Magnus looks up from reading the last few pages over Kessel's shoulder. He looks the Bard in the eyes.
"Well. THAT doesn't sound good." he says calmly.
"Personally, I'm all for leaving and burning the ship to the waterline. Except that we don't know that a dunk in the ocean will actually kill this 'Olive Slime'. The best bet is to exterminate it. Including the rats, according to our dear departed wizard."
Magnus looks at the others. He raises an eyebrow.
Vilya grudgingly accepts Izkrael's healing as she turns to Magnus."Ever been out in the jungle? Last time I was in the deep forest, a pack of zombies nearly ripped my leg clean off. This is nothing."
Magnus winces in sympathy at Vilya's description.
"Yes, I've ventured into the jungle before. There are some nasty surprises out there. Still. You seem to have recovered well!" he replies, raising an appreciative (not leering, but definitely appreciative) eyebrow at Vilya's shapely leg. He smiles.
Iz looks at the faces of Kessel and Magnus as they read the journal, and when he sees the interest on their faces, he asks
"Does it explain what has happened with the crew?"
"Ooooh yes. It does." Magnus replies, unnaturally serious.
"Seems that our good wizard discovered an island of Slimes. Which, in good paranoid-lest-others-discover-his-discovery-secret-keeping, he deliberately did not record the location. He found an underground ruins filled with 'Slime Men' which he dubbed 'Olive Slime'. While trying to catch one for study, he lost 9 crew members to them before deciding it was a bad idea." Magnus shakes his head.
"Unfortunately, at least one managed to sneak aboard the ship somehow before they left, he suspects via a rat, and began killing the crew, starting with his pet or familiar. The last entry he states that he intends to take his own life before he falls completely under the control of the 'Slime Mother'? Did I read that right?"
"Grab your things and lets get out of here," Kessel says, with a slight hint of panic in his voice, "The thing in the hold is turning things into slimes and absorbing them."
"Grab your things and lets get out of here," Kessel says, with a slight hint of panic in his voice, "The thing in the hold is turning things into slimes and absorbing them."
"Good idea. Zombies I can deal with. Slime... there's no skull to crush or back to stab. We should take my treasure and leave."
"Right!" Magnus agrees vehemently.
He snaps shut the journal, grabs it and the wax stamper with the matching motif, and all the scroll-looking things he can carry in his arms. He shoves the book and stamper in his vest, and the parchments into an empty bag he pulls from his belt.
He glances around the room in the glow of the spell-lit arrow.
"Anything else?" He asks, taking one last look around.
"Now, if I were a wizard, and owned my own ship, WHERE would I hide my spell book?" He mutters aloud.
"What were just going to cut and run?"
"I prefer to think of it as a 'strategic retreat'." Magnus says with a wounded air.
"Slimes aren't big on negotiations. And as Vilya observed, they are duecedly difficult to kill! Leaving now allows us to remain unaffected by this 'Olive Slime', and return later (if we choose to do so) properly prepared to deal with slimes and not pirates or mind-controlled slime-zombies!"
"Besides, If worse comes to worse, I know how to deal with 'Green Slime', it's this 'Olive Slime' that sounds decidedly difficult to put down."
"Hold. We can't risk this thing getting off of the ship. We need to see if either fire or water will harm the ooze, and if so, then burn the ship. If not, we need to find some other way to deal with this. But leaving it for others to find must not be an option." states Izkrael.
Magnus gives the dark elf a raised eyebrow, then a wry grin.
"Well,... I suppose we SHOULD test it for weaknesses. Now that we know what we're facing we can take extra precautions. It did manage to sneak aboard this vessel undetected. We don't want to risk bringing it with us back to the ship." Magnus unwillingly agrees with Izkrael.
"Last thing we need is to retreat and get sucker-punched by a slime while we're sleeping." He smirks.
"Huh. This thing sounds as if it might be at least semi-intelligent, Unlike normal slimes. Think maybe you can charm the thing Kessel?" Magnus asks hopefully.
"Hold. We can't risk this thing getting off of the ship. We need to see if either fire or water will harm the ooze, and if so, then burn the ship. If not, we need to find some other way to deal with this. But leaving it for others to find must not be an option." states Izkrael.
"And if we're killed in the attempt?" Kessel asks, "There may well be some way of killing it, and perhaps we have a chance, but if we don't report back to the ship the fate of the crew and what horrors lurk below then you might well set this thing loose on the world."
Magnus sighs.
"Does anyone have a carrier or message charm? All we need to do is get within a child's bowshot of the ship, and we can magically tell anyone on deck what we've found. All without risking our lives immediately, (any more than they are), and keeping this slime contained."
"No, Iz is right. We gotta take this thing out. Some slimes can survive on the ocean surface. No guarantee burning the boat will solve the issue. We need to take it out."
"Good question. Wish I knew the answer. Still, I think we gotta try."
Kessel lets out a small bone weary sigh.
"First off I think this thing is vulnerable or weakened by sunlight," Kessel says after a moment, "But that's likely of little use to us at night, second I think it likely that normal weapons will be ineffective, perhaps not useless, but certainly less effective. Spells and fire will likely be our best weapons."
Magnus nods, slowly at first, than a trifle more optimistically.
"Then we should exercise extreme caution this night, and press our advantage during daylight. FOrtunately the ship itself should provide us with adequate means to use fire against this Slime."
Egan continues to keep watch above decks, having no opinion one way or another about the stupid Slime.
Kessel lets out a small bone weary sigh.
"First off I think this thing is vulnerable or weakened by sunlight," Kessel says after a moment, "But that's likely of little use to us at night, second I think it likely that normal weapons will be ineffective, perhaps not useless, but certainly less effective. Spells and fire will likely be our best weapons."
"Well, we'll probably find out soon enough. Let's keep moving."
"This is still a bad idea."
"This is still a bad idea."
"Of course it is! That's what makes it fun! I would think that would make this right up your alley?" Magnus says with a grin.
"This is still a bad idea.""Of course it is! That's what makes it fun! I would think that would make this right up your alley?" Magnus says with a grin.
"No. I decide what's a good idea or not."
"No, you are the bad idea," San smirks. "You're free to head back to the main boat, if you want. Of course, that means the rest of us will keep all the shiny stuff ..."
"No, you are the bad idea," San smirks. "You're free to head back to the main boat, if you want. Of course, that means the rest of us will keep all the shiny stuff ..."
"I'll stick around, to keep everyone out of trouble. You'll thank me when you're not getting eaten by a giant slime mold."
"Lovely! Ladies first!" Magnus grins, indicating the door,...
"Lovely! Ladies first!" Magnus grins, indicating the door,...
"I take it you want to lead the way."
"Of course! I always lead when I dance!" Magnus grins, making as if to sweep Vilya up in a grand dancing motion,...
"I think I just saw something sarcastic fly over your head. Maybe you'd want to check it out."
"I'd rather check something else out. If your interested. Dinner in my cabin?" He winks.
"I think you left your tact back on the other ship. Maybe you should go back and get it while the rest of us deal with the slime."
"Perhaps I could fetch it for him," Kessel suggests with a slight roll of his eyes, "Then I could warn the captain about the possible impending doom."
Magnus waves dismissively.
"No, Thank you. I find that Tact is overrated in a life or death situation. Don't you? And 'Impending Doom' just adds spice, don't you think?" He grins.
Izkrael will head towards the last door on the deck. As he does, he says to the others, "we might as well finish checking everywhere above decks."
"Agreed. Then we can take the fight to it in the daylight! Hold on a moment, what is this?" Magnus steps to the side, towards where a pool of blood lays on the deck, with a single dagger lying in it. He kneels down carefully, and prods at the dagger with his sword, making certain there are no patches of 'slime' on it anywhere.
"Agreed. Then we can take the fight to it in the daylight! Hold on a moment, what is this?" Magnus steps to the side, towards where a pool of blood lays on the deck, with a single dagger lying in it. He kneels down carefully, and prods at the dagger with his sword, making certain there are no patches of 'slime' on it anywhere.
"Agreed. Then we can take the fight to it in the daylight! Hold on a moment, what is this?" Magnus steps to the side, towards where a pool of blood lays on the deck, with a single dagger lying in it. He kneels down carefully, and prods at the dagger with his sword, making certain there are no patches of 'slime' on it anywhere.
"Also agreed. I'm guessing we'll find a 'master' mold or slime somewhere here. I figure destroying that is all that will help us get the crewmen back in their right frame of mind."
:)
"We can certainly hope so master Sanvoros,..." Magnus says distractedly, peering at the lonely dagger in the blood,...
Magnus:
Magnus eyes widen in fear, he opens his mouth to scream, but no sound comes out,...
Magnus: