The huge golem stopped at the shipwreck.
“Come on, Slade! You can do it!”
The gnoll and beholder army found Violet squeezing the cheeks of a small human boy.
Even if the creatures didn’t know much about human aesthetics, they understood that the specimen must have been the most hideous boy in the world. His head was bald and his face wore a stupid smile :3. It was their lord without the shadow of a doubt.
Griscent, the Evil Eye, led her army to check and secure both the inside and outside of the ships. Then, she approached to rescue her lord from Violet’s crutches.
“A better face won’t pop up, even if you tear his ugly one,” Griscent said as she looked at her lord with intense curiosity. “So, you finally acquired a human form? Good for you, master.”
She had known Violet’s eagerness for the slime to acquire human form, but Slade’s mastery of shapeshifting appeared to be lacking.
“Griscent, what should I do about my face?” Slade whined.
As a response, the Evil Eye picked up mud from the ground and drew eyebrows on his face.
…
The transportation of the goods happened in several rounds, but the wounded patients and Tower’s hostages arrived at Holloweye first.
The worrying discussion about the aftermath of this conflict would wait for the next day, after the pirates had recovered enough to hold a meeting.
…
The mermaid blinked in confusion as she awakened to an unfamiliar room. The spacious medical ward contained several other beds. It exuded a sense of luxury from its decorated walls and well-furnished exposition of white wares, which contrasted with the cheapness of the hastily built beds and poor lighting. Moreover, large tentacles covered with eyes pierced through the walls and floors.
The only light sources available were bioluminescent mushrooms. And the mermaid found it strangely familiar and comforting because the abyss was the same.
Her body felt sore, but the cuts and bruises from the previous battle had vanished. She left the bed to thank her host, and she quickly found him in proximity.
“Slept well?”
She recognized the voice of their helper, a strange amorphous blob. This time, he wasn't wrapped around a harpy pawn, but an oceanid one instead. She assumed that the captain approved the slime and granted it the authority over the pawns. It was reassuring to have an ally in these foreign lands.
"Let me introduce myself. I am Slade the slime, ruler of his budding dungeon village, Holloweye."
"Oh, hum. I am Elianad, a merfolk, just an oceanid from a Cove town. Thank you for saving my life." She bowed shily, flustered to learn that Slade was the local lord of a blessed town.
’Oh no! How do I look? Do I smell? I just woke up, but I hope that he doesn’t mind my look!’ She freaked over ruining her good first impression with the high status slime.
Slade paused for a while and nodded. "You're most welcome. I already received payment, and you may rest in my territory until you fully recover."
Contrary to his dignified outward behavior, his inner mind acted very differently. ’Pleasure’s mine, really.’
Elianad realized that a red pipe connected the slime to the arm of another mermaid. She recognized her close friend and approached with worry. But to her absolute horror, her crying friend didn’t breathe. “Is she alright? What happened?”
Slade froze as he pondered about how to convey the situation. In the end, he chose brevity.
“She got her throat pierced by a sword. Although her heart still beats, she can’t breathe, nor eat, nor fulfill her… private needs on her own.” Slade pointed out the blood transfusions that fed and oxygenated the patient.
Elianad felt as though he poured an ice bucket over her head. Just the day before, her proud friend was still so lively and the idea that she would never see her friend like this again made her aghast.
She covered her mouth in shock and noticed her friend’s lips twitching, trying to mouth a call for help. She hugged her friend to calm her unnoticed fit of anxiety. “Is there a way to heal her? Please don’t abandon her.”
Once again, Slade fell silent.
Obviously, if the slime lord could heal her friend, he would already have done so. Thus, she dreaded his response.
