[h3]Asura, Momma Slime[/h3]
"Wut skeelz?" The larger blue blob wobbled from side to side. She seemed to have learned enough now that she was actively attempting to communicate directly with Asura instead of using the odd thought-connection slimes seemed to naturally use with their own kind. Her own psuedopod reached out to the rock that Asura had been using to exercise, and she began to mimic the lifting motion he did earlier. "Dis skeelz?" 

Though the two slime monsters hadn't moved much from the place where Rattleskull's defeat had taken place, as the daylight in the cave became more prominent they could see towards the remains of the old bonfire. And further past that, during the night they had seen the torches of the goblin tribe at different points. Now those lights had disappeared--and in the distance, a small trail of smoke was curling towards the ceiling. Had the goblins tried to build another bonfire, and then let it go out for some reason? 

Coming up from the direction of the pool, headed towards the cave entrance, Asura would also eventually be able to see the figures of several other monsters--though at this point he hadn't seen Oberon's evolved form up close and hadn't seen Torrent's transformation at all, he would probably recognize Ed and Digbie.
[hr]
[h3]Oberon, Torrent, Digbie, Ed[/h3]
As Oberon attempted to analyze the light in the distance, it seemed that it was currently too far away for the skill to activate. He could, however, tell simply by watching it that his guess about it being some form of Wisp was probably correct. It moved in that erratic, lightning-bug fashion the magical creatures had, although it was somewhat slow and...jerky, compared to others. 

When Ed moved to the front of the group, nose to the ground and ears perked for any sign of danger, his Beast Senses would tell him several things. The first was that Mourningstar had definitely passed through here--though he only realized it now, he had been around the group long enough to recognize their distinct smells. And he also recognized, simply from accumulated experience, the smell of two creatures that must have been Fanged Lizards, or something similar. He had fought several lizards at this point and knew their general scents even though he didn't specifically know who or what these creatures were, or if they were even fellow Reincarnators. His senses weren't strong enough, however, to immediately follow their trail. He could only make sweeps across the ground and follow the stronger patches of scent where he found them, making for rather slow going.

His sharp, beady eyes peered into the dim light of the cave, but now as daylight progressed the surroundings were becoming brighter. Soon he could see a distant pair of colored dots--one bright red, the other bright blue. Could that be Asura and the mother Slime? As his ears twitched, he could pick up a few sounds besides the footsteps of the group. Towards the pool, that splashing from earlier had subsided, though now there was a slight trickle of flow again heading back towards Jason's cave. Whatever had caused the splashing might have also widened the small trench Torrent had originally created. The second sound he perceived was distant shouting. He couldn't tell exactly where it was coming from, because it seemed like the voices were bouncing off the cave walls and ceiling, and at this distance even though he could tell something [i]was[/i] shouting, he couldn't decipher what they were actually saying. There seemed to be at least three or more of the fading voices, and none of them seemed really familiar. If he could pick out any direction at all from the sound, the best guess would be towards the cavern's entrance. Could it be the remaining goblins? How many of their tribe was left at this point?

As Digbie activated his upgraded Tremor Sense, he gained a broader sense and understanding of the ground they were standing on. That didn't help him much, except that he found a hollow spot a little ways off from their path that looked to be the leftover traps Ed and Asteria dug earlier. Had they ever cleaned up all those poisoned Bone Needles? He also found a few imprints in the earth that were likely the footprints of other creatures--the heaviest was a goblin like himself, but the weight was different enough from his own footprints that maybe it was a smaller gob or a female. The other prints were too light to tell specifically what they were...except if Digbie, or Ed for that matter, were to actually look closely they would be able to see that one set of these prints appeared to be like those of a Fanged Lizard, but slightly bigger...the "fingers" and "palm" of the limbs were broader as well, almost like those of a feline rather than a reptile...

When his Tremor Sense hit the water, Digbie experienced an odd sensation. If Tremor Sense could be described as a sort of gray-scale, fluctuating echolocation translated into a visual image, then the sensation of Tremor Sense passing through water might be similar to looking at the world through a pair of those drunk-goggles police handed out during school demonstrations. He had difficulty picking up anything at all, and the odd "movement" he felt through the water almost made him nauseous.
[hr]
[h3]Jason, Danny, Asteria, Mother Rat[/h3]
[quote=Dungeon:Jason]
[color=purple]QUEST COMPLETE. YOU ARE ALREADY THE BOSS OF THIS DUNGEON. CURRENTLY YOU HAVE NOT BEEN CHALLENGED. 

COMMAND: "Suppress the spawning of all undead-class monsters for the next two hours..." 
COMMAND IS INVALID. YOU MUST INCREASE THE DUNGEON LEVEL IN ORDER TO ACCESS DUNGEON COMMANDS.

A NEW QUEST IS AVAILABLE.
DUNGEON MAINTANENCE: PERFORM A SERIES OF TASKS TO REPAIR/MAINTAIN THE DUNGEON AND INCREASE ITS LEVEL.
+PATCH HOLES IN THE CEILING
+SECURE AND INCREASE RESOURCES
--NATIVE RESOURCES: HEALING HERB, MANA CRYSTAL, WATER, POISON HERB, TAINTED MANA CRYSTAL
--CURRENTLY AVAILABLE NON-NATIVE RESOURCES: FIRE, WOOD, FLAME-TOUCHED MANA CRYSTAL
+FEED DUNGEON CORE
--ORIGINAL FEEDING METHODS: AMBIENT MANA, NEGATIVELY CHARGED SOULS
--NO CURRENTLY ACCEPTED ALTERNATIVES
+HASTEN DUNGEON ASSIMILATION
--DESTROY OR EXPEL NON-ASSIMILATED INHABITANTS
--ORGANIZE ASSIMILATED INHABITANTS

DO YOU WISH TO ACCEPT THIS QUEST?

YOUR DUNGEON AWARENESS HAS INCREASED TO 0.6.
DUNGEON ASSIMILATION RATE IS AT 5%.
ZOMBIE_PIXIE_002 HAS SPAWNED AT O-5.[/color]
[/quote]

[quote=System:Jason]
You used Monster Analysis I!
You used Magic Analysis I!
--Skeleblin--
Skeleblin, a Skeleton-type Undead-class Monster created from the remains of a Goblin. Magic energy can be detected within them. This magic animates the bones and allows them to move without muscle. They are suffused with energy that feels negative and dangerous. It is infused with magic, but has no magical skills yet. These magics are negative and volatile in nature. It is under the effects of an environmental magic. By nature, Skeleblins are roughly as durable as living Goblins, but their strength has decreased. In contrast, their lighter weight allows them to move more quickly. They retain the ability to use tools to a limited degree. If not manipulated by a necromancer or some other source, most Undead will single-mindedly pursue living creatures with hostility. They do not normally possess self-preservation instincts or any form of intelligence. [color=purple]This is Skeleblin_002.[/color]
---Analysis Complete!---
[/quote]

Jason's attempt to give the core an order didn't seem to work right now. Right now he couldn't issue any commands at all, apparently because the Dungeon's level was too low, but even once he increased the level, would there be specific commands he could and could not give the core? Nonetheless, his Dungeon Awareness skill had increased slightly faster this time, and a new quest had become available! It wasn't quite as extravagant, perhaps, as the rewards for completing a quest in a videogame, but at least it was something.

As he tried to relax and meditate, Jason could feel an ever-so-slight bit of his energy replenishing. But he really needed sleep, considering he had been up for much longer than 24-hours at this point and had been quite busy during that time. Fighting, building, casting spells...it took quite a toll on a person. Or Slime.

Then using both [Monster Analysis I] and [Magic Analysis I] on the skeleblin, the ambitious slime mage would attempt communicating with the monster; watching for any signs of aggression from the undead creature.  "Poor cursed soul that wanders the earth... Do you seek freedom from your terrible fate? Or do you perhaps seek purpose instead?" he beckoned, once again banking on the power of [Charisma I].

The Skeleblin, or Skeleblin zero-zero-two as the Dungeon system seemed to call it, simply kept walking. It seemed to register Jason's presence with a slight pulse of the glow in its eyesockets, but otherwise there was no reaction. However, when it reached the mouth of Jason's cave, it stopped. It looked towards the core, then looked at everyone standing in the cave. Asteria, Mother Rat, Danny, and finally Jason. Then, it turned to face the outer area, away from the core, and took just a few steps this time. Now standing on one side of Jason's cave mouth, it straightened itself until everything below its neck seemed stiff as a statue. And then, the cranium atop said neck simply began to slowly, observantly sweep from side to side.

After a few moments, there was a slight trickling sound. It was just the water-trough running from the pool, which hit Asteria's dam and spilled a few more drops over the side of the trench. The skeleton's eyes lit up as it looked towards the sound, and if bones could suddenly become tense, that would be the best way to describe the shift in its weight. But after several seconds, nothing happened...and the skull returned to its slow, steadily sweeping gaze.

[quote=System:Danny]
You used Monster Analysis II!
---Skeleblin---
Skeleblin, a Skeleton-type Undead-class Monster created from the remains of a Goblin. By nature, Skeleblins are roughly as durable as living Goblins, but their strength has decreased. In contrast, their lighter weight allows them to move more quickly. They retain the ability to use tools to a limited degree. If not manipulated by a necromancer or some other source, most Undead will single-mindedly pursue living creatures with hostility. They do not normally possess self-preservation instincts or any form of intelligence. This particular Skeleblin is very old, the Goblin it was revived from likely died a long time ago. While the age of an Undead is sometimes an indicator of its strength, this type is too basic to have accumulated a build up of magic despite its history. It seems to be standing guard over something.[color=purple]There is something unusual about it.[/color]
---Analysis Complete!---
[/quote]

Meanwhile, as Asteria and Mother Rat slept--though the Mother's ear would twitch every so often, evidence that she, like many animals, was quite capable of sleeping "with one eye open"--the younger rat began to dream. She relived memories and nightmares, explored what-ifs and whys. Once again she stood in that endless, pristine white expanse.

Then it began to fill with water.

It poured in from...where, exactly? Over non-existent walls? Through the ceiling that wasn't there? Nonetheless, it pooled around her ankles--or were they her paws?--and slowly began to rise.

[color=lightblue]"Another one. What...is this? Humans, who are not Human? There are spells and skills to change one's shape, but I do not sense such power within any of you. Who or what could have done this, and why?"[/color]

A pair of blue eyes floated under the water, looking up at Asteria.

[color=lightblue]"Who are you? Why are you here? What are you doing?"[/color] asked the echoing voice.