Raising Wonders

Chapter 4: Adventure (Part 4)

Lunch was food from the inn heated over a fire which Chloe helped make. When she had asked why not use magic, Mask's replied that it was a learning experience. To Chloe it was her chance to prove she could be useful and borrowing Mask's tinder box she was able to strike a flame quickly enough. By the time they had eaten and returned to their starting point they had managed to secure several bundles of different herbs. All the while Mask taught her how to harvest and find them. Where they would likely appear based on the time of year and even position of the sun or which ones did what. Some could be eaten straight away and help with fevers or detoxify the body while others needed to be mixed and combined being dangerous otherwise. Chloe lapped up the knowledge and made sure to save it to her brain. Is she had a paper and pen she would have definitely taken notes.

Mask stopped them just before the clearing they had fought the wolves, "I need you to stay close to me now. While they aren't too dangerous, someone of your size could definitely get into trouble."

Chloe gulped, curious as to what their bait had caught. As they passed the final layer of trees, her curiosity was answered and not quite what she had expected, "Slimes?"

"Yes indeed," Mask nodded. "And a good haul as well."

The squishy creatures covered the entire pile of carcasses and numbered several dozen of differing sizes. Their translucent grey bodies bounced with a satisfying jiggle as they slowly consumed the wolves, having reached two thirds of the way so far. Inside each of them, a circular stone freely moved within and seemed to dictate which direction they'd move.

Mask reached into his pocket and took out a large bag. With a flick of his hands the thin material widened to a sizeable space. The opening of the bag was propped open using some firm wire and placed facing the slimes. Mask then took out a red gem and threw it into the bag before stepping back to stand with Chloe. Within seconds the first slime noticed and in a surprisingly cute gesture bounced and slid its way into the bag. After the first came the second, then third until finally all the slimes squished into the space.

"Perfect," Mask tightened the bag in one fluid motion and tossed it into the cart.

"Is that it?" Chloe asked.

"What did you expect?"

"I thought you would need to hunt them."

"Yes I could have," Mask answered, "but for slimes it's better to capture them then kill them for their slime. Do you know why?"

Chloe paused to think but soon realised her knowledge was far too skewed to reply with a good answer and in the end she simply shrugged.

"Slimes eat basically anything and are relatively safe creatures. The more they eat the more they grow and that slime then can be used for a lot of things. In our case we've been asked to collect the slime to help make weather resistant mortar for the walls but in other cultures slime goo can even be dried and then cooked into quite delectable noodles."

"So you want to farm them?" Chloe tilted her head.

"Astute of you," Mask nodded. "In most regions they're treated as pests and killed by rookie adventurers for easy coin but slimes are incredibly useful. It's time we head back to the guild. If the sun sets that receptionist may really come out looking for us."

Chloe nodded and returned to the carriage where she sat next to the squishy bag of slimes.

**

"Wow," Lana clapped her hands as they pulled the cart into the guild's yard. "You managed to get so much, and even three wolf pelts! Mr Kane you're even more remarkable than your Titles would suggest."

Mask purposefully laughed bashfully, "Well Titles only tell you so much, and beside I had to look good in front of my niece."

Lana faced Chloe, "You should be proud of your Uncle. It's been a long time since I've seen anyone so successful after returning from the forest."

"He's amazing," Chloe nodded, agreeing with her words more than the receptionist could ever know.

"I'll weigh and inspect everything now. Just wait inside and I'll- Ah!" she screamed as she opened the bag of slimes. "Mr-Mr Kane, these slimes are still alive!"

"Of course they are," Mask said naturally.

Lana scratched her head, "If you'd like us to process them it would cost you, though I don't see why you would seeing as you were clearly able to capture them instead."

Mask released a gentle smile that Chloe felt suspicious, "Actually Ms Lana I thought it would be better if we kept them alive."

"Excuse me?" Lana was clearly confused.

"You would have seen but I have the World Traveller Title. I've been to many places and learnt quite a bit, one being just how useful slimes are." He reached into the bag and pulled out a single slime which sat in his arms like a large water balloon. The creature seemed quite satisfied and did nothing to escape. "They are very docile after being fed and even better you can harvest their bodies without killing them. Do you have a bucket?"

"Ah yes," Lana quickly ran off to get a bucket and came back.

Mask held the slime above the bucket and taking a feather from his pocket began to tickle the creature. The slime shook fervently as the core inside squished up to the sensation. A few more strokes of the feather and suddenly the slime split. Three quarters of its body fell into the waiting bucket while the remainder of the slime continued to sit in Mask's hand.

"W-what!?" Lana was beyond shocked as Chloe looked upon what just happened with equal curiosity. "You can harvest slimes without killing them? Then that would mean-." Her mind was in rapid thought as she quickly came up with several applications already and settled on the main one. "Our sewage problem!"

"Quite right," Mask commended her. "There's a village in the South that raises slimes and use them in their daily lives. The custom has rarely been used elsewhere because most cities or towns have their own ways to deal with problems however-."

"In our city we can't deal with those problems so easily." Lana firmly nodded her head, "Mr Kane thank you so much! I'll push this information to the city council and-."

Mask raised his hand and stopped her, "Ms Lana, do you truly believe the city council will be able to help?"

She paused and expression filled with bitter regret, "No, they wouldn't care. The Upper district is already cosy enough. Our problems don't matter to them any more than the tax we pay."

Chloe frowned, "So what do we do?"

"What do we do?" Mask repeated the question at Lana pointedly. "In the end I'm new around here. I can help, but that's all."

Lana smiled calmly and confident, "You've helped a lot already. I believe you'll have plenty of work from now on. As for the slimes and what to do, I'll make arrangements. Please head inside and rest."

"Thank you," Mask took Chloe inside. As usual the guild was empty and now with Lana outside it was even more so.

As they sat at the same table as before, Chloe had to ask, "Why didn't you tell her what to do? You know don't you?" How could he not know? For even the few days Chloe had known him, Mask seemed to have a grasp on everything.

"Maybe," Mask replied, "but for the city to rebuild itself, it has to come from itself. If things get worse then I'll intervene more but for now our job is to support it in softer ways. More importantly how did you like your first adventure outside?"

"It was amazing!" Chloe gestured with her entire body. "I saw so many things and they were all so cool. Like when you-...." Mask smiled as the young girl recited their day joyfully. For a smile like the one she showed now, Mask considered it all worth it.