Chapter 19: Chapter Nineteen: You Better Hope You Weren’t Reincarnated as a Slime

Armed with a bag full of quicklime, Jess clomped heavily over the grass towards her first unsuspecting victim. The slime ignored her and continued to hulk and ooze in the direction that it had previously been travelling in. Now up close, Jess still couldn’t understand how the slimes were moving at all. There seemed to be no internal structures throughout their mass, apart from the human bones that floated unsupported. This particular slime boasted the bones from a hand and also an attached radius bone. Or is that one the ulna? It was always difficult remembering which bone was which. The movements of the slime gave the illusion that the hand was waving. She repressed the urge to wave back. This seemed especially important given her audience at the top of the hill behind her. She wasn’t yet sure of Mike’s tolerance for the macabre and Nevin didn’t need any further evidence of her eccentricities to add to his collection.

Farmer Hewitt had opted not to join them this afternoon but had promised that he would check in with them on the following day provided they survived the slimes. This was something that Jess genuinely worried about, despite her confident exterior. She had taken the time to return to the site and watch the slimes from a safe distance in detail. The adventurers were able to approach the slimes without causing them to become aggressive. However, the moment that the adventurers began to attack then the slime not only defended themselves but also appeared to aid one another. They swarmed any attacking threat from all angles, giving no room for escape. The results of this that been surprisingly… visceral.

Jess banished the memory from her mind and set about concentrating on her current task. The slime seemed to pull themselves forward as though supported by muscles or other fibres despite none being visible. Jess considered briefly about whether it was due to the refractive index of its internal chemistry in a similar way that allows pyrex glass to disappear when placed in a mixture of water and corn syrup or orbees to appear invisible in water. Perhaps, more simply, there was no real reason at all for the odd biological appearance of the slime. Best not to worry about magic or game mechanics, she thought, though her insides still itched, unhappy about being left in the dark on the matter.

Jess maintained a safe distance so that the slime wouldn’t touch her and untied the top of the bag. It took her a little longer due to the heavy leather gloves that she wore, though the thick material and rough hide ties would have caused trouble even on a good day. Better safe than sorry.

“Sorry old chap,” Jess apologised to the slime before holding onto the neck of the bag and hefting the other end up suddenly. The action caused her to dump a large quantity of the powder upon the slime. She jumped back hastily so that she was at a safe distance and watched to judge whether she had applied enough powder upon the slime whilst eyeing up the surrounding slimes nervously. She’d chosen one on the outer edge of the group so that she had a better chance of fleeing the scene if the other slimes turned to attack and protect their brethren.

Jess grinned behind her leather mask as the slime hissed and fizzed before her but without angering the others. Perhaps the reaction didn’t count as an attack from her? Afterall, she hadn’t stuck a weapon in it or used any magic. The reaction worked faster than she had expected, and she was glad that she’s made sure to borrow the thick protective leathers from the blacksmith.

“Mind ye don’t get too close to them,” called Mike from his safe vantage point. Jess gave an awkward thumbs up gesture, struggling in the thick gloves, before stepping around it to see whether she should tip more of the powder on the steadily reducing slime mound. Better play this safe, she decided, I’d rather not end up in a medieval hospital with some quack trying to paste me with ground chicken bones and Heaven knows what else…

“Is it dead?” asked Nevin. His face was a mixture of awe and disgust.

“I think so,” called back Jess as she stepped back from the mound of baked sod and wet powder. She knew that the reaction was going to be exothermic, but it still had surprised her by generating more heat than she had expected. The area was still hissing, and super-heated steam was rising thickly into the air.

She waved her hand in front of her, dissipating some of the steam that was beginning to surround her and stepped further away from the area. It was impressive how little of the powder had been needed. The slaked lime on the ground should be inert and the acid within the slime should also be effectively neutralised. A job well done, she thought with satisfaction.

She continued in this fashion until a further three slimes had been neutralised. She had expected some resistance but even when their brethren nearby were being coldly (or hotly, in this case) assassinated, they seemed to carry on minding their own business. It seemed completely at odds when compared to their behaviour when adventurers were around. Perhaps it’s something about their behaviour that gets the slimes riled up, she pondered as she unceremoniously scattered more powder over her most recent victim. They didn’t appear to have any eyes, so visualising the threat of weapons seemed to be off the table. Plus, the magic user in ridiculous red robes that had been overwhelmed hadn’t drawn his weapon until after the slimes had begun to swarm.

Maybe it’s something about the gear that they wear. Nevin had excitedly explained that adventurers wore magical items that make them stronger than regular townsfolk. Maybe an aura of some kind? Like snakes sensing vibrations in the ground? She briefly considered her mood ring that had been sold but dismissed it. She knew that the ring couldn’t actually be considered magic. Could it?

Noise from the hill caught her attention and she stepped back from the seething ground so that she could remove the protective mask and hood she wore.

“What?” she hollered in the direction of her companions.

“What are ye going to do about the rest of them?” shouted Mike in return. His arms were crossed now, and Jess couldn’t tell whether he was as impressed as Nevin or whether he was still dubious of her plan.

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“Hold on!” Jess shouted back before bending to tie up the end of the bag to protect the precious powder from moisture. She wanted to wipe the sweat from her brow, but she wasn’t sure if any of the caustic powder remained on the outside of her garments. Instead, she decided that she could tolerate the unpleasant moisture and stomped up the hill in her heavy boots. Despite tripping and falling on the grass a few times on her way up, she was in high spirits and a wide grin plastered her face.

Mike’s nostrils quivered and his ears were held back. “Ye look like yer enjoying yerself,” he commented dryly.

Jess stripped off her gloves and let them drop to the ground. “I thought you’d approve of me cleaning up these things?”

That earned her a snort and a tail swish.

“How are you going to keep up with them all?” asked Nevin as he eyed up the multiple slimes that still oozed lazily around the lake.

“It’ll be a hard slog,” she admitted, “But the plan is to dig a decent ditch around the area. The slimes should fall into the ditch and then we can just neutralise them each morning before the lessons start.”

“Can’t you just leave a line of your magic powder around like a barrier?” asked Nevin, confused.

“Ye don’t buy magic powder from a blacksmith,” Mike snorted.

“No, it’s not magic. But it’s a fair point, Nevin,” Jess conceded, “the only problem is that contact with any water will start the reaction and waste the quicklime. I’d rather not evacuate the school every time there’s a few spots of rain.”

“Oh…” said Nevin, dejectedly. His attention wandered and Jess noticed that he was staring at the steaming pile of former slime further down the hill.

“Do you want a go?” asked Jess with a cheeky smirk.

Nevin’s eyes went wide before a wide grin lit up his face. “Can I?”

Jess shrugged. “I can’t think of a reason why not.” The health and safety brigade can go hang themselves. It’s not as though they can chase me down here.

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