slime-quest

[slime-quest]

"Before we do anything, I think we deserve a moment of celebration for our achievements." "Agreed!" The two of you dance victoriously. You earn a cool fifty silly points, bringing your total to a solid 2 Silly Tickets! Look at you go!! I'm so proud of you. <3 Tricky earns an undisclosed number of silly points. They also seem a little taller? Good for them!

You can put it off no longer. The lake lies before you, smooth, undisturbed. Weirdly calm after all the activity. "Let's grab hands so we don't get separated. I don't know what's down there, but I don't want to lose you." Tricky nods and clasps your hand. The two of you wade out into the water.

As a slime, you're not bothered by the lack of air, but you certainly feel the pressure of the water. You're a lot denser than water, and have no trouble staying on the cool grassy soil. The land slopes steadily as you head further out. The lake is a lot clearer than you expected it to be, making it easy enough to see, tho you're thankful that both you and Godrender glow in the dark.

The surface must be a good ten, maybe twenty feet above you, when you suddenly come to a drop off. You're about in the middle of the lake, and before you is a massive dark pit. It's so deep you can't see the bottom, save a soft red pinprick of light glittering in the dark. Small black bubbles occasionally trickle up from the darkness.

"That's... ohh.. oooohhh.... that's really dark..." Tricky peers over the edge nervously, "I-I don't know if we should go down there..."

Mirrow && There's nothing scary in the dark. It's just a place to hide. && "Whatever's down there, I'm sure we can handle it. We took on three of those wild things, lets clear this up, and then think of the amazing story you'll get to share! Your first adventure, Tricky!" Tricky blushes a little and nods with determination. "A-alright, I can do this! WE can do this!" They grip your hand a little tighter.

The two of you step over the ledge and begin to sink. Deep 󠂪 󠂪󠂪 󠂪󠂪 󠂪Deep 󠂪 󠂪󠂪 󠂪󠂪 󠂪󠂪 󠂪󠂪 󠂪󠂪 󠂪Deep 󠂪 󠂪󠂪 󠂪󠂪 󠂪󠂪 󠂪󠂪 󠂪󠂪 󠂪󠂪 󠂪󠂪 󠂪󠂪 󠂪Deep 󠂪 󠂪󠂪 󠂪󠂪 󠂪󠂪 󠂪󠂪 󠂪Deeper 󠂪 󠂪󠂪 󠂪and deeper and 󠂪 󠂪󠂪 󠂪󠂪 󠂪󠂪 󠂪deeper 󠂪 󠂪󠂪 󠂪󠂪 󠂪󠂪 󠂪and 󠂪 󠂪󠂪 󠂪󠂪 󠂪󠂪 󠂪󠂪 󠂪󠂪 󠂪󠂪 󠂪deeper The surface begins to fade out of view as you descend. Soon you can't see it at all. It's just you, Tricky, and Godrender, illuminated in a small halo of light. You stop seeing fish. Tall, black kelp comes into view, lazily drifting in the currents disturbed by your descent.

You sink deeper and deeper and deeper. Humphrey ## I don't know if the ocean even goes this deep... ## Mirrow && Whatever's down here sure wanted to stay hidden huh.. && "How are you doin, Tricky?" "I'm... fine... it's kind of calming actually. It's so quiet. I'm just a little worried about how we're going to get out of here." "I- uh... we'll figure something out," you say, trying to sound confident, "Oh, hang on, I think this is that thing that was hiding down here."

You settle gently to the bottom of the lake. You brush away some of the kelp to reveal a stone statue of what looks to be some kind of mage. Its single eye is shut, but a glittering red light shines through the seam. Heavy looking metal chains are draped over the body and shoulders of the figure. Each link has intricate runes engraved in it. The whole thing is sealed with a large heavy padlock, which is also covered in runes. The figure has a hand stretched upwards, a single finger aimed at the surface. Small black bubbles slowly issue from the fingertip and lazily drift out of sight into the inky darkness above. "This appears to be an extremely powerful binding," Godrender says, "Please proceed with caution."

[slime-quest]

The spot where Tricky was burned appears to be a sort of glittery stone materieal. It's thin and surface level, but doesn't brush away. They reach up to feel it. "It's... it's stone.."

You look down at the gash the void left in your side. It's stopped dripping, but like Tricky's face the damage areas have turned to stone. "Oh, I guess that makes sense.. this is the same void that turned the titans into stone."

You wade out and collect up the large red eye. It's perfectly smooth, glossy in the water. An intense, angry energy radiates from it, but it otherwise doesn't feel like it's going to hurt you. You pocket the thing. [your cloak has mended a little bit and is now wearable again. You also pick up Tricky's rapier and return it to them.]

"Ok, well... I guess that's three eyes, one dead, two alive!" Tricky walks over to the one frozen in ice, "How are we gonna get this thing back?" "The guild lady said we could call them if it's too big to carry and someone would come help," you pull out Shello and flip it open.

"Hi there!" it chirps sleepily, "I'm not ready to do magic yet!" "That's fine, we just need to contact the guild for some assistance, please."

"Right away!" Shello yawns and then assumes a sort of rotating gyroscope shape for a moment, occasionally chirping "connecting...... connecting..... gotcha!"

It turns into the shape of the guild lady. "You again? You survived?" "Wh- yeah? We shouldn't have?" "Just figured you were so green you'd either give up or die trying." "Oh.." "Hey, just means I judged you wrong kid. I've seen a lotta heroes come and go, enough to recognize the over-eager attitude. Don't take it personally. Guessing you need someone to come collect?" You quickly summarize the situation. She nods. "Wild shit. Alright, yeah we've already got someone on the way. The King will be thrilled, so make sure you stop by for the reward. Good work!"

You pocket Shello ["good night again!"] and walk back to tricky. "So why were they here?" they ask, "They wrecked all the buildings and then just stood in the middle of the lake. What's that about?" "I'm not sure, but there's something in the water that has something to do with them. Maybe they were keeping guard?" "In the water? What do you mean? They were looking up, not down. And how do you know?" "I... it's..." Should we tell them about us? Humphrey ## I don't think Tricky is our enemy. I trust them. ## Mirrow && yeah, they seem really cool. &&

"So... I'm... You know how the Void King destroyed the world forever ago and killed the grand slimes and titans? I'm uh... I'm actually one of those grands, and this," you point to the sword stuck in your core, "is the King's sword. I'm not sure how or why, but I can feel connections to people and things through it, and it's telling me there's something down at the bottom of the lake that has to do with the wild void."

Tricky stares at you with wide eyes. "No way... they all died forever ago... but... that would explain how you felt things about the wild void..."

They begin to vibrate excitedly. "That's so cool omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg you're a grand?? I can't believe I'm adventure buddies with a grand slime?!" "Well, I mean, I'm part of a grand I guess," you say sheepishly, "I lost a lot of my pieces, and can't remember everything. But I'm figuring it out, and I... I trust you, so that's why I'm telling you about it. I don't think it's a good idea to let everyone know what I am just yet, so please keep it between us." They nod enthusiastically, "Of course! I won't breathe a word of it to anyone. Wow... wow....." They look out into the lake. "So... should we go see whatever's down there then, or should we deal with the wild void first? The guild is sending someone to pick them up, should we wait for them?"

[slime-quest]

Humphrey ## It doesn't seem like it wants to fight anymore... maybe we should let it go? ##

Mirrow && I don't think we should leave any of them standing.  I don't care what the king wants, these things hurt a lot of people as well as us, and deserve to be punished for it &&

"Hmm..."

Godrender, is the one inside you still alive?

Godrender $$ Alive and desperately trying to get out -- $$ [1d10 = 9] $$ We have them under control, tho.  They will not escape $$

You stride over to the void and stop in front of it.  It glares at you, but doesn't attack.

"Hey! uh... Your friends are unharmed.  Uh, I mean, well they're still alive anyway."

It lets out a sort of angry buzzing growl in response.

An idea strikes you, and you pull the locket out of your inventory and hold it out to them.  "The Void King wants to meet with you, do you think this would let you talk to them?"

The locket opens up and begins to play that soft tinkling melody.  Your core resonates with it.

The wild void lets out a bloodcurdling scream that ripples the water around them, clutches their head, and collapses.

"HOW... DARE ... YOU..." it gurgles, "THAT... TRAITOR... THAT WRETCHED... SWEET... SONG... IT CRRRAAAWWWLLLS INTO MY BLOOD... MY GOD... FORGIVE ME..."

A familiar voice echoes through your core, low, calm, monotone, but not without emotion.

"Child, you have wandered alone for too long.  Forget this ancient song, and remember, not what you were, but who you are."

The sobbing void crumbles, and sinks down into the blood, leaving behind nothing but a large red orb and Tricky's sword.

The locket snaps shut.  Your core is silent.

Tricky is staring at you, mouth agape.  " It just... melted??  How did you do that?? What WAS that??"

"Oh, uh... well, I'm not sure honestly, but hey, it worked! We got an eye, and two live ones!"

"Well... mission successful then!" Tricky smiles and then winces.

"Oh, lemme take a look at that.." you reach out and hold Tricky's head gently in your hands.  The blast area is still gently bubbling and hissing.

You gently press your frozen hand over it.  Tricky shivers, grimacing in pain, but doesn't pull away.  The hissing slowly stops as the ice cools it.

......... 

[slime-quest]

"What did you do??" you yell out loud. Mirrow && I'll explain it later, just go help Tricky before they get blasted again! && You look over near the water where Tricky seems to be paralyzed by the pain of that attack . The voidkin you hurled into the shallows moments ago is crawling towards them, its face splitting open to reveal several rows of sharp teeth as it prepares to take a bite out of the slime.

"STOP!" you yell, thrusting your hand out towards them. You focus as hard as you can on the COLD spell, and Shello kicks into overdrive.

A frigid shock of energy crystalizes down the length of your arm, spiking into sharp icicles stretching out from your hand.

A blue white bolt snaps between your palm and the wild void, striking the water where they stand. They are rapidly encased in a jagged formation of ice. (Shello beeps a faint "Goodnight!" and goes to sleep to recharge)

Your arm is frozen almost solid, making it harder to wield Godrender. You can still bend your fingers and move your arm, but it's kind of painful and slow. On the plus side, you don't feel like you're miserably hot anymore.

"Are you ok, Tricky?" you ask as you approach them, "What did you get hit with just now?" "I-I don't know, I can't... help me up please.." You reach out with your good arm and pull them to their feet. "That thing it hit me with, it was so... angry. And sad?" they gingerly feel the spot where the void beam struck them, still bubbling and steaming.

"Let's worry about that later. There's something in the lake underneath where they were standing. Are you good to go investigate, or do you need to take a rest?" You look over at the wild void that blasted Tricky. It glares at the two of you as it tries to stand, Tricky's rapier still lodged firmly in its chest, dark blood pouring out of it onto the damp earth. It manages to rise to an upright position and stands there somewhat shakily. It looks like it's in extremely poor condition as it begins to shuffle away towards the water. Sigil of Sight tells you they're headed towards whatever is in the lake.

[slime-quest]

You brace yourself, holding Godrender pointed towards the wild void that just swiped at you. It staggers backwards from the beacon between you, a shuddering clicking sort of moan of pain issues from it as the cracks of blue white energy slowly fade from its flesh.

You stretch out a hand to it, focussing on the PULL spell. Your hand clasps into a fist and yanks backwards hard, and the wild void is drawn rapidly forward towards you and into the beam. (1d10 = 10) [spells 3/5

You hold your ground, your sword firmly grasped in your hand. You thrust the weapon out to meet them over the beacon and the Voidkin slams into the blade, sinking down to the hilt. It's dark blood pours onto the ground and almost completely coats Godrender.

The beacon hisses and crackles over Godrender's crystal body, and with a loud CRACK, the blade splits in two, turns inside out--

--and then slams closed over the wild void, swallowing them entirely.

You have ensnared the whole of a wild void.

Godrender's body begins to seal back into a solid piece. "Untethered wretch, find comfort in the quiet of oblivion." [1d10 = 5] Godrender's eye flushes red as dark fingers slip through the cracks of Godrender's new maw and begin to attempt to pry it open as their blood pours out in sheets. They are trapped, but not defeated.

The wild void Tricky attacked is on their feet again and attempts to swipe at the smaller slime. [1d10 = 1] It stumbles unsteadily towards Tricky, woozy from the heavy damage, and just misses swiping at them. Tricky sidesteps easily and thrusts their rapier towards them again.

[2d10 = 7, 7] The blade sinks into the wild void. They shriek in agony, but this time they grasp the hilt with both of their hands, holding Tricky close.

The wild void stares at Tricky with that enormous angry eye, lifting them up in the air. Tricky struggles to escape as their eye begins glowing brighter and brighter, until suddenly a blinding explosion blasts from their face, pushing the two of them away from one another.

The wild void falls to the earth, while Tricky is knocked back several feet, landing with a muffled thud in the grass. Their flesh is steaming and bubbling from the heat as they stumble to their feet again. Their rapier is still lodged in the wild void's chest.

You are a slime named Mirrow. You're trying very hard not to think about the last time you were in a fight with the void. You wanted to be brave after all these years, but this is freaking you out a little bit. [1d10 = 9] You're good. This is totally different! These are just guys, no biggy. You've even got a big sword this time. You didn't have one before. It's even bigger than the one that killed you.

You look up at the core. The tendrils wrapped around it are thin, the small caps growing out of it aren't large enough to be of much use. But maybe you can pull on a little magic to help out.

You climb on top of Nemo's shelves and leap onto the core. Humphrey watches you. They look tense. "What are you doing?"

"Don't worry about it, I wanna just see if I can help us out." You clamber up onto the core and examine the space. The void sword embedded inside is humming at a similar frequency to Godrender. You can faintly hear the mutterings of thought from the mushrooms.

You reach out, carefully wrapping your fingers around the hilt of the sword. Your mind focuses on the Sigil of Sight as you grasp it. [1d10 = 7] It fills your mind once again, those voices, whispering, murmuring, soft, sweet, gentle, hushes of comfort and care. You can't make out anything they're saying, but you feel reassured by their tone.

You cry out in pain as your core pulses powerfully through your body, burning up a significant amount of your tail. For just a moment it feels as tho time has frozen, and in that instant you can see faint connections linking the wild void to you and Tricky, and further, tho faint, you can see something leading into the depths of the lake. It feels familiar, like what you experience while fighting Mirrow in the caves. Faint whispering fills your mind, hurried secrets of the thoughts of your assailants.

[SIGIL OF SIGHT is an expensive power granted you by the mushrooms slowly growing inside you. While active it allows you to predict what your foes are going to do moments before it happens. Attacks made against you have disadvantage for a very short time.] [You've activated some mushroom powers. Things might get a little weird.]

[slime-quest]

"Why are they just standing in the middle of the lake like that?" you ask softly. You look up into the sky. There's nothing above them but the sun, no clouds or creatures or anything. "Are they staring at the sun?"

"Seems that way," Tricky whispers back, "I don't think I can hit them with a knife from here. We need to go to them, or get them to come to us, and I don't know about you, but I can't walk on water."

You nod, scanning the area. The wreckage of the shoreline buildings could provide some cover. "I could try a beacon to lure them out here, and then we jump em. I'll see if I can't figure out a way to turn this thing into rope, we'll tie one up, and then it's two against two, an even match."

"Sounds as good a plan as anything!" Tricky gives you a hearty nod, and the two of you hunker behind the nearest building to the shore.

You pull the cloak off and look it over. You try to imagine what a rope made of this material would look like. "Uh... Shello, if I rip this up, can you mend it into a rope?"

Your phone beeps cheerfully, "I'll do my best!" You take a deep breath, and begin to tear the fabric to shreds. Shello channels magic through your finger tips, casting the MEND spell, and you begin to reform the cloak into a rope.

[1d10 = 1] At least, that's what you try to do. The spell seems to wash off the fabric like it's oil and water. Some fibers stick together for just a moment, only to immediately fall apart. You now have several useless scraps of red cloth, too frayed and damaged to be of any use, and only four charges of magic in Shello. [Your cloak gains the SPELLPROOF tag] [Your cloak will repair itself over time, but is currently unusable as is]

"Well... rope isn't going to be an option unfortunately," you sigh as you gather up the scraps of your cloak and pocket them, "But we still have a chance to get the jump on them!"

You channel slime magic through Shello, burning a little bit of your tail up as you draw the sign for BEACON. [1d10 = 8] A circle forms on the ground, filled with intricate lines crisscrossing, converging in the center, where they become to dense and bright to look at, and with a harsh crack, a searing beam of blue light rockets upwards, stretching infinitely into the heavens. You feel a serene sort of cosmic warmth coming from the light, but you don't have long to ponder this.

All three of the wild void snap their heads to look at it, following the beam with their eyes from the sky to the shore.

They begin to sprint to the shore, their feet barely disturbing the surface of the water as they approach. You and Tricky ready your weapons as they draw closer and closer.

[2d10 = 6,9] nice "NOW!" The moment they reach the beacon, the two of you swing out your weapons, catching them mid sprint. Godrender catches one in the chest, digging halfway into them before sending them rolling some distance back. They let out a distorted sort of cry as they tumble back into the water, an ichorous dark fluid dripping out of them and spreading around them in the lake as they stumble back to their feet.

Tricky lunges forward with their rapier and deftly pierces one of the other voidkin in the chest. It lurches to a halt, stopped by Tricky's sword, and with a grunt, Tricky yanks the sword through the side of them, spilling more of the dark fluid onto the earth and water.

The third voidkin reaches out to claw at you, swiping through the beacon. [1d10 = 7] They move directly into the beam of light, and shriek horribly as their body crackles and burns from the energy. They reach out blindly and manage to sink their claws into you, gouging out a decent chunk of slime flesh.

The pain ripples through your body, the wounds feel like they're burning, but your core is still intact. The sun is beating down on you, and you feel a little woozy in the heat, but you're still standing, and Godrender isn't too heavy to lift just yet. If anything, they seem lighter in your hand.

"YES -- YES -- A TASTE OF BLOOD," they yell as void fluid drips down their edge, "DELICIOUS -- FURIOUS -- POWERFUL."

[slime-quest]

You take a moment to look around the space. There are soft clouds everywhere, and piles of objects scattered about. Mirrow is lounging in a small mound of mushroom shaped pillows, and a ways off you can see several plush purple pillows nestled among some crystals, presumably where Humphrey hangs out.

You look back at your own space. Several small bookcases encircle a single large pillow. The shelves are filled with books of varying sizes and colors. Small crystals are sprouting from the clouds around the space, and there are several candles littering the area, some of which are lit.

"The books are hard to read because a lot of pages are missing from them, but there's a lotta stuff in there. Old journals and letters, stuff like that. Some of them are mine, some are yours. Humphrey seems to have the cleanest selection of books, but it's mostly about slime culture. Kinda boring, honestly."

You pull one of Mirrow's books off the shelf and open it up. It looks like gibberish. "Why can't I read it?"

"Cuz I don't want you to, nerd. I can't read most of yours either. What do you want to know?"

"Oh, just.. I guess I thought we'd be able to read each other's minds since we're the same person?"

"Yeah, well, I don't think that's how it is."

A pulse of grief ripples through you, but you try to ignore it for now.

You look at the cover of the book. The hand shaped symbol is embossed on the front. "We learned this when we found you, do you remember anything about it?"

"Not really. It's not a spell. Or, it's not exactly a spell. I think there's something specific about it, like it's a symbol, but I don't remember what it means. Maybe we used to be really into high fives." She shrugs nonchalantly. "If you figure it out, let me know."

You put the book back on the shelf and turn your gaze to the broken sword floating some distance above your space. There are thin tendrils growing over the crystal, with small mushroom caps flowering near the top. A gentle melodic beeping resonates from the sword, easy to miss until you paid attention to it.

"Do you know what the hand means?" you ask it.

The sword continues to beep softly, a quiet pulsing rhythm.

"Can you say anything at all?"

It doesn't respond, just gently beeping and booping.

"It's actually been more chatty since the crystal smith opened the locket," Mirrow says, "I think it recognized the song and has been trying to answer it back."

"Hmm.. Hey, Humphrey, can we open that locket for a second?"

Humphrey ## Oh, sure, I'll try. ##

Humphrey pulls out the locket and tries to open it. There's a seam and a hinge, but they can't seem to figure out a way to pry it open. Tricky watches you struggle with it.

"I've seen one of those before, traveling voidkin carry them. How'd you get one?"

"It belonged to uhh... a friend. They disappeared, and this was one of the things they left behind." Humphrey puts the locket away.

"Gosh, I'm sorry about your friend. At least you have something to remember them by."

Humphrey ## sorry guys, I don't think we can open it ##

You look back up at the sword. It isn't making noise anymore.

"Oh, one more thing, uh, Tricky! Do you know if there's a way to turn this stuff into rope?" Humphrey tugs at your cloak.

"Well, I guess if it's thread, you could maybe tell it to be a rope? I'm not sure how that works tho, I think only voidkin can control the shape of it, but I don't know a lot about magic."

You arrive at the lake. The water stretches out a great distance, almost further than you can see, tho you're just able to make out the shape of trees and houses on the far bank.

"Oh gosh..."

The houses closer to you are destroyed, splintered and torn apart. Trees with deep gashes, deep dents in the earth, and the shallows are littered with debris from the destruction.

In the middle of the lake, balanced on the surface of the water stands a trio of voidkin. They look thin and frail, all three are staring directly upwards, their brilliant red single eyes shining brightly even in the full might of the sun. They don't seem aware of your approach just yet.

Humphrey slides back into their space, putting you back in front.

[slime-quest]

You and Tricky depart the Guild Hall and leave town.

"I can't believe it!" Tricky says excitedly, "My first real adventure!! And I get to share it with a seasoned professional too!"

You blush a little bit, "Oh I don't know about that, I've really only had the one adventure, at least that I can recall." You wonder about your past. Were you ever really brave? You remember cowering away from the King, and hiding for ages in the dark. But then, you did push through the mushroom caves and fought the infected voidkin and Mirrow.

"I know we'll be able to handle this just fine together," they say supportively.

You walk together for a good bit, following roadsigns pointing to the lake. You feel the heat of the sun shining overhead. It's a bit more uncomfortable than it was before, but you feel like you'll be fine. You're dripping a lot, but Tricky seems to be doing just fine.

"So, I guess this is a first for both of us, huh?" you say.

"Huh?"

"Neither of us have been past Hyther. Everything here is new to me." Everything is new, just, like generally speaking...

"Oh, I guess that's true!" Tricky chuckles, "I've always dreamed of getting to see the world. I still can hardly believe I'm finally out here doing it!"

"What was stopping you from leaving sooner?"

"Oh, well, you know.." they gesture to their lower half, "I'm a little new to limbs, so it was never really much of an option till a couple years ago. It's a little hard to hold a sword without arms."

Humphrey leaps to the front, and you find yourself sliding back into your headspace. "Oh I had no idea! Congrats on the evolution! I only got legs just yesterday myself."

"Hey, leg buddies!"

Humphrey and Tricky talk excitedly as you walk together to the lake. It's such a strange sensation sitting in your own body while Humphrey does the walking and talking.

"So, what do you make of this 'wild void' stuff?" Mirrow asks from across your headspace. She looks agitated, pacing around. The space around her is littered with big pillows shaped like mushrooms.

"Oh, I dunno, why?" You lean back against a bookshelf. It's made of wood but feels very soft somehow. "Seems like there's a lot we don't know about the void."

"Seems that way." She flops into the pillows. "It's really messing me up. They all seem really nice. But the King definitely did kill us, right?"

"Yeah," you say, recalling the dream you had a couple days ago. "They seemed pretty sorry about it. Said it was a mistake."

"Hell of a mistake," Mirrow snorts, "I wanna give them a good beating if we ever meet them again."

Humphrey ## maybe we should try not to antagonize the big scary king that murdered us... ##

"Yeah, well..." Mirrow waves her hand dismissively, "I won't kill on sight, but if we do ever meet them again and they seem like they're gonna do something nasty, I'm gonna run Godrender straight through their big stupid face."

Godrender $$ we will happily drink deeply of the king's blood $$

You look through Humphrey's eyes and can see a sign saying you're close to the lake area. Anything/one else to talk about/to before you enter the new area?

[slime-quest]

"I misspoke," you say nervously, "Uh, it's not 'Hero", it's uhhhhhnnnnnnnn... 'Nemo'. Sorry. I hadn't decided on one just yet."

Humphrey ## Oooh that's a fun name ##

The lady glares at you for a moment, then scratches out your name and writes the new one next to it. "Alright then. Any other questions?"

"Does it matter how we pacify the wild void," Godrender asks.

Her eyes widen a bit as she seems to notice Godrender for the first time. "Talking sword huh? We don't get a lot of sentient weapons in here if you'll believe it. Are you taking a share of the reward?"

"Our reward comes in the form of the blood of our enemies and the enemies of our companions," Godrender says flatly, "the gold from this job will hone our edge, and the experience will sharpen our mind."

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaallllright then. Well, like I said, we don't even know if these things are capable of being knocked out without dying, just that the King wants us to try. I guess if you hit them hard enough they might conk out, or you could try stuffing them in a box or tying them up. Just be careful, they're pretty sharp," she thinks for a moment, then points at your cloak, "That's void thread? You might be able to fashion a strong rope from that. The Sacred Hue holds these guys together, so maybe you can use it to tie them up."

The two of you nod, and the lady dips her pan in a bottle of red ink, drawing a complicated sigil over the document. Once complete, the paper bursts into flames.

"Welcome aboard, Hunters," she says with a smile, "Best of luck out there."

((Shello records the details of your contract and routes a path to the lake))

[slime-quest]

Humphrey ## the train will still be here. even if we miss it now, it'll come back. We've been gone for a while, I don't think a small diversion will make much of a difference ##

Mirrow && I wanna smash stuff &&

Godrender $$ agreed -- the experience and money will be valuable -- additionally we think it would be cool to try out our new capabilities -- or as Mirrow put it -- we want to smash stuff $$

Mirrow && Tricky could probably use the help anyway. They seem pretty new to this sorta thing, and I don't want them to die. Besides we still have that date with them later! &&

That's a fair point, you think, and then to Tricky, "Are you equipped to handle something like this?"

"I have some knives I'm really good at throwing, and I have a rapier. I've never fought anyone before, but I've practiced a lot of techniques, so I think I can hold my own."

You nod. "Alright then, yeah! Let's do it! Do we take this to the window, or...?"

Tricky takes the paper and leads you to the Bounty window. A deep orange slime with auburn hair and dark, tired eyes is sitting behind the counter. She eyes the poster and then sizes the two of you up. "Bout time. Had that thing up for weeks, was beginning to think nobody was gonna clear it up. The Overseer will be glad to hear it's been taken care of."

She takes the poster and dips a pen into a bottle of ink. "Names?"

As Tricky says their name you realize again that you can't recall your own original name. It feels like it's just on the tip of memory and yet you can't seem to pull it into focus. It's not Humphrey, it's not Mirrow, what is it..??

Humphrey ## You can put my name down if you w- ##

Mirrow && No do mine! My name looks cool on paper I bet! &&

You get mixed up in your own headspace and blurt out the word "Hirrowf".

The lady stares at you, unamused. "... Hero? Alright, I ain't judgin'." She writes it down. "Just so you know, you do need a bit more work under your belt before you get to Hero Status. Hopefully you live up to it."

You suppose your new name is "Hero", at least as far as the Guild is concerned. Maybe you can think of something better later.

"You ever fight wild void before?"

"I've fought a voidkin, but I don't know if it was different from the wild void," you say, recalling the fight with the mushroom infested voidkin.

"Right, so that's a No then," she says. She drops a huge book on the counter and flips through it to a page with an illustration of a dark creature with a large red eye.

"As the name implies, these things are unpredictable. Their only desire seems to be to destroy anything they can. When they're not breaking everything in sight they just kind of stand still until provoked. They're fast and agile, so good thing you've got each other's backs. Hit em hard enough and they'll be freed of their mortal torment.

"When they die, they'll leave behind that big red eye. Bring that back and you'll get paid. We're expecting there to be at least two or three wild void in the area, but if you happen to bring back more eyes you'll get a bonus for each extra.

"Oh also, we're not sure if these things can be tied up and dragged back to town, but Void King has an outstanding request to try and bring them back alive. I'm not so concerned with that, but it's worth mentioning if you're interested in making it harder on yourselves. Dead or alive, job doesn't end til those eyes are in this building.

"People haven't been able to go to or from the lake for a while now, so I'm glad you've come to do something about it. Completing this job will make a lotta folks feel safer."

"Alright, so," she closes the book with a soft thud and puts it under the counter, then pushes a form in front of the both of you. She takes a deep breath and begins to quickly rattle off a disclosure she must have memorized by heart,

"You acknowledge the Heroes' Guild is not responsible for any death or dismemberment on this job. If you are injured and make it back to the hall you may receive discounted medical care which will be deducted from your payout when you return to finish the job. The two of you agree to split the reward evenly between yourselves. If you can't complete the job, you forfeit the rewards entirely. Causing excessive environmental or property damage may incur fees, which will be pulled from your payout before you are required to pay out of pocket. The job begins as soon as you sign, and ends when the bounty is delivered to the Guild Hall. If the bounty is too large to bring back, a Guild member must be summoned to verify the job's completion.

"If that all sounds cool then sign at the bottom."

[slime-quest]

"How are you feelin about all that, Godrender?"

"We feel amazing," the sword says eagerly, "We feel like we could take on anything in the world."

You do a stylish twirl and sheath Godrender behind you. You get 5 silly points, finally evening out your total at one ticket and fifty points.

You remember the pendant and dagger, and show them to the smith. "We saw a voidkin vanish and leave this stuff behind. Do you know anything about it?"

"Interesting." They turn the pendant over in their hand, examining it, and then suddenly pop it open. Inside a tiny music box plinks to life playing a strange tune. The sword in your heart stirs as the melody plays. "Voidkin linked to the King carry these when they travel afar, lest they forget the King's song." They close it with a small snap and toss it back to you.

They look over the dagger next. "Pure Void Weaponry. It's void matter bound with sacred cloth, but otherwise purposeless. It doesn't think or act on its own. Voidkin can share mass with them, making them bigger or smaller, but to you it's just a small knife." They hand it back. "Good weight, great for throwing. Come back with money and I can add its shape to your sword."

"I noticed you haven't been dripping away like any of the other voidkin we've seen, why is that?"

"Not linked to the king," they say simply, "Found my own purpose here, and it suits me just fine."

"Oh, how did that happen?" you ask.

"I don't actually remember. I heard the song of the anvil, of the hammer, the symphony of crystal, and next thing I know I've always been here."

"One last thing. Can I get a quote for that void fusion?"

"Fifty gold, or crystals worth as much."

You hug the crystal smith and thank them for their help, and trot off to the heroes' guild.

By the time you reach the guild, your cloak has fully repaired itself. You approach a large building with several towers and extensions. The roof is thatched with bright yellow straw, the walls made of dark beams. Slimes, cats, voidkin, and all other manner of adventurous looking people are milling about in the courtyard. Boisterous music can be be heard coming from inside.

Humphrey ## this seems like more of a drinking hall than a heroes' guild... ##

You open the door and enter the building. The walls are lined with different booths and windows for things like "lost and found", "Bounties", "Odd Jobs", each with their own lines leading up to them. The center of the room has several tables where many heroes and bards are laughing over drinks and food. The atmosphere is one of organized chaos.

A large board at the far end of the building is covered in papers and photos, various ads and job offers. Tricky is examining the job board.

"Hey Tricky, how's it goin?"

They jump and smile at you excitedly. "Friend, hello!! So you've come in search of adventurous work as well? There's no shortage of jobs here, I'm just absolutely overwhelmed by all these options."

"I heard there was something going on at the lake," you say as you scan the myriad ads, "Have you heard or seen anything about it?"

"Oh, this one!" Tricky grabs a poster off the board and the two of you look it over. The ad reads "BOUNTY - Wild Void Activity Reported in the Tue Area Lake - Reward for Dealing With It = 100G - DANGER RATING = Low to Medium"

"I didn't want to jump into something so dangerous right away, but if you're interested, maybe we could tackle it together and split the reward?"

[slime-quest]

Godrender $$ our turn now -- we wanna go see the crystal smith $$

Mirrow && you just wanna be all pretty and admired &&

Godrender $$ yes -- obviously -- would you not as well $$

Mirrow && ......... y-yeah... fair enough...&&

You follow the signs and sounds of clanging metal to a small somewhat secluded building with a large chimney billowing smoke into the sky. The windows and doors are thrown open, and you can see a large figure working at an anvil in the shade.

They're hammering a piece of glowing crystal and look up at you while they work. They're a very large and strong looking voidkin, nothing like the spindly thin one's you've seen so far. "What."

Their voice is lighter than you expected, but still a little gruff. "Uh uhm, we were, I have a..." you pull out the titan core and hold it up, "do you know if there's anything you can do with this?"

They glance at the core as they pick up the crystal with their bare hand and plunge it into water with a steamy hiss. "That's a titan core. Haven't seen one of them in ages. Looks inert, but still useful. You wanna fuse it with your sword or what?"

"What would that do exactly?"

"Stronger. More resonant. Can also change the shape of it if you'd like."

"Maybe. I had another question. Uhm, do you know anything about uh.. this?" You show off your pierced core, "I uh, got attacked, and I can't get this thing out."

"Lucky. Most of your ilk don't survive the wild void. Yeah, I can probably get that out." They tap their face in thought for a moment. "It'll cost extra, but I can put it in your sword too. Or do that instead."

Godrender $$ wait do what -- how is that possible -- what will happen to us $$

"They want to know what it'll do to them."

"Void matter and slime crystal create a powerful sort of mind when smashed together. I'm assuming your sword can think for itself, and with void matter installed it'd be able to think even faster. And if you fuse that old core with it, it'll cut better, and maybe even change its own shape at will. The wild void wouldn't stand a chance against a sword like that."

"How much would that cost?" You rummage in your pocket and hold out the small handful of crystals you gathered in the mines. "This is all we've got on us right now."

They eye the crystals for a moment, seeming to weigh some options in their mind. "For that much I can do one of these for you, the core fusion or the void fusion, but not both."

"Do we have the option of coming back later for the other fusion, or is it like a one and done kinda thingy?"

"You can come back, sure."

"That's good. What about if you just removed the sword from my core, is that possible?"

"Mmmm..." they lean down and peer at your core, "Not safe. If I pull it out and don't immediately fuse it, it could either vanish into nothingness, or fester into wild void and hurt you and maybe several others. Right now you're its king figure, so it's better to leave it where it is."

"I'm a ... void king?"

"Don't get too excited about it kid," the smith says with a laugh, "you're a 'king figure', which just means you're the focus for that piece of void. Without you, it has no form or purpose."

"Oh, I guess that makes sense. Ok uhm, what do you think Godrender? It's your body."

Godrender $$ whatever is chosen will make us a far more powerful weapon -- but since it is a choice -- we would prefer to be fused with our titan's core $$

"I guess it's settled, we'll do the titan core!" you announce.

"Cool beans. Gimme the sword and materials and I'll get rollin."

You hand everything over and watch as the smith begins working, taking measurements of Godrender and the core, and putting together a new mould.

"So, can we ask you some questions?"

"Sure, I don't mind."

"What did you mean by 'wild void'? The voidkin I rode into town with didn't mention them."

"Ah, well, they wouldn't want to talk about it." The smith methodically pumps the billows, creating a roaring fire in the forge. "The King is ashamed of the wild void. Nasty creatures who lost their connection to the king ages ago, but never vanished or found a new purpose."

"Oh, that's awful..."

"Aye, it is," the smith says with a sigh. They pick up Godrender and set them in the forge to heat up. "The best thing anyone can do for them is kill them. Only then can they sink back to the nothingness they came from."

"That seems kinda harsh..."

"Well, you just try having a friendly and reasonable chat when and if you ever meet one and let me know how it goes," they say with a laugh, "You'll be torn to shreds before you manage so much as a 'how do you do'."

Mirrow && You know, I bet people get paid big money to get rid of these monster void guys. Maybe we could take on some jobs while we're out wandering around? You already fought a voidkin, and you even beat up a big slime dragon, so I'm sure we could handle some weird old void monster. &&

You were the slime dragon, remember? We didn't really beat you up.

Mirrow && Yeah, but you COULD have beat me up! &&

"Are there bounties on killing wild void?" you ask out loud.

"You bet. I would check with the Heroes' Guild for details, but off the top of my head I know there's something going on by the lake just outside town."

((Shello makes a note and pins the location of the Heroes' Guild and the Lake))

"So, I didn't realize it was possible to melt crystal and reshape it," you say as they pull a searingly bright godrender out of the forge and start hammering away.

Godrender $$ hrggfhjt -- krggsstx -- hgfgj -- grestgjjfgk -- b -- fzzsft $$

It doesn't sound like they're in pain, just a bit scrambled.

"It's not a common skill. A lot of natural crystal is delicate and fragile, almost porous. Crystal weaponry on the other hand is almost indestructible, if it's made right. You can hit things with it all day long and never dull or chip the blade."

"So what makes crystal magic different from slime magic?"

"Who says they're different?"

"Oh, I guess... I guess I just assumed they were different."

"Nope. Crystal and slime are two different flavors of the same thing working in harmony."

"What about Titans then?" you ask, "Godrender had a purification spell or something that seemed different from slime magic."

"Mmm, how many times was it able to cast?"

"About three."

"It was pretty dry then. Titans didn't have a slime body, but still resonated slime energy, and that's how they cast magic. They compensated for that by just being extremely large."

"So, where does energy come from, slime or crystal?"

"Both. It doesn't matter how much of either you have, but you need both to do magic."

They dunk Godrender into a tub of water and hold them out for you to take. "Alrighty then, there's your new sword. How's it feel?"

You accept the sword and hold it aloft, examining it in the sunlight. The scratches and nicks are gone. The once dull pink blade now a brilliant translucent magenta. The handle in the side of the blade is gone, replaced by a proper hilt. A round hole sits near the base, and as you peer close it ignites with a bright red eye.

"That was so much fun. We want to come back here as soon as possible. Thank you so much for your beautiful craftsmanship. We are honored to have been worked by your hands."

The smith bows. "Glad you like it. Not often I get to hear my work compliment me," they laugh, "Alright, well... anything else?"

[slime-quest]

"How about Shello? It's like... sounds like a snail's name," suggests Humphrey.

"Great! And you are?"

"This is Humphrey and Mirrow," you say, pointing to each, "I don't really know who I am, but we're all part of the same person."

"That's Great! Ok, so have you ever used a phone before?"

"No, this is a first for us."

"It's easy! I have a small list of simple spells you can use. If you want me to remember specific spells, you'll need a tome charm to record them in, but don't be afraid to channel your own magic through me with your own materials!" It chatters away happily for a good bit about all the things it can do.

((The phone can cast a handful of very small, simple spells on its own, but you can still use it as a casting focus for any spells you've learned. You won't burn up as much material when casting through it. This is automatic, so you don't need to specifically choose to use the phone. The phone has five charges it can spend before it needs to sleep and recharge, and the words it knows are "Push", "Pull", "Hot", "Cold" and "Mend". These are very weak, and when casting I will roll dice to see how successful the effect is, but in a pinch they could prove useful. Combining words uses one charge per word, so you can only cast a maximum of five prepared spells before needing to recharge. You can cast as many external spells as you have the material for, such as the void cloak. Finally, asking the phone questions costs a spell charge. It may not give you straight answers, but it will make assumptions based on any information you've gathered.))

You pocket the phone and return your attention to the lady. "You mentioned paying for charms, but I don't think we have any money. What do people trade these days?"

"Gold," the shopkeeper says simply, "Tho rumors waft about of a new currency in the works, a sort of 'funny money' if you will. I don't accept it, but some people are interested in it. Other than that, if thou hast valuable resources a merchant could use for their craft, they would most likely be more than willing to work out a deal. I know the crystal smith exchanges services for crystals, for example."

"Do you think you could use a shovel?" Mirrow asks.

"N-no. I'm ... good."

"Two more things, then we'll stop buggin you," says Humphrey, "We talked to a doctor and got a medical opinion on the sword thingy in our core, but do you have maybe a magical opinion on it?"

The lady glances at the pierced core and shrugs. "I'm unfortunately not particularly informed on the effects of void weaponry. I wouldst inquire with the crystal smith about such things."

"Fair enough. Last thing, um, if you touch our cores, would you be able to see our memories?"

She opens her mouth, then pauses in thought. "My first thought is No, but then I've never met a grand before. Who's to say such things wouldn't be possible? May I?"

You allow her to reach forward and sink her hands into your chest. It's different from when the doctors did it, like her slime is mixing with yours, but still separated. She gently lays fingers on your core.

Nothing happens.

"Alas, twas worth a try."

You thank her for her help, reform into a single unit, and exit the shop.

Mirrow && I guess we gotta be more careful about who we talk to huh? I should have expected it would still be dangerous for us out here..&&

"Yeah, I guess so..." You recall mentioning your quest to Tricky, but it didn't seem like they understood what you meant, so you try not to worry about it. Hopefully the guard and their voidkin friends didn't overhear anything.

You find a signpost nearby with directions to different places in town. Where would you like to go next? The crystal smith isn't far, the train is near the edge of town, and Tricky is probably wandering around somewhere if you wanted to meet back up with them

[slime-quest]

You squeeze your hand over the device, pressing a droplet of slime out of you. It falls with a soft "plip", and the lady takes it back. "Just a moment longer."

"What makes the snail core slow compared to the other two options?"

"Tis a snail," she replies simply, "They take their time. 'Never hurry, never worry,' as they say. The snails say that."

"Should we tell her we were a grand slime?" you ask Humphrey and Mirrow privately.

Mirrow && I don't think there's really any reason to hide it from her. She seems like she knows what's up, at least more so than we do. Maybe she can help us figure ourselves out? &&

Humphrey ## I say it's worth a shot. The worst thing that could happen would be that she doesn't believe us, and the best would be we get a clear lead on where our missing pieces are. ##

"So, uh, this is maybe a bit weird," you begin nervously, "but I'm actually a Grand Slime."

She stops her work and looks at you through narrow eyes. "Thou... thou'rt hardly a Grand Anything, I'm sorry to say. Thy tail, as large as it is, is barely even close to something as magnificent as a Grand's. Thou'rt confused, methinks, and shouldst hold thine tongue lest thou speak flippantly of the fallen."

You pull the cloak aside to give a clearer look at your core. "Well, what about this?" You briefly recap the past couple of days, how you woke up in a field with a sword in your chest, how you can only remember flashes of the void king standing over you. You detail the experience of finding and fusing with two of your broken pieces.

The shopkeeper is staring at you hard. "Tis impossible... not a single one of the Grands survived the Void's slaughter. Tho... Grands were known for their special healing powers... no common slime can fuse with another like they could, and tis remarkable that thou wouldst even know of such abilities. Can thou prove that thou'rt fused?"

Are we ok with splitting up for a moment?

Humphrey ## Oh, sure, just for a bit ##

Mirrow && Yeah lets show her! &&

"I've never done this before, but... here goes." You close your eyes and ... you're not really sure what to do. You try thinking very hard about splitting up, visualizing your soul pulling away from itself. Humphrey and Mirrow are doing the same, and as you each suddenly grasp the concept of splitting your core-

SHLORP

Your fragments peel off of each other, returning to their original, broken shapes, and the three of you fall out of one another and into a heap on the floor.

The shopkeeper drops her tools, mouth agape. "Well then..."

"We can't remember anything about our time as a Grand," Humphrey says from underneath you, "at least, nothing outside of the part where we die."

"Thou has not shared this with anyone else?" You all three shake your heads. "Thou would do well to guard this secret. The King may have softened somewhat, but they mercilessly destroyed the Grands, and there's no knowing if they wouldst not do the same again."

"Why kill us at all?" Mirrow asks, "Did we do something to make them angry?"

"Alas, precious little is known. Even the Elsekin harbor few secrets about the Grands. I'm... somewhat crestfallen thou canst recall any of thine past. But! praps thou will remember more as you find your pieces, and if thou do, I hope thou wouldst permit me to, ahem, pick thy brain, so to speak. Would terribly love to know what thou remembers."

"What about that Candyfloss you keep talking about? Do you know anything about her?" you ask.

"Unfortunately I only know about her personal studies of magic. She left behind very little record of her nature. I have guesses, but they are just that, guesses." She resumes work on the device.

"There we go," she hands over the bright blue phone, "I'll let thee have this for free, but if you need charms, I'll have to charge you for them."

You accept the phone, and Humphrey and Mirrow gather close to look too. It's a simple looking thing, fitting comfortably in your hand. It flips open with a small window on the upper half, and several tiny buttons on the lower half, as well as a tiny slime with glasses. It beams up at you.

"Hi there! Welcome to your new spellphone, friend! I'm running a snail flavor of JellOS. I can take notes, cast spells, track your location, and all kinds of other neat things! Would you like to name me?"

"Oh uhh..."

[slime-quest]

"How about uhhh, blue?"

"Mmmhm, pr'aps a lovely cyan to compliment thine red garments? Thou can always purchase a different case later if thou tires of the colour. "

"Ooh, sure!"

She jots down some notes, taking several pauses to look you over, like she's measuring you with her eyes. "Um, so, is void magic.. bad?"

She laughs. "Forgive my comments. I shan't pretend to be terribly fond of the void or it's strange magics. I find them... mm... clinical? Straightforward. Dull, even. However, even I can admit it hath a strange allure, and after all, magic is magic no matter which way thou slices it. Candyfloss herself wouldst chide me most royally for dismissing it outright."

"I only just woke up like, two days ago, so I don't really know much of anything about any of this."

She writes some more notes and then looks at you. "I wouldst be thrilled to educate thee in brief on whichever school thou wishes to pursue," she slides the paper over to you, "Have a look at this and let me know if thou hast any questions. We want to make sure thou picks the perfect tool to aid thine magical journey."

The paper has a few neat doodles and lines of text. There are three options to pick from, a "Crystal Core", a "Thread Core", and a "Snail Core".

A. Crystal Core - a fun-loving bright and resonant core (slime runes use less honey, and honey regenerates more quickly. Connects with crystal network)

B. Thread Core - a no-nonsense analytical and intelligent core (void runes use less thread, and thread regenerates more quickly. Connects with void network)

C. Snail Core - a jack-of-all-trades-master-of-none kind of core (mixed runes are more efficient, but does not enhance regeneration. Connects with both networks slowly)

"I like the sound of the snail core, I think I'd like to get that," you say as you hand the paper back to her.

"Excellent choice! A snail core may be slow, but tis certainly reliable." She pulls a small kit from under the counter filled with intricate slabs and gadgets you don't recognize and begins to work on building your new phone.

"I'm new to all this, so pardon my ignorance, but what's the difference between void and slime magic?"

"Slime magic cometh from the fount of oneself," she says as she lays two crystal slates on the counter and begins to screw them together, "That is to say, thine crystal core taketh a portion of its energy and channels it through thine flesh, or 'Honey', to produce an effect. This tires the core and sacrifices the honey, but time heals all wounds, and one can grow stronger from practice," she eyes your big tail, "Thou hast an ample supply of honey already, it seems."

"Void magic," she continues, "is complicated in its simplicity. It cometh from delicate patterns which guide the formless void to produce a shape or effect. The voidkin hath special fabrics which they use to form these patterns. Anyone can use it, which maketh it a popular choice for aspiring mages, since thou need only memorize a rune and draw it cleanly enough with that sacred thread to harness its effect. The thread is sacrificed, and the void is given its orders, producing magic."

"So what about mixing runes? I did something like that a bit ago."

She peers into a small crystal snail shell before slotting it into the device. "They intersect somewhat, yes. Thou can do it, but the effect wouldst be unpredictable, and scholars art studying the limits of such fusion. Think of it like this: void magic hath precision to a fault, and slime magic hath heart. Say thou cast a fire. A slime fire could be shaped, thou could change the temperature, or snuff it out, all while maintaining a connection to it. But a void fire will burn until it hath finished, precisely as instructed. Thou hast no control over a void spell once cast."

"You mentioned someone called Candyfloss, who is that?"

"I'm surprised at thee, why almost everyone hath heard of the Great Mage Candyfloss!"

"I woke up like two days ago, there's a lot I don't know about still.."

"Candyfloss was the greatest magician who ever lived. She knew everything there possibly was to know about magic, and shared her knowledge freely with everyone. She would perch atop this very tower and gaze at the cosmos, studying their construction, and communing with the goddess. They say her tail was the largest of any slime who lived. Oh how I so wish I couldst have known her when she was alive.."

"What happened to her?"

"The void king slaughtered her, and every other grand slime in the land. At least, I suppose that's what happened, I wasn't there." She holds out the device, "Squeeze a drop of thine honey in there, and I shalt have this ready in just a moment."

[slime-quest]

"I'm going to go look for a bulletin board," Tricky pipes up eagerly, "There are probably exciting jobs to follow up on, so I'll catch you later! Good luck with your slimes quest!" They head off into town, followed by the guard and voidkin.

You trot after them, feeling the warmth of the early afternoon sun beating on your slime flesh.  

Mirrow && I completely forgot what sun feels like &&

Humphrey ## what do you think? ##

Mirrow && Makes me feel queasy for some reason. Let's go find some shade quick &&

You also feel a little nauseous as the heat builds up in your body. Or, maybe nauseous isn't the right word. Loose? Less solid?  You realize suddenly that the heat is causing your flesh to flow more easily. You've spent so much time in the cool morning, the chill nights and the dark caves that you haven't had a chance to experience heat yet.  You're not melting exactly, just runnier. It doesn't seem to affect any of your abilities, you're just slimier when warm. Neat!

Humphrey ## I wanna go check out the HoneyHive! Such a famous slime shop might know a thing or two about us! Plus we should try to get one of those crystal spell books that guard told us about.

Godrender $$ we would like to be polished and repaired – perhaps the crystal smith would even find a use for the core $$

Mirrow && you just wanna look pretty and shiny, nerd &&

Godrender $$ ... it would be nice… $$

"Let's start with the HoneyHive, and then go check out the smith.  If we find something else exciting, I'm sure we can go check it out."  You press your hand against your chest, feeling the hard core under the surface, "If they've waited this long, our pieces can wait just a little bit longer."

You enter the town.  

Humphrey ## wh-whoah.. there's a lot of people here.. ##

Crowds of people walk about, some rushing by, some stopping to chat with friends, all milling about purposefully.  Slimes, cats, voidkin, several humans, strange creatures with large eyes.  Several pop up shops, tents, booths and wagons loaded with various goods and trinkets fill the town center.  Tall buildings, inns, larger shops and homes fill the skyline.

"E-excuse me," you stop one of the cats as they rush by, "we're looking for the HoneyHive, can you point us to it?"

They glance from the direction you came and back at you, two of their four eyes looking at you.  "Oh, Hytherfolk, neat!  Not many of you slimes end up coming this way.  Yeah, it's like, go down that way, can't miss it.  Big purple crystal building.  Welcome to town!"

They run off, and you follow their directions, coming to large crystal structure.  It's shaped similar to the unicorn doctor's tower, tho it's not as straight.  A wooden sign hanging above the door reads "Candyfloss' HoneyHive".

You enter the shop.  It's brightly lit inside, several hanging lanterns illuminating the space with a soft pink light.  Large shelves and tables line the wall, all stacked with books, crystals, wands, hats and cloaks, and other strange devices and materials.

"Does any of this stuff look like slime... stuff?"

Humphrey ## Honey slimes and magic go hand in hand.  I don't know much of anything about it, but I know it's a really big deal to them. ##

A glowing yellow slime in a purple cape pops up next to you with a puff of pink smoke.  "Welcome friends!! Thou'rt finding everything alright?"

"Oh, I uh, I'm not sure actually what it is I'm looking for," you stammer, "Everything here is so strange."

"A fledgling mage," she cups her face in excitement, "how sweet! How long hast thou yearned to channel the sweetest nectar of Candyfloss?"

"P-pardon??"

"Ah, p'raps… thou'rt so freshly spawn'd, thou know'st not even of Candyfloss?" she laughs, "Aye, thou'rt quite confused, I see it now.  Garbed in that atrocious hue even, I s'pose a darkling void hath shared its knowledge with thee anon?"

"I don't understand anything you're saying.."

Mirrow && Ask her about the phone thingy! &&

"S-sorry, I'm just, overwhelmed.  I was actually looking for a thing called a 'spellphone'?  A friend told me about them."

Humphrey ## I didn't think we were friends… he didn't seem fond of us ##

Mirrow && nah he was definitely warming up to us &&

"Thou hasn't even a spellphone?  Thou'rt truly lost, and art fortunate to have stumbled blindly into mine shop."

She claps her hands together and explodes into more pink smoke, reappearing with another cloud of it behind the counter.

"What colour dost thou favor?"

[slime-quest]

You move over to the guard. They're tapping away at some sort of notebook. "What," he says without looking up.

"You still having trouble with the hat?"

"Yeah." The hat drops over his face.

Mirrow && yeesh, what's this guy's problem &&

"Why don't you ask for a better fitting hat?"

"I've tried, but it seems like it's a one size fits all kinda thing. It's ridiculous." He takes the hat off and tucks it under his arm, pocketing the notebook.

"How did you end up in the void guard anyway?"

"I needed a job, and the king was looking for new recruits, so I joined up. It's not really that exciting. I basically just kinda babysit them while they travel around."

"What's the void king like?"

He shrugs. "I've never actually met them. In fact, nobody really gets to see them. The voidkin talk to them all day long, but that's more because they're all a hive mind, and less because they're being sociable."

"You seem pretty upset about Vuota and the other in the mine vanishing, did you know them well?"

"Yeah, kinda," he sighs, "But that's how it is with voidkin I guess. They come and they go and they come back. Or they don't. And then you just gotta move on without em."

The two of you are silent for a bit.

"What's the town up ahead like?"

"You've never been to the Station? It's pretty neat. There's the train, all kinds of shops, inns, restaurants, you name it. And people from all over the world come to sightsee and shop. It's almost as busy as the city sometimes."

"Sounds exciting! Any recommendations?"

"Hmm, lemme think.. Oh, you probably don't have a spellphone, do you?" The gondola stops at the edge of the world and you all clamber out and onto stable ground. You can see several buildings, some new, some old, and dozens, no, hundreds of people moving around them.

"Spellwhat? No, I don't think so?"

"This thing," he pulls the notebook back out of his pocket, and you can see now that it's actually a sort of smooth crystal slate that's cut to look like the cover of a small book, "It's called a Spellphone. It has a little slime inside that can keep track of information and send messages to other people. You should get one if you're gonna wander around the world. I'd check out the Honeyhive for that. It's a famous shop for slime folk, you could probably trade some stuff and get a cheap phone there.

"There's also the Crystal Smith, they do weapons and stuff. Might be able to buff out some of the scratches and nicks on your big uh... sword.. thing..?"

Godrender $$ it has been a bit since we were polished $$

"The Train Station should be running by now, they just finished laying down tracks into the Bonelands up in the Tueyawn area. You could go there or to Snowloaf. Uhh, there's the post office, the food market, there's like a hundred great restaurants," he shrugs, "whatever, you'll find something to do, it's a big town. I gotta get these guys across the bridge to reconnect with the king."