Delicious Pink Ooze

## *Excerpt from Bixby's Guide to Spaurian Wildlife*

### **PINK OOZE**

Despite being one of the smallest known oozes, the “delicious(1)” pink ooze is a highly advanced organism when compared to its gelatinous brethren. It appears as a small pile of pink slime, decorated by many small purple “pores” on its upper surface. Unlike other oozes, it is highly dexterous, and can move an impressive four feet per second in nearly any terrain, even on walls and ceilings! A true feat for a slime of its size. Also unlike the rest of ooze-kind, the pink ooze is not acidic to the touch, and it takes them hours to break down a meal that other oozes could dissolve in seconds.

### **Demeanor:**

Apparently mindless, yet innately strategic and clever.

### **Habitat:**

The pink ooze can be found in nearly any environment where plenty of wildlife can be found, with the exception of the Yookay tundras, as they loathe extreme cold. They can, however, tolerate extreme heat in the deserts of Nurn, though the sun dries them to a purple-ish color, and they move through the sands at a slightly slower pace than normal.

### **Abilities:**

The hunting method of the delicious pink ooze is truly unique. When they sense that prey is nearby, using vibrations in the ground as an indicator, they will slip out of hiding and attempt to spray the creatures with a scented musk from their scattered purple orifices. This musk is not harmful, but it is unbelievably potent, and extremely difficult to mask. The scent produced by the pink ooze is *irresistibly delicious*. To a rust monster, it smells like a pile of iron ingots; to a troll, it smells like a spit-roasted halfling dipped in gravy.

Once the target creature has been sprayed, the pink ooze will return to its hiding spot for a while before creeping back out, and following the scent of its prey… yes, prey! As the quick piles of goo have no real means of killing anything besides accidental suffocation, they rely on other creatures to do the work for them. If the target they sprayed with their musk was a weak creature, the pink ooze will follow the trail until they find the half-eaten remains, courtesy of whatever predatory beasts were lured in by the irresistible scent. On the other hand, if the target was a strong creature, the ooze will feed on the bloody trail of carnage left behind as the beast kills the would-be predators, once again drawn to the musk.

### **Weakness:**

If you spot a pink ooze, I advise you to run as fast as you can to avoid being sprayed. The scented musk *will* wear off in three to five hours, but it is often far too risky to wait. The musk is tedious to remove, but it can be done by soaking oneself thoroughly in tomato juice, and lying out in the sun to dry for no less than fifteen minutes. If you have any means of damaging the ooze through means of concentrated cold (primarily magical), I recommend doing this. It will slow the ooze down and cause its musk-producing pores to seal shut.

### **Uses:**

For a guide on how to obtain the *most delicious food and beverage additive known to man*(2) from the pink ooze*,* I recommend visiting *“Moss’s Guide to Unusual Cookery”* by Peter Moss (287/299).

### **Notes:**

1. Do not be deceived by the title of “delicious.” Consuming any raw portion of the pink ooze will cause nausea, diarrhea and vomiting, often simultaneously.
2. LEGAL NOTICE: As of IIA 110, the uncertified use of pink ooze powder in food or drink is forbidden by the Spaurian Empire and is punishable by fines and/or imprisonment.