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You are Slimy Sadie! It has been a couple of days since last you were, a dreadful endeavor at a prominent lake town of the region, wherein some slime portions of yourself broke free more or less and caused havoc. Well, so much for the job you were supposed to be doing there. But the good news is that along the way back to the magic academy you call home, is a haunted manor in the highlands where another possible job lead awaits.

So with your traveling companions, Carter your human heartthrob, Nyxa your drow former rival, Sophie your half-troll classmate, and Sadie 2 your identical slime clone, you have come to a small collection of outlying houses on the outskirts of the manor. Possibly to get information, but mainly to get any supplies you may want before venturing into the haunted grounds.

>How do you proceed?

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>>2453775
A continuation from the previous threads, everything you need to know? Some people got slimed! And here is a pastebin with all the information relevant to yourself, Slimy Sadie, and your improvements to yourself overtime;

https://pastebin.com/cSCXgXBT

>>2453775
Gather info about rumors and legends of the manor. As for resources, probably wouldnt hurt to get evil repelling items in case of facing hostile ghosts

>>2453816
Make a roll, a d100, to see if you can gather both information and goods which may help against possible evils!

Also, I assume you'll ask one of your companions do this, not your slimy self? Which, has a tendency to frighten people of course.

Rolled 17 (1d100)

>>2453816

Rolled 18 (1d100)

>>2453830

>>2454043
>>2453960
>18

Oh dear. Well, it seems without and effort to make sure otherwise, in your attempts to interact with people, you merely scare them away. Either as they flee from your or lock themselves inside their homes. You can't tell whether it's because you want to talk about the haunted place or if it's because you're made of slime, but maybe it's both.

A similar lack of success as well, comes when you try to gather some goods perhaps as well. Holy in nature, to bring with you? Well, little success. The best you can get is one flask of holy water for an overcharge of gold, mostly given to get you to leave them alone and go away. After that, well, the few homesteads and one little chapel are shuttered to you.

At least you tried though. It seems there's little now to hold the lot of you back, from heading out to the haunted estate grounds, a little further up the highlands (and barely visible through the misty morning)?

>>2454096
Welp lets get to the mansion, and be careful of the dew and mist, don't want to absorb too much water and melt.

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>>2454529
With little else to keep you here when things of interest await further upland, together you travel the rest of the way with your companions towards the estate. Up here in the highlands, at least today things are a lot wetter in terms of climate and occasional rainfall. However it's not nearly at a rate which would be harmful to you, you'd need a torrential downpour for that.

In any case, within an hour you sight the crumbling and overgrown walls marking the outer grounds of the estate. The nearer you get, the more things look withered, the grass and the trees. The manor itself isn't much farther beyond the walls, but through collapsed portions and the barely-hanging on front gate, you can see the place is quite unkempt with dead plants and such tangling the way. You discuss among yourselves how to proceed, with varying ideas like simply rushing for the house itself, to taking a cautious approach and making sure there's a cleared path to and from.

>How do you proceed?

>>2454663
>commit suicide

>>2454663
Look around the house, see if there's any sheds or stables nearby, or perhaps a basement entrance.

>>2454663
Can we get a refresher on what we know about the place? Is it abandoned or just unoccupied? Should we be speaking to its owner before we trespass?

>>2454694
>>2454736
Make a roll! For suicide or searching. You never know what you may find.

>>2454754
You know very little, particularly given the nearby residents refused to see or talk to you much at all. However you at least learned before leaving the academy that the house should be abandoned. After all, few if anyone would want to live in a place which is haunted. Whatever the case, some tragedy marred the estate and last anyone heard it's left well alone. Which is convenient for you whom is here looking for a particular occult book, or so you were told that it is here.

Rolled 22 (1d100)

>>2454760
I feel the grave calling

Rolled 10 (1d100)

>>2454760
Searching...

Rolled 8 (1d100)

>>2454760
Gonna look around.

Rolled 41 (1d100)

>>2454760
Oh shit, slime time is back up. And I was too busy napping to notice.
Catching up now.

>>2454760
Okay, let's make sure the house grounds are safe, then get ready to go in. Check for pitfalls, bear traps, jagged glass from previous breakins, open graves, sub-basements, all the classic ghost things.

We can't be sure on the range of whatever ghosts live here, so we want to see when they start getting pissed off.

Anyway, now that the thread's up, what do you guys think are some important things to deal with coming up?

I would really like to get the final rank of self image, and get some extra levels in sense. Further along that becoming human road.
Also, learning to feel stuff means we can rifle pockets super fast with tidal motion.

well, guess I'm late to the party. Back to monitoring.

>>2454663
Look around to see if this house has a caretaker.

>>2455014
Oh, that's actually quite smart. I mean, the walls are a bit overgrown, but it's not like it's got waist high grass yet.

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>>2454772
>>2454778
>>2454806
>>2454911
>41

The gloomy and distressing nature of this place tempts you to end it all! What's the point of living, if you're made of slime? Things will never be the same, will never be as good as they were! Better now just to kill yourself and spare the misery.

Close you come to snuffing it, but Carter's presence reassures you that there's at least something to live for. Feeling better, you enter through the hanging old gate with your companions and start searching around. Unfortunately despite your best efforts you are unable to locate any secret ways in or points of access. You do find a back door around the rear of the dingy old manor, but that would just bring it down to a choice between which door to enter by. Some of the windows are also smashed and on the upper floors parts of the roof look caved in. But those would require some finesse to get in by, not as easy as just walking up to one of the main doors and letting yourself in.

You also tried to keep an eye out for any other buildings around the grounds like a stable or keeper's house, but it's far too dark and misty to make anything out clearly... even approaching midday as it is. Surely the oppressive gloom of this place is playing on your senses. In any case, Carter finds a tree to reign his horse, while Nyxa is trying to use magic to peer into the house better but no success.

"Something is... blocking me? No, obscuring is a better word. I don't think it's any'one' just this place."

And of course Sophie whom appears on edge, scared even. A little funny to you since she's the biggest and toughest there; if say, a zombie hoard came spewing out of the house to get all of you, she'd have the least to fear you think. Well, apart from you and Sadie 2 who, being made of slime can't really be harmed conventionally.

>How do you proceed?

Go in the back door then. It's hard to hide from ghosts but if there's something else here that'll make it slightly less likely to run into us.

>>2455027
Can we fit under any of the doors to unlock them and scout around?
I say check under, then go in.
Keep the team together, because sophie is 100% right, ghosts are scary.

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>>2455031
>>2455030
You can attempt to use your slime abilities to fit under the door, but find that it's just open anyway. With grasp of the handle and a long creaking groan, the door is opened allowing for the lot of you to enter. Sophie has a hard time getting in and moving about because of her size but otherwise everyone can manage.

"Hmm, the kitchen? Probably by the door so they could get to the cellar or something easily."

Indeed you find yourselves inside what looks to be an old rundown kitchen for the manor. It's so dilapidated though that there isn't even rotting food or anything left. Just old busted furniture, half-collapsed cabinets with barely hanging doors, and a vast array of some dusty substance on... well, everything, that stirs up as you all move and makes the others cough terribly.

It must be some time since anyone's even come into this place let alone lived here. You consider searching through the room, while Carter and Nyxa look through the different doorways in and out of this place. Apart from the door to the outside which you all just entered, of course.

"Some hallway here, can see some other doors down a bit." Carter calls back.

"Oh look here's the dining room!" Nyxa whispers, excited by the sight of what may have been a ruined dinner affair, with a partially broken table visible even past her through the doorway, and what looks like some moldy old table covering hanging and ripped across the floor.

>How do you proceed?

>>2455040
Let's investigate what happened to the dining room, nyxa seems excited and it presents a mystery. Was the table broken in a conflict, or just through time?

I figure finding clues as to what happened here might lead us straight to the book. And, if it doesn't, we'll still get a good tour of the place for books. Right?

>>2455045
+1

>>2455045
This

>>2455048
>>2455071
We might just wind up solving a completely unrelated mystery, though.
Also, keep the gang together. It's not yet time to split up and look for clues.
Well, unless they want to split up in the area of one room at a time.

>>2455045
Yeah Nyxa was a huge help in town, let's indulge her.

>>2455045
>>2455048
>>2455071
At Nyxa's point of interest, you all filter in to the dining room after her to further investigate. Well, it may have been a dinner affair at one time, but the food at least is long gone. Just a scattering of grimy old plates around the table, only broken ones left behind and not looted by now. By the look of how the table itself was smashed in at one side, along with the covering it looks like they all just slid off to the floor. There's some... well they would have been fancy chairs but now they're either broken from whatever happened or rotten with age. Just one of the two host chairs which would have been at either end, has a large tear through the back cushion while the partner chair is missing. It looks like some sort of struggle may have taken place, but it's been so long. This would have been years ago, and apart from being abandoned this place has likely been ransacked and looted several times over.

"Ha, looks like someone got run through while at dinner! Maybe giving a toast!"

Nyxa is enjoying herself immesely and seems to find eerie things entertaining or at least intriguing. The rest of you though are on guard; not that there's anything so far to cause particular alarm, but the rumors of this place and haunted locales in general are best handled with care.

In any case you may have your suspicions but this is all that meets your eyes at a cursory glance. If you have an idea in mind of how to proceed though, or want maybe to try and search more closely or even piece together your own impression of what happened, you can roll and put forward the idea for what you have in mind. Otherwise you can keep on. There's two doors into and out of this place, with one back to the kitchen and the other hanging off the hinges, with some sort of sitting room visible through?

>How do you proceed?

And we'll see what happens and how you make it through next, when we resume later. Thanks all for playing, was a bit of a late start, and a slow one too but will be continuing at an earlier and more normal time later today (depending on where in the world you are).

Rolled 90 (1d100)

>>2455090
Hm. Too early on to come to a comprehensive answer. Though, the table looks like it actually did get smashed during the incident.
Can we try to determine which chairs were broken by the incident, and which were rotten? Learn to tell the difference between rot and break? We can get an idea of how many people might have died here.

>>2455093
Sorry it was slow, I laid down to take a nap, and did not wake up again for way too long.

>>2455093
See if this place has a library/reading room.

>>2455098
oh yeah, that's super important.
A sitting room is an awful lot like a reading room. Maybe start there?

>>2455090
Considering Nyxa seems to really be into occultism, ask her if she can feel some otherworldly presence.

>>2455107
Maybe she should be taking notes.
If this is a scholastic interest of hers, she could get some first hand research done right here and right now.
I mean, we'd be taking notes about slime shit if we could. Fucking goop hands.

>>2454956
>I would really like to get the final rank of self image, and get some extra levels in sense. Further along that becoming human road.
Get 1 rank in Self Image, Color (skintone) and Opacity.

>Looks like a human with pink hair except on close inspection
>Opacity has great synergy with Tidal Motion, letting us conceal what objects we're carrying
>If we later want to gain the ability to transform into other people or objects, we'll need ranks in Color to make it convincing
>We get to wear shoes. SHOOOOES.

>>2455459
Can we change color as we like?
Also, shoes are damn tempting.

Imma try to squeeze in a quick couple hours of sleep. If things start while I'm not here, good luck scooby dooing guys.

>>2456613
Ok going to be resuming in a bit.

>>2457080
sweet, I timed things decently.

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>>2455094
>90

A closer inspection of the place and you can tell for sure the difference between what damage was caused and what damage happened overtime. Mainly from the splintering, and very old bloodstains on what textiles remain. To your guess, it looks like one person was killed or at least run through while sitting in the ripped chair, and then someone else was killed at the end of the table in a manner which ended up breaking it. Some other scenes of damage around but nothing indicating other dead folks.

The next you figure, is to set about looking for that book, yes? Probably in some library, or study? The next room is a sitting room or smoking parlor or something so why not look there. So you shlorp and glorp over, after Carter while the others stay behind.

"Nice fireplace. I bet it would have been really nice in here... when it was still inhabited."

Indeed there is a big fireplace, probably would have been fancily adorned but any decorations have long been stripped. A similar scene as the other rooms so far, broken down furniture, ripped up rugs and drapes, collapsing portions of walls and ceilings. Unlike the dining room though it doesn't look like some struggle or killing occurred in here. Again, you can try to better search this room or continue on, from here you're able to see a door which leads out to that hallway Carter first found.

>>2455107
You call back to ask Nyxa if she can... sense anything? Though as intrigued as she is, it's not like she's some witchy occultist. This is more of personal interest to her rather than academic. She can try though but she's not a diviner so she can only glimpse the present and see past some walls and the like. As before though, she has difficulty.

"I can't see the floor below this one, or some area on the floor above. The one below, probably because the stone foundations? Above though, I have no idea why. At least from... what I can see... of what I can see... a lot of the same as in the dining room here... wait, what's that room called-" she seems to notice something but struggles for the right words, "-what do you humans call the room in the house with big windows and plants?"

At about the same time, Sophie finally enters into the sitting room you're in, struggling to get through the doorway and dragging one of the dining chairs with her.

"Damage to this chair is being done by magic. Or, magic weapon."

The ripped chair, and probably the table then, being broken by the same thing.

>How do you proceed?

>>2457264
Okay, so two people died here during some kind of dining room conflict. The sitting room seems... mostly clear of violence, so I'm not going to consider it of extreme importance right now. No books around here either, it sounds like.

Give this room a last sweep for books or violence and, failing to find that, head out to that hallways that carter found.

Let's check the rooms on the hall and hope we find a stairwell. After all, it seems the ghost bullshit is concentrated above us. Or might be.

>>2457264
That's called a Greenhouse, Nyxa. We'll pass by there later in case the previous occupants might have grown some alchemical components. For right now, though, let's look for the study. There might be some sort of clue as to what happened here... a-as well as where the tome is located, of course!

>>2457295
Oh, did we find an explicit study yet? I thought we found a kitchen, a dining room, and a sitting room.

>>2457292
>>2457295
>>2457307

"That's called a Greenhouse, Nyxa."

"What? This isn't a green house, it's a white house! Or what's left of the outside paint anyway."

You can exit the sitting room to the hallway, which actually opens up into the main hall of the manor, with the front door there and what remains of a grand staircase leading up. Further down the hallway though in the direction of the kitchen are two other doors, one which Carter checking finds to lead down.

"Servant's quarters, I think."

The other door appears to be some sort of storage room under the stairs, though quite big itself.

So you can check the other half of the ground floor here, head up, or down. Or out, just call it quits and head home!

>>2457307
I only just got here and skimmed the updates, so I don't quite know for a fact if we did.

>>2457343
Look around the servants quarters, there might either be loot or journal entries.

>>2457343
We've not been spooked YET. Everyone's still here, right? Headcount?
>>2457352
Sure, let's check the servant quarters, see if any of them died. After that, I'd like to go upstairs and check the unscannable zone. maybe there's a library up there.

Save the basement for later, that shit's going to be horrible.

>>2457347
oh, that's fine.
We're still in the early stages of investigation. Right now, I'm trying to get a bead on exactly how many dead people worth of ghost we're going to be dealing with.

you know, I'm actually kind of surprised ghosts haven't gotten upset at us yet. They're working the long spook here.

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>>2457390
>>2457361
>>2457352
>>2457347
You might as well go ahead and check the servant's quarters, maybe there's some more clues as to what happened. Particularly since it's at least where folks lived so maybe they left things behind.

As you shlorp down the stairs with Carter though, a few steps down and he recoils in disgust.

"Ugh, do you smell that? It's rancid."

Your slimy smell is not as good as a human's, but a little farther down and indeed you can smell something awful. Continuing the rest of the way down the steps, you don't have much a chance to make it further because of the sight to match the smell.

"...we should go. Now."

A number of bodies, different races, different ages. And different states of decay, scattered about the room as though they'd been dragged down here and dumped with abandon. The smell of rot is heavy in the air, and the din of flies and other nasties in unmistakable.

>>2457610
Wait so there's some recent bodies here? How were they killed?

I'm starting to think this occult book was about sacrificing people to summon evil demons or something.

We need to group up right away!

>>2457610
oh, this isn't normal ghost behavior. It's acting like some kind of centralized hunting undead, bringing prey back to its den. Well, this is horrifying. Let's institute a policy of checking all corners of a room when we enter, including the ones above us, in case there's a fucking wendigo on the ceiling right goddamn now.

Assuming there is no ghoul, wendigo, or other horrible thing in the room with us, give a scan around the room for any bookshelves and other entrances to the room. Since there almost certainly aren't any bookshelves in the servants quarters, get everyone out of there immediately after and shut the door.

After that, maybe upstairs. I mean, worst case scenario, we burn this place to the ground and jump out a window. R-right guys?

>>2457640
Oh yeah, this could be some cult shit too.
If we spend any time in this room at all, it would be good to look for runes. Cults love runes.

Also, if it is some sort of cult or serial killer we should consider eating the bodies just to get an advantage in a fight. Even if she doesn't get any new abilities, Sadie's most effective in combat when she's huge.

I'd be happiest if we could opt to leave the bones behind for burial but I don't think Sadie can be that selective. It'd be be less nauseating than trying to haul and bury rotten corpses at least.

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>>2457610
CONSUME

>>2457685
>>2457697
It's a fair thought, but that's gross as hell and also I don't feel safe sitting here eating stuff for hours. Save it for later, if ever, I say.

>>2457610
Well, shit.

See how many bodies there are and how they died, then grab a couple of bodies and level up to about five per Sadie, but make sure to leave those bones. Have your friends hide nearby in case of surprise necromancer. AND SEARCH THOSE BODIES FOR CLUES!

Well, it looks like I'm outvoted about eating things we find in a spookhouse.
Macabre ass shag and scoob play right here.

>>2457640
Yes, recent bodies. You can roll to see how they were killed if you like though.

>>2457641
To your eyes, having come down the stairs to the servants quarters, all you can see is this large communal room which was probably their dining quarters. From this room you can see several other doors, which were probably bedrooms, storage, a bathroom, things like that. At least that's your guess, based on the servant quarters of your own family's estate, back home.

>>2457705
>>2457685
Wait so do you want to try eating them or not? From what you can see there's about... twelve bodies? There could be more but there are some which are so decayed, or skeletons, that you can't tell where they begin or end. But twelve for sure, though only about two could be considered "fresh" as to have been killed within a few days or a week. The others, are gross and rotted to varying degrees.

You can of course try eating all of them though if you like, or keep to certain ones. Your call.

>>2457729
Okay, good. We can use this to help fill in our mental map.
And it tells us that we're looking at at least a 14 person ghost incident, if not worse.

I'd rather bail on the bodies and keep investigating elsewhere for the book, because I am spooked and grossed out, but I am outvoted.

>>2457729
>>2457742
Well, you've made a good point regarding how we could be ambushed if we just sat around eating bodies. Let's search for the book for now, then eat the bodies if something comes at us.

>>2457765
the spook spreads!

Strangely, I'd feel a lot more safe with all this if I actually knew what it was we were dealing with. So far, I've just got guesswork.

Rolled 4 (1d100)

>>2457729
OK forensic slime roll.

Leave the bodies for now. Unless we can uncompress and stash of the fresh ones in our lower slime mass without impeding our movement too much? Picking up Toxic could be a life saver if we run into an enemy that's flesh and blood (and it takes more than 20 minutes to find them).

>>2457814
You could ask Sadie 2 stay to eat the bodies, or take control and make her.

Rolled 88 (1d100)

>>2457814
What are we slime forensicsing?
Are we looking for runes? Or just checking this room out for any further clues other than the horrible, horrible bodies like a proper detective?
Here is my assist roll.
>>2457729

Rolled 52 (1d100)

>>2457825
Sadie 2 as our cavalry? I like it!

Assuming direct control.

Rolled 54 (1d100)

>>2457814
...I guess we can roll for forensics? Maybe ask Nyxa and Sophie if they think magic might have killed these people, and if we're dealing with some sort of necromancer.

>>2457729
Rolling for forensics!

>>2457825
We could, but that would be splitting up in the haunted house.

>>2457830
Cause of death.

Rolled 22 (1d100)

>>2457825
Sadie 2 control roll.

>>2457845
Cause of death is something I'd really like to know, yeah.

>>2457825
But if we do that she'll eat us.

>>2457866
I thought we buried that hatchet already?
We want two sadies to adventure, and if one eats another, they'll never trust each other again. And it'll make carlton sad. And it's weird to kill yourself.

>>2457866
That's always a risk, but then again nothing stopping you from duplicating as many copies of yourself as you want. Could have hundreds if you like, it's all down to if you trust yourself. And if you treat yourself well, shouldn't have any reason to doubt.

>>2457880
and by that I mean carter. Sorry, I was talking to a guy about carlton a minute ago.

>>2457866
We made a promise not to eat each other, lest we make Carter hate himself for not protecting both Sadies.

>>2457834
>>2457851
>52

Looks like JCK gets Sadie 2 control assuming no better rolls.

>>2457840
>>2457830
>>2457814
>88

Without getting to down and dirty among the bodies and grossing yourself and everyone out, you try to see and learn what you can from them. Pretty much only the fresh ones you can discern anything from. Surprisingly though it doesn't look like they were killed magically or done in by some ghostly power. No, looks like they were just sliced up and stabbed to death. It's both a little alarming but at the same time a little sobering, to find that the threat may be more mundane, not like some undead monster stealing people's souls or blasting them with curses.

In any case it's up to you if you want to ask Sadie 2 to handle the rest but you can head upstairs to get away from all that gross mess with Carter and gather the others all to the stairs. Do you want to go up then or try what remains of the ground floor?

>>2458028
Sadie 2, stay here for viscera cleanup duty. Everyone else gather by the stairs to head up! Upstairs was the weird bit so we should probably check it out.

>>2458028
I disapprove of splitting up with sadie 2, but I'm not going to really roll on it or anything.
I still say we should investigate the upstairs, yeah. That's a good place for a library.

Also, was this servant quarters the basement, or is the basement even lower and more fucked up?

>>2458028
Time to look upstairs...

Sadie 2, if you hear screaming, come up to back us up.

>>2458044
How much are you trying to eat then of what's down here?

>>2458083
The servant quarters is basically the basement.

>>2458182
Okay, so at least there's no horrible sub-basement.

>>2458182
Eat one of the fresh ones first, then eat as many as possible. Can Sadie 2 digest multiple in parallel or not?

>>2458182
Freshest first on down, but leave the bones for burial.

>>2458221
Oh and yeah no bone eating if Sadie 2 can be selective about that.

>>2458028
Can we ask what normally stops magical sight? I'm still trying to winnow down the list of possible suspects.

Also, how is sophie holding up? She seems most rattled by this place, and we just saw SOME SHIT.

>>2458221
>>2458203
>>2458190
You can digest as many bodies as there is space in your own slimy mass for. So being person-sized, you can manage one, maybe two. Starting with the fresh ones then.

>>2458144
So while your slime copy is in the servant's quarters eating bodies and whatnot, the rest of you travel up the stairs, having to be careful because of collapsed portions. Another hallway when you reach the top with doors to rooms branching off. The first two appear to be some sort of leisure and lounge room from what barely remains for you to guess, the other one a pair of bedrooms. At the far end are the last three rooms upstairs, with one looking to be a study (or what's left of it), some sort of small gallery room, and the last door is closed but according to Nyxa it's where the indiscernible force is coming from.

>How do you proceed?

>>2458260
You can ask Nyxa about magic seeing, but there's really so many possible things which could block it that she thinks pointless to try and narrow down. Anything from magic defenses to even just strong emotions within an area.

As for Sophie, she's having a hard time but it's a good thing she didn't see what was down in the servant's quarters.

>>2458261
Oh in that case, will turn off Concentration for maximum engulf then.

>>2458261
Study first. We want to secure the book BEFORE we confront whatever the hell evil thing is behind that door, if at all possible
>>2458268
All right, good to know.

>>2458261
I think we'd best quickly check each room so nothing unexpected pops out behind us.

>>2458297
Pretty much anything that reserves opening the spooky door until after we check other shit is good.
Spooky door is usually last.

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>>2458297
>>2458290
>>2458285
Sadie 2 expands herself so she can consume two bodies at once. As usual it will take about twenty minutes to digest the two bodies, with already about ten minutes having passed.

Meanwhile, you decide to start with the study first along with the others. Best to get what you came for first before anything else. Making your way into the room then, it's a mess. Like, a real mess, this place is more than ransacked. It's as if it has been maliciously torn apart in rage. There's all the signs like the other rooms of rage, but there's also obvious cut, slash, and split marks across everything. The few bits of furniture hewn apart, the floors chopped into, the walls carved into and even the ceiling caved in (allowing rain to fall in) from so much damage done.

There are a few bookcases but most of the books are strewn about the room and ripped or cut apart. Most notable of all, some faded old family portrait hanging over the fireplace (likely connected to the same one downstairs) which is clearly worn with age. It's hard to tell whom is within but there vaguely appears to be a couple and three children, though the place of the father is carved out and ripped to shreds.

>How do you proceed? A search for the book will require a roll.

>>2458444
Look for the tome, but also try to see if there's anything about what happened to the old family here, or what might be happening with the bodies in the basement.

Oh, and check the portraits eyes for peepholes.

Rolled 53 (1d100)

>>2458444
search for the book.
And other interesting books, actually, there could be many.
Does the ransacking look like it was from searching the place thoroughly, or from fighting? I'm worried someone might have got here first and found some real shit. Hence the bodies in the basement.
>>2458462
After that, check behind it, then adjust it so it is at the correct angle, all respectful like.

Rolled 43 (1d100)

>>2458444
>>2458462
Fuck, forgot the roll...

>>2458462
More rolls! DICE FOR THE DICE GODS!

Rolled 61 (1d100)

>>2458462
Goddamn it, this has started poorly...

>>2458444
Rolling to help the search. Look in nooks and crannies and under the bed, anywhere that's been less exposed to the elements.

I'd like to take a better look at the kids in the painting. Good odds the murder is one of them.

>>2458489
hey, at least it's not on fire yet.

Rolled 90 (1d100)

>>2458444
Oops actually rolling now.

My money is on the book being in the spooky door, still.

File: book.jpg (84 KB, 709x640)

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Back again, sorry for the delay, got called away to something but can still go for awhile more.

>>2458471
>>2458475
>>2458489
>>2458498
>90

Well now, it's no glamorous hunt through a rotten old study, but eventually with Sophia's skills at detecting magic you can find together what seems to be the occult tome supposedly kept here. After all, how many occult tomes can one haunted house have? Oddly though it remains in great condition despite the deterioration of the house.

"Well that was harmless, I thought this place was supposed to be dangerous! What, let me guess, there's a bunch of rotting bodies hidden in the basement?"

Nyxa is happy about finding the book at least and offers to carry it since you'll probably slime it up. Otherwise though there doesn't seem to be much else for you at least in the study. Though, you do figure to check the family portrait. No eye holes or anything, though when you straighten it out all nice and respectful you do think you hear something collapse outside the room. Probably just the state of decay, no?

Well, what now then? Maybe a few more minutes till Sadie 2 is done eating the fresh bodies at least but awhile still for the others. Where to, or what to do?

>>2459255
Check out that noise. As a group! It's either a cat or something spooky.

>>2459255
huh, and here I figured you must have had a power outage or something.
Let's check on sadie 2, and wait for her to get done.
Then, uh...
I want to check the spooky door. I'm really curious.
I 100% expect a peek in then slam the door shut scenario.
>>2459266
actually, I didn't even notice the noise. Let's investigate that first, then get sadie 2, then spookie door.

>>2459272
Even a power outage I would have phone posted! Nah, only emergencies over here.

>>2459272
>>2459266
Well at the very least you won't tarry in the study here, you got what you came for. Exiting though there's only two rooms left, the looted and faded gallery and the closed door. Unless it was for example, a cat running off down the hall, then the noise had to have come from either room. Care to choose?

>>2459281
Well, gallery first, since we're killing time until sadie 2 is done before we open spooky door.
I assume we're opening doors because nobody gives a shit if we get stabbed.

>>2459290
That's fair.

>>2459292
>>2459290
Well depending on how much Sadie 2 consumes, will depend on how long you have to wait. For what it's worth, by now the two "fresh" bodies will have been consumed so that's two "points" to improve by. There's still ten or so other bodies though in varying states, so it could take quite awhile.

You can check the gallery, with a roll, but actually sitting and waiting may be a time and a half.

Rolled 54 (1d100)

>>2459308
hm.
Is it still raining cats and dogs?
Let's check the gallery, then post up in a room directly adjacent to outdoors, with the door propped open, while we wait on sadie a bit longer, while also waiting out the rain.
We might have to run once we open the spooky door, so it best serves us to be here and wait on the bodies. Make sure to check on the other sadie every now and then during this waiting for the weather/girl process.

I'm getting ahead of myself. Gallery roll to start.

>>2459308
Ok, it's a bit risky but for Sadie 2 take:

Toxic: Feels like it'll be a handy combat buff
Type: Changing to a slime specialised in Subsistence. This is to help work through the other bodies faster, get more mass from it and I've been curious about how Type works.

Then pull in as many bodies as possibly to grab more combat skills.

Rolled 18 (1d100)

>>2459308
Sure let's search the gallery. If there is something supernatural about the killer knowing what led to the downstairs murders might give us an edge..

>>2459330
Maybe wait until later to allocate skills?
Is that possible?
I mean, the build I want changes depending on how many points we get at a time, AND everyone might not be here right now to make the decision.

Dunno, just putting that out there.

>>2459337
I have to be afk for like 20 minutes or less though, so, uh, I'll be back

>>2459337
Well Type is probably going to be controversial but there seemed to be a lot of agreement that Toxic is a good ability to grab last time we got a pile of corpses (and then we didn't grab it...).

I think we probably need fresh corpses to get those sweet upgrades but I might be pleasantly surprised.

>>2459342
>>2459333
>>2459320
>54

Well whatever 2's final decision is on improvements, you meanwhile can check the gallery and find... not much more really. A better state than the study at least, not having been maliciously ransacked, but still looted and deteriorated overtime. Though, surprisingly, the least so out of all the rooms you've seen so far. Interestingly there does seem to be the remains of what may have been some hideout or temporary camp of former inhabitants. Some scattered bedding and assorted old rubbish from goods about. Squatters perhaps, or scouts passing by.

>>2459358
Any signs of a struggle? Belongings left behind? If this is a gallery, are there more family portraits?

I'm back, sorry about that.
>>2459358
Huh. I wonder if those guys are dead in the basement now. Let's go check on sadie 2 to make sure she's OK. Sophie doesn't have to see.
Speaking of dead in the basement, sophie said she was a utility mage, didn't she? Could she whip up like, 12 decent sized holes in the ground, big enough for adult skeletons to be buried reasonably well?
Er, for no reason. Don't panic sophie. Everything is fine.

>>2459342
See, I think toxic is a pretty good short term pick, for when you have few points, but it's not a very good long term pick, when you have a lot of points. I want a skill that will appreciate into killy and utility in the long term with those, not just killy in the short term. That's why for bigger investments, I'd be more into dumping on speed, or using tidal manipulation.

I've been thinking on tidal manipulation, and feel it might function as a slime-y strength stat. If it works that way, then I see a progression where near the high levels, we are literally tearing things apart, at mid levels we're sandblasting them, and at low levels we're swishing them around with a pile of knives. Which means it's a good long term choice, but getting 1 extra level in it is going to do jack squat.

And that's before I even begin to think of things like "what should our luxury budget be".

>>2459366
Gallery more in the sense of just a fancy hosting room with some items for show, not a literal portrait gallery. But no, no signs of struggle, just that whomever had stayed here for a time haven't been back in awhile.

>>2459375
Well you can shlorp your way down to the servant's quarters while the others check out the rest of the gallery and even some of the upstairs rooms, though a group agreement not to open the closed door until ready.

Sadie 2 by now has consumed both fresh bodies, and though the others can help sate hunger, she doesn't seem to be gaining anything more from them, something which is usually accompanied by a trickle or return of memories or elucidation about your condition. It seems they're too rotten by now to bring her any improvements. Free food though, and at least two improvements, if there's a final say on what to take.

>How do you proceed?

>>2459382
Okay, that's enough body eating then. She's probably almost too big to even fit in the house now.

Let's get ready to open the spooky door. I have no idea what to get with those two points though, especially since only one sadie is going to have them during the confrontation.


since we're low on points, I'd like toxic to try it out and maybe have an edge in the upcoming fight, but I propose instead of a specialization, we pick up slime mind.
Whatever we're facing might have spooky powers, which means it MIGHT try to possess one of us. I don't want it possesing sadie 2, the largest slime in the room.

So my proposed build is toxic1 slime mind 1.

>>2459389
and by "get ready" I mean "assemble everyone and open it".

>>2459382
>>2459389
Oh that is a good point. Toxic and Slime Mind then.

>>2459416
I'm gonna look silly if it's just a plain ol' ghoul with no ghost powers at all, but thanks.

>>2459389
>>2459408
>>2459416
Very well then, Sadie 2 joins you upstairs after gaining mildly toxic traits and a slime mind. She's not nearly as big as you imagine though, after only four bodies consumed, two of them rotten. She was the size of Sophie maybe when fully normal size, now she's just the approximate size of a horse maybe.

Well, in any case you finally all gather to check the remaining room upstairs, and getting about as prepared as you can be and all taking a deep breath, you slowly but firmly open the door to find...

"Nothing? It's just a master bedroom."

Carter voices the general disappointment. Not like you were hoping to find some terrible monster but you worked yourself up so much about this and for there to be nothing, it's as much a letdown as it is relieving. Well, at least no one died.

To your eyes, it's just a grand fancy bedroom and bathroom off to the side, or at least was before time and abandonment set in. Though, so far this room looks to be the least damaged out of the whole house, no signs of looting or ransacking. Just faded, with otherwise most of the room and contents within in decent enough shape if a bit dusty. There's even still adornments on the nightstands for example. You can of course search the place if you like, in here you're much more likely to find things of worth since everything is still in place.

Rolled 95 (1d100)

>>2459439
man this is incredibly spooky.
This is a bedroom, right?
This is where a journal would be kept, right?
Let's search for one of those then read it somewhere outside of this suspiciously well preserved spooky room.
And keep an eye out for anything else of informative value. Ignore shit like gold and jewels, that is GHOST BAIT.

Rolled 50 (1d100)

>>2459439
Rolling to search.

Check for an open window, this is weird. Riffle through drawers and under the mattress, there's gotta be something hidden away here.

>>2459441
>>2459444
and for crying out loud, wedge the door open and check the ceilings.

>>2459444
>>2459458
>>2459441
>95

Well now, this room seems quite eerie, but you won't let that get the better of you. You're searching it from top to low and everything between! Everyone starts checking around after propping the door open, from the closet to the cabinets, the windows and the bathroom. Still, no signs of anything strange. You're interested in artifacts left behind by the original inhabitants like journals or what have you. Around the bed or even under it seems a good place to look. Nyxa though gives up early, having not found anything particularly good in the cabinets.

"Well at least the bed is nice. I wonder how cushiony it still is- AGH!"

Leisurely she goes to jump on the bed and lay out, and manages to do so without much trouble but in stretching out she screams in alarm and jumps up.

"Something... I felt something solid."

You're half expecting some body, but the bed looks fine to you. Eventual movement is unmistakable though, as ever so slowly the covers begin to tense and draw towards the center of the bed.

>How do you proceed?

>>2459476
Instruct nyxa to slowly and calmly get off of the bed, as it is moving.

Ask carter and sophie to get ready to pull this thing open if it snaps shut on her.

Get ready yourself to toss any long, hard object in there to prevent it from constricting properly if it does snatch her up.

If this is anything like a snake, we can just calmly leave and none of this prep will even be needed.

>>2459476
Death bed! Death bed!

Sadie 2's got Reach and is the bigger of the two so grab Nyxa and yoink her out of there.

Sadie 1, pull off the covers once Nyxa's clear. I ain't afraid of no ghost!

>>2459494
I fully endorse this sadie plan if the bed makes any sudden moves.

>>2459476
Throw holy water on the bed

>>2459500
Man, now that you mention it, we know like 0 divine casters. We're the closest thing our group has to a medic, I think.

Maybe we should talk to that one cleric back home a bit later on. See if he knows about DEVIL BEDS.

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>>2459484
>>2459494
>>2459497
>>2459500
You quickly tell Nyxa to get off the bed, though to do so carefully, half expecting the thing to snare her. She does so surprisingly without issue however, but even off it the covers continue to move.

The holy water seems like a good idea, as you tell Carter to flick some at it. All this does though is make the covers a little wet, and still slowly it moves. The covers seem to be taking some sort of shape, but you can't make it out clearly, as they move over to one side of the bed and begin to hang off. Already the others are backing away, but the sudden sound of a hard and heavy clunk against the floor causes Sophie to jump at least. You're ready for some nasty zombie to come sprawling out, but instead the sight appears to be...

"A table leg?"

A solid and carved piece of broken wood that must have come from some table, followed by a length of stone fixture. The covers continue to follow and draw with the thing so you can't see too much, but it looks like they're joined by nails and metal door fittings to what looks like part of a rolling pin and a broken off hunk of a window frame? Two... legs, finding footing on the floor and leading up to... something. Taking shape, you couldn't say like a person without imagining them to be very deformed, but the sheets and covers are caught and snagged and drawn about some emerging humanoid figure out of the bed. The longer you watch the more a shape gathers, and now you can see what look like sleeves out of the wrapped around bedsheets, and emerging as one "hand" is a bedpost bristling with protruding nails and pieces of broken glass while the other looks like a faintly glowing sword sticking out. As the thing moves slowly to get out of bed fully, you can hear the cluttering and clunking within of whatever else comprises it's "body".

>How do you proceed?

>>2459507
Also I feel like he'd be the best one to talk to on growing a soul.

>>2459521
Everybody out of the room except for, I imagine, the sadies heads sticking in through the doorframe.
We can talk with this thing from waaaay back here.

Get ready to leg it if instead of talking it emits a terrible howl and starts running at you. This will involve slamming the door and barricading it with the nearest furniture, then going outside.

>>2459525
And as for talking, we ask it what happened here, because ghosts love talking about themselves. And we might be able to help.

>>2459521
Sadies as meatshields, Nyxa blow it up!

Most dangerous thing seems to be the sword so we want to not get hit by that hand. I'd say there's a good chance there's some sort of phylactery or golem core animating this thing so we need to find that and break it.

Finding out what it reassembles around is an important first step.

>>2459539
This is a good plan once we actually start fighting the thing, yeah. Hopefully we can get outside before it starts.
Though, we may have to wrangle a bunch of slime splatter after this.

>>2459543
>>2459539
>>2459527
>>2459525
>>2459522
Well everyone can vacate the room without problem, the thing isn't very fast. By the time you're all out though, it's fully formed and out of bed, resembling some cloaked and hooded figure clunking towards you. Only, the cloak and hood made of covers and bedsheets, and what you can see of it made of accumulated junk.

You can try talking to it, but no response. Want to resort to plan "blast it" then?

>>2459547
let's, uh, get out of the house.

If the thing starts chasing us after we leave the grounds, then we blast the fuck out of it.

>>2459547
Tell that thing that his junk is showing. Also find some flammable liquid near the fireplace and set ths bitch on fire.

>>2459553
Does burning the house down stop ghosts?
I'm gonna be real with you, my ghostbusting skills are low.

>>2459547
Well if we can get it outside it'll have less junk to use to rebuild itself so let's try that.

>>2459555
Not sure about ghosts but it will definitely stop it from possessing a pile of junk. My supernatural expertise tell me that ghosts don't like the touch of iron. So if Carter's sword is made of iron he could have the upper hand.

>>2459560
well, either way, I don't want all the doors to slam shut and the roof to start trying to eat us, so initiate the bongo drum running.

>>2459553
>find some flammable liquid

And learn to fly while you're at it lol

>>2459548
>>2459556
Well you can exit the house at least, with the thing clunking after you at a slow pace. Even outside, though it doesn't seem noticeably perturbed by being out of the house.

>>2459568
Okay, well, let's light it up with good old magic and bullets. And walking backwards. A classic play.
Though, it's weird this thing is so slow, given all the bodies. Either this thing is about to pull out some tricks, or this aint the culprit, and is instead just paranormal activity.

>>2459568
Just wait and observe what it does. It does not seem to be hostile so far. We can always outrun it we want.

>>2459580
actually, yeah, this can't hurt. Nix the magic bullets for now. Test the parameters of what this thing can do and is willing to do.

Is it chasing us forever? Is it chasing the one with the book? Does it take a swipe at us if we get close?

Blowing it up can always be plan b.

>>2459572
>>2459580
>>2459581
Well, you can try interacting with it. As may be expected though, it seems to only pursue whom is closest to it and once close enough it just tries to attack. Though not so fast but incredibly strong. You obviously try to avoid the magic sword but even just a swing from the spiked club arm, you can tell a hit like that would kill a man in one swing.

>>2459596
huh.
Is it just following us in general, or the one with the book specifically?
Does it show any signs of slowing or returning?
I don't want to leave this thing to rampage in this village when we leave, and it seems openly hostile, so I think NOW is the time to initiate operation: blow it up.

Rolled 18 (1d100)

>>2459596
I say it's time to attack. Have Sadie slime up the ground while Carter fends him off with the sword.

Rolled 22 (1d100)

>>2459606
oh yeah, I suppose I should roll.
>>2459596
Though, sword fighting and getting in close might interfere with "blowing it up". Does nyxa have careful spell or anything like that?

>>2459608
>>2459606
You want Carter to try and fight this thing melee? Nyxa and Sophie both have spells which can work against it, and careful enough. But Carter's fighting style isn't even in that way. He has a gun for a reason.

>>2459610
Yeah, let's just stay back and blast the damn thing.
Ideally NOBODY gets close. If worst comes to worst, a sadie does.

Rolled 74 (1d100)

>>2459613
Yea that seems like a better idea. I didn't realise we had so many mages capable of casting offensive spells. I'll make a new roll for that then.

Rolled 13 (1d100)

>>2459610
I wanna cast a spell. Let's blow it up.

All these wizards make me miss having magic of our own.
It's a shame you can't eat ghosts.

Got to duck out just for a bit but will resume for awhile more when I return.

>>2459629
like a bit or the night?
Should I be going to sleep or getting snacks?

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Rolled 39 (1d100)

>>2459610
this is very sound idea >>2459548
Also kill it with fire. From afar.

>>2459631
Well it says a bit

>>2459625
Only one way to find out!

>>2459644
Yeah.
I'm gettin' kind of bushed though.
>>2459654
man I don't know how to even begin on that.

yeah, it's probably for the night I think.
And if it's not, I'm passing out anyway.
See you guys tomorrow morning.

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>>2459615
>>2459608
>>2459606
>>2459637
>74

So you slime it up in between and try to keep the shambling junk golem occupied, while everyone else keeps their range. Carter waits for what he thinks would be a good shot, while Nyxa and Sophie take turns slinging damaging spells at the thing.

The effect is obvious and quite successful, as each spell blast knocks away more and more of the creature, either by the force of magical explosions or actually destroying pieces of the junk. Even the bedsheets and covers are set alight and the thing burns up pretty quickly. It's a relief how easy it is to deal with, and it shouldn't take more than a few blasts. You're almost let down again by how simple it was, and you wonder how so many people could have been killed by it? Maybe in their sleep, or caught off guard.

"Ha, this isn't so ba-"

"AAAIIIEEEEEEEEE!!"

Any cause for celebration or calm is severed short when the last remains of the creature are blasted apart by a spell from Nyxa, and without warning, a sudden ghostly burst issues forth accompanied by a baleful shriek. The bits of junk blasted apart are in turn, blasted in every which way by the small spectral explosion signalling the emergence of the possessing ghost. A banshee, with scream to match, which wracks you terribly to your core and causes your slime consistency to shudder. Something you were not expecting for sure, but what better chance could a ghost stand than a junk golem against some folks as trained as you?

"Quick, blast her again! Hello?"

You're met only with some thuds to the grassy ground as you look back in alarm to see the others fall limp from the banshee's wail and drop to the grass unmoving. Only Nyxa shudders after some moments, jolting awake again with a gasp and obviously confused and scared, some faint green energy bubbling about her for just a moment. Some protection spell? No matter, Carter and Sophie are incapacitated, hopefully alive even. Only you and Sadie 2 were unharmed, but the ghost doesn't seem to care, wrathful at any disturbance.

>How do you proceed?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MqpbrlDqvs0

>>2459689
Keep blasting the bitch with spells. Sadie 2 throws her corrosive slime at the banshee.

>>2459689
I don't suppose Carter has a magic sword? Sadie! Grab that! Sadie 2, grab the junk golem's sword. Magic swords work on ghosts, right?

>>2459709
Well maybe Nyxa can still cast spells if she can snap out of the trauma from the scream. Make a roll to see how she does, while you try your best on your own.

>>2459714
Carter might but you'd have to check him. The magic sword from the junk though is indeed just lying nearby. You've no idea if magic weapons work on ghosts though.

Also I think this may now be my last post until later, as to give more people a chance to catch up and roll as well for the fight here. Just a heads up though that because of prior engagements, though I plan to continue tomorrow or later today depending on where you are, it will be pretty later than usual. Thanks all for playing!

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>>2459689
Sadie 2 grabs a sword and tackles a ghost. (spend a point in ability if sword does damage but she is useless with it)
Meanwhile Sadie 1 turns on healing slime and hopefully can revive the rest of the party. Or noms them unhappily if they are dead

Switch Sadies in case their mass is more suitable for the other task (I have no idea how big is either one nor if they have same skills or one is somewhat special).

Rolled 86 (1d100)

>>2459717
oh and here is the roll

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>>2459728
This, plus pull out one of those magical weapons that we got from the bandits and toss it to Sadie 2. I'll say that it's some sort of silvered axe with a lightning enchantment.

Rolled 78 (1d100)

>>2459689
sadie 2 is on distracting monster duty, sadie 1 is on helping everybody get up duty.
>>2460020
>>2459728
magic weapons are a good idea. Ghosts hate those, and we have an actual pile of them.

We might be able to actually hold the ghost down if we just goop over it with a whole pile of knives. The goop won't hold, but the knives will.

Rolled 46 (1d100)

>>2459717
Rolling for Nyxa because I forgot to...

>>2462295
I think she's gonna be OK.
Well, at this stage, I don't know what the banshee's next move is.

So, what are some slime experiments we want to do when we get back?
I want to get a bunch of vials, and see how long an individual slime can maintain one of our properties, and if they can change them on demand, or in response to stimuli. Not so useful right now, but if we can get a few more ranks in ringleader and give slimes commands with more than a few steps, we might be able to sell programmable potions.

>>2462444
I would like to test with Sadie 2 how much bodymass we have to exchange to share memories to at least confirm it is possible or only total assimilation works.

I dont remember if we already did, but test for how long slimes can keep obeying orders, so next time we need to shed bodymass, we can drop it as obedient slimes that will wait for Sadie's return

>>2462500
We've been swapping memories for a while now, though. And we've swapped traits the same way, but it takes longer.

I don't think we've had any results on long term slime orders, but we have found they have a one-order long memory. That is a good experiment to do. Stick a slime in a jar with some food, order it not to eat the food, check in on the slime every day or so to see if it ate the food.
That will give us a gauge on how long slime orders last.

>>2462510
Another thing I want to test is how smart slimes can be with orders.
Like, would a slime understand "only eat cubes"? Can you tell it "only eat vegetables"? How about "only eat onions"?

Ok back now, let me catch up and resume.

>>2462555
sweet.

>>2459926
>>2461000
>>2462295
>86

With some quick thinking, coordination and teamwork, you and Sadie 2 work together to try and combat this ghostly menace. She goes for the magic weapon and does her best to combat or at least distract the thing while you rush for Nyxa and the others to help however you can. First is the drow herself, as you try to get her to snap out of the trauma from the scream. She was a bit out of it, but at your tugging she regains her senses and gets to her feet to try and figure out what spells she can use against a ghost while applying magic defenses one after the other.

The other two, it doesn't look good. They're not dead, yet, but they're out of it. Comatose even, you can't evoke any response out of them no matter what you try. The healing slime doesn't work because they don't appear to be physically injured in any way, this is some magic or supernatural effect of the ghost's attack which has rendered them like this.

Well the good news at least is that Sadie 2 is able to hold the banshee's attention so that it doesn't attack Carter and Sophie, and further screams have no effect on Nyxa since she's had a chance to put up defenses, and the screaming never had an effect on you slimes. But at the same time, while the ghost doesn't seem to be able to do much, neither too can you really do anything to it, it seems. Sadie 2's slime, and even the sword don't effect the ghost, and Nyxa's spells go off but they don't hit the ghost or anything, they just go through it. Probably because Nyxa is a conventional mage, not a cleric or anything.

>How do you proceed?

>>2462570
Grab whatever is left of the holy water and pour a bit on the banshee.

>>2462570
uh...
hm.
None of our magic weapons work either?
Shit. We might have to call a specialist. Nyxa, can you shield the other two so they don't get re-bansheed?
We might just have to sort of... leave, if it can't hurt us and we can't hurt it with any of our stuff.

Oh!
Check carter to see if he has any more holy water!
It's our last chance to actually do anything to this thing.

>>2462575
>>2462576
Make a roll for the holy water!

Rolled 25 (1d100)

>>2462579
Let's hope we didn't use it all!

Rolled 50 (1d100)

>>2462570
Just grab everyone with Sadie 1 and gtfo. Then after some time leave with Sadie 2. There is no point in fighting, we got what we came for.

>>2462579
...fine.

>>2462583
yeah, this is almost entirely extra credit to stop people from getting ghost murdered.
If the holy water doesn't work, we're just hoofing it and telling the next priest we can find to deal with it.

Rolled 58 (1d100)

>>2462579

>>2462592
>>2462583
>>2462580
>58

In a panic at seeing nothing working, you search Carter and find the holy water. You can't use it yourself though unless like, you "drink" it and then try to slam into the ghost with your holy slime. But Nyxa certainly can, and you quickly shlorp over to hand her the flask. She does her best to uncap it and chuck the contents at the ghost.

The effect is not as great as you'd have hoped, not a direct hit but some of the water does splash at the ghost which causes obvious harm to its spectral form. The banshee screams once more before retreating back into the house and dwelling within. You also notice all the junk around slowly staggering and moving, as if to try and roll or wiggle back in the direction of the house, and Sadie 2 notices the sword pulling against her holding it in the same way.

But you want to get out of here now, yes? Well, first maybe get Carter's horse to help carry things.

Rolled 26 (1d100)

>>2462579
Hmm, if we ingest the holy water, will we become holy slime?

>>2462603
Yeah, lets bring our people away from the ghost house. We'll have to call this one a draw. But we DID get our spooky book, so our main objective is done.

Can we get those who have been stunned somewhere that they at least aren't getting rained on?

>>2462603
Sadie 2, ditch the sword. We don't want that thing to follow us back to the school.

Let's skedaddle on out of here as soon as the horse is loaded up with Carter and the rest of the stuff. We'll carry Sophie ourselves.

>>2462606
For a time. But the holy water is all gone now.

>>2462610
Getting Carter, although unconscious, onto his horse is one thing. Moving Sophie though is quite another. In the end, both you and Sadie 2 have to try your hardest to slowly drag her along the ground. Fortunately though, she awakens about halfway back to the collection of homesteads, her half-troll physiology serving her well. Poor Carter though is out of it.

And worst of all, you get back to the homesteads, and the folks there are no more helpful than they were before. They aren't interested in seeing you, speaking to you, or helping you.

>>2462624
That's entirely fair.
If there's an unattended shed, barn, or shop overhang we can wait in until carter wakes up, do that. Otherwise, we might just have to go under a tree and hope for the best.

We could try hanging some of the tent scraps we had from earlier, but I don't know if we kept those.

>>2462624
Leave them. Hopefully the banshee'll teach them not to be shits to the differently morphous next time.

>>2462644
Still, I'm all for including "there's a fucking banshee, we couldn't kill it" in our report with the tome, though.

Like, somebody should probably go and kill it, or capture it, or banish it, or whatever it is you do with ghosts.

>>2462646
>>2462644
>>2462631
Well you can all travel till nightfall on your way back home, a somber time after that fearsome encounter with the ghost. Poor Carter though still doesn't wake, even when you're settling down to find a spot to camp for the night, before you'll reach the academy by tomorrow.

>Anything you want to do before turning in?

>>2462649
Ask Nyxa if she knows any solutions to Carter's coma. After hearing what she has to say about it, keep watch in case that golem isn't bound to the mansion, and switch off with Sadie 2 after your shift has ended.

>>2462649
Hm.
Make sure carter's warm in a bedroll, get somebody who can feel temperature to make sure of that, and that he's not pale or ghost infected or anything like that. Then thank everybody for coming out with you. You got the book, and it was real exciting, and you learned a bunch.

After that, make sure the sadies synch up memories and traits, so we both have enough slime mind to resist possession, and have one of us take watch.

>>2462658
oh, and when nobody is looking, try to see if carter will wake up for a kiss like in the stories.

>>2462658
>>2462655
Nyxa unfortunately is at a loss, since this sort of thing is beyond her experience. Sophie seems to have some idea, but she thinks a proper healer at least would be needed, if not a holy person. Though that's just an assumption, it could just be a matter of time or it could be worse.

Otherwise, you do your best to see that Carter is taken care of, before slime connecting to Sadie 2 to learn everything each other did/does and pick up on those new abilities she learned. All this, before taking turns to stay up and watch Carter before turning in. And, a kiss perhaps to wake him, though unfortunately you're not a slime princess, you're a slime queen, and he isn't a prince and that seems to be needed.

---

In any case you get up to Sadie 2 watching the rest of the night, into the morning not long before the others do. Fortunately Carter is still alive, but still comatose. Sophie tries to figure out what to do, but is worried that he may need to be fed and given drink and all that if he can't on his own like this. Lest he starve of course while out of it.

Nyxa meanwhile just wants to hurry, the academy you could reach probably after noon or around that so help could be gotten sooner.

>How do you proceed?

>>2462687
Get your ass to the academy ASAP. There's a priest who might be able to help...

>>2462687
Give him water, and let's get going. We'll eat a big lunch once we get him un-comatose'd.

>>2462691
>>2462689
Very well then, you travel for the rest of an uneventful morning and early afternoon, to reach the academy as best you can. Returning home is simple enough when there's Nyxa and Sophie with you, despite some noticeable concern about there being two of you slimes now. With the emergency of Carter's situation, you're all let in and help is assembled in the courtyard. Not long after, and Maribelle and some other familiar staff and students emerge to see the state you're in and of the little undertaking.

Probably your biggest concern though, Carter, will be hauled off to the infirmary and they'll try to figure out how best to treat him. What do you want to do though, stay and clear things up or go with him to see how he does?

>>2462747
Do Rock, Paper, Sissors with Sadie 2 to see who stays with Carter and who delivers the Tome, then meet up in about an hour in the infirmity to hear the news.

>>2462747
I think we're doing pretty well, other than being soaked and carter being stunned.
We should obviously go with carter. Gotta be caring. But,
>>2462758
raises a point.
The other sadie can explain our adventures to anybody curious or alarmed, and deliver the book.
If anybody asks why two sadies, we can tell them it was an accident.

>>2462768
>>2462758
Well then, you can accompany Carter while Sadie 2 goes to turn in the book. You greet Maribelle and others interested and give a brief explanation of what happened, before following after Carter to the infirmary to wait with him.

And an agonizing wait it is, as the few healing students and staff there, as best they can manage try to figure out how to take care of Carter. Your presence is a great help, in being able to explain what happened, though it's no easy case to deal with. They'll try various efforts with him in the meantime till they can get one of the resident priests involved.

Anything you want to do then while waiting here?

>>2462797
Stay nearby, be there in case he wakes up, or if the students need anything.
If magazines existed, I'd be up for ruining one while we wait in an attempt to read it, but I am not sure they do.
Waiting on your loved ones to get treatment is sort of supposed to be agonizing, so we just have to deal.

>>2462808
this

>>2462797
Watch over Carter like he'd vanish in an instant if you so much as take your eyes off of him. When Sadie 2 comes down, explain the situation to her.

Now I've got to head off to sleep now, so good luck guys, and make sure Carter comes out of this coma alright.

>>2462824
sleep well dude.
And yeah, we're getting this treated as best as we can.

Backup plan: we get the mental simulation ability and enter Carter's dreams to wake him up. Maybe slime can suceed where magic and God have failed!

>>2462854
If he's in a coma for that long? Shit, maybe.
We're in a magic school though, they probably have SOMEthing to fix him, right?
And, if they need some kind of banshee sample, we already found out it can't really do shit to slimes. We can go back and get as much info as they want.

>>2462808
No, no waiting room magazines in this day and age. You decide to wait, though you're not at a lack of things to do, as Carter is not the only one in the infirmary, and your healing slime is noted and appreciated. A great help you provide to those with physical injuries, as gross as it may be, and as reluctant as some are.

Eventually probably an hour or two later, Sadie 2 returns, looking a bit glum. She lets you know that it didn't go so well, and that although your success with the book is fantastic and noted, word has also reached the school of the slime outbreak at the lake town, of the death and destruction caused there. The head archivist didn't much care when she gave him the book, but he let her know that some of the more senior staff have been talking and at the very least he's not allowed to offer you any more work for the archive.

Well, at least the two of you can wait together now, right?

>>2462922
Damn.
We really need some kind of... slime kill field or something. To catch any escapees.
I assume at some point, someone will be by to question us about that, eventually, but until then we can at least keep watch.
And have the sadies swap off if one needs to eat.

Maybe we can talk to the dwarf who captured blue slime and ask his advice for the next time we get splattered. It's not like we can re-acquire the pieces right away either, they might be bigger than us.

>>2462932
Well there's a fix for absorbing big slimes - we just need to always keep our Corrosion level 1 below maximum. Mindless slimes don't seem to be able to use Trigger.

>>2462940
Really?
We need to test this super badly, that would be a big help. Though, it won't help us deal with whatever splattered us.
Man, before carter got all stunned, I wanted to go do some research with garret in the menangerie. Figure out this slime shit.
Ah well, that can wait. Hey goopy, is there any ETA on the priest arriving?

>>2462948
After dinner one of the priests will be by, if not a cleric even. So you've a few more hours to go here, however you care to spend it. There are two of you Sadie's, after all.

>>2462968
Well, we don't BOTH have to wait, I guess. Though it's hard to think of where to go from here, what with having a slime rampage on our heads.
I think a wise move would be going up the menangerie for a safe testing area, and then seeing if split off slimes can adjust their triggers if need be. Start by giving them orders to do so once they're split off, and we can work from what results we get there.
Also, the one who runs the menangerie is technically a senior staff member, so maybe she can tell us how bad the situation is.

>>2462974
oh, and we obviously will decide which sadie does which via rock paper scissors.
Loser has to leave.

Rolled 2 (1d2)

>>2462976
>>2462974
Maribelle is absolutely not a senior staff member. But anyway, you can go to the menagerie and perform some experiments in the meantime. Just list out or describe what you'd like to try out, and you can see how it goes. And by the time you're done, you can return to the infirmary where better help should await for Carter

>>2462988
Okay, well, experiment one, see if a detached slime can chance properties on command if ordered.

Experiment two, establish a slime jar somewhere safe with a bit of food in there and orders not to eat the food. This is a long term project we will check on occasionally.

Experiment 3, plase two slimes in sealed jars with a small opening between them, and order them to eat each other. Are they able to? Vary the sizes of the slimes and containers. Are they still able to? The goal here is to see how much surface area is needed for the process to happen, and establish if it's sheer slime size or slime surface area that determines who eats who. If it's surface area, a small slime should be able to stay intact against a large slime, assuming a small opening.

Experiment 4, worry relentlessly about criminal charges and wish you could taste sweets or take a hot bath.

Experiment 5, see if hot and boiling water have any more effect on a slime than normal water.

I'll give you more experiments as I think of them.

>>2462995
Oh, and IF detached slimes can change properties on command if ordered, see if they are able to when not ordered.

To do this, produce two slimes of equal corrosion, each under your maximum, and order one to eat the other. See if it is able to form enough thought to change its corrosion on its own.

And then we can see how smart base level slimes are with a variety of "eat only (x)" orders, where X is objects of increasing specificity. Start with shapes, then see if they can distinguish between plant and animal substance, then see how well they can distinguish specific plants.

>>2462998
"Return to me if not eating" and "Return to me after one minute" are good orders to test too.

Also see if we can impart orders to slimes as we throw them.

If we give ourselves an order will slimes then detached from ourselves try to fulfill it?

Also, we should look into experiments with things that lure slimes.
Does maribelle have any musical ability? We can try various types of food, motion, songs, vibration, the whole gamut and see what draws them out.
Do they have preferences? Will they go for roast meat over normal? Are they drawn to smells?

Maybe we can figure out some way to draw rogue slimes back to us.

>>2463009
good thinking, it'd be nice to know if slimes understand time.

And I think the last one for me:
How do we see? Do we have complete 360 vision? Do we have blindspots?
If we have a blindspot, ask maribelle to poke us from it, so we can see if we can even tell we're getting poked. Use a stick or something, I dunno.

Damn, I thought of another one.
We can talk, and make noise. Can the slimes? Can we order them to say things? How long of a thing can we order them to say?

This post is going to read out really wacky because it's basically just answering a checklist. So bear with it.

>>2462995
So once Sadie 2 is in the menagerie, Maribelle happy to see her again, she finds her room and starts experimenting. Firstly, splitting off some slime and then giving it an order, it is able to change properties but only one time per single order and it doesn't do so on its own. For the second experiment you already had that idea and went about it after leaving the lake town; in the end the slime got to a very small point where it basically went feral and consumed the food inside, rather than just wither completely and die. For the third, it seems to rely on a few factors in descending importance;

>Amount/concentration of slime
>Surface area contact
>Acidity and other traits
>Strength (to resist, which is related to the first factor somewhat)

Basically, a smaller slime will never be able to consume a larger slime unless it can maintain a greater surface area. For the fifth experiment you worry yourself terribly and try boiling water. It seems to make the aqua-fication process (and eventual degradation if too much) go much faster, but also increases the temperature of your slime you can tell.

>>2462998
This is the one situation where slimes will change traits on their own even mindless, whether you give them orders to or not; in self-preservation. The different commands of what to eat work, however you yourself cannot eat plants for example so the slimes can't. Though they are able to distinguish with orders.

>>2463009
You can impart sort of a mental idea of how long, but it can't be as specific as "a minute" since your own impression of a minute isn't exact. And yes, you can somewhat "give yourself" an order basically by imagining or focusing on a single task or simple order, and then slimes split off will follow it. But this would obviously be impossible to do under stress or when your mind is racing.

File: inner slimy.gif (2.55 MB, 256x202)

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>>2463048

>>2463010
Maribelle doesn't have much musical ability, but there are plenty of singing birds in the menagerie. Really though the slimes are dumb, if they detect something with their limited senses, they just go for it equally, no real preference. The only difference is, that some things they just don't eat, basically what you can't eat. So to them, plants may as well be made of stone, in how easily they ignore and pass over them for something else.

>>2463030
You are able to see basically from any portion of yourself at will, but you can't see out of all of you. It seems to be less an issue with any sort of "eyes" since your slime basically is what you are seeing out of. Rather the problem seems to be your mind, your human brain wasn't used to seeing in such a fashion as 360 degrees or multiple directions at once so you can't really imagine or process doing such a thing. Though it could be something you could learn. As for where you aren't looking from yourself, you ask to be poked and can feel it. Though it's not a "feeling" like you can feel if something is soft or feels nice or hurts, just a sense of "my slime is being displaced by something pushing into me".

>>2463044
The slimes can't do that on their own but you can order them to speak or make noises. Assuming they're big enough to be able to move and modulate their slimy selves to produce sound. The most you seem to be able to order them to say is a single full sentence, or any sort of sound you could normally make.

Whew, curiosity satisfied?

>>2463050
For now. We'll come up with more later.
Can, uh, can we bother maribelle to take notes for us on these? We can't, but it's going to be important to have a lot of this stuff if we want to release a body of work.

Also, it's a shame slimes don't seem to have any preferences, that would have been real useful. Though, giving ourselves orders might be a good path to go down if we want to avoid slime riots. We just need to learn to do it while under stress.

We'll work out how we can do that later. Maybe some kind of meditation? More ranks in ringleader? Pushups? Who knows.

How's carter doing?

>>2463050
Keep our mind off things, help Maribelle in the menagerie.

>>2463071
Sure, we can do that until dinner time is up.
But THEN carter checks.
Depends on how much time experimentin' took.

File: except in this case imagi(...).gif (1.88 MB, 291x291)

1.88 MB GIF

>>2463052
>>2463071
Maribelle is happy to take notes for you, and is glad you're finally trying to study and learn about yourself. She just hopes things go well for you in regards to the trouble you may be in.

In any case after satisfying your curiosity with experimenting and getting some food from Maribelle for yourself and to take to Sadie 1, you return to the infirmary where thankfully help is there. Sadie 1 looks a little upset though, as you hear from her and the priest there that while it is believed Carter can be helped, they're not sure how long it will take. Really it's incredibly lucky that he's alive, and only Sophie should have survived the attack; Nyxa had no more resistance than Carter did, she just happened to be the one carrying the occult book at the time which protected her. Otherwise she too would be like this. A banshee's scream can easily kill people so it's a blessing that Carter isn't dead already. The priest can keep him stable, keep him from dying now, but it will take a proper cleric to go about reviving him fully to health and consciousness.

It's not bad news, but it's still upsetting because it will take time for one of the staff clerics to exactly figure out what's wrong and how to treat it, and then to actually go about treating it. The priest tries not to upset you further but he imagines a couple of weeks perhaps. Again though, gods be praised he can even be saved at all.

>>2463076
a-WHAT.
Ask the priest how one would go about killing a banshee. Knocking him out is one thing, but putting him in a weeks long coma is an ENTIRELY different one!

>>2463079
We should ask if getting rid of said banshee would even help carter

>>2463083
Also that. That's important too.

Well, upon thinking for a bit, we could read to carter while he's in traction. I'm sure he's got books of tactics he reads, and we can do more entertaining ones outside of classtime.

We need to get someone to make us a stick with some rubber on the end so we can turn pages without ruining a book. So I guess that's step one.

>>2463079
Either exorcising it, or using some holy means to kill it would work. Or, specifically magic which can affect ghosts. Though, he's not sure if that would help Carter at all now.

>>2463098
Obviously the answer is to eat Carter, that's all he's good for now, unfortunately.

Anyway, this will be my last post of the night. Tomorrow should be back to normal again, so will resume then. Thanks all for playing!

>>2463113
I don't mind spending time keeping carter possibly entertained. responsibility!

And on a side note, we'll do more slime work or figure out how to kill that banshee. Science/vengeance!

>>2463076
OK guys what if we try for the long term strat here. We mope around the school until the teachers are all "Won't you please go on an adventure?"

That'll show them who the real monster is.

Although I agree it would be good to finish off that banshee. We should research that.

I'm up again.
>>2463207
Yeah, we should probably lie low for a while. Though, I want to do more than mope around.

Refresh my memory- was the cleric Durant also the slime specialist that captured the blue slime? I think he was. I think we should make an appointment to talk to Durant. About many things. First off, he seems pretty strong, can he do anything to help carter? Second off, he's dealt with slimes. How do you make sure you've gotten rid of them, and that none have slipped out of your grasp? We can't let us getting splattered cause shit like that again.

>>2463954
Also, it might behoove us to have a sadie spy on carter's classes. Help him figure out what he missed, at least.

>>2463962
Actually, it might be a good idea to see if they have classes on how to wield weapons, seeing as we have a magic lightning axe we got off of a bandit.

Also, should we tell them about the Ork ninja from last time? Maybe see if that Ork princess knows something about her?

>>2464236
We might have to. After all, we are in trouble and might have to give an account of the situation.

As for weapon classes, I think that was exactly what carter was learning.

>>2463954
No, Durant is not the person familiar with slimes.

In any case, you don't plan to just sit around spinning your slimy wheels while Carter awaits recovery. You have some ideas on how to while the time, but an hour or so after and you're approached by an assistant archivist whom asks either or both of you to accompany them, you're wanted by some of the staff.

>>2464709
thaaaat's about right.
Okay, one of us head up with them. Time to face the music.

>>2464709
Time to see what they need to tell us...

>>2464739
Well, it probably won't be a slap on the wrist.
I mean, there was a slime rampage. Yeah, it's because we got splattered and had to run away, but still. Slime rampage.

>>2464742
I'm aware. I was there when it happened.

>>2464709
Go with them. It is bound to be important

>>2464709
OK, one goes.

>>2464746
Oh, yeah. I'm just super worrying.

>>2464742
Regarding slime crimes, we probably shouldn't try to argue it wasn't our fault because they'll quite rightly throw back we're a walking biohazard.

>>2464757
Yeah, I think it's fair to say we take responsibility for this, at least partially. I mean, we totally did the thing.
Similarly, this makes me want to do more slime research to prevent this shit in the future.

I just hope they don't call us on taking a break to eat dudes in town. I don't really have an even half satisfactory explanation for that.

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8 KB JPG

>>2464719
>>2464757
So you accompany the assistant from the infirmary and through a quarter of the academy to get to the archives wing. Fortunately as late as it is, not many folks are up still so no encounters on the way over. A short wait once getting there, before you're brought to a meeting room where the head archivist, Louis is gathered with several senior staff.

"Looking well, Sadie! All the best to your friend, may he make a speedy recovery and may I say-" a nudge to the side quickly changes his tone though, "Ah, you may want to take a seat then."

It's not like some court trial so that's thankful, more just a serious conversation but you'd be sweating slime if you could! As you may have expected, there is a lot of consternation about the slime attack at the lake town, word of which by now had reached the academy. It's only fortunate that Nyxa in their uniform was there to save the day and keep up good appearances. No one seems the wiser that the academy is responsible for you and so the slime, but the point is that you were supposed to uphold the standards of the institute while on away work, probably more than ever. And, well, you made a pretty egregious mistake.

You're free to speak in your defense, but it seems that you're up a creek. They're not booting you out of the academy since, again few if any attributed the slime attack to the academy, and also to be fair you were successful on your retrieval mission with the book. But after that fiasco, they can't rightfully readmit you to the academy as a proper student, nor the same can they condone you to go on further retrievals. Once a member always a member, they won't turn you away and you're always welcome to stay, not to mention for the improvements and gains you're making so you're very valuable to the institute's mission in study of magic. Of course that sounds like, again they just want you around as a lab rat. But it does come off as a benefit; they're not just eliminating you for the trouble caused, and you're at least able to keep your place here and help in other ways if you wish.

Notably the arch mage asks for your take on this and if you have anything to say, though it is a little distracting with Dama Popescu, the goblin foreteller sitting there with her tea set... is that a smug look?

>How do you proceed?

>>2464826
This is pretty fair. Even though we were attacked, it's our responsibility to clean up the slime.
Thank them for not kicking you out, ask them if you can still follow up exactly why you were attacked, and your new research into slime control.
Because that's sort of been on our mind ever since the incident, and we've not found any good solutions yet.

>>2464836
Also, uh, inquire as to whether people died in the slime rampage.
We couldn't confirm from the slimes we stopped whether or not they actually got people.

>>2464826
>"If you insist on keeping me here as a test subject, I must request for a staff salary for performing tests, experiments, and the like, and for a full investigation to take place regarding the death of Sadie, and of the person who decided to attempt my kidnapping. As you yourselves have admitted, I am quite dangerous in the wrong hands. For you not to take my personal safety with the utmost seriousness could lead to someone kidnapping part of me and using me as a weapon of conquest."

>>2464851
I don't know if I want to make funding demands here? Though I do agree that we should ask for assistance in investigating the causes of this, and with research.
I figure we can bring up funding later when we are in less hot water. And when we have a decent sized sheef of slime findings.

>>2464826
Ask what, if anything, they're going to do about that orc and the banshee?

>>2464870
Yeah, actually. That banshee is a loose end.

>>2464842
>>2464836
Indeed, at least twelve people died as a direct result of the various slime attacks.

>>2464851
>>2464862
>>2464870
The various "injustices" which occurred to you are of their utmost concern, obviously for the reasons you brought up. The banshee, well that's just a matter of sending a cleric out to deal with the problem. The orc assassin is a bit more worrisome but they weren't aware of that so it's something they will most certainly focus on now if there's the possibility of her making off with a portion of your slime. On "your" murder though, they've been doing what they can but since you'll be confined to the academy hereafter, you should have plenty of chances to pursue your own ends for it.

>>2464928
Shit. Well, it's good to know how many died. Thank you for telling us. We hope to earn back the right to wander once we get quarantine procedures down and earn back some trust.
Are we done here? Does the staff need any more explanation of the incident? This is all very disconcerting, and we need to think of solutions.