The Individuals

Story#7: Fate

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" PLEASE!!! I'M BEGGING YOU, SPARE ME!!!!!!!!" Terrifyingly screamed a knight in the clutches of a horrifying, large dragon. The dragon ignored the knight's plea and crushed them in between their grossly long, sharpened fingers. As he was being crushed, the knight screamed a cry for mercy, but his voice was easily overshadowed by the dragon's heavy breaths. Once he was killed, the dragon dropped his corpse, letting it fall down through the grate below, and heavily lumbered away, stepping over many more bodies. The knight's body clinked and scuttered against the walls as it fell to the ground with a loud bang, ringing out and echoing all throughout the area below. Once all was quiet and the dust was settled, a creature of shadow, a darkling, peeked their head out from the darkness. They fixed their eyes on the man's corpse. When they finally heard the dragon above sit still, they crept out and cautiously wandered over to it, taking steps only in the shadows. They quickly tore his armor off and dashed back into the darkness. When they peeked out once again, they were fully suited in the knight's armor, but they were still cautiously tiptoeing in the shadows. After squirming around, double checking that the armor was locked to their body, and making sure that not even a slip of air could get in, they nervously stepped out of the darkness and into the faint light that shined from above. The light flickered upon them, not doing any harm. The tenseness in their body then melted away and they sighed in relief. They turned and looked down the dark hall to the right of them. A light much brighter than the one above shined at the end. With their armor jostling with every step, they began to head towards the light.

When they finally broke out of the darkness and entered the light, they stepped out of a drainage pipe and into a vast forest. Sun broke through the leaves, basking the area in patches. And plants, fungi, and all the rest lanced the area in abundance. Birds singed heavenly tunes while wild deer roamed the land fearlessly. Their chirping was so harmonic, one could waste hours just listening to it. While taking in the sights they've only heard about in tales, they began to slowly inch forward. Nuzzled up against a tree, they then noticed a chest chain closed by vines with a knight's skeleton draped over it. Approaching the chest, they moved the skeleton off to the side and tore the vines off. The chest popped open when finally freed and inside was a rusted sword, a battered old shield, a small purse of coins, and a few healing flasks. They reached down to grab the items inside, but when they tried a large green, gelatinous slime sprang forth from behind the tree. They quickly rolled backward out of the way and the slime landed in front of them. 

What do they do? They want the items in that chest, they would be helpful for their journey, but they've never been in a fight before. And if they don't kill it now, then it will just be back later. 

Think: what was a slime's weakness again? For something like a plant, simply cut its roots, for humans it's old age, creatures kept as pets typically die when their owners do...ah, they remember! A slime's weakness is similar to a darkling's, they just need to dry it out and that can be easily done by basking it in the sun for too long! 

They then began to dash away and the slime quickly hopped after them. Over sunken roots and down dirt paths, they ran into an area where the trees didn't guard the sky. They skidded to the center and watched as the slime stupidly followed them out into the open. Now they just need to keep it distracted while the sun dries them out. Dashing from side to side, they continually dodged the slime's attacks. As the fight went on, its thin membrane became more and more dried out and wrinkled. Eventually, it slowed to a stop and with one final shake, its body flattened seemingly under its own weight. Stiff cracks in its membrane appeared as a thick yellow liquid seeped out from within.