena replied quietly.

“So… it’s an extra source of magic? That’s useful. Still doesn’t explain why I’ve never heard of them before,” Camile muttered.

“It’s because once a wellspring has been tapped it slowly increases the kingdom’s total magic power. After a couple years the wellspring dries up, but the magic remains with the supply,” I explained.

“What happens when it’s not integrated?” Camille asked.

“Then it empowers the surrounding area, regenerating resources, purifying water sources, and increasing crop yields,” I replied. “It’s pretty incredible actually.”

Camille cocked her head to the side. “That sounds useful, why not just do that?”

“Because the area is limited, and in the long run I can pull enough magic to run those boons elsewhere. If the wellspring was closer to one of the settlements I’d continue keeping it running, until we stabilize. Since it’s not, I’d rather get the collection going, so I can use that magic elsewhere,” I said.

Camille nodded sagely for a minute. “Makes sense, makes sense. Two more questions. First, what exactly does this thing look like?” 

“I have no idea,” I admitted. “I just saw the icon on the map, and looked up what it was, but the description did not include a physical description. What did yours look like, Selena?”

“A large, lightly glowing obelisk,” she said. “No idea if it was natural, or something that was built to harvest the power though.”

“Okay, okay, should be easy enough to spot,” Camille exclaimed, before turning to stare at me. “Second question. Why couldn’t this have waited until tomorrow?”

“Well… I just figured, since we were already out here, and the wellspring wasn’t that far away, we could check it out while we were out here. It would be a nice relaxing walk,” I explained, trying to avoid her gaze.

“Really?” Camille yelled, throwing her arms up in exasperation. You’re lucky I like you… and that you’re coming to the sauna with me tomorrow.”

We continued trudging through the woods for another half an hour, traveling deeper into the wilds across the lake. Soon, however, we ran into an issue.

“Why is the undergrowth so thick here? And why are there so many brambles?” Camille grumbled.

“You’re asking why the plants are overgrown, around a location that causes accelerated plant growth?” I asked.

“I… just… shut up,” Camille muttered. “How are we supposed to get through? I know, you can burn them!”

I looked at her for several long seconds. “We could do that, and risk the fire spreading and possibly reaching the other settlements, or you could just use your magic to move them out of the way.”

Camille blinked. “That’s a good plan too.” 

She waved her hand, and the brush parted. Some of the plants even uprooted themselves,  before rolling out of the way. We continued deeper, pushing through even thicker brush until we finally pushed into a stony clearing. 

The area appeared to be a natural hot spring. There were several pools full of crystal clear water that steamed and sparkled in the sunlight and in the middle of the clearing was a series of water geysers, surrounding a massive pillar of crystal. 

The geysers were going off frequently, firing towards the pillar before twisting and snaking up the crystal before shooting straight off the top, covering the area in a thin mist.

“I’m no expert, but that looks pretty magical to me,” Camille chirped.

“It certainly does,” I muttered, stepping into the clearing. 

The mist was cool, refreshing in the mid day sun, and when I crouched down and tested the nearest pool I found it to be hot to the touch, but not overwhelming. 

Camille squealed. “I take back everything I said today. This trip was totally worth it, and we’re not going to the sauna tomorrow, we’re coming back here.”

“We don’t know whether this water is safe or not, there could be parasites, or something in here,” I said, gesturing to the pool at my feet.

Camille strolled over and held a hand over the water, running it back and forth slowly. 

“Nope, completely clean,” she exclaimed, popping back to her feet. “Pool party!”

“But… we came here so I could tap the wellspring, not to enjoy a hotspring,” I said, looking at the crystal. 

“You also said it took a long time for the magic to get integrated, so waiting an extra day or two won’t make a difference,” Camille exclaimed.

“This is such an Idyllic area, it would be a shame to ruin it,” Selena said, dipping her feet into one of the smaller pools. “Are you sure we couldn’t convince you to leave it as is?”

“I wish I could, but a wellspring could provide an extra thirty to fifty magic to the kingdom, and this area is so remote that it’d take forever to clear and develop. I’m going to need a pretty good reason to keep this place pristine, and not siphon the magic,” I said. “Do you have anything like that?”

Camille stared at me for several seconds, wide eyed.

“What?” I asked. “Is there something on my face?”

“Yup, a reason to keep this place as is,” Camille said.

“What?” I said again, even more confused than before. Camille sprinted forward, grabbed my hand and pulled me towards the nearest pool. “What are you doing?”

“You won’t believe me, you need to see yourself,” she declared, pushing me towards the clear pool. “Look at your face!”

“What’s wrong with my…” I stopped midsentence, inhaling sharply. The massive burn scar on the side of my face, the one that couldn’t be healed with magic, was fading. I gently touched the area, thinking that it was some sort of illusion, but I could feel the wrecked wrinkled skin slowly smoothing out under my fingers.

“You think that’s enough of a reason to leave it?” Camille asked.