WIP: Short story based off of Ooze mini campaign SPOILERS

[LBD]

So for the record I played the ooze mini campaign and found it, well, more enjoyable then many of the mainline campaigns. So I decided to write up a story based on it. This is the first chapter. I'd like review and advice from anyone who has played the Ooze mini campaign. Especially from the guy who made it! If this goes well, I might expand the adventures past the mini campaign.

Caution. Spoilers

Chapter 1: The Caverns

Spoiler:

The darkness embraced me, it’s velveteen grip flowing around me as I slept. Cool, cold, wet. I know not how long I rested there in that dank cavern, just another slimy puddle. Occasionally I was woken from my slumber, by the mint flavored blue ripples in the air that signified the shrill squeaks of the bats I usually ate. Sometimes it was the basil silver whispers of larger prey stepping unwarily onto me. These awakenings were barely more then moments, reflexive, spontaneous, then done. And when I finished silence would return, and I would sleep.

Then suddenly, there was a sharp cheddar red flash, starting me from my slumber. Metal hitting metal echoed through my caverns, each clank tracing another jagged scar into the air. I tasted something on the floor, something moist, with iron and proteins. This was food. Hungrily, instinctively I slithered across the slick path, until I reached an odd figure. It was mostly covered in metal, but there were holes in its shell, and the food was leaking from it. Near it was a chord of wood, burning.

I rushed at it, and it let out a sound that left yellow and green waves over the world. I seeped through the metal, dissolving it, eating it and eating the figure underneath. Then, something happened. This wasn’t like any other meal I had eaten before, or any other time I had awakened. Images, words, sounds flashed before my eyes. These… walking food stores called themselves ‘humans’. And for the first time, I found myself thinking.

It was an unusual feeling, actually expressing myself within my own mind with words instead of pictures. It made me feel powerful and strong. For the first time I had an identity, though it was not much of one yet. Still I hungered, and from what I could remember of the creature’s mind there was a battle between three factions in my caves.

One side was a group of humans who were ‘bandits and highwaymen’. The other factions of humans were the ‘militia’. The last groups in my caverns were some goblins who were making it their home. I wasted no time, and used the mass of my victim, as well as the extra mass I had built up over the years to split myself into several parts. Since I had ‘thoughts’ now I could maintain control of myself even when split into pieces.

Then I headed to where the clash was the loudest. There were many of these humans there, six in metal shells and nearly twelve in twisted brown shells… leather, my newfound vocabulary prompted me. Small grey two-legged creatures chattered and guarded the holes to the part of the caves they had made their home, watching the fight, and poking anyone who got too close with their long sticks. These were the goblins.

I went after the goblins first, sending three copies of myself into their cave, dissolving and eating their village while they watched the door, oblivious to my passage, until one of the smaller ones started to scream.

Their reaction was immediate. They had apparently fought parts of myself before, because they started attacking me with flaming torches. Normally this would have been the end, it would have cooked me, and killed the bit of me that was too close. But this time was different. I had discovered tactics and strategy.

I learned many tricks, hiding from them, and playing dead to spring ambushed from surprise. I found I could crawl up the walls and dribble myself onto them from the ceiling, then dissolve their flesh. I menaced them from one direction, while silently approaching from another direction. It was… exhilarating. With each goblin I ate my thoughts flowed quicker, and more words popped into my head, glorious words.

The mass of goblins gone I turned on the remainder of the battlefield, four armored men left alive against only six brigands it had been a slaughter, and both sides were exhausted from their long fight. Compared to the goblins it was simple to overwhelm them with a sea of myself and pick the meat off of their bones, then eat even those. Unlike the goblins these men had a different concept: Outside. Intrigued by this place I headed to the exit of the caverns.

[thespaceinvader]

Is there a particular reason you used a huge font size?

[LBD]

Is there a particular reason you used a huge font size?

The intention was to make it more readable... did it work? Also, got chapter 2 done...

Chapter 2: Outside

Spoiler:

When I emerged from my cave immediately I noticed a large, hot ball of fire hanging from the cavern ceiling far above. No, that was wrong, the words in my head swirled around in my head. This burning orb was the sun, and the blue sheet over us was called a ‘sky’ and it went up ‘forever’.

More sounds echoed across me, leaving complex counter weavings of spiced and rough patterned lines across my sight. I knew now enough to identify this as ‘speech’ and ‘language’.

“What the hell is that thing?”

“I don’t know, but it killed Sergeant Sims. We need to regroup back at the town! It must be warned!”

“Don’t even think about it mister! We must stand our ground and kill these beasts now, before they multiply any more!”

“Are you kidding?! That thing just ate half our militia! We need to go get help from the Imperial Army!”

These words filled me with a great deal of anxiety. I had no desire to cease my existence, and so I fled from the source of the sound north, into the cool green trees. They provided shade to me, protecting me from the harsh light and heat of the sun.

As I got deeper into the wood, I began to hunger. At this point I encountered a small village of lizard creatures. Saurian, my words prompted. They saw me and started hissing, clicking, and whistling a language that caused beautiful perfumed bursts of color to dance before me. I relaxed a moment, losing my hunger.

Then a bolt of… something slammed into me, freezing and burning away bits of myself simultaneously. This was my first experience with magic, and enraged I charged consuming the small group of saurian and incidentally learning their beautiful language. I decided that staying on the scene of the battle was a bad idea, and I could hear the militia hunting for me behind me, so I continued my journey in the cool night.

It was at this point that I saw a being with long ears, and insect wings sprouting from it’s back. It was an Elvin sylph. She was talking to her tree.

"Those foolish humans! First they dare to trespass in my woods, and now they've stirred up the monsters in the Dark Cavern! Nature's balance must be respected. By the power of my faith, I, Aurelia, Defender of Shinseki Forest, will cleanse this land of all defilers!"

This creature was a threat to my existence, and all of this motion had made me hunger again. I silently seeped into the dirt, and then emerged around her, covering her in myself and trying to eat. She tasted delicious, better then the dirty loud goblins, the metallic high pitched humans, or the tough rumbling saurians. She was sweet, with a touch of smooth butter and a hint of orchestral music. But she wasn’t dissolving, even though I was using my strongest of digestion. Instead she laughed, her quivering causing me to see purple stars.

"I have joined my soul with the heart of the forest! As long as this forest exists, so shall I! Now taste nature’s fury!”

The next few moments were filled with pain and agony as I lost a full half of my mass to one assault, burned away by her blast of energy. In terror I pulled away from her, thinking as quickly as I could manage. Heart of the forest… was that the tree she was tending the heart of the forest? I flew at the tree, dodging her blasts by sinking into the dirt, then springing out of it. I hit the tree with a wet schlep, then I began to eat. The sylph ceased her assault, staring at me with a look of terror.

"NO! Foul creature, you have no idea what you're trifling with! The Heart of Shinseki Forest must remain pure!"
As I dissolved the giant tree, turning it into myself I experienced a strange… tingling sensation. As though my mind was touching another creature’s mind.

"Ugh! Get out of my head, monster! This forest belongs to me!"

She redoubled her assault upon me, but held back, afraid to damage the tree. And soon the entire tree was part of me. Since her spirit had been bound into the Forrest heart, when I consumed it, I had consumed her spirit as well.
Emotions, sensations, and memories flooded through my consciousness. I realized that these were from the sylph. A whole new world had opened before me, the world of the solids.

The days when I acted on instinct, heedlessly devouring anything so unfortunate as to stumble into my lair were over. I was filled with euphoria, rejoicing at my newfound freedom from my base desires. Then I came to the somber realization that the humans in the nearby town would never stop hunting for me. To them I was nothing more then an amorphous menace.

The only way to protect myself from these powerful creatures and their dangerous magic was to disguise myself as one. I slithered over to the unconscious, delicious sylph and rather then eating her I forced my slimy body into her mouth.

[Max]

Is there a particular reason you used a huge font size?

The intention was to make it more readable... did it work?

if someone finds the default font size hard to read he/she can just change it via browser settings.

Smilies, Colors, Size and Capitalization.
... Do not make your text large without a very good reason (making a list)...

http://www.wesnoth.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=24277

[Hatter_Madigan]

I didn't think what bit about how accurate that could be, and thought of it as a story completely separate from wesnoth, and thought of it as pretty enjoyable. May I suggest writing a short story about the sea monster from heir to the throne? I would love to know what it's story is.

[Turuk]

I love when others cover the Posting Guidelines for me. Do not worry about text size, as noted, that can be solved on the personal computer end.

[LBD]

I didn't think what bit about how accurate that could be, and thought of it as a story completely separate from wesnoth, and thought of it as pretty enjoyable. May I suggest writing a short story about the sea monster from heir to the throne? I would love to know what it's story is.

Sure. I can write that story next. Also, sorry about posting large.

Chapter 3: New Sensations

Spoiler:

At first I was simply inside the solid, and uncertain how to proceed. I seeped through the walls of the stomach, filling her blood and body, caressing her brain, trying to figure out what to do. Then I started to feel a connection inside me. It was the soul I had consumed reaching out to its body. New sensations flooded me, one at a time. I only had maybe three senses before: Vibration, light, chemical and all were linked, bleeding over into one another in my perception. Interfering with each other. The first sense I picked up was touch.

I felt the soft clothing that the solid was wearing slide across her skin, smoothly and evenly without sticking to her skin. This was a wondrous and powerful sensation, pulling my mind into exploring every feature of it. As I did so I felt something else, reverberating shockwaves through myself, almost painful… I was feeling skin against skin which felt like skin against skin against skin against skin… the feedback loop was overwhelming and I cried out. Then the painful sensation stopped.

It took me a few moments to realize that I was moving the body instinctively. Shortly after that I discovered that I could map each location of the body relative to the other locations in the body. This wasn’t a new feeling, but it was useful. It allowed me to avoid the disastrous sensation of letting the body make contact with itself.

Slowly another sensation opened to me. A feeling of astringent, vomit bitter ick in the solid’s mouth. So, that was what I tasted like. On the heels of this sensation came the warm comforting scent of earth, and the cool scent of the wind in the leaves. I was working out how to use this body. Finally I got the eyes open, and saw as a solid did for the first time.

I do not know how to explain those first few moments of wondrous sight. A solid’s eye is far more focused then what I ‘see’ when light passes through my body. The image was sharp, and painfully clear. I didn’t know what to make of anything at first, the whole world looked like a jumbled set of lines, movement, and color. Then things started settling down and I saw the ripples of magic flowing in smooth lines between the grandiose trees.

The body gasped, coughed, and sputtered as I watched in amazement. This was when I learned that holding my breath in wonder was a bad idea. I called in the rest of myself, forming myself into as tight of a ball as possible, then crawling to the body’s mouth, which I opened. While I tasted nasty, the feeling of myself crawling across the body was slimy, sticky, warm… not too uncomfortable. I triggered the throat muscles to swallow, and joined myself. I spread fully throughout the body, and tried to learn what I could do.

I began to explore my new abilities using this body. The first thing I learned was without the spirit heart the elf’s magical abilities were much reduced, though I could still trigger a few simpler spells I would need to learn how to tap the vast magic I could see swirling around me. Also I was clumsier, and less strong being less used to piloting this form.

On the other hand there were things I could do with my new body that the elf could not do naturally. I found that I could use my body to amplify her blood, bringing air to her cells, feeding her cells, and consuming the waste from her cells much more efficiently. This effectively meant that the body tired more slowly then when it was under the elf’s control, though it still tired far more easily then I did on my own.

Also I could neutralize toxins and poisons that entered the elf’s system, something I learned when I ate the wrong red fruit and it started to interfere with the elf’s body. I could shift my mass around inside the elf increasing momentum and strength, and I could subtly reshape the elf’s bones mid motion to increase the already impressive eleven dexterity and fluidity of motion. It still took me time to learn grace in my new body.

In the time that I was learning to use the body I had to dodge patrols by humans, slowly making my way to Fort Pinewood.

[Huston]

what? no illustrations?

other than that pretty good(although you should probably warn that this gives away a lot of the story from the campaign)

[LBD]

what? no illustrations?

other than that pretty good(although you should probably warn that this gives away a lot of the story from the campaign)

I can't draw worth knocking two sticks together I fear. Also, it sucks having to wait till someone else posts before I can post my next chapter.

As for spoilers... um... wups? maybe I should warn.

Chapter 4: Entering Fort Pinewood

Spoiler:

I felt a moment of sadness at the loss of the solid’s wings. They had failed dormant under her skin without the magic that had sustained them. Her name had been Aurelia. I figured that name would be the least dangerous to refer to myself by once I reached the fort. I double-checked the shiny coins, jewelry, and other such commodities that I had taken from my old lair. They had built up over the years, but I was uncertain of the total value. But when I walked her body across the bridge to the gate a guard stopped me.

"Halt! Who the hell are you?" the guard barked at me. I cowered a moment at the sudden sound, then remembered that I had the appearance of a solid.

"Aw come on Carmen! Do ya have ta give everyone who passes through here a hard time? Let the elf lady pass! We're only standin' guard ta keep out th' oozes!" the other guard said. This man sounded much more reasonable… maybe I could convince him to let me in?

"Like hell we are! The Mayor says the Fort is under complete lockdown until the ooze crisis is resolved. Besides, we don't need her kind of riff-raff in Pinewood. So sod off, little elf lass, there's nothin' for you here!” the guard now identified as Carmen responded to his companion

Ooze crisis? I was a crisis? This was worse then I thought. If they saw me, they would surely kill me, possibly multiple times to be sure. I took a moment to think, delving desperately though my host’s memories for either a way in, or a way to gracefully escape without seeming as though I was fleeing for my life.

I learned that my host was trained in the healing arts, and that healers were welcome everywhere in emergencies.

“I… I’m a healer. From Shinseki Forest. The ooze was last sighted there. Please, please please let me in. I don’t want to be eaten! I could care for the wounded!” I used the elf’s voice to say, a hint of nervous desperation. To my surprise fluid was leaking from my host’s eyes, slightly. Was I doing that? Or was there more of her left in her body then I thought?

"Hmph! Pathetic!" Carman said sternly

"Aww, Carmen, do ya have to be so heartless?” The other guard gave ‘Carmen’ a dirty look, then patted the elf’s shoulder, opening the door for me. “There, there, little lady, you'll be safe in this here fort.”

Something… odd happened when he did that. I wasn’t quite able to identify the feeling. It was as if the ambient temperature had raised a few degrees, though obviously it had not. I felt blood flowing a bit to my host’s face. Was she trying to warn them of my nature and her status as a Trojan horse?!

Then the fowl mouthed Carmen spoke again "What the hell?! All it takes is some teary-eyed little wench and you get all sentimental! You're a pathetic excuse for a guard! And as for you, elf witch, you better behave yourself or you'll end up in the town gaol! The other mercenaries in the Mayor's service aren't nearly as forgiving as my idiot companion here!"

I… I wanted to hurt this man, I felt Aurelia fist clenching without me telling it to… how strange. Still, attacking this man now would not serve my purposes, so I stumbled into the fort.

"Head to th' Mayor's manor just up the street. He's lookin' ta hire healers like yourself." The other guard called after me.
As I looked at the city streets I felt a mix of wonder and revulsion. So, these were my enemies. There were a lot of them, many of them running. The ones who were leaving tended to be bringing a lot of belongings with them, and one horse nearly ran me down.

“Get out of my way elf wench!” a voice shouted. I looked up into a cruel, fat, porcine face seated upon a body that looked like a giant wobbling pustule on the bay he was riding.

“I… what… who are you?” I responded in my confusion

“I am the duc of westbrand, and I am leaving this village before things get worse. If you’re smart you’ll do the same. Onwards!”
A cart laden with goods followed behind him as he left to the north. Still, not all of the people there were as good-looking as him. The city seemed packed with much more solid farmers who were fleeing from outside into the boundaries.

Though… I couldn’t help but notice… while I found the man appreciably slime like… my Aurelia’s body shuddered in revulsion when I thought about him. This was… odd. Why was this happening? Was she breaking out of my control? Was she taking over me?

My certainty in my skill and power broken, I started to worry. I began to totter over to the mayor’s when I noticed a well.
I stumbled over to the well, and peered down into it, then spit some of myself out into it. This part of me would replicate in the water, and get into all who drank. It would allow me to hear what they heart, and to eat them from the inside out if I had to. It was a rather nice plan, if I do say so myself.

Much cheered by my own ingenuity I headed over to the mayor’s manor, curious as to what he might want.

[SpenceLack]

I like this. I think you did a good job in trying to put the reader in the ooze's perspective!

[LBD]

I like this. I think you did a good job in trying to put the reader in the ooze's perspective!

Yay! The original writer likes it! *Celebrates* Anyway... any and all advice is good

Chapter 5: The mayor

Spoiler:

I approached the mayor’s manor with some trepidation. Two guards stood before the door, but both let me in. I walked through the long halls, lined with floral brown wallpaper and flickering oil lamps. The smell of cedar was strong in the halls, oppressive and intimidating.

The mayor’s office was behind large oak double doors. He sat behind a heavy wood desk, in an uncomfortable looking high backed chair. Papers and books, as well as two more guards in their odd red uniforms surrounded him. The mayor was a balding middle-aged man with an exuberant temperament. Despite the richness of his office, he dressed much like the refugee farmers in town. He had, however, less dirt and grime on him. He also smelled more of soap then of human musk.

“Hello. I’m Mayor Wyatt… you’re an elven healer right?”

”Um… Yes, my name is Aurelia. I'm an elvish shaman and I'm here to help!" I said, startled and slightly taken aback that he already knew I was in town.

A grin spread across his fast, and I felt my host grinning in return, then he began to rub his hands together excitedly.

“Wonderful! Splendid! Let me explain the situation... It all started when our militia leader led a punitive strike against the local goblin tribe and bandits. The strike force encountered an incredibly evil, powerful monster that devoured all in its path! “
I realized he was talking about me, and felt my host’s blood rising to her cheeks again. I felt… an odd sinking feeling too, like the floor was dropping away from under my host, but I did not know what caused it.

“The Pinewood Militia suffered a crushing defeat, and our militia leader was killed. I've had all the outlying farmsteads evacuated, as we no longer have the manpower to defend them. The Imperial Army is coming to our aid, but it'll be weeks before they arrive in force."

My thoughts turned to the Imperial Army. Who was this empire and how big was their army? It was troublesome not knowing. I delved into my host’s memories for more information but it was sadly jumbled. Apparently elves did not care much for human politics.

"In the meantime I've been trying to recruit heroes and mercenaries to bolster the fort's defenses. I'm not just worried about the oozes; there's plenty of opportunistic orc warlords that would love to sack a poorly defended human town. If word of our militia's defeat spreads we may have more to worry about than just mindless oozes!"

For a moment I was tempted to respond that I was plenty threatening, and that I certainly wasn’t mindless but the guards watching made me realize that this was a poor idea. For one it would give away who and what I was. For another my slime in the water had not had enough time to work it’s magic, and I would certainly wind up dead.

"If you're interested in helping with the town's defense, go speak with Frist at the Training Hall. You may also want to speak with some of the other townsfolk. They might, at the very least, be able to provide you with valuable information."

I recognized this as a dismissal, and stood to leave.

“One more thing”

I froze, half standing, waiting. My host’s eyes were so wide that her whites could be clearly scene, and her pupils were expanded in what was probably distress… I was worried he’d figured it out.

“If I should die… please command the defense”

“No offence but… why me?”

“Because you’re an outsider, and so none of the political factions of this town will accuse you of favoring any one over the other. This will be a temporary appointment, just until a proper election can be held. Will you accept this responsibility?”

My host smiled a warm, gentle smile and I relaxed. “Yes”

“Good!” The mayor beamed at me “Now you should go and get to know people”

I stood, and left to head back out into the streets.

[The1exile]

I really like both the camopaign and this story, but you asked for advice, so...

Hey! I was plenty to worry about! And I’m not mindless! This is what I almost said, but I bit my tongue in the face of this insult and remained silent.

This line seems a little clunky. I would recommend a more flowing approach like "I bit my tongue with indignation. I was plenty to worry about, and certainly not mindless! Something told me I should remain silent, however - maybe the two guards flanking him with an air of austere suspicion."

[Turuk]

Given that you changed the title to note this, I also put your chapters in spoiler tags for that purpose and to make it easier to browse through this thread.

[LBD]

This line seems a little clunky. I would recommend a more flowing approach like "I bit my tongue with indignation. I was plenty to worry about, and certainly not mindless! Something told me I should remain silent, however - maybe the two guards flanking him with an air of austere suspicion."

Thanks! I think I've fixed the clunkyness there now.

And thanks Turk.

Chapter 6: Training

Spoiler:

Uncertainly I headed towards this training hall. As I headed there I watched the magical currents ripple through the air, and wished that I could access them. The training hall was a low, squat building with a large fenced in yard. A man stood in it… no he wasn’t a man he was a dwarf. His hands were on his hips, and he was scowling at a large group of people in the field, all of whom were swinging at quintanes.

“No, put yer gorram backs into it! Nay! Don’t swing like that! Hold that handle tighter, a good blow’ll knock it outta your hands!” This man was obviously Frist.

I walked towards the man, filled with uncertainty and I felt my host tottering.

“Um… hello?” I said, my host’s voice coming out in a nervous squeak. I wondered why I couldn’t control this body more precisely, and realized that I was starting to get used to this body’s little rebellions.

The dwarf turned a glare that was full of embers on me, then smiled gruffly.

"Welcome to th' Training Hall. If yer lookin' ta sharpen yer combat skills before taking on th' ooze hordes, yer in the right place!"

“I… I see?” I responded in that same, tense voice

“And you look like you have some work to do lass. I’ll get you some magical quintains. They shouldn't be too difficult ta defeat, but if ye should happen ta get injured, High Priest Jal on the east side of town can fix ya up in a jiffy!”

He lead me to the quintains, and I squinted at them. There was magic flowing through and around them, but it was vastly different from the elf magic my host could use. I boned my grip up on the staff, slid myself into my arms, and started to flail on the quintains.

“Whao! Lass! Yer doing it wrong! Stop! Stop!” Frist hollered, startling me.

His rough hands enveloped mine, and I felt another migration of red blood to my host’s cheeks. This was coupled to a strange itching sensation. I didn’t understand what was causing it, but ignored it as best I could.

“You want to hold a staff like this lass, good nice and tight. Now try”

I gave another swing and, surprisingly, the grip felt better. This time I actually hit the quintain. The quintain spun, and slapped me with it’s mace.

“Ow!”

“You hit it wrong, it put you off balance, leaving you more open to counter-attack” Frist explained.

He personally drilled me on those quintains for what seemed like days, but the sun had only moved a few tics across the sky. By the time it was over my host’s face and body were a distressing shade of red, and every breath felt like I was pulling fire into my host’s body. To make matters worse my host was nearly as slimy as I was, this I was especially worried would give it away.

“Lass, are you alright?” Frist asked, some sign of worry showing on his face “I’ve never ‘ad anyone, man dwarf or elf, push themselves as hard as you just have”

“Just… I moment more…” I said. I could feel something… some memory, something just on the edge of my host’s mind. There it was, I prodded the memory, then I gently touched one of the fibers of magic, and twisted it.

The quintain exploded.

Frist stared, then grabbed my host tightly, forcing air, and a bit of myself, out of her rigid body. “Tha’s bloody amazing!” He shouted.

I once again relaxed. I pondered if I was being too jittery, it seemed that solids frequently inspected each other carefully, or made physical contact with each other. This was very strange to me, physical contact with an ooze usually meant they were trying to eat something, and careful inspection of anything is difficult when your senses bleed into each other.

“Th… thanks?”

“Yer a quick learner lass, one o' the quickest I've ever seen. But ye won't learn anything more from beat'n up on quintains. If ye want ta continue ta train, yer gonna have ta go ta the arena. Sergeant Ryn can help ya, but the risk will be greater. But fer nao, take a rest lass. See the sights some, eh?”

“Can… can you stop squeezing me now? It hurts…”

“Ach! Sorry ‘bout that!”

The hearty dwaf let go, and I rubbed my sides, looking for damage “Um… well… thanks.”

“Tis no problem lass!”

I walked away from the hearty man rapidly, wondering what would happen next.

[AI]

Is the trainer's name Frist, Frith or Firth?