The blazing sun shone mercilessly on the small, unnamed hamlet, nestled high amongst the mountains. A great river poured itself through the village, cutting it neatly in two. From afar, the rare traveler could see the many boats and rafts drifting along the water, its people chatting merrily amongst themselves. The men labored in the fields heartily, and the womenfolk were content to welcome their working husbands with a fresh meal. Children played their games along the riverside contently. It seemed to many that, in an era when darkness seemed impending, that here was a place of peace so rarely found elsewhere.
A small gang of adventurers has come across the small town in their travels, and were resting at the inn. The night had been a thankfully peaceful one, and now the band was well rested. Having snacked in the pub below, they were also well-fed, and intent on leaving. The group's sole female companion awaited the rest of her friends at the door, impatiently tapping her foot. Although they had agreed to leave by midday at latest, it was now at least fifteen minutes past, and she could not understand why they were so delayed.
"Yangus!" she cried up the inn's stairs, having lost her patience, "why are we still here?"
The large bandit bounded down the stairs, his axe nestled in his belt. "The mouse, " groaned he, "has decided to run off. "
Jessica frowned, and then proceeded to nearly lose her temper. "If we don't leave soon, we stand no chance of making it to the castle town by nightfall," she stammered. Yangus nodded; clearly he too was irritated, though he was more capable of remaining his cool. Jessica continued, "Just tell him to forget about it! It's just a mouse!"
"I don't think that will happen..." responded Yangus, eyeing the stairs to the rooms above.
In a sunbeam outside lie a small, furry rodent. In fact, he had darted out of his owner's pocket sometime during the night. Yes, he did in fact adore his owner, but a little bit of freedom once in awhile was something that he did enjoy. The bread and chesse crumbs found on the dirty floor of the pub was like a feast befitting of a king, and the morning dew on the grass outside tasted like a god's nectar. So blissful was the mood of Toopo that he didn't hear the approaching beast until it was upon him. The sound of the flattened grass behind him at last alerted him to the monster's approach; too late, Toopo jumped up, and attempted to scurry off.
"Wait!" Wary, Toopo halted, and gazed back at the beast. Suddenly, he realized that beast was too cruel a word. "Thank you," said the slime who stood there. "I'm Slalin, a good slime. And I so very badly need your help."
Toopo gazed confused at the slime; why would he want the help of an insignificant rodent? His answer came swiftly. "My friend, Slaana, has fallen, and can't get up. Humans are too scared of me, so I can't ask them for help. They're too big, anyway. But you... you're perfectly shaped! Please, help me!" The mouse twitched its nose in thought. Finally, it voiced a squeak of approval. "Thank you, mister mouse, thank you!" cried Slalin, as he ran off, beckoning Toopo to follow.
The fallen she-slime wasn't very far away at all; not far beyond the inn, in fact. Toopo was silently thankful for this; he feared that if he strayed too far from the inn an angry cat would get at him, or worse. He and Slalin climbed up a steep, barren, rock wall, adorned only by an old, withered tree at the top. It was a tough climb for a human; but the subtle grooves in the cliff's side made it far too easy for the two to reach the top. Upon reaching the cliff's crest, Slalin rushed to the gnarled roots of the dying tree. "Slaana!" he cried, "I have brought help!"
Toopo crawled over to Slalin, and saw that he had spoke the truth. Slaana had indeed fallen, and she couldn't possibly hope to get up. Hidden in the roots of the trees was a perfectly carved out hole, just large enough to accommodate a rather unfortunate she-slime. Toopo twitched his nose at Slalin, as if begging to know why such a seemingly perfect hole existed. The slime gazed at his mouse companion, seeming to understand completely. "Long ago, this city was settled by a gang of pirates, eager to retire from plundering the seas. Their treasure was scattered all about the town. It was meant to stay hidden forever. To achieve these ends, much of it thrown into a hole in the cliff."
The two stared down into the shadowy hole. Toopo didn't see how he could help get a she-slime out of a seemingly bottomless hole.
Again, Slalin had his answer. "See that mouse hole over there?" said he, motioning to a nearly invisible gap between boulders on the barren surface of the clifftop. "I think there's a switch in there. They were pirates after all. They'd want to check on their plunder. Could you go push it?"
Happily, Toopo scampered into the hole. It wasn't very deep at all; it was only three feet in that Toopo came across a lever. The elements had not been kind to the mechanism, sheltered by the boulders though it was. Even a small mouse such as Toopo could force it to operate. The mouse pushed against it heartily, and squeaked in delight when he heard a familiar click. The click was in turn followed by a horrifyingly loud rumble, as if the earth above was being forced asunder.
Quickly, Toopo rushed back to the surface. In fact, the earth had been torn asunder; the tree had moved back five paces, revealing a staircase. Up bounded Slaana the she-slime. "Oh thank you!" cried she, drowning in her own tears. Sniffling, she embraced Slalin (in that manner that only Slimes can embrace). "Thank the King Slime that you found a gerbil to help me!"
Toopo, though bitter that he had again been mistaken for a gerbil, smiled at the happy reunion. It was all too rare that he could do something important; far too often was he overlooked due to the deeds and skills of his owner and his owner's friends. Content that all was well, the mouse began making his way back to the inn built below the cliff. "Wait!" cried the two slimes as he began his descent. "Take this!" Slaana threw a small, golden coin at the mouse. "Thank you again!" exclaimed she. Toopo returned her thanks with a grin, and again began crawling off.
A minute later, the mouse standing before the inn, his golden reward glittering in the still blazing sun. Eager to return to his heroic owner, he let out a loud squeak; and in doing so he shocked the tall human woman standing before him. Recovering from the sudden return of the rodent, Jessica crouched down, and glared at him with a stare that could kill. "Been looking for you for the past hour!" cried she, "and you were out here the entire time? Yangus!"
Soon enough, Toopo was back in the hero's pocket, and the adventurers were on their merry way (though Jessica was still bitter that they would need to walk through the night). The hero glanced curiously at the single gold piece that his pet had found, but thought little of it. Indeed, the band of travelers never did learn of Toopo's great deed, but perhaps, just perhaps, one person will hear from a happy slime couple about the little mouse that saved their future together. Even the littlest of rodents can be a hero.