Indeed, slimes are not mindless!

This information came to me as a total shock. In all my life I’d not expected anything along these lines.

Certainly, I’d been looking for secrets related to slimes, but I had thought I would find some hidden subspecies, not a monumental secret such as this!

But… why is it a secret? For what reasons did the historians of Asterl decide that slimes would forever be known as dumb creatures? They are not quite on the level of a human such as myself, or a Madarai, or even the Nakfolo, but they still possess their own grade of intelligence - to some extent, it might be possible to even potentially reason with one!

The person credited for documenting the slimes in such detail is a dwarf named Lasthar. His first name has been quite furiously scratched from the pages, which raises a number of questions all on its own.

I suppose it’s another mystery to unfold.

Daro D’Vari, part-time cashier

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Avynne and Olivai dragged Daveen’s unconscious body between them, attracting no small number of strange looks from the people passing by them. The sun was slowly beginning to set on the horizon, shadows stretching longer and jerking oddly.

Miro spotted Donnel dealing cards in front of a few people, but he paused to watch them as they went by. His yellow eyes narrowed to squint at all of them, but Miro had the feeling he was watching Miro closer than any of them. Feeling uncomfortable, Miro sped on by and headed for Otto’s house.

It was just as squat and plain as Miro had remembered it. It looked more intimidating than the last time it’d visited, however. The lengthening shadows made the dark windows look like gaping maws in the side of the building, or even black eyes staring at Miro.

Ignoring the temporary uncertainty, Miro rolled up to it and chirped as loudly as it could. Waiting for a few moments, it checked back on Avynne and Olivai. The priestess was talking to a person covered in scales, with a strange-shaped head and a thick tail poking out from beneath their long coat. She seemed to be trying to convince them that Daveen was not, in fact, drunk.

Miro didn’t know what drunk meant, but it hardly mattered. Turning back to Otto’s door, it chirped again, extending the shrill note and making it warble noisily. It held the sound for a few seconds before Otto threw the door open.

He looked like he’d been sleeping all day, which seemed strange. Miro had thought his job was similar to Olivai’s, but perhaps it’d been wrong. Miro had definitely been wrong about a lot of things.

Glaring down at the slime, he began, “Miro, I don’t know what you’re doing here this close to nighttime, but I’m not in the mood for whatever…”

He trailed off as he noticed Avynne and Olivai making their way towards him, the scaled and tailed person walking away and shaking her head. His eyes widened, and he hurried out towards them. “Olivai? Who’s this? What’s going on?”

“I’ll explain inside,” She told him, handing Daveen’s weight over to the paladin and gratefully rubbing her sore shoulders. “There’s a lot to unpack.”

Otto nodded understandingly, then indicated Avynne with his spare hand. Daveen looked a lot lighter on his shoulder, Miro noted. “Okay, but who’s this?”

Avynne fluffed her feathers and bent at the waist, tilting her head so she could maintain eye contact with Otto. “I am Avynne! I am Miro’s friend. And… Olivai’s friend?” She finished the sentence as a nervous question, and Olivai gave her a nod. Avynne relaxed noticeably, some of the feathers around her neck falling flat.

Shaking his head, Otto hefted Daveen and pulled him inside. “Just come on in. You can tell me what’s going on.”

Olivai and Miro readily entered, but Miro noticed Avynne hanging back. It gave her an inquisitive burble, and she glanced down at it. “Oh. Yes, I should probably follow you.”

She still didn’t come in.

Miro rolled up to her taloned feet and stared up at her, trying to figure out what she was doing. She scratched at her cheek awkwardly, kicking at the dusty road. “Please don’t tell Olivai, but… I do not like small places.”

Turning, Miro looked at Otto’s house and tried to see it from Avynne’s perspective. It was pretty roomy as far as Miro was concerned, but then again, Miro was fairly small when put next to Avynne.

Bracing itself, Miro bounced into Avynne’s stomach, and she took a few steps back from the impact. Rolling itself around until comfortable, Miro faced Otto’s open door and gave Avynne a confident burble. Now that it was a little higher off the ground, it could almost see how Avynne saw it.

Avynne stared at the door for a few more seconds. Miro felt her take a deep breath through her shirt and the feathers beneath it, and then she walked into Otto’s house.

It was as dark as Miro remembered it. Otto and Olivai could be heard talking in the next room, although their voices were muffled through the thick walls. The last vestiges of the sun weakly flickered through the slitted windows, leaving only the scant candles as illumination.

Miro felt Avynne’s heart begin to thud in her chest, thumping faster and faster. Miro inflated itself slightly, pushing against her shirt, and she took another breath. Giving Miro a pat, she walked into the room where Olivai and Otto were.

It was a small and simple area, much the same as the rest of Otto’s house. A table and two chairs stood in the middle of the room, and a door led to somewhere else. It was both closed and locked, a disproportionately large chain holding the handle shut.

Otto had a skeptical expression on his face, listening to Olivai as she bluntly described what had been happening. As Avynne and Miro came in, he gave them a sideways glance before returning his attention to Olivai. Daveen was slumped in the corner, still knocked out cold.

“...the time I arrived. I’ve already talked to both of them and Daveen. He’s definitely got something wrong.”

Otto slowly nodded, indicating Miro. “And the, er… lifting?”

Miro happily picked up the table in front of both of them, and Otto fell out of his chair. Olivai gave Miro a hard look, and it recalled her request to avoid using the ability. It guiltily set the table back on the floor, and Otto stiffly set the hard wooden chair back up. “Okay, that’s… a thing. Moving on, why are you here?”

Olivai gestured towards Daveen. “I don’t know what’s wrong with him, but he’s been acting odd lately. He’s always been a little strange, but he’s never broken into my room before.”

Otto raised a doubtful eyebrow. “How do you know that?”

Olivai’s upper lip curled, and she shivered slightly. “I don’t want to think about that. We’re here to see if you can get any information out of him. Do you think you can do something about that?”

Brushing the chair off and taking a seat, Otto thoughtfully wondered, “I don’t know if that would be a good idea. Thoughts should remain private to an extent. If we force someone to be honest, even with Silaos’ permission, where would it end?”

Avynne raised an arm, feathers sticking out at random angles. “I do not think Daveen is a good person. If he has something to hide that Olivai needs to know, shouldn’t he tell her?”

Otto conceded her. “You’re not wrong, but still, I’m not supposed to force the truth out of someone unless it’s absolutely necessary.”

Indicating Miro, Olivai asked, “What about Miro? You used Silaos’ blessing of Insight on it. Isn’t that a greater invasion?”

“That’s a different case,” Otto pointed out. “We were trying to figure out whether or not Miro could think for itself. We already know Daveen can think, even if he can’t think very well, which means he’s off limits to that without express permission.”

Olivai frowned. “I can see why that would be a concern, and I understand that privacy is an important thing to keep safe, but at the same time…” She sighed, and then sat down. “I can’t help but feel like something is wrong.”

Otto stared at her for a long moment, and then glanced at Miro and Avynne. “Do you think it has something to do with…” He let the sentence trail off, carefully watching Olivai for a reaction.

She shook her head. “No, not a chance. He’s been here since before I arrived.”

Avynne suddenly chirped, “He came a few days before you did. He said he was from the cathedral in Carodai Melas.”

Both Olivai and Otto turned to Avynne, their expressions serious. Otto spoke first. “He’s only been here for a few months?”

They glanced at each other meaningfully, and Miro looked between the two of them. What was going on?

Leaning down, Olivai picked Miro up and handed it to Avynne. “You know, I think you should take Miro over to Bordi’s and grab a snack.”

Bending slightly under Miro’s weight, Avynne protested, “But-”

Olivai practically pushed Avynne out of Otto’s house, talking as she did. “We can handle Daveen just fine. Here’s some coin for the snacks. Please get me a cream bake if you don’t mind - they’re quite good.”

Miro was briefly torn between wanting to know what was going to happen to Daveen and wanting to eat whatever a cream bake was. The cream bake quickly won, and Miro readily bounced out of Avynne’s arms, prepared to head down the empty street. It froze as it realized that Bordi’s shop was most likely no longer open.

Avynne spun around, facing Olivai with her wings half-raised. “But - but I want to be helpful! Let…”

Olivai smiled apologetically, pulling the door shut. “I’m so sorry, but we’ve got it handled. Have fun!”

The door closed, and the street was silent. Miro was as still as Avynne, both of them watching the closed door.

Shadows finished creeping up the side of Otto’s house as the sun set, the flame-tinged sky gradually darkening. At the far end of the street, someone began lighting the lights on their posts, not taking notice of the Madarai or the slime.

Avynne quietly finished, “Let me help.”

Miro realized that it knew exactly how Avynne felt. The only thing Miro had been trying to do since Olivai had found it in the woods was be helpful, and it still didn’t know what it could do that Olivai couldn’t do by herself. If anything, Miro had a feeling it’d been causing a lot of trouble.

Its gel made a crunching sound as it rolled across the road, small stones and pieces of gravel either getting pushed into the ground or partially absorbed into Miro’s surface. Coming to a stop next to Avynne, it burbled softly and pushed against her ankle.

A drop of liquid hit Miro’s surface, and it glanced up to find Avynne brushing her beak off with her wings. Taking a deep, shuddering breath, she looked down at Miro and gave it a smile. “Thank you. I am fine.”

Miro had a feeling she wasn’t fine.

It didn’t even know the name of the feeling it was having. It desperately wanted to help Olivai because she’d helped it so much, but Olivai didn’t need its help. She was fine on her own. She had Otto to talk with, she could purify things, and she seemed confident at almost everything Miro had seen her try.

But... Avynne needed help too.

Miro had no idea how it could even begin to provide that kind of help, but it knew it was going to try.