The last few days with Icky working on the farm were… interesting to say the least. The golden slime had taken a liking to the outer fields, acting as a defensible barrier for the farm. Fanny even set up a small operation churning monster bones into calcium rich fertilizer. But for all the brief distraction was worth, I still couldn’t keep myself from coming back to John’s last cryptic message. Come follow the hills. And Prentice Pass… what is it about that place?
I found Fanny mixing up some sludge in the kitchen. It seemed like some of Icky’s slime mixed with some herbs.
“Whatcha up to?” I asked, sliding into one of the seats at the table.
“I was looking through that book we got from the forest. Some of the formulas were interesting so I decided to mess around with a few of them.”
“With slime?”
“A lot of the recipes call for a covalent solvent, but I wanted to try using slime since it acts similarly to water, don’t you think?”
“What does covalent mean again? I never got around to taking Chemistry in college.”
“Don’t worry about it. I can handle most of the alchemical stuff for our little group. So you don't have to strain yourself trying to learn it,” she took a breath before continuing. “Basically the recipes call for water or something similar to be used as a base for mixing. Hence why I'm trying out the slime. I've seen Icky dissolve lots of different types of creatures, but I've found that if the slime isn't connected to their main body it doesn't have a mind of its own, meaning it can be harvested and used for other things. It's also non corrosive, which I thought was strange at first but I guess it makes sense."
"Won't harvesting slime hurt them?"
"Actually I've noticed that when Icky eats they grow in size, but for some reason they like staying the same size so they shed some of the extra slime. Meaning I can just pick up the chunks they leave around."
“Okay, so that explains the slime, what are you making exactly? Wasn’t that book about curing curses or something?”
“Well that’s what the book is mainly about, but it also had all these great tips and recipes for potions that could help in the healing process as well. I was thinking if this recipe worked it would make a good healing gel for future adventures.”
“Oh yeah, speaking of healing, I forgot to mention that I got stuck in a clinic when I was in the city. Stupid golems dragged me away after I had a panic attack and I got stuck with the bill!” I pouted.
“You were in the hospital?! I didn’t realize you still had panic attacks that badly…” Fanny stopped stirring her bowl. Her face pursed with concern.
“I was just trying to make a point about the healthcare system, not my own mental health. It was a simple case of overstimulation. Man, you should have seen it, every building within the city’s barrier got changed into some sort of new structure. It was all just a bit… overwhelming is all.”
“Oh Sel… Well maybe you should have gotten out of the house more before the world turned into a video game,” she sounded almost sarcastic.
“Hah, hah, very funny. I have my routine, you know that. It helps keep my head straight is all. Otherwise I get too distracted. You know better than anyone how bad my sense of direction can be when I’m overly stressed.”
“And yet you made it here all right.”
“You got me there… I don’t know, something about the pace of the journey just made everything clearer. Easier to follow. Even though the roads have been mangled to bits by new outcroppings of trees and the like.”
“Sounds like you had an eventful time getting here, huh?”
“Yeah, well it's only the beginning right? We still need to meet up with the others at some point, and figure out what’s going on with John…”
“You still thinking about Prentice Pass?” Fanny asked, resuming her concoction.
“I mean it's the only thing we have to go on, and you said it's not that far away.”
“So we’re really doing it?”
“If we want to get stronger I think we have to. We need to know what’s out there Fanny.”
“But what about my dad and Eric-”
“What about us?” Mr. Tillman sounded as he opened the back door. His muddy boots slinging dirt along the ratty towels that laid on the wooden step beneath him.
“Nothing! I just worry about the two of you.”
“Francesca, it's my place to worry about you, not the other way around. If you and Sel want to leave to find your friends then there’s not much that I can do to stop you. You’re practically an adult now, and me and Eric, well we can take care of each other. Plus with that handy slime you found to protect the farm, we should be safe from most smaller monsters.”
“Yeah Fanny, besides there’s always the chat function in the system. Your dad can always message you and vice versa to check in.”
“I can’t promise that we’d be able to return in time if something happens…” Fanny wiped her face nervously. I couldn’t see any tears, but maybe she just wanted to hide the fact that she wasn’t smiling anymore.
Mr. Tillman set his hand on her shoulder. Taking a knee he whispered to her. I couldn’t quite pick out what he was saying. After a moment he drew back from her before Fanny held him tightly in a warm embrace. Now I could see tears. They were streaming down her face as her nose turned red. Her glasses were fogged up and opaque.
It’s times like these I’m envious of Fanny’s relationship with her father. I’ve never had this much luck with my own family.
“So are we going then?”
“Sure Sel, we’ll head out tomorrow,” she sputtered through the tears. Her smile returned once more to her face.
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