Veinlick Slime

Field account

We thought the mine wall was sweating until the sweat licked the head off Rusk's hammer. Veinlick Slime seeped from an ore line in thin metallic tongues, each pulsing with colors stolen from copper, iron, and coal. The larger body hung behind the wall, visible only when its wet seam opened like an eyelid. It did not rush us. It marked tools with a mineral film, spread a gleaming slick across the floor, and waited for metal to sink into its reach. When the rail beneath our cart softened, the whole load tipped toward the vein. We escaped by feeding it worthless zinc scraps from the opposite gallery, then packing the exposed seam with dry furnace ash. The ooze wants continuity more than flesh. Give it a richer line to follow, and it will abandon almost any fight for the promise beneath the stone.

Observed behavior

The Slime tastes gear with small mineral marks, then creates slick channels that draw marked objects toward the richest exposed tongue. It avoids wasting mass on flesh unless bones or implants offer needed salts. Striking it with metal feeds the contacted section and may open a new path through the weapon. The ooze can seal passages with hardening slag skin while it feeds elsewhere. It follows concentrated ore bait reliably, especially unfamiliar alloys. Once driven onto dry ash, the body beads apart and must laboriously reconnect before retreating into a seam.