Septic Slime

The grinding of glass against stone halted Borus in his tracks. His torch cast flickering shadows as he knelt and studied the cavern floor, the metallic rattle of his armor echoing in the cave. His training as a scout had taught him to read the land and determine a creature by its footprint alone. Yet, what he gazed at was not the pad of an animal nor the print of a boot. It appeared as if something large had dragged itself through the dirt. In its tracks, he found fragments of glass and metal.

He picked up a tiny piece of glass and inspected it. The torchlight reflected off its surface, casting spider-like tendrils on the ceiling above him. Something moved up there, in the shadows. He dropped the glass shard and pulled out his sword.

The thing on the ceiling dropped toward him. Borus tried to dodge out of the way, but it was too late. It landed on him with a heavy thud, large and bulbous and brown-red, with long, tendril-like arms. He dropped his torch as he struggled to free himself. The flames sputtered on the floor. The beast latched onto his armor and his face. He clubbed at it blindly with his sword, but the blade got caught in the thick sludge of the creature.

Borus released the sword's hilt and tried to yank the creature free, but a blinding pain tore through his hands. He screamed, staggered, and fell to the ground. The creature's appendages steamed and hissed as it constricted itself around him. Borus opened his mouth to scream again, and a thick sludge oozed down his gullet. Septic slimes feed on bacteria found on armor and weapons. No matter the armament's build, quality, or make—be it metal, wood, or stone—the slime consumes it whole. They have little intelligence and are slow-moving, yet they can still burn the flesh off warriors trapped in their armor.

Once attached to a piece of armor or weapon, the slime is near impossible to get off. They are difficult to harm as they have no organs or brains, and ones that are wounded can heal any damage by feasting on flesh or weapons.

The slimes secrete a toxic sludge that burns any surface it comes into contact with. Contact with flesh paralyzes the victim, leaving them stunned while the slime consumes them.

Septic slimes form in the depths of volcanoes and heat vents. They can eat their way out of any material except glass. They are sometimes captured, put into vials, and sold or used as weapons.