Sleezak

S L E E Z A K THE LOST REACTOR There is no longer a word for what Sleezak is. Before dragons, the world went white due to the hubris of an ancient culture. While Gods raged with petty squabbles, something continued to mutate over uncountable years until the thing that is called Sleezak first encountered a life form. The effects one suffers from even looking at Sleezak are beyond horrific. If one ever sees a faint, neon glow, it would be wise to go in the opposite direction as quickly as possible.

Somewhere among the dunes in a long-forgotten desert, scouts from the Wildclaw party began to go missing. Argen figured the first one was overconfident, and misjudged how harsh the place could be. But then another went missing. And another. And another. He'd gone to Ki, the cartographer, with his concerns. "I'm worried there are no reliable maps of this place for a reason," Argen said. "We don't know who or what lives here. We may have encroached on the territory of an isolated Beastclan. There may be animals here we've never seen before. Perhaps we should turn back, hire some protection."

Ki shook his head. "We are not the only researchers exploring here. What if we miss a chance to discover something?"

"And what if we cause a diplomatic incident over your hubris?" Argen's heart rate shot up. He was not one to stand up to his superiors, but he was not interested in dying over a new map.

Ki narrowed his eyes and set aside his scrolls. "Then I will be held responsible. Would it feel better for you if I led the next expedition?" He almost sounded sarcastic, but Argen did not yield the opportunity to hold Ki accountable.

"That would be agreeable. I'll tell the others about the change of plans."

---

The group found very little to go on in the past few weeks they'd set up camp. Broken pots here and there, and once, an old decaying basket. Tiny shreds of evidence that Serthis once dwelled here, but nothing substantial to make him worry they were on actively claimed territory. No; these were the hallmarks of ruins, and Ki had assured his colleagues as much. Argen worried far too often, though Ki did not expect anything less of a Risk Analysis Specialist. The academy always insisted they bring one, and he always hated it. Glorified historians that demanded permissions and caution when traveling through non-dragon territories. It made sense when they were actually inhabited, but, as Ki gestured to the vast nothingness in the desert, he said, "The only living things here are the bugs, lizards, and us."

Argen was not convinced. So now, instead of being out of the sun in his tent, Ki had to trek across the godsforsaken sands to prove he was right once again.


As they came up over a large dune, however, Argen shot Ki an "I told you do" look. Before them, a sprawling city reached towards the horizon. His smugness faded in an instant, whistling for his familiar. "I have to send a missive immediately asking for emergency aid from the nearest Serthis ambassador-" He scribbled feverishly in his notebook while his owl patiently watched.

"Just wait," Ki started, but Argen cut him off.

"No. We have lost four of us due to your negligence and arrogance. You scoff at the Academy's rules but now you see why they are in place."

The others stood and exchanged worried glances as Ki rose his feathers in rage at being interrupted. "No," He boomed, silencing Argen. Oddly, though, he then softened. "Argen, this city is half buried in the sand. Look."

The group huddled closer at the peak of the dune, observing. Ki was right. These were ruins. He was smiling warmly, eyes sparkling. "We've discovered a lost civilization's home. Definitely send that missive. We actually will want them here. This was built by their people, see? Look at the architecture. Ah, it's all intact!"

Excited murmuring broke out, and Argen began to write a different kind of letter. He slowed, paused, and locked eyes with Ki. "Then.....where are the scouts?"

"Let's...camp here tonight." Ki said tentatively. "Our scouts were seasoned. I must admit, it's strange they would succumb to the elements. I want to observe the ruins for a few days. All of us. We'll sleep in shifts and keep an eye out for anything strange. Does that sound like a good plan?" The question made Argen uneasy. Ki was always so confident. His arrogance was often a thorn in his side, but now that it was fading, Argen realized he preferred it to this. Ki was scared.

---

By the time night fell, the group had relocated their camp and ate around the fire. The archaeologist, Sage, was especially excited and couldn't wait for the Serthis to get Argen's message. She wanted to explore the ruins immediately, but there were protocols to follow, so she resigned to stewing in excitement. She knew she wouldn't be able to sleep, so she took off to the crest of the dune to see the old city in the moonlight. It was beautiful. She gazed wistfully at it, imagining what kind of culture dwelled here, wondering where they went. She didn't notice the glow at first. Too enthralled with standing before a brand new discovery, Sage hadn't focused enough to see it until a shooting star broke her trance. In the leftmost part of the city, something was glowing green.

"Argen! Ki!" She slid down the dune. The others looked up from their conversations. "Someone's in the city! There's a light!"

They scrambled up the dune to see. Ki turned to Argen. "What's the protocol for retrieving our own from a place they should have stayed out of?"

Anger boiled up in him. The scouts knew not to explore on their own if they found things like this. The situation was too delicate to bumble in without an expert. He flexed his claws, irritated. Argen pondered, wringing his hands. "There are no allowed circumstances for a discovery like this. It must remain untouched until the clan ambassador arrives." He sighed. "But they've been gone for a week. Something." He paused, nervously fidgeting. "They could be hurt. That's the only reason they'd do this. They're not stupid. We...if we leave them, and they die, that's a whole new problem the Academy will have."

Ki steeled himself. Argen was right. He was always impulsive, wanting to charge ahead, but he truly didn't want this excuse to tread on Serthis grounds. Especially if they were sacred. "If we apologize profusely enough, would it cause a problem?"

"I wrote to Ambassador Kalis. He's fairly reasonable." Argen replied thoughtfully.

"I'll lead. It's my fault, if anything happens. Stay far behind me. I'm serious." Ki made sure everyone understood with a long, hard look. "We don't know why they're hurt. It could be dangerous, and we're not here to do battle. If something happens to me, run, send another message, and leave."

Slowly, they filed down and into the ruins with Ki at the head of the party. He kept urging them to hang back until he was about forty feet ahead. He hoped that would give them the distance they needed to flee if the ruins only looked deserted.

The air began to feel...strange. The closer Ki drew to the glow, the stranger he felt.

To say that the air was vibrating was not quite correct. He heard a faint hum, and there was a heaviness to the atmosphere around him. It hung around his body, weighing on him, and eventually, as he drew closer, it began to sting. Squinting, he noted that it felt like a cold wind was biting at his eyes. He did not feel cold; Ki simply couldn't keep them open without them watering and burning. Vision blurring, the taste of hot rust and copper filled his mouth, creeping down his throat, making him cough. He wiped his mouth, expecting to see blood, but there was no explanation for the sensations and tastes in his mouth. He was not bleeding.

Eyes, throat, and skin burning, Ki turned to the party. "Something's wrong with the air here," he rasped. "Do NOT come closer."

Someone yelled something back, but he could no longer hear anything beyond the hum. Worse still, Ki's shouting caused the glow to stir - and only in that moment did he realize that there was not a scout camp using magic to light their way, but a living being.

It gurgled as if submerged in mud, slouching oddly to the left to look at the intruder. The burning was even worse, and Ki could barely focus his vision on the thing before him; impossibly bright, covered in bulging red eyes, sporting far too many grasping limbs for his liking. He felt his skin doing something he could not describe as the being took a heavy step. Somewhere behind him, he thought he heard someone screaming. He wanted to yell to run, but for some reason, he couldn't open his mouth. That wasn't quite right. Something else was wrong. Ki reached to touch his face, discovering the horrific truth.

He no longer had a jaw.

Ki was disintegrating.

SSSCHHhchchLllleeeeZZZZaaaaaaaaaaaachhkkk-k-k-k-k The impossible creature gurgled and groaned out an otherworldly shriek, offended that Ki dared to approach it - or perhaps, it was in pain.

It was no matter to the poor cartographer, for his body did not withstand the radiation for long. His very DNA unraveled in but a moment, and then he was no more.