Ichorius (or just "Ike", as he prefers) is not like most other oozes. In fact, Ike is a very special ooze.
For one thing, he's sentient.
The result of an alchemist constructing a bottled ooze in Southern Brevoy, something in Ike's creation went either very wrong, or very right. He isn't sure what, but whatever it was, Ike came into creation very much aware of the world around him. Ike spent a good three years stuck in his bottle, but from his perch on the alchemist's shelf, he could see and hear everything. He watched the alchemist fret about with his creations below, talking to himself and slowly, unintentionally, teaching Ike how to speak. He observed and memorized the chemicals the alchemist mixed into his cauldrons, learning which ones healed and which ones hurt. He studied the human's face and movements, trying in vain to mimic the gestures from within his bottle, but committing them to memory. And he watched helplessly when a group of thugs broke into the alchemist's shop and wrecked the place, killing his creator, but knocking him off the shelf and shattering his bottle.
Freed and without a master, Ike slithered out of the shop and towards the edges of the village, making for the tree line. Unsure of what to do, Ike spent several weeks trying to morph himself into a passable human form. With diligence and hours of practice, Ike learned that he could mimic other humans, and hoped that with this form, he could integrate back into the village and find a place he belonged in!
After a few more weeks, a new face arrived in the village, a stranger with no history, no friends, and no home, but taking on the name Ichorius Melfesh, a name Ike thought belonged to his master, but as it turned out, he had misheard. Ike was welcomed into the village and given the opportunity to work at the alchemist shop his old master used to own. Using the knowledge he'd gleaned from watching his former master work, Ike managed to integrate into the village and keep up his ruse for almost three years. He largely had to keep to himself, as his transformations put a severe amount of stress on his figure, but he managed to maintain his illusion, and he began to crave the social interactions he got from the villagers.
Sadly, he could not keep up his guise forever. During a summer festival, Ike overexerted himself and during a dance, his form gave way and he collapsed into the pile of gelatinous goo that he truly was. Laughs and shouts of fun gave way to fright and screams of terror as the villagers panicked, seeing Ike for what he truly was. Realizing that his gig was up, Ike slithered away into the alchemist shop that he'd come to call home, collecting a mess of items into his gooey form before slinking away into the night, fleeing for his life.
Ike was heartbroken at the loss of his old life, trying desperately to rekindle what he had with other towns. But inevitably, his cover would be blown and he had to flee to start anew. Ike craved the sense of belonging he once had in his home village, and at his wits end, he felt depressed. He had nowhere to go, no home to call his own, nobody to talk to, and seemingly no future. But just as his luck seemed to run out, he learned of something startling: as he was lazily browsing a shop for alchemical regents, he came across a book in his master's handwriting. One of his formula books had somehow landed in the shop and in his hands. Although some of the pages were missing... somebody had torn out pages before it was sold. After some questioning, Ike learned that whoever had sold the book had taken the gold and headed on to a newly established town called Varnhold. And what was more, they matched a description of one of the thugs who had killed his creator: a grizzled man with a missing eye.
Ike set out to find the man who had taken his master's work. He wasn't sure what he was going to find; he truthfully wasn't even sure what he was looking for. If he couldn't have a home to call his own, he just wanted answers. Who killed his creator, and why? What were they doing with his notebook? What was in the missing pages? Was he an accident... or was his sentience intentional? Ike hoped that somehow, Varnhold held the answers. However, in search of his quarry, Ike learned of something that left him with more questions: Varnhold had gone silent. Why? Did it have something to do with the one-eyed man? What happened?
Not wanting to take chances, Ike stopped off in Greenwatch, hoping there might be some others headed out to Varnhold. Posing as a mercenary looking for work, Ike hopes to travel out to Varnhold and get his answers... and perhaps, just maybe, find a place he can finally call home in the process.
