Right... EVERYBODY MAKE SOME DISTANCE! I WANT TO SEE AT LEAST THREE METERS BETWEEN EACH OF YOU!The caravan people quickly comply. They seem to be terrified out of their wits, and many are crying already. They just lost a family member, after all. Or something that looked and acted like him at least. You don't know how mimics work, but as a precaution, you take a look at the few wounds you suffered. Nothing seems to be happening, at least, though you do get really nervous about the possibility of being eaten alive and replaced. Maybe you're already a mimic, but even you don't know. A perfect copy that doesn't even know it's a copy. Good god.... As you're getting ready to have a nervous breakdown, the dwarf taps you on the side.
Ey, don't worry about that infection myth. Mimics just eat the original and take on the shape.... Though I rarely heard about human mimcs before. Figured they were just talk, fairy-tales... Stones below, what a nightmare.What do mimics look like before they eat something?Ya know, it's a bit of a mystery. The general guess is that it's like a slime, and they split like 'em. That's why they try and get as much mass as possible, so they can split and make more of the damned things. Right, so... We can assume that none of us are mimics, right? I know we're safe, as is that kobolt girl. They wouldn't attack their own, I think... We need to get the scholars in line, too.Take care of that while I deal with the caravaneers. I've got an idea to test.The dwarf begins getting people to split apart in the same way as the caravaneers, with much sounds of disgruntlement. Still, nobody makes a real resistance movement. Eveline shakily hands you a few firebombs, and warns you that making a mistake is not an option, in the slightest. Fire is a horrible way to go. You assure her that nothing will go wrong. Your own doubts remain unsaid, more for your sake than hers. As the dwarf and Eveline keep a watchful eye, you begin your experimentation. Your going to move the dead tissue, in this case hair, to find which of these bastards are mimics. You start out with the one most to the left. A terrified elderly grandmother, using a cane to stand. She's looking around nervously, sweating bullets. With a little pull, you make her hair move just a tad. She doesn't even notice, but you're glad you don't have to see a grandmother split open and reveal the darkest secrets of human anatomy. today, at least. Next up, a young woman, seemingly in her teens. Dark hair, dark eyes, brown skin. Must be from the east. Most of these people are a bit like that, though there's people of all types. You pull her long hair without issue. Another relief. The next one, the woman that yelled first when the mimic attacked you. The one that identified him as "John". She looks more angry than scared, though you suspect it's a coping mechanism. You can see her eyes twinkle a little from the torchlight. She's holding in her tears, and kind of badly. You attempt a pull. Nothing...
You feel the blood drain from your face, and the woman can see that. She manages to form a snarl just before the bomb explodes against her chest. Soon she is running around, flailing her arms and screeching an inhuman sound. Horribly, it stretches the human form, giving it long spindly limbs just before expiring. Eveline dumps some material over the body to help it burn to proper ashes. It makes people a lot more nervous, to say the least, but the scholars keep them in place using whatever magic they have. Meandra is an exceptional help with her vine walls, though it's a shame about the floor. You've still got twelve more to go...
A mother of two children. Clean.
Child number one, clean.
Child number two... bald. Completely void of hair. You can't risk looking for anything else, as you can't reveal HOW you're finding them out. God-damn it... Eventually, you decide to just skip him for now. You call out a "clean!", but you make a mental note to check personally.
The father of the two children, clean. You hope you don't have to end a family like that. Not to mention, throwing a bomb towards a child, mimic or not, is not something you'll be able to forget.
Next up, a young couple. Both clean.
Their kid...
Oh no.
You wipe the tears from your eyes as the wailing continues in the background. Your heart is pounding and you feel like you're going to crack your teeth from clenching them. This one just squirmed in agony, twisting itself apart to get away from the flames. It sounded so much like the child it was imitating... You leave the family to their grief.
They're not worth your tears. You did them a favor! They can just make another...Shut. The fuck. Up. You whisper through clenched teeth and sobbing breaths. You shake your head, and find your resolve to continue.
The leader of the group is clean. He doesn't look at you, but he tells you to get it over with so he can get to helping the families. He isn't opposed to your actions, but...
The next one is the mother of the leader. She's the oldest lady you've ever seen, looking more like a shriveled prune than a person. She's staring at you with some intense eyes. You sniff in disdain. You're not enjoying this EITHER, lady...
Although it should have been clear why she would take exception to this. She turned out to be VERY fast for something so old and wrinkled, and you've got a burn to show for it. It's nothing major, fortunately. Your breathing is deep, and you feel a bit light-headed, but you finally reached the last three. One of them is their animal handler. He's clean.
Now the last two.
As you walk closer to perform the inspection, they look at each-other just before rushing you in a silent agreement. You pull our your sword and yell at them to get back, but when one of them splits open like a fleshy flower, covered in teeth, blood and spittle, you come to the conclusion that this is just a final, desperate attempt. You throw one bomb right into the open cavity that is the chest, but the untransformed one is still charging. You slam your sword down in the shoulder, but it opens up the body willingly to cause your blade to be stuck in there. Before anything bad can happen, however, an earshatteringly loud BANG echoes through the chamber. The creature lies dead before you, burnt to a crisp in an instant. Richard has fired one of his unique lightning blasts at the abomination. There's a distinct smell of pork, though it doesn't really make you that hungry.
Speak for yourself. Oh wait, you are!You don't really appreciate the little joke, but at least you took care of all the mimics in the caravan group. Well, almost. You call the little bald boy to you as you remove the sword from the burnt creature. It has some discoloration from the heat, but should still be fine. You grab the boy by the hand, rougher than you intended, and pull on the nail. When the child starts crying and the finger begins to move, you let go. The family cries out in relief as the boy returns to them, and you tell them to go and deal with this fallout while you deal with your own group.
Fortunately, you haven't been with mimics long enough to have anybody be assimilated. You suspected as such, but the check was only fair. Now there's only one thing remaining to check. You grab a torch, and hold it against the cart that started this nightmare. As the wood blackens and cinders start to form, you figure the wagon is clean, ultimately. The dwarf admits he was looking for anything that wasn't organic, and that this was more of a hunch. He looked inside earlier, and found it to be full of merchandise to sell. HEAVY merchandise, making the sounds a little odd. Also of note, his drum isn't "reacting" anymore. Apparently, it's a mild burning sensation to the hands that indicated there are mimics nearby, and he's not feeling anything.
Mimic-free. What a fucking adventure.
Leave immeadiatlyNobody's getting any more sleep tonight. It would be best to pack up and move on.Help the caravaneers copeNobody deserves this kind of things happening to them. You should do what you can to help them. And maybe yourself.Let her out.You're keeping up a tough face, but you're close to having a breakdown after burning all those creatures. Maybe she should have a spin while you... recuperate.OtherStats
Level: 7
HP: 25/30
Mana: 22/22(8 mana invested)
Stress: 70/75
Inventory
Equipment:
Drider Shirt
Steel sword
Items:
Magic Cookbook
Pick-axe
4 sleeping bags
five potato sacks
Pot, pan, kitchen knife collection, scraping tool.
Rough leather armor
Sheared Gardener's iron shield
160 coins
Party
Ex-bandit: Yunikki Madotsu
Alchemist: Eveline Flynn
Floramancer: Meandra Malindra
Arch-mage: Richard Mi'ami
Robed Figure: Clanra Wildfellow
Magic, skills and minions
Magic:
Resurrect vermin: Allows you to resurrect very small creatures such as rats(1) (invests 1 of your max mana)
Resurrect average beast: Allows you to resurrect creatures such as dogs, cats and other similar-sized creatures.(10- (invests five mana)
Reshape minion: Allows you to slightly change the appearance of your resurrected minions. (///......)2
Minion Vision(weak): Allows you to see what a minion sees. The minion must have eyes.
Animate Piece: Allows you to animate just a piece of dead tissue. It requires your constant attention, and cannot act independently. (invests one mana) (1)
Graft: Allows you to use dead tissue as a replacement limb. Requires a lot of mana. (2 per second)
Gather Soul: Allows you to make a soul visible. You can't do anything with it, quite yet. (10 mana)
Undead flashbang: Allows you to blow up a minion for a flash-bang effect. (15 mana)
Stitch: allows you to close a wound and stop bleeding as fast as you can stitch. Costs very little mana, but requires something to stitch with.
Minions[/b]
one sewerhound
Three rats(enhanced claws) On the hound
Skills:
Poison Stinger (Potentially lethal)
Major experience in blocking and swords.
Climber
Crafty: Bolas
Cooking skill: Excellent
Corpse Cutting: below average.
Animal handling: inexperienced.
Necromantic knowledge
Soul Sniffer