With the three researchers safely carried out of the acidic sludge and Nimbus napping in Leni-Aura's arms, Xalmann heaved a sigh of relief. Carrying these useless people was tiring and walking through the acid was horrendously painful, even if he healed himself throughout the whole ordeal. At least the task was complete and he hopefully wouldn't ever have to do such a thing again. Then again, this day had been one ooze-related surprise after another. At this point he wouldn't be surprised if they encountered some giant ooze or something on their way back to Lloyd. Fucking Lloyd.

Xalmann felt someone tapping him on the back and turned to see one of the researchers he had just rescued. "Excuse me, um, thank you for saving us." she said, looking a bit embarrassed and apologetically. Xalmann remembered that this was the one who had warned the others that all of the Lizardfolk tribes around here were savage raiders.

"Um, would you two mind helping us with one more thing? We were following an elder ooze for our research. Could you please defeat it without killing it?" she asked suddenly, looking at both Leni and Xalmann.

"Elder ooze....?" Xalmann mumbled, caught off guard by the sudden, desperate request.

"Yes, an elder ooze! It's a giant, dangerous ooze, but we need it to be kept alive for our research. This trail is just one example of the damage it's causing. It needs to be stopped." she pleaded passionately, grabbing Xalmann's hands.

Xalmann's mind just went blank. A giant ooze...? No... Damnit... Noooooo!

SPOILER: Click to show

Quest Name: Elder Ooze

Chapter: Four

Description: The Elder Ooze has been located in the Marsh Flats, but it is a massive beast, a Extreme danger level creature with a nasty attitude. If we are going to be able to study it further, we need help in subduing it. Thats where you come in! Before it can be studied it needs to be weakened and put into a calm state. While we are normally against violence against these wild animals, sometimes it is needed. You must combat the Ooze, survive, and weaken it enough so that our researchers can study it further. But please do not kill the Elder Ooze!

Requirements:

- Requires at least two people (you and one other)

- You must make at least 7 post to complete the mission with each post being at least 200 words

- Must defeat the Elder Ooze without killing it

- Once you complete this mission you have completed this quest chain. (which needs to be a separate topic)

Leni-Aura stares at the woman who grabs Xalmann’s hands, utterly bewildered by her request. “...You are kidding?” she exclaims suddenly from where she’s standing just off to the side of the group; Nimbus shifts his head in her arms, tucking his nose against her chest. “You want us to fight that?” She points with her free arm to the trail; it’s implied she doesn’t actually mean the trail itself, but what made it.

How are they supposed to fight a ooze without killing it, anyways!? What are they supposed to do? Put it down for a nap?

“How do we do that? Look how big it is; it destroys everything it touches.”

“That’s why it needs to be stopped,” the woman objects, her hands tightening around Xalmann’s; she looks back at the lizard man, apparently thinking her request has a better chance of getting through to him. “Please! This research that we’re doing really could change things for the better— for the Marsh Flats— and the people and creatures who live here…”

Leni-Aura flattens her ears, looking up at Xalmann’s blank expression, before looking back at the researchers. She sighs and unsheathes her spear; she pushes the blunt hilt against the researcher’s chest, pushing her back a few steps from Xalmann. “We will talk.”

“But—”

Leni-Aura flattens her ears, her glare sharp enough to cause the researcher to release the Lizard Man’s hands. “Just… please consider it?” Leni-Aura taps at her again with the blunt of her spear, and the researcher looks pleadingly at Xalmann before returning to her compatriots. “... You do not seriously want to go fight a giant ooze, right? Because I do not.” Leni-Aura remarks, looking at Xalmann from the corner of her eyes.

Xalmann absolutely understands Leni's objections and feels the same way. He doesn't want to see another ooze for a long time, maybe even as long as he lives. This day has been an ooze filled nightmare, especially the feeling of walking through acid that he would probably never forget.

He immediately shook his head in response to Leni's question. The researcher saw this and gave a look of despair before continuing her pleading.

"Wait, please! We'll help you! We just- we can't do it alone! You're right, we're weak. But we just need someone who can actually survive getting close enough to it to give it a special medicine we've made! You won't actually have to fight it that much, I promise. We... we'll pay you! We'll pay you a lot!" she stuttered out frantically, her desperation obvious.

Xalmann considered the request a little more. It would be much less trouble if their goal wasn't actually to fight it, but just to get close enough to feed it something. And he liked getting payed. But still, he was repulsed by the idea of getting close to another ooze today, especially one large enough to leave a trail as wide as a river and acidic enough to melt his scales off.

He looked to Leni-Aura to see her opinion of the new situation.

Leni-Aura is hopeful that they can just put this whole thing behind them; and she feels her shoulders relax just a bit when Xalmann shakes his head in response. He’s not much of a talker, but she doesn’t mind; unfortunately, the researcher is still nosing around.

She winces when the researcher starts to call out again for their help. Leni-Aura offers a mild glare over her shoulder, ears tilting back slightly. It’s selfish of her to want to move on, maybe, but… haven’t they done enough? She just watched Xalmann burn his scales off in an effort to save a couple of adventurers who got themselves in a predicament of their own making…

She still listens, sighing as the woman promises to pay them in exchange for giving it some kind of medicine… she really doesn’t want to, but payment does make the deal just a bit sweeter.

… But also, she’s seen so many ooze today...

She shares a glance with Xalmann, frowning slightly; no sooner does she meet his gaze, does she feel the roll of a breeze and damn it, Avasha. She feels the fur along her spine and hackles raise slightly, and she closes her eyes with a slow breath. “...We’ll get paid.” she remarks, but there’s not a significant amount of excitement behind that statement, because she could not possibly be less excited.

“... Could make it worth it… What do you think?” She looks to Xalmann half heartedly.

“Please!” the researcher adds, “It would mean a lot to us— and to Lloyd— and to the study overall. We really need this, and we just… don’t have the speed to get close to it without risking everything. We—” She hesitates suddenly; the sound of something... far too familiar begins to eek ever-so-closer to where they are. "It's coming back!?" Her voice becomes hushed, panicked gaze turning to Xalmann and Leni-Aura.

Dammit.

A shiver went down Xalmann's spine as well, but not from any breeze. He looked toward the source of the noise in disbelief. Why was it coming here!? It was like this day was cursed to be entirely filled with oozes and problems relating to them.

The gargantuan being sloshed and rolled its way back down the trail it had made, the acidic mud being pushed along as it went into a small tidal wave, the edges of the trail starting to lap at the ground around it like some cursed beach. Xalmann, Leni, and the researchers had to retreat away from the ooze trail to avoid being burnt by the splashing muck.

It seemed like there was no avoiding the thing now that it had come to them. They might as well accept the deal now. Xalmann held out a clawed hand to the researcher that had been pleading with them.

"Fine. Medicine." he demanded angrily.

She complied, fumbling through her bag to find a small jar filled with a murky green liquid, and handed it to the Lizardman. With the medicine handed over, she retreated, following behind the other two researchers that had already started running. Xalmann looked at the jar in his hand and pulled his axe from his waist with his free hand.

Prepared for the battle ahead, he glanced at Leni and Nimbus to see their preparations and come up with a plan.

Leni-Aura takes a deep breath, ears laying back when she hears the ooze-like sounds from somewhere behind her… a chill runs down her spine, brows furrowed sharply as she turns to look behind them. She takes a pace back, mouth slightly agape when she sees just how massive the damn thing is!

You’re kidding!

Highly corrosive ooze sloughs off the creature, creating a small tidal wave of ooze as it follows its own trail back. One of the researchers shivers a bit— considering the fact that they could have been eaten by this thing’s return…had the two wanderers not stumbled upon them in time.

Damn it, damn it, damn it! Why are there so many oozes in the swamp!? There’s not even this many oozes in the Dragon’s Cradle! And she’s seen just about everything there!

Leni-Aura squints her eyes shut, slamming her spear into the earth; as it hits, sparks erupt from beneath her paws; beneath her hazel eyes, a cyan glow surfaces as she channels something else forth. Scattering across her spear like thin webs, lightning travels in chaotic pulses. “How are we meant to fight something this big without killing it?” she objects, sweeping her spear in an arc as she speaks, to wield herself properly.

By this point, Nimbus has startled awake and slipped back around her shoulders; he looks up at the ooze with wide blue eyes while it slimes forwards. Leni-Aura, meanwhile, looks to Xalmann. “Nimbus and I can distract it while you… try to give it that.” she offers, turning her head slightly to look at the ooze; her expression grows a little more irritated when the researcher chimes in.

“Just— just try not to hurt it!”

She scoffs, not responding, before she bolts past Xalmann, bringing the Ooze’s attention to the rapid stomping of her feet; the big creature seems to perk up, a prickle of interest in new motion causing it to undulate.

The giant ooze slimed its way toward Leni-Aura, pushing a wave of sludge in her direction along with it. Xalmann ran to the side and into the trees, making his way around the giant ooze to approach it from the opposite direction of the Rabbitaur who would be distracting it. He knew the researchers wished for them to harm the creature as little as possible, but he valued his own life far more than that of this slimy ooze. The metal head of the axe in his hand began to glow red as it heated up, the weapon infused with the Lizardman pyromancer's fire magic. He wasn't sure how much a blade could actually harm such a large ooze, but fire should do some damage and allow him to defend himself. Still, he would have to hold back. He couldn't use his more powerful fiery abilities.

The ooze continued its sloshing toward Leni, growing closer, before several bubbles started to boil up on its surface. Green globs suddenly flew off of the ooze in random directions. One hit a tree and burst, splashing acidic slime onto the trunk that started to hiss and bubble, eating away at the bark. Several globs flew toward both Leni and Xalmann. The Lizaardman was surprised by the sudden attack, but managed to avoid being hit by the few that flew toward him by dodging to the side and taking cover behind another tree.

This task might not be as simple as he'd hoped.

---

Arcane Soul
Acid Bubble (Elder Ooze)

Sludge sloshes across the earth as the slime oozes towards her; Leni-Aura’s paws kick up dirt and grass as she lands just out of the sludge’s splash zone and keeps going. The slime pops and hisses as it sloughs up against new, untainted organics; though Leni-Aura’s back is turned to the beast, the grass affected by the ooze from its gelatinous form withers and curls quickly— blackening and crumbling without hesitation.

She spins around, seeing the effects of the acid only then. Her ears flatten as she takes a few quick hops backwards, and flashes a glance towards Xalmann— but not before several bubbles rise up within the ooze’s gelatinous form. She perks her ears, eyes widening when globs of the elder ooze’s acidic slime shoot out around it.

She manages to leap out of the way of one coming directly for her, but feels a flurry of stinging sensations against the back of one of her hind legs as it explodes into a shrapnel of smaller droplets. She winces, gritting her teeth at a searing pain that speckles against the calf of her leg. She stumbles as she lands; and, more preoccupied with the noise she’s making, the ooze continues to follow her rather than the lizardfolk trying to drug it.

Its body undulates, flattening, then extending again; and it shoots out a pseudopod. Leni-Aura manages to duck beneath it, but it sticks to the tree behind her like mucous, splattering droplets of hissing acid across the bog. The tree burns, groaning and crackling under the acidic touch of the ooze. Leni-Aura, holding Nimbus protectively to her chest at this point, can feel her heart drumming in her throat; this is going to be a more dangerous run than she expected.

In a flash, she zips away from the ooze, skirting towards the other side of the bog in an attempt to keep it busy.

Xalmann emerged from behind the tree slowly, not wanting to draw the elder ooze's attention away from Leni as she continued to distract it. He darted between trees and rocks until he was on the opposite side of the creature from Leni and emerged from the tree line. The acidic sludge from the trail was being sloshed around and slowly spreading, but for now it was still diluted enough by the natural swamp water and soil to not be incredibly acidic in this section. Still, this area would likely be permanently affected by this incident.

Xalmann moved as quietly but quickly as he could toward the elder ooze while it focused on the distraction, but being silent was impossible when moving through the muck and slime all around it. It must have noticed Xalmann's approach, because a pseudopod suddenly shot out toward the Lizardman. He held his axe up in defense, and the slimy appendage struck the superheated steel blade before retracting. The ooze let out a squeak of pain.

The bubbles once again rose to the surface of the ooze and shot in random directions, but they seemed mostly focused on the Lizardman this time. Clearly it had been angered by the pain of the hot axe. There was no cover for Xalmann to take nearby, so he whipped his cloak around to block the acid. The bubbles popped and splatter across the blue fabric and quickly started to sizzle and eat away at it. Xalmann tore what remained of the cloak off and tossed it away.

His arms and back hurt. Some of the acid had soaked through the cloak and onto his scales before he took it off, but the damage was bearable for now. He also wouldn't be able to do that again. Suddenly, another pseudopod whipped toward Xalmann, catching him a bit off guard. The slimy appendage slapped the bottle of medicine from his hand, launching it up into the air.

The ooze pursues in its own way; and although it’s not the fastest creature, the tsunami of sludge that it sends after Leni-Aura with each motion is enough to keep her in motion. She turns just enough to see the gelatinous glob, ignoring the way that her skin still burns with the stray rain of acid from earlier. It’s bearable for now.

Suddenly the ooze stops and undulates, a pseudopod snapping… not towards her, but away, towards—

Xalmann?

What is he doing!?

Before she can object or redirect the elder slime, the ooze lets out a squeak of pain; its pseudopod retracts. What happened? It didn’t look like Xalmann did anything, but she does note the way the metal of his axe glows vaguely red. She starts to panic when she notices a familiar behaviour— the ooze’s body compressing and decompressing as more bubbles rise to its surface.

Leni-Aura prepares to dodge, but it’s not aimed at her— it’s aimed at the lizard man. “Not him, you dumb blob!” she frets, afraid she might watch Xalmann just… disappear— but his cloak takes the brunt of the attack. It doesn’t really help her feel better; seconds later, the Lizardfolk has the medicine knocked from his claws.

Urrrgh, this is stupid!

Why are they having such a hard time playing keep-away with this booger?

They’re overqualified for this, surely!

“Wul!” ^(Fetch!)

In a hefty bounce, Nimbus leaps off of Leni-Aura’s shoulders; and as he swoops towards the the airborne bottle, the Rabbitaur rears on her hind paws and unsheathes her spear. With a spin, she slams the blunt side into the earth just as Nimbus’ teeth clack on the narrow neck of the bottle.

Thunder cracks, rumbling the earth the moment Leni-Aura’s spear touches the ground⁽¹⁾; and the ooze, whether from the vibration of thunder, or the noise itself, sinks back with an undulating shiver. Blindly, the ooze lashes out with several Pseudopods— one cracking through the trunk of a tree— and another narrowly missing Nimbus, who dives beneath the slimy appendage; bottle held firmly in the drake's jaws, he sweeps towards Xalmann.

Another pseudopod heads towards Leni-Aura, smashing the earth where the rabbitaur had stood moments before, and leaving an imprint— but Leni-Aura’s natural bounce⁽²⁾ has taken her far from there, although she seems to wince at another shower of acid from the splashing impact.

---

^{(1) Thundering Boom}

^{(2) Long Stride}

Xalmann was relieved that the bottle hadn't broken and the medicine hadn't been spilled, but there was no time to celebrate. Nimbus flew toward him with the bottle in their mouth. The little drake flew overhead, dropping the bottle into Xalmann's hand. That was close. Fighting this ooze would be much more troublesome without this medicine, at least according to the researchers. Having a pet suddenly seemed more helpful than the Lizardman had initially thought. He'd have to consider getting himself some kind of loyal helper, though he didn't think he'd be willing to put up with as much trouble from them as Leni did with Nimbus.

Xalmann slipped the axe back into its sheath and pulled out his kukri dagger. He was tired of dealing with these pseudopods. The distraction idea wasn't working, so it was time to change up their tactics. More of the slimy appendages shot toward Xalmann, making him dodge to the side, but before they could retract, he sliced upward with his dagger, leaving a shallow cut in the side of the pseudopod. But that was all that was needed. The ooze suddenly froze in place, quivering slightly as if it was watching something horrifying.

Not wanting the opportunity to go to waste, Xalmann ran forward and uncorked the bottle before jamming it into the side of the jiggling ooze. With the deed done, he retreated back just in case the medicine didn't work. If it didn't he'd have some researchers to deal with. Luckily for them, there seemed to be some affect, but not one that Xalmann could have predicted.

"Huhhhhhhh? What happened?" a voice suddenly came from the oversized ooze, which began to morph into a giant humanoid form.

---

Dagger of Torment

Success!

Exhaustion washes over Leni-Aura from the day, from the run, from the emotional effort she’s been putting into socializing with idiots. Xalmann slams the bottle into the side of the ooze, and the deed is done; she takes a few steps back, watching the way the ooze shivers and undulates as the medicine seeps into its gelatinous form.

It seems to be having some kind of effect on… wait…

“You’re kidding me.” Leni-Aura’s voice comes out in a breath; her eyes widen when she realizes that the ooze is slowly shaping into… oh gods damn it it’s one of the things from beneath the tree!?

And this one’s massive!

Nimbus, having succeeded in his game of fetch, perches on Xalmann’s shoulder. He squeaks towards the ooze as it shifts into its more humanoid form; its fingerless nubs lift upwards to hold its expressionless head, as if it has a headache. “Uuuuughhhh…” it grumbles, turning its gelatinous neck from side to side, as if it even has eyes to see through.

Leni-Aura cannot believe this. She is certainly in a fever dream.

The researchers look on in awe, meanwhile.

“Uooooohh….. oh no… did I do this?” the ooze seems to realize the mess around it; it lifts one of its footless nubbin legs from the acidic sludge around it; a few strands of slime and sludge follow it up with the motion.

“... Yes.” Leni-Aura answers it, her voice flat.

“Uuuuoooohhh nooooo, I’m so sorry... I can't remember what happened!”

The researchers were mesmerized by the gigantic humanoid ooze for a few moments, but one managed to break free of the trance and rush forward as they realized what they still needed to do.

"Bartholofrecksonarlson!" She called out to the ooze who turned their head to face them.

"Huh? Oh... Is that you Jasmine? What happened?" they asked groggily, as if they were still waking up.

"You ate some fermented bog fruit! Come with us, we'll take you back home. Don't worry about this mess, we'll clean it all up." she shouted up to them, her hands cupped in front of her mouth to help amplify her voice.

"Oh... Okay... My bad... "

The ooze began to rise to their feet a bit shakily, but they seemed to be getting over the effects of the bog fruit with the help of the medicine. Xalmann was in disbelief. This giant ooze had been one of those ooze people from before, but massive? How did they even get so big!? And what kind of name was Bartholofrecksonarlson!? And why were all these oozes getting hopped up on bog fruit!? His silent, angry questions were interrupted as another researcher walked up to him and Leni.

"Thank you for the help. Please keep this a secret. We don't want too many people to know about the Oozemen. They're just seen as monsters by a lot of people, so if word got out about their home, they could be hunted." he explained passionately, his eyes pleading with them both.

"Fine." Xalmann answered simply. He didn't see the need to tell them that he and Leni were already aware of the Slimy Spittoon and its slimy inhabitants. He just wanted to be done with this mess.

She simply has no words.

Bartholo… frecksonalrson…?

What… What in the seven hells kind of name is that!?

… Also, the researchers knew about this!?

They know it by name!

Leni-Aura doesn’t realize her mouth’s been hanging open until she finally closes it; she blinks a few times, correcting her vision. Meanwhile, the massive ooze looks towards one of the researchers and calls her by name— Jasmine.

How potent is this fermented bog fruit, anyways? She’s never even seen a regular bog fruit! So, how do all these ooze keep finding the fermented ones?

For the briefest moment, while Bartholofrecksonarlson and Jasmine speak, Leni-Aura quietly has an existential crisis. It’s short-lived, but her disbelief and confusion swirls in the back of her mind like a hurricane; slowly, the rabbitaur starts to drag herself back into motion. Her steps are slow, distracted by her shock of the situation— how does an ooze even get that big? How does an ooze person even get that big!? And by the time she reaches Xalmann’s side, one of the other researchers is explaining the situation.

“...Sure.” she agrees to his pleas for secrecy, still trying to shake off the surprise of this whole situation— are all oozes oozemen? Could they be? What makes them different?

She wants to know, but frankly, she doesn’t want to ask; she’s had it with this day, and with these people, and with these oozemen. “Secret’s… safe with us.” she assures, refocusing on the researcher. The man’s eyes soften gratefully; he nods to the both of them, thanks them again with enthusiastic and passionate handshakes, and promises to put in a good word to Lloyd for the extra coin. Then, he goes to join his fellow researchers with Bartholofrecksonarlson.

Leni-Aura watches him go, silent; she stares at the massive Oozemen for a moment, then looks at Xalmann from the corner of her eyes.

“Can we both agree that no matter who or what else we run into on the way back, that we will not stop to help? I… I have had enough of this for one day.”

Xalmann just nodded in agreement. He had had enough of oozes to last him a lifetime. He just hoped no more of them would pop up on the way back to Lloyd. He felt the sting of the acid on his arms and back. Now that the giant ooze was walking away and the battle was definitely over, it seemed like he didn't have to worry about preserving his limited abilities just in case. With a small wave of warmth across his body originating from the axe at his waist, the wounds closed and the scales were repaired until it looked as if he had never been hit by any acid in the first place.

He was fine now, but he noticed the damage that Leni-Aura had taken. The cold-blooded Lizardman actually felt a bit regretful that he had nothing that could help with that. He respected her as a warrior and also as someone who had shared such a traumatic experience with him. He felt something almost like a kinship with her. The only healing abilities he possessed could only heal himself. At least the little drake seemed unharmed.

The three walked away from the scene of disaster that the giant oozeman had caused. Xalmann doubted the researcher had been honest when she had told them they'd clean this up. They had probably just lied to the ooze to get them to come with them back to their home beneath the metal tree where they would hopefully not cause any more devastation. In any case, it was time to go back to Lloyd and receive a far greater reward than initially promised at the beginning of this day, or else the two warriors would have some choice words for the man.

Far away, resting in his room at the inn, Lloyd felt a shiver go up his spine for some unexplained reason.

---

Sharing Essence