Blog Post

Blog Post 49: The Adventure Shop: Part 16

8/13/2023

Slime followed the creature as it made its way down the road. This was the normal path it took and its normal scheduled time. The person beside it seemed to be its new companion, as the townspeople prepared their offerings for the creature in the known daily ritual. The person beside it was new, and the townspeople wondered at how it knew their favorite protector. Ronny, the young adventurer, found he liked this town and would make it his home away from home when he traveled. And he liked his new companion. 

Even if it didn’t talk much. 

Ronny followed the gelatinous cube, as it made its way through town picking up all the stuff the townspeople were planning on throwing out. It gave it something to eat, as it slowly slid through the town, collecting the garbage that sat outside of each person’s home.

“I don’t know how you eat that stuff, but at least someone does.” He watched the town’s people regarding the creature beside him fondly. 

As they came up to the inn, he saw a large barrel waiting and wondered what was in it that the innkeeper was intent on the creature devouring. 

“And how do you know The Adventershop’s guard dog?” The innkeeper, Candoor, asked Ronny.

“I just saw it in town and it is unusual to see these thriving in a place like this, so I got curious. I started to follow it. Does it do this everyday?” he asked as the gelatinous cube began to consume the barrel of liquid, as if it was almost happy, and started jiggling. 

“Well as far as we can tell, it was one of Dahlia’s, the owner of the Adventure Shop, inventions and protections for adventurers. This one got set off and it liked what Dahlia brewed so much, it became kind of attached to the Adventure Shop, watching out for its shopkeeper. When the shop burned down and she left, it went all over town looking for her. All of us here are just looking out for it till she gets back. It is a good little cube, or whatever it is,” Candoor explained.

“So it acted like a lost pet and the town decided to adopt it?” Ronny asked, unable to believe a gelatinous cube could have any sense of belonging or desire of home.

“Yeah, it will pick up what we leave for it, but that is kind of like asking a toddler to eat their veggies. I always give it some of my brew as a treat. It shouldn’t have a lot, but it does like it. It wiggles when it is happy and moves faster. When it is sad, it moves so slowly, you would have thought it was sedentary till you see it move five inches the next day. That’s how we knew it needed to be looked after.”

“So does it hurt anyone?” he asked as the gelatinous cube continued down its path at a faster, much more jiggly pace than before.

“No. We actually figured that out. They are aware and capable creatures and will only eat when they need to, but Dahlia made them for the purpose to protect adventurers from falls. She never really realized they were sentient beings until this little guy. Come on, we can walk, and you can watch him while you ask your questions.”

Candoor left the inn with Ronny, as they moved briskly to keep up with the creature as it continued to jiggle happily down the path. They continued as Ronny saw the bustling of the town, and how they all seemed to be out to greet the cube that had found a home in their hearts and the town’s borders. 

The cube continued to jiggle as it seemed to also make a happy hissing noise. 

“What was that?” Ronny asked.

“It is a sound that usually happens when it is full and content. It probably will not pick up anything else today. And it will go back to the Adventure Shop,” Candoor said, coming up to the creature.

Candoor placed his hand on the creature gently as it paced as its started to slow down. He began to pet the creature starting it off jiggling again. “It likes to be petted, but you have to be careful while it is digesting. You can lose a hand that way!” He laughed a hearty laugh as he wiped the residual goo on his apron. Ronny looked at the man and began to wonder what the people in the town had been drinking. 

As it began to move again, Candoor smiled. “I have to get back, but it was nice talking with you. If you have any questions, the other folks would be happy to answer. Are you planning on setting out soon?”

“Yes, I was looking for an old wizard who helped me before. I met him here and was hoping to find him again.” 

“We don’t have an old wizard around here. Well unless you are talking about Hazel, but she is off on an adventure right now. I swear she will outlive us all. She moves better than I do most days.” 

He laughed as he walked back to the inn, leaving Ronny to look at the creature.

“You wouldn’t happen to know a wizard, would you?” he asked as the cube began to move as if in perfect timing, trying to lead him somewhere.

“Well, I guess I don’t have anywhere else to go. Lead on.” 

He waved his hand and began to follow the gelatinous cube back through the town. 

Ronny laughed as children threw rocks into the creature, and it seemed to spit them back out and throw them back at the children. The first time it happened, he was thankful that it was not very fast and did not hit any of the children. 

“Oh no!” he screamed as a child dove head first into the cube. The other children laughed, not seeming to understand the urgency of the situation. In his experience, that was the best way to end your career as an adventurer.

“Who is screaming over here?” asked a shopkeeper, coming out. With all the flour he must have been a baker. His face turned into an annoyed expression, “Oh. It is you. I swear, new adventurers are going to give me a heart attack, and I’ll never know if something is really wrong until I don’t care anymore. All that screaming, as if the town were on fire. That only happened twice this year. People have got to learn to stop screaming. Everything can be rebuilt,” he grumbled making his way back into his shop, as Ronny watched in confused horror as the cube took off with the child.

He felt a tug on his pants. “Greeny gives us rides! It’s okay, mister! You just got to pull their feet out! Come on!” A little kid yelled as they all ran after the cube they called ‘Greeney’.

“What is wrong with these people?” he asked.

“Well we have a shop– well we used to– run by a shopkeeper who brought in all sorts of strange things to this town. The weirdest creatures and people. After a while, things don’t seem that bad. And we have a lot of fun, new residents now. Better than a boring life, eh?” An old man called out as he sat on a porch, seeming to be working on something in his hands.

“Are you the wizard Aster?” Ronny asked hopefully.

“No, but I know him. He left a while back with the shopkeeper. I would have gone too, but I am past my prime.” He smiled a toothy grin.

“Were you an adventurer?” Ronny looked at him surprised.

“No, I am what you fight during the adventurers, hehe, won’t make you think too hard on that one.  Retired after I got a little too old for young people like you. Aster brought me here, and Dahlia has been looking out for me since– well before she left. Now I am just working on something for her shop when she gets back one day.”

Ronny was not sure what to say to the old man as he thought a quick exit may be safer than letting his curiosity pull him into a conversation he was not quite ready to have.

Looking around, he had found he had lost the cube and wondered if it was worth following at this point. His reason for coming was the great wizard Aster, and Aster was already gone. There wasn’t much point in sticking around a place that had nothing for him.

His feet carried him down a familiar path he took on the start of his first adventure. He wondered if the brew was still the same as the first time he had tasted it. Walking out of the town a short ways he thought of what he would ask the shopkeeper in a way of advice, since she knew a lot last time. 

Ronny looked on in horror as the Adventure Shop he knew looked as if it was in the stages of being rebuilt. “Is this the place that burnt down?”

With a tightening in his chest he remembered his prank he pulled on his first day and wondered if he was the cause. Guilt drew him near as he saw many people gathered around with tools as they slowly seemed to be not only restoring the shop, but expanding it to larger than it had been before. 

All them out here to fix a mistake that was most likely caused by him. Gathering courage he asked a woman working a forge, “So what happened here?” 

“You must be one of the adventurers that heard about this place. It burned down after a villain destroyed it. Nearly killed our shop keeper too.”

I will never play another prank for as long as I live. Ronny thought as the woman continued.

“They say it was a woman in yellow. Burned everything for an object. Worth enough that Dahlia and a few adventurers she knows went after it.”

“Oh thank the Celestials!” Ronny exclaimed, as he realized it was exactly like it sounded. “I mean because it must have been very valuable, the object. Huh?” 

The woman nodded with a raised eyebrow, shaking her head as she turned back to her work. “We are building this place better for her. The shop keeper. She has done a lot for this town, and this is a way we can repay her.” She placed the new metal into the flames, essentially ending the conversation. 

Ronny looked around as various skilled artisans worked around the new shop that stood only as high as he knee, as they looked over a plan and debated where to put things before the floor plan was completely finalized. 

The green mass going through the workplace, picking up tools and various objects, caught his eye, as it made its way through a bucket, depositing the items as it moved through it. On the other side, a woman placed a wooden pint of ale through the gelatinous form, and the cube responded by jiggling happily as it had before. 

The cube began to circle the foundation and surrounding area as if keeping a lookout for something. 

“Hey,” Ronny called out, “Any of you know where Dahlia and her party went?” 

They looked at him with caution. “Why would we tell you?”

“Because I am looking for the wizard she is traveling with. Aster.”

“The young fellow? Yeah, he is with her. They went that way,” said one man looking at the plans and pointing his arm toward the woods.

“Young? Are you sure it was the old wise wizard Aster?” 

“Not sure about old, but yeah. The wizard takes many forms. Go that way,” the man said, pointing his arm in the same direction.

“Well I guess that is what I will do then.” 

Ronny began to travel into town to gather his belongings at the hotel before starting off ‘that way’.

He heard jiggling behind him and saw the green form following him. “As much as I like companions on my journey’s, you can only come to town with me. Okay, Greeney?” he asked, not sure if the gelatinous cube really understood language of any kind. As his companion continued with him, he thought of a way to bribe the cube into staying. He would pay Candoor to distract it with ale and run as fast as he could. He didn’t want to cause Dahlia any more strife as something dawned on him.

“Hey, in a way I get credit for introducing you to her. It was my little trick that brought you out of the tiny little cube you used to be.” Ronny smiled up at the creature and wondered if that was odd since it didn’t really have a face.

The cube began to get closer to him, slightly sticking part of Ronny’s side within itself. As if it was hugging him.

 “Maybe your kind of smarter than I ever gave you credit for. Well in that case, I will bargain with you. You stay here with Candor and protect the town, and I will give him enough pay for two barrels of ale for three weeks. Deal?” Ronny asked. 

The cube began to slow down, and a slow sound began to come from it. As if it was letting out air, in a way that sounded like passing gas due to the gelatinous form it moved through. Ronny almost laughed from the noise when he caught on. 

“Oh, is that not good enough? Well if that makes you sad– I will pay for– Hm– How much can I afford?” he spoke to himself as the cube moved slowly behind him, as if intrigued by the deal being concocted. 

“How about ten weeks, and I promise to come and see you when I get back?” He looked at the cube, Greeney.

Where moments before it almost seemed to be pouting, it was now at his side wiggling happily and hissing contently. 

“You have a good poker face. Dahlia will have fun when she gets back.” He laughed at the thought of what the town had turned Greeney into.

“Back so soon?” Candor asked, coming out of the inn when Ronny called for him through the door.

“Yes, I have a deal for you to keep Greeney here happy while I leave.” 

“Greeney, eh? Guess it has a name now. Where are you headed off to?” 

Ronny raised his arm and pointed it in a direction. “That way!”