I was so caught up in retreating that I completely missed the rolling blob of slime following me. The only reason I did notice was because Daniela had a fireball at the ready. We'd met up at the smaller road branch not long ago, but the moment she'd crossed the road her splashed against the asphalt beside me. The sound of surprise I made couldn't really be put into words.

"What they hell, Danny!?"

"That's close enough, blobby. Why did you follow us?" she said, the Skill held threateningly in her hand.

When I looked over my shoulder, I spotted the green-brown gelatinous tendril poking a shaking appendage around a tree. It waved the appendage in the air like a flag before flattening itself on the ground. Even with its decreased size, it still covered a significant space. As the gel substance it was made of flattened, I noticed two things. One was the fist sized Metier crystal at the center of its body. The other was the fact that said crystal was emitting a distinct brown light intermingled by flashes of the iridescence we'd come to associate with the Entity.

"What the..." Danny said, lowering her hand and letting the Skill drop.

"It has a Metier Crystal. That's the only thing in its body. Maybe that's why it didn't attack us like the other Tendrils ," Sam speculated. Almost as if to confirm his thoughts, the slime reformed and nodded it's appendage vigorously. "Wow, and it can understand us not just communicate."

Its appendage pointed in my direction, before the slime rolled around on the ground quickly. For a gelatinous mass, it sure was expressive.

"Are you saying that's because of me, somehow?" I asked. An appendage nodded in response. "Okay, well, I don't think you should follow us. You could lead more of the tendrils to us, even if you directly won't."

The appendage rose up in the air, then shook itself side to side. The slime vibrated with agitation. When it rolled in our direction, we all took a step back. The slime's appendage formed again, and it seemed to point at each of us briefly before the whole creature deflated. Its gelatinous mass sagged to the ground enough that I could see the glow of the crystal inside it.

"It's not worth the risk, Ron. Let's get going," Danny said, tugging on my torn shirt in the direction of the Bunker path. I nodded and walked after her, but not without giving the friendly tendril another look. Its appendage rose up for a moment before it slunk back to the ground. Its bulk was out of sight as we moved around the trees and onto broken asphalt.

---+---

No creatures stumbled on our path. With the now familiar surroundings, getting to the Bunker took just under an hour. I still held some trepidation about the lack of Attuned trees and plants, but I tried to relax when I remembered my discussion with the Entity. When we passed the overgrown gas station, I finally felt comfortable enough to zone out a little bit to look my Status over. Instead of opening up the summarized bit of information, I populated my Skills, Traits and Attributes. The results were surprising.

Subject: Ronan Terrigan

Health: 94% (Unafflicted)

Mana: 98%

Metier Quotient: 3 (22%)

Dreg Accumulation: 15%

LPS: Wildwood, FL

Communications

Skills - (2) Selections Available

Traits - (6% Banked)

Attributes - Growth Quantified

Skills:

Offensive - / Imbue/ Materialize

Defensive - Direct/ Imbue/

Misc -

-

Traits:

Limestone Skin

Unformed (0%)

Attributes:

Strength: 1.40 > 1.41

Mobility: 1.31

Perception: 1.52 > 1.53

Refinement: 1.13

Containment: 1.93

The information scrolled slowly before my right eye while I kept my left on my friends and surroundings. There were two things that stood out to me the most. The first was the fact that I'd gained much more Dreg from the tendrils than almost any other creature. I hadn't bothered to open it and look at how much I got from each body, but 15% was almost the amount I received from the whole swarm of ants. We'd only fought three things and all of them had been of a lower Quotient than us. That was reflected in the Pith gains, but the Dreg... That's probably why the feeling of nausea was so strong when we absorbed their energy.

The second thing was that I'd actually increased my Attributes outside of a rise in Quotient. Considering how much stronger I was compared to when I first arrived on the surface I had doubted it was possible for me to get past that value.

Before I could spend too many mental resources, an excited Anthony surged our way. The creature had a deep blue line painted across the top of its body which initially gave us pause. Thankfully, Ben and Ava weren't far behind.

"You are all back! What happened? Ronan, why are you shirtless? Daniela, is that smoke coming off your hair!?" Ava immediately went full mother on all of us. The only one who had remained mostly untouched through the encounter was Samuel, but I'd done my best to keep it that way. Other than dirt and grime from travel, our healer was pristine.

"We’re okay, mama. Can we get inside and we'll explain everything?" Danny said. I heard the lowered tone of her voice and finally noted the sag of her shoulders. She hadn't exhibited anything close to what happened to me while taxing my mana, but I hoped hers wasn't more subtle. She'd been mostly quiet the entire trip back other than engaging the slime. It was entirely possible she'd been dealing with something in silence.

I have to talk to her. She probably still thinks we are unhappy about the spider situation. I had to admit, I handled that situation poorly and in the wrong place. If I intended to be the leader, I needed to be understanding as well as direct. The loud monotone voice of the Entity shook me out of my self reflection.

"Ah! Wonderful! It seems you all are really kicking it into high gear on the Dreg front. And no life or death injuries I see. Though it appears someone manhandled some fire." We stepped over the gap of my sliding doors to see that the Entity was illuminating the inside of the vestibule perfectly. "Hold on. One, two... Why are there seven of you now?"

"What do you mean?" Sam said, turning to count all of us. "There are only six of us?"

"What about that thing in the ground behind you?" While we knew it was technically possible for the Crystal to point out what he was talking about, it wasn't necessary. All six of us, ant included, turned to see a mound of dirt we hadn’t noticed there before. Under our scrutiny, the wobbly mass of the slime appendage rose out of the ground, pointed itself in our direction, quivered, then sunk out of view. The mound didn't move.

"I think it's pretending we didn't just see it," Sam said with a chuckle.

"I think I need to blast this thing so it stops following us," Daniela said with much less enthusiasm. She didn't move to cast her Skill, but I suspected that had to do with exhaustion rather than lack of desire.

"You three care to tell us what the hell that thing is?" Ava and Ben had, admittedly, reacted fairly well. They both had their semi-automatic rifles pointed at the poorly hidden gelatinous blob.

"That," I said, gesturing to the slime, "Is part of the story. Entity, are you okay to talk for a while?" A brief look at my Status showed that it had already banked my Dreg and presumably that of my friends.

"I have sufficient energy for an extended conversational period. However, based on the encounter your elders had here at the base I will say it would be prudent of me to expand my field of influence further. Sooner, rather than later, that is."

When I gave Ben and Ava a look, they both shrugged. "We got attacked by another swarm of ants. Thankfully your mom is a crack shot just like you, Danny," Ben said.

"Ben and Anthony did a fantastic job keeping the bigger critters occupied while I hit them. We gathered up all the stuff they dropped into a crate next to your work space, Ronan. Ben's been moving some stuff to your work area."

"Yeah, I also put the scrap metal that my rifle became in there. Let's say that you don't want to get caught between those ants and a hard place with only a gun in between," Ben said, grimacing as he looked northwest.

"Sounds like we aren't the only ones with a tale to tell. Anyone up for an early dinner? I'll make us some chairs," I said, eyeing the slime mound one more time. "I'll tell the slime to join us."

"I don't want it anywhere near my stuff!" Danny said as she made her way inside.

Good to know she isn't tired or dejected enough to stop being the physical manifestation of a pain in my butt. Before I went to talk to our stealthy friend, I raised two mounds of earth facing the Crystal. Then I made rough backs to them with half powered . A quick strike from my pickaxe sent the tips crumbling to the ground.

"Thanks for turning my bedroom into a dining room," the Entity quipped. It had remained silent through the constructive endeavor.

"I aim to please. Plus, I figured having dinner under the magical light of a possibly interdimensional being would be a nice touch."

"It will be nice to actually interact with organisms beyond just existing."

I didn't pause what I was doing, but the depth of loneliness in the Entity's voice was something distinctly human. On the short walk to the slime, I thought about how I would have felt living for decades without really being able to communicate. Probably not well.

The slime slunk further into the ground when I approached, as if it would be able to hide better.

"Hey, we all know you are there. Come on out." The appendage poked itself out of the ground and pointed itself in my direction. The lime green creature quivered and I realized it was probably scared. Danny hadn't exactly been welcoming. "It's alright. You are already here and considering you helped us in the fight against the other tendrils, I don't plan on driving you off. I can't promise you won't have to deal with the occasional fireball from my friend though. She has a bit of a... fiery personality."

While it didn't look like the slime appreciated my puns, it did extract itself from the ground. It was as if the very earth took its shape. It was a bit frightening to think we might not have noticed the tendril stalking us, so I gave our surroundings a hard look. The slime rolled along behind me, jiggling in what I interpreted as joy, while I stared out over our clearing. I could see some of the burn marks on the ground and even a toppled tree to the north. The herd looked to be intact, but considering their previous experience when they angered Raymond, I wasn't surprised.

"Ronan! Food is getting cold and it's story time," Sam said, poking his head out of the vestibule to call out to me.

The slime and I made our way back to the bench-chair-things I'd made. I took one of the ones furthest from the crystal and the slime slunk down to a flattened circle. Maybe it's more comfortable like that? Anthony and Daniela took the opposite spot from us. The ant prodded at the slime with its antenna, but the gelatinous creature only jiggled in response as if it was giggling from tickles. Before I got much of a chance to consider how weird the current situation was, Daniela passed me an used Insta-meal tray with a heap of tomatoes and potatoes.

"Bon appetit. Eh... does that thing eat?" She asked after passing food to everyone.

"Not sure. Let's see." I flicked one of my potatoes onto the slime's bulk. It stayed on the surface of the creature for a sec before it sucked it in with a slurp. The potato faded from view a moment later. "I'd say yes?"

Daniela didn't say anything, but she went back and returned with a tray for the slime.

"Right, so you two had a fun party without--" A loud slurping sound interrupted me. We all turned to see the slime's appendage reaching over the food tray and sucking up the potatoes and tomatoes like a vacuum. The sound was sloppy and reminded me of the wet flop the fire tendril humanoid had made when it passed through the slime's body. It did not stop until the last bit of food had disappeared into the slime's body.

"I would very much like to hear your side of the story first, Ronan. Particularly, how you acquired this creature whom I am struggling to identify even within the inner layer of my influence," the Entity said.

Ben and Ava weren't in a rush. Both were already stuffing their faces with food, as were Sam and Danny, so I gave the recounting of our day. It'd been barely twelve hours, but the sheer amount of things that happened took almost an hour to retell. Samuel described the damage to our gear we'd sustained and Daniela retold her experience summoning the wisp offensively for the first time, as well as fighting the budding forest fire. I'd been right in assuming it had taxed her. She mentioned that she'd never dipped quite that low in her mana pool before.

With our story out of the way, our two older companions talked about the attack from the fire ants. Ten of the smaller ants, as well as two of the larger Smolder ants had made an appearance. They had initially attempted to attack the herd, but Raymond wouldn't have any of that. He single handedly crushed one of the larger ants while the rest tried to swarm over the relatively un-magically enhanced pair. Ben had beaten the larger ant while Anthony wrestled it and Ava had blasted neat holes in all the smaller ants.

"Okay, exciting day on all fronts then! Speaking of Ms. Ava, if you would please walk over here I will augment your Implant. My apologies I haven't been able to remove your Dreg yet." The Entity connected with Ava for less than a minute before releasing her. It looked like it was getting better at giving us access to Statuses, she barely staggered. "As for your gelatinous friend, I have an inkling of what he is. The short answer? Nothing good."

"Are they nothing good for us or just in general?" Danny said. I could have sworn I saw the writing for her spell chain forming in her hand even as the Entity explained.

"I do not believe this creature means any of you harm. It... has bonded to Ronan? Comparing it to what you and Anthony have as well as what Samuel has with Raymond would not be far from the truth." The light inside the crystal fluctuated for a moment as if it was considering its words. "What it is is something new. Something new to the information I have available at my present Category anyhow."

"Well, out with it man...ehrm... crystal... Entity?" Ben said with excitement before fumbling with the terms with which to address the alien rock.

"Calling me Entity as you have been doing is fine, Benjamin. What this Slime is, to use the term most adjacent to your knowledge, is a Dreg Corrupted Entity Crystal."

While I suspected something along those lines, I didn't really know where it or the Tendril creatures overall stood in the growing mountain of things we needed to be concerned about. Thankfully, the Entity had anticipated our question.

"Like the Tendrils you encountered, it is something that has been nearly overwhelmed physically by the presence of Dreg. As you know, mana can cause mutations in organisms. The rampart versions of these mutations are the result of Dreg Afflictions. While these provide immensely more power to the creature involved, they come at a cost that cannot always be paid by the organism. The cost is something I cannot ascertain, as the structure of Dreg is foreign to me. However, it appears that some portion of the Category 1 Entity has been able to take control of the mutations and corruption."

As if seeking to affirm that deduction, the appendage of the slime moved up and down rapidly. The creature had remained both still and perfectly silent the whole time after eating I'd nearly forgotten about it.

"Ah, it appears to be fairly intelligent also. I cannot begin to guess or compute the nature of such an... unholy union. Your language choices are certainly strange. Anyhow, I believe I may be able to remove and purify most of the Dreg within. As for the change that led it to become... wobbly in nature and Attuned at that, I do not believe that is currently in my power."

"As long as you don't think it will be a threat, I don't have a problem with it," I said. Ben and Ava shrugged, while Sam nodded and smiled at the gelatinous addition to our group. Daniela stared intently at the slime for several seconds before she blurted out.

"Fine! But you have to name it Blobby!"

That was apparently agreeable, because the slime wobbled up and down, jiggling all the while. It was a strange sight to behold, but actually an impressive display of its control over its body.

"I suppose you are Blobby, if that is fine with you?" I said, addressing the slime directly. It nodded with its appendage, then rolled closer to my side. While I said I wanted a pet just like the others, I hadn't realized it would be... this. I actually quite liked Blobby and the more I thought about its abilities, the more I thought they would synergize well with my defensive role as a tank.

I had been surprised that Daniela had already been holding one of her patentedly terrible creature names at hand.

"Weren't you extremely concerned about the slime since the moment we met it?" I asked.

"Yes, but then it helped us. And then its little arm just waves around and its body is so expressive and cute!" Blobby rolled closer to Daniela and reached out with its appendage. The woman hesitated for a moment, but shook the firm gel a moment later.

Blobby didn't look particularly cute to me, and what I'd seen it do with the fire tendril sent chills down my spine, but I did find the idea of having an amorphous blob of matter as a pet pretty cool. It wasn't much of a stretch to say I had a pet rock.

"While I am glad to have access to a Status and a new... friend, I would like to discuss the piece of news the Entity revealed to us." Ava said. Her tone immediately sobered the mood, even with Blobby's silly jiggling body directly in front of us. "And what you three have brought to our attention. The Tendrils and Human Tendrils at that. How does this change our plans?"