[hr][center][h2]In Too Deep[/h2][/center][@BKburke][hr]

Ever patient, the regal slime didn't move an inch. If it was calculating a response it didn't show. Green motes of light strobed through its body in a steady rhythm. Little branches of dim light forked endlessly inside it. All the while it's quite distinct features became more and more refined. It even started breathing. Pale colors flushed through the slime like paint carried by a current. Plumes of colors settled along precise lines and curves. Each second the slime more and more resembled a paragon of demi-humans. The sapphire of her eyes radiated from a thin reptilian slit and shimmered with alien intelligence. A warm blush brightened her perfect mimicry of skin. A ridge of tiny horns accentuated her crown as her nails sharpened to exquisite points. Twin geysers of pale starlight erupted from her back and congealed into feather-like streamers. They unfurled to either side of her like an angelic cape and fluttered like banners caught in the wind.

[color=#81c4ae][b]"Don't consider yourself food, you say?"[/b][/color] It wasn't a question. Her lips curled with a hint of mischief. 

The eerie transformation was little more than a parlor trick for the slime. It had been etching shallow runes into the floor around Masrith, completing an intricate magical circuit. It would have been difficult to see with a torch, but the brackish blue muck obscured it even further. They were defensive wards meant to erect a powerful barrier and suppress any magic within. Despite its docile facade, it was wary of the power is sensed from Masrith. It would activate the circle if he posed a threat, and it was already starting on a third layer when he inquired about the scholar's notes.

[color=#81c4ae][b]"His notes?"[/b][/color] She giggled. [color=#81c4ae][b]"You misunderstand, little one. I have no need for scrolls and ink."[/b][/color]
Her fingers uncurled to reveal a shimmering blue bead swelling from the skin of her palm. It slowly grew to the size of a tangerine. The gelatinous fruit was cloudy and veins of pale white light pulsed through it. [color=#81c4ae][b]"All of my guests have tasted this. The scholar called it the 'Fruit of the Gods'. You can feast upon history and insight of countless lives. Fragments of those who have offered themselves to me."[/b][/color] She caressed it with a slender finger, thin streaks of light trailing behind her touch. 

[color=#81c4ae][b]"A gift and a gamble. A challenge to see what you are, little one. Are you food or fun?"[/b][/color] She smiled like the Sun. Power began emanating from her so strongly the surrounding slime rippled from its force. There was a shift in her demeanor as the queen strode toward the edge of the circle. She possessed an easy confidence one would expect from royalty--that the world was hers and no one could to refute her claim. It was a stark contrast to the endearing tone and amiable persona she maintained.
[color=#81c4ae][b]"Memories and magic distilled into a delightful morsel. If you endure its power, you can taste my past, and I yours. It is unlike anything this world can offer you."[/b][/color] Her voice was gentle and hauntingly beautiful, but each word hummed with frightening power. A pact borne of magic crystalized into the slimy morsel.
[color=#81c4ae][b]"Have a taste, little one."[/b][/color]