Today, Persias at least started in a bed and with a job. This was rare. He was still hungover though, this was not rare. The triton pulls himself into a sitting position with a groan before he reached for the closest bottle to finish off whatever was in it. Slightly webbed feet hit the ground as he reaches for his boots to pull them on, then a hand reaches for wherever his jacket is. Having worn everything else to bed, that was all he needed to get ready for the day.

He thudded his way down the stairs with a groan, rubbing his neck and yawning trying to get the stiffness from his muscles. Silent mumbles escape as his brain slowly, emphasis on slowly, comes online. Shadewood Forest that's where he was supposed to be going. And meeting with....shite, who is he meeting? After patting his pockets, a rum soaked and crumpled note is pulled out.

Beast? ...Boat?....Who names their kid boat? He looks around at this little bed and breakfast trying to see if there is someone here who maybe looks like a boat....Ok they are in the middle of the roads, this is stupid.

"Anyone here named Boat? Fighting oozes....or finding oozes, something with oozes."

---

SPOILER: Click to show

Quest Name: The creation of Oozes
Chapter: One
Description: Where these creatures come from is still very much a mystery to us. We have yet to witness an Ooze being created. Do they give live birth, hatch from eggs or just bud off from one another. We need you to venture deep into one of the many forest in Charon, locate an Ooze and attempt to witness how new ones come into this world. However we are not the only ones after information on the creature. A group of monster hunters have set out to rid the world of these creatures and will attempt to stop new ones from being created.
Requirements:
- Requires at least two people (you and one other )
- You must make at least 5 post to complete the mission with each post being at least 200 words
- Must locate and witness an Ooze being created without disturbing the creature. (They Bud from each other)
- Must protect the Ooze from a group of 5 monster hunters trying to kill it
- Once you complete this mission you gain access to chapter two. (which needs to be a separate topic)[

Sitting at a table, in a far corner, Beist was writing in a book, several finished plates of food pushed aside. He was always a bit of an early riser. He had woken early, gotten dressed, brushed his fur, fed all of his animal companions, and then went to wait at the bed and breakfast early in the morning, but now it was nearly noon and he was wondering if the partner he was supposed to be meeting for this research mission was ever going to show up. Had Lloyd sent him to the wrong location?

Beist had been so excited to work with Lloyd, a fellow appreciator of the magical creatures roaming Charon. He'd heard some rather negative things about the man from Zarius and Caedes... and Kamille... and Leni... But he was still excited to go on this mission! Oozes sounded fascinating and he enthusiastically agreed to go witness one reproduce, but he was supposed to have someone else go with him in case of any trouble.

He considered ordering another plate of food to keep the staff from kicking him out, but suddenly heard someone shouting out to the dining room, asking about a boat. What a strange man. Wait, did he say oozes? Beist gathered his things and slipped off the chair to go over to the man?

"Excuse me, did you say oozes? Are you perhaps Percy, the research partner Lloyd said I would be meeting? My name is Beistmild, but please call me Beist. A pleasure to meet you." He introduced himself, holding a hand up for a handshake.

Since his usual form was too large to fit into most buildings, Beist had spent the majority of his morning in this one. A stocky, four foot tall, four armed, grey-furred monkey with a pair of bendy horns and a thicker than normal tail stood there, a book under one arm and a friendly smile on his face, wearing an outfit that looked like he'd stolen it from some tiny professor. A green sweater vest over a white buttoned up shirt and a pair of brown pants.

---

Bringing Pets
Griffon (Sleigh Bell) in pet pocket
Woolful (My Best Friend) in space pocket
Mephit (Stables) in space pocket
Snow Owl in pet pocket

Percy hears Beist introduce himself, looks at the paper, then to Beist.....Either this man doesn't know how to say boat or Percy spelled the name wildly wrong. Who's really to say what the truth is?

Now then, who is Lloyd? What is Lloyd? Was that the guy here yesterday saying something about goop? Oh right, that was the guy who gave him Boat's name. Right, Lloyd. Ooze guy. Starting to make sense now that the hangover is clearing up.

"Right yeah, oozes or...whatever. I ain't a feckin' researcher....I think I am the one taking care of the..." He fishes out the paper to squint at it. "Bandits....something about bandits wanting oozes. Why? I don't remember....do people eat oozes? Ginma's Fuzzy Horse's Ass I'm starving."

Percy reaches over to grab a half loaf of bread and wedge of cheese in one hand and bottle of wine in another from a man's table. The man tries to protest, but stumbles back in fear when Percy whips around in a snarl to show off his shark-like teeth.

Taking a chomp out of the bread and cheese at the same time, "So like....we walking wherever the oozes be or ya got some other plan?"

Oh goodness, just who in the world has Lloyd paired me up with? This thought ran through Beist's head as he watched Percy just go ahead and swipe food and drink from some poor individual's table and then snarl like some feral animal. He was savage, uncivilized. He might even go so far as to say he was downright rude.

"Bandits? Oh, you mean the monster hunters! Yes, Lloyd did tell me there was a possibility of running into some out there. Well, I am a researcher. So you were paired with me as my protection, yes, that makes sense." Beist finished with a nod. He reasoned out why Lloyd would assign someone like this to go on a research mission, but he wasn't sure if he was actually reading into Lloyd's well thought out plan, or just trying to reassure himself that Lloyd hadn't made some careless mistake in recruiting such an individual.

Was he hungover? That would explain why he hadn't shown up until it was nearly noon.

"Uh... we shall be walking. We need to find the oozes ourself, out there in the forest. Much easier to do on foot than mounted, and we wouldn't want to scare it off. We'll need a certain amount of stealth. Well then, shall we depart?" Beist spoke, trying to keep his cheerful attitude, though his enthusiasm for finally working with Lloyd was being a bit dampened by working with Percy. What he said about walking wasn't a lie, but he also just wasn't sure he wanted the man near his precious companions with his behavior.

Beist headed out the door, stopping by the bar to pay for his meals, and started down the road toward the forest. With his legs much much shorter than he was used to, the walk took longer than he expected, but he maintained his monkey shape. His normal form would be far less stealthy, and they needed to find the ooze without scaring them off. Hopefully Percy would behave better on this mission than he had in the dining room.

"Foine...walkin' it is." Percy worked on hollowing out what was left of the bread as he headed towards the door. The brute of a man shouldered it open as his hands were now busy shoving the rest of the cheese wedge into the hole in the bread. He flicks what crumbs stick to his hands towards some birds before continuing out towards the woods.

"So, fookin bandits or some shite, aye? I ain't exactly keen on bein' quiet so if yer looking to just hang back er whatever, do whatever it is ye need to." Another large chomp from the makeshift cheese sandwich.

Gods he wished he had meat...something heavier at least. As they walk, he eyes some chickens or farm animals that happen to be around this small little tavern. He could probably just take one...Percy looks back over his shoulder at Beist a moment before grumbling and walking past the animals. Fuzzball probably wouldn't appreciate any more crimes no matter how petty.....if he actually got a decent pay from this Lloyd punk he could just afford to buy food.

"What's so special about this goopy little pricks anyways? Ain't never heard of anyone givin' two shites 'bout oozes...Seems weird...This guy like....into oozes in a...ah special way er somethin'?"

Was... was he about to eat one of those chickens? Beist tried not to show his worsening feelings about this Percy fellow, but he had never been very good at hiding his emotions. His tail was low enough to nearly drag on the ground behind him and his ears drooped. Thankfully, Percy walked past the chickens without biting into one, but Beist knew he would have had to do something if he'd tried. He didn't want to get along so poorly with his partner for this mission, but he had a feeling getting along well wasn't going to be much of a possibility with their differing personalities.

"Not bandits, monster hunters. They're not technically criminals, though I must say I disagree with their beliefs. They want to exterminate all the monsters, saying they're dangerous and all that, but most of the creatures they would consider monsters are just misunderstood! Most oozes are harmless as long as you keep a fair distance and don't smell like a corpse." Beist started to go into one of his usual, long-winded rambles on a topic that interested him, but stopped himself. He didn't think Percy would appreciate his teachings. They might even annoy him, and Beist didn't want to make the already rude man become even more difficult to deal with by souring his mood. He was already clear he had no intention of being quiet.

"A special way...? I suppose he has a special place in his heart for them if that's what you mean. Oozes are quite fascinating. Why, I wouldn't mind having one as a companion." Beist answered, innocently misunderstanding Percy's meaning and ignoring him calling oozes "goopy pricks". He smiled as he though about having an ooze join his family of magical creatures. He already had a small oozeling. He wondered if Trashjar would ever come out of his bottle and grow into a full-fledged ooze. That would be something!

Beist was still lost in thought as they reached the tree line and entered the forest.

"Tch...I'll give them a feckin monster to hunt." Percy sneered as he stomped foward. He still didn't particularly care about the oozes, but he could find solidarity in being hunted for things outside your control.

He didn't stop Beist from talking or give him a look, though he was appreciative when the talking stopped. Talking about something was better than absolute silence admittedly, but when it moves to more academic things the shark's eyes start to glaze over.

The forest seemed lik a weird place for an ooze to be if it was attracted to corpse smell. Percy figured they would be in like tombs or whatever, but plenty of stuff dies in the forest he guesses. Maybe it being so far away from where it is supposed to be is why Lloyd was so insistent on finding protection for this thing. Percy really needs to start paying attention when people hire him to do things....maybe next time.

Percy crouched down as they reached a little clearing, looking intently at the grass. From a standing position it looked like some morning dew, but even Percy knew that should be gone by this time of day. He swipes up some of the liquid and rubs it between a finger to test it.

Stretchy little strands spread out as he offers the hand towards Beist, "Guessin that's ooze bits...ain't seen any other arseholes walkin around, but maybe if we find the lil fella first we can just protect it from them."

Beist stepped a little closer to Percy and took a look at the slimy substance on his fingers. He took a sample of his own from Percy's fingers and felt it, testing the viscosity and texture. A quick sniff gave him an acrid, acidic smell. He wouldn't go so far as to taste the substance, but he could tell this was the secretion of an ooze and if it was still this moist, it must have been made fairly recently.

"Yes, there's an ooze nearby!" Beist confirmed excitedly, looking around to see if there was a trail to follow. Some of the grass looked as if it had been chewed on by some insects or something, but in actuality, it was that the grass had started to be dissolved as the ooze passed over it. Oozes could digest just about any organic matter given enough time, but they preferred more nutritious materials, like animal carcasses. That was why they were very attracted to the smell of dead animals, but they could survive by simply eating grass and forest litter like acorns.

"Hopefully we can find the ooze without meeting those monster hunters at all. This way." Beist said as he took the lead, following the trail of partially dissolved grass.

Percy wipes the substance off on his pants with a sigh as he stood back up. For the time, he'd follow after the fuzzy little man. Beist was strange in Percy's opinion, but he had plenty of people with negative opinions of himself so what did it really matter? The shark wouldn't ask but he assumed looking like that he might have a feeling or two about getting odd looks and Percy knew how annoying that could be.

He does keep an eye out for the monster hunters though. If he could find a trail, then they probably could as well. Acidic burns along some trees do pull the triton's attention a few times. Nothing too deep, but just passing damage from the ooze as he wiggled through the forest. He idly chewed his cheese-filled bread tube as they walked.

Eventually, the path leads them to a gentle river where the ooze seems to be resting on the stones. The river isn't too wide, but rushing water and oozes don't mix all that well. Is this thing scared of the water?

Percy cocks an eyebrow, "Oi...is that it?" He seems to be trying to keep his voice low, his only attempt at being quiet, but it is an attempt. "Just gotta watch this thing fer a bit an' yer good with Lloyd right?"

Beist gasped lightly and ducked behind some shrubs, peaking around the side to watch the slime as it stood still on the stony bank. He nodded in response to Percy's question and then quietly mumbled to himself.

"Oozes breathe through their permeable outer membrane, letting them even breathe underwater. They could be called amphibious creatures, like a frog or a salamander. This stream isn't too deep or wide. It should be able to easily cross it or swim down it... No, is it... It looks like it's preparing to split. There's seems forming on it. Is it planning to split and then send its offspring down the river to help them spread out more efficiently? Why, how intelligent! I had no idea oozes could be this smart." Beist rambled, speaking his observations out loud as he wrote them down in a small notebook he pulled from a pouch on his waist.

As he excitedly took notes, he didn't notice the sounds of footsteps or shifting foliage behind them, but he did notice the pain of a crossbow bolt suddenly sprouting from the back of his calf. With a cry of pain, he fell down onto his side.

"The fuck is that thing? Some mini Girallon? Whatever, we'll just kill it, and then the ooze."

With a cocky attitude, a man with a crossbow in his hand emerged from the bushes behind Beist and Percy, followed by four more individuals armed with their own various weapons.

Percy picks a twig up from the ground to pick at his teeth while Beist talks. Once more, he doesn't really get what the fuzzball is talking about, but it seems important to him so the shark is fine to let him go.

He sniffed at the air catching the acrid scent of bandits who hadn't bathed in awhile. Unfortunately, he couldn't find them before they fired at Beist. Percy's head whips around with a sneer as he grabs his mace off his hip.

"Yer gonna learn how bad ya fecked up by not shootin' me first." Percy steps towards the first guy, cracking his shoulder as he crashed into it with his mace. It was a crude weapon, but was insanely heavy, much heavier than any weapon should be.

The bandit cries out and drops his crossbow, unable to hold it with a shatered shoulder, "GET HIM YOU ASSHOLES STOP STANDING AROUND."

The other bandits shake from their brief moment of shock to charge forward at Percy. He does little to protect himself, the shark's focus seems to be on just dealing damage. There is no form or discipline to his fighting style, it is the feral intensity of a predator animal in the wild.

Beist looked at the crossbow bolt sticking out of his leg , checking how serious the wound was. It was painful, but luckily the bolt hadn't broken bone or kit a major artery. He should be able to heal it with one of his potions. He took a few breaths before yanking the bolt out and then chugging a red potion he took from the same pouch that he'd pulled his notebook from. The bleeding stopped as the wound knit itself closed. Strangely, the hole in his pant leg also knit itself closed.

He looked up at the group who had arrived and immediately started attacking. They might be monster hunters, not technically bandits or criminals, but their attitude didn't seem much different from them. Arrogant and violent. Honestly not too different from his present company, but at least the shark-like man hadn't shot him in the leg with a crossbow.

The now disarmed crossbowman backed up, away from the fight, but he was quickly replaced by others. Another monster hunter wearing heavier armor and holding a shield and sword stepped forward to defend him, holding his shield cautiously in front of him to defend from the raging, mace-wielding Percy. To the side, another monster hunter was readying a shot with another crossbow at Percy.

While most of the group focused their assault on the one they now saw as the biggest threat, one looked at Beist and noticed the empty bottle in his hand and the wound on his leg was gone. A health potion! The crossbowman moved tot he side, giving Percy a wide berth as he attempted to move toward the small primate creature that might have more potions. One that could heal his smashed arm and let him pick his crossbow back up.

---

Minor Health Potion
Bag of the Infinite
Morph Suit

Percy certainly takes his fair amount of hits as he fights off four bandits. The heavy armor crumples under each hit, but it is thick enough to protect the monster hunter. This fact coupled with the cuts and pierces he catches start to really piss him off.

It would be hard for Beist to see given his current focus and the crowd obscuring Percy, but the triton starts to change. His muscles dully thud underneath his skin for a moment as he lets out a heated breath before there is a sudden change and fearful gasps.

When the bandit tries to move past the group and get to the fuzzball, his face is suddenly caught in the grasp of a massive webbed hand. As his eyes struggle to look to the side and see what grabbed him, cockiness is replaced with abject fear.

A massive 8-foot tall bipedal shark stands among the group, the eyepatch having been ripped away as the shark head formed revealing a milky white and scarred eye. Were-Percy turns his head towards the bandit.

"Not another feckin step." The bandit then finds himself airborne, having been tossed into the nearest tree at a force that had to have immediately broke his back if not killed him outright.

"Which one of ya is next?" While Percy's tone was never gentle, there was an edge of hunger in his voice now. There was blood in the water and the shark had arrived for its meal.

Beist noticed the man approaching him and was prepared to return to his usual size to defend himself. He didn't want to, as it might scare the ooze away that was just beyond the bushes he was hiding behind. His normal form was massive, and its sudden appearance would almost certainly startle anyone, but before he had to resort to that, his expectant assailant was suddenly being gripped by the face in a large, webbed hand.

Beist looked at the new form of Percy with a mixture of surprise and worry. A Wereshark! He'd never met any werebeasts of an aquatic variety before. He'd be fascinated if he wasn't worried about not only his own safety, but the safety of the monster hunters attacking them. They might not be great people, killing innocent monsters, but that didn't mean he thought they deserved to die, or possibly worse, be infected with the curse of lycanthropy.

"This one's a damn monster too!" One of the hunters shouted, aiming a crossbow at Percy.

"Stop! Don't bite them or they'll turn into Weresharks too!" Beist called out.

The group looked even more worried after hearing that. They hunted monsters. They didn't want to become monsters! Not to kill some dumb ooze!

"This job ain't worth it! Fuck this!" One of the hunters shouted as he turned around and ran. The others must have agreed as they began to flee too. The only one who didn't flee was the hunter who had been reduced to a crumple heap at the base of a nearby tree thanks to Percy.

"They only turn if they survive." Percy growled out the words as he delivered a hard punch to the armored monster hunter. The small dents were now swallowed by the caved in metal as Percy sent the man flying backwards.

For all the feral animosity to his fighting, Percy never did move to bite anyone despite the internal bloodlust. He knew full well how this curse worked and contrary to what some might believe he wasn't interested in spreading it.

As the monster hunters take off, he picks up a dropped crossbow, "OI YE FERGOT THIS!" The crossbow is hucked and smacks into the guy's back toppling him over. There's a yelp of pain and panic as he scrambles back to his feet to keep running.

Percy grunts and pulls the bolt out of his shoulder as he heaves to catch his breath. Only one of them died...disappointing. He rolls his shoulders and then what little neck he has left in this form as the adrenaline floods out.

"Ye all fine Fuzzball? Sorry I missed that first prick with the bolt, didn't think they'd take aim at ye first." He picks Beist up and sets him on his feet. Percy was going to lose his mind if he ever found out how large Beist actually is.