Chapter 15B: Drunken Midgets

Three different colored slimes melted into a puddle of ooze as their cores were destroyed. Alex and her friends relaxed their tired bodies. It was now incredibly hot as the sun reached midday. The heat started to take its toll as it sapped strength from their bodies. Dehydration played an important factor in their deteriorating physical stamina.

Alex looked down at the flask of water she brought along. Barely a single drop left. They had to find water and fast.

Suddenly, she looked down at the ooze on the ground. A thought came to her mind.

“Are slimes edible?” Alex couldn’t help but ask her friends.

They were stunned and could only shrug their shoulders.

Alex’s curious side got the better of her. She stuck her index finger in the red ooze and sniffed it. It smelled like fruit. A strong citrus scent with a hint of mildew. Following the survival guide that Dr. Ptah gave her, she first rubbed a small it on her forearm. After a while, there were no rashes or itching. This was a good sign. Alex put a small bit into her mouth. A powerful fruity taste packed full of fructose and pectin. Its texture wasn’t very good, but the taste was there. She waited to see if there was any adverse reaction to ingesting the slime. In the end, nothing happened.

“Guys, I think it’s safe,” She beckoned her friends over to try.

“No thanks, I don’t think eating that thing is healthy,” Nell cringed.

Kurt walked over and stuck his finger in the blue ooze.

“Hmm, taste tart. Kind of like blueberry.”

This got Ruri curious enough to try it as well. He stuck his finger in the last puddle of ooze.

The orange goo stuck to his finger like paste.

“Very strong citrus smell, taste tangy.”

While everyone was savoring the fruity taste of slime, everyone except Nell that is, the nearby slimes have all ran away. Seeing people eat their fallen brethren was frightening.

Alex bottled the three ooze and called her friends over. They had to go find a source of water or to walk back to the farmhouse.

Jedidiah gave them a general idea of the orchard’s layout. Four small creeks ran along the axis of the orchard. If you listen carefully, you can hear running water from any location in the orchard.

Alex just started walking in one direction and listened carefully to see if the sound of water got louder.

Thankfully, it would seem that they were on the right track.

Very soon, they passed through a large hedge of blueberries and found the creek. The crystal clear water flowed gently along the rocky bed. The sunshine glimmered as it reflected off the water. Alex and her friends sighed with relief. They stuck their heads deep into the creek and chugged.

“Bwahhh! So refreshing!” Nell screamed as she pulled her head out of the water.

They filled their canteens and decided to have lunch.

Of course, their lunch was nothing but fruits. Fruits galore!

But it was a decent change compare to eating nothing but meat for a week.

Fruit salad, candied fruit, and just simple sliced fruit filled their backpacks. Certainly eating all this fruit can’t be healthy for anyone. But hey, it’s all virtual, so their bodies didn’t suffer long-term side effects.

Suddenly, Alex heard mumbling beneath the sound of flowing water.

“Did you guys say anything?”

“No. Did you hear something?”

Alex nodded and gestured for her friends to stay silent.

A faint mumbling was heard again. It came from above the hedge on one of the fruit trees. Alex silently got closer to the source of the sound.

She found a hollowed out area of the tree and peered inside.

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It was a miniature apartment containing several small versions of furniture made out of wood with a thin carpet made of feathers. A single tiny creature was lounging on the couch made of a rat pelt. The grey fur looked soft to touch and wasn’t covered in any blemishes that would lower the cost of the couch. The creature was snoozing with a line of drool dripping from the left side of its face.

Alex was shocked. It was a very small person. With the height of around only four inches, the creature looked like a shrunken down teen. Some distinct features allowed Alex to tell it was a girl. But the way she was sprawled out on the couch was anything but lady-like.

Suddenly, Alex was assaulted by a strong smell. It was a scent she had smelled before when handling lab tools. It was the smell of ethanol.

“Alcohol?” Alex pondered.

It certainly would explain why the creature was knocked out cold.

“Hey! What do you see up there?” Nell shouted.

“Who?!” The small creature woke up. She saw Alex and immediately screamed and started to throw stuff at her.

Alex lost her balance and fell. Thankfully Kurt was there to cushion her landing.

“Ouch…,” Kurt rubbed his arms, “You OK?”

“Thanks,” Alex said while quickly getting back up.

“Who are you, folks?!” The small creature yelled out of the tree, “What were you doing peeking at me!”

“There wasn’t anything stopping us,” Alex said bluntly, “Your home doesn’t even have doors.”

The creature frowned.

“F-fine! But leave me alone!” It said as it stormed back into its house.

“We have some questions we want to ask,” Alex said quickly before the creature vanished.

“Ugh fine, bring me an apple to get rid of this god damn headache, and I’ll humor you folks,” The creature finally said after rubbing her temples.

Alex nodded at her friends. Thankfully, they had fruits leftover from their picnic. Kurt threw a delicious red apple into the tree hole.

“Woah! Watch out there! You assholes nearly crushed me with that apple!” The small creature fumed.

“Sorry!” Kurt yelled.

The creature nearly unhinged its jaw and took a huge bite out of the apple. The crisp sound could be heard by Alex and her friends at the bottom of the tree. Soon, the apple became nothing but a thin core with some seeds.

“Ah, that hit the spot!”

“H-how?” Ruri was amazed as he looked at the aftermath. The apple was the same size as the creature yet it was consumed immediately. The creature didn’t grow in mass or size.

“Just where did it all go?” He mumbled.

“Well, since I made a promise, I guess I’ll answer some of your stupid questions,” The creature said finally.

“What are you?”

“Wow, what a rude thing to first ask a lady!” The creature pouted, “I am a majestic fairy! Dweller of the orchard, caretaker of the slimes!”

“A fairy?” Alex asked.

“Didn’t that old man farmer tell you?”

Alex suddenly remembered Jedidiah mentioned the tiny creatures. It was the first time she ever saw them in reality though. Certainly, it was quite the surprise how similar they look to normal humans.

“Next question, do you know what is happening with the slimes?”

“What slimes?” The fairy replied after a brief pause.

“The slimes that were supposed to be taking care of the forest floor.”

“Oh those slimes, what’s wrong with them?”

“They are going on a rampage! Aren’t you guys the caretakers?”

“What rampage? We didn’t see anything,” The fairy said which looking away suspiciously.

Suddenly Alex realized perhaps that fairies sucked at keeping things secret. Perhaps a little persuasion was needed.

“We know it was you,” Alex said with a harsher tone. Even her friends were surprised by her sudden change in mood.

“Tell us now, or we will destroy you and your home.”

“Nooooo! OK, OK, I’ll tell you guys!” The fairy suddenly rushed out and begged while tugging on Alex’s shirt.

Alex nodded to her friends with a sly grin. They could only shrug their shoulders and sigh with a smile.

“W-we had a party last week to celebrate, and maybe, just maybe we got a wee tad bit drunk.” The fairy rubbed her feet together and said shyly.

“What did you do…,” Alex started to worry.

“We dropped some of our fairy-grade fertilizer on a slime and kind of left it alone for a week.”

“Fairy-grade fertilizer?”

“Don’t underestimate us fairy’s ability to make plants grow! We are the masters of the fruit! The kingpin of veg! Nothing can stop us when it comes to manipulating plants!” The fairy suddenly boasted. She talked so far that Alex could barely understand her bragging.

“What did the fertilizer do to the slime?” Ruri asked as Alex was trying to figure out what the fairy spewed.

“It kind of evolved…,” The fairy said.

“Evolved? What does a slime evolve into?”

“Eh? You guys don’t know? What are they teaching you in school?!” The fairy complained.

Nell got annoyed and started to look menacingly at the fairy. Beads of sweat started to fall from the fairy as she looked away and whistled. It took some convincing, but the fairy finally talked.

“It turned into a King Slime!” She said while boasting.

“Why the hell are you bragging about your mistake?!” Nell yelled.

The fairy was emotionally crushed. She started crying and pulled out of her pockets a bottle. It was like a magic trick. She didn’t even have pockets before. Now she pulled out a bottle of liquid the size of herself from some pockets that magically appeared on her outfit. She uncorked it and chugged. The strong smell of alcohol permeated the air almost immediately.

“W-what are you doing?”

“Drowning my sorrows!” The fairy continued to chug.

“How is all of that fitting in that tiny body?!” Ruri couldn’t help but ask.

Finally, the bottle was stored away, and the fairy was flushed red and hiccuping.

Alex sighed and asked one last question.

“Where is this King Slime?” She assumed the main root of the problem perhaps started with the King Slime. Something that has the prefix King in its name must be able to control and manipulate others of its species.

“U-under the central tree, inside of the mushroom cave!” The fairy said before she flew back into her home and passed out on the couch again.

“What a carefree bunch of idiots.” Nell sighed. Her friends nodded in agreement.

“At least we know where we have to go now,” Alex said.

“But where is the central tree?” Ruri asked.

“Perhaps Jedidiah knows.”

“Let’s kill some slimes on the way back then.”

Those poor fluid sacks didn’t know what they were up against. Alex and her friends bagged two more slimes by the time they got back to the farmhouse.