Swamp Slime “Woggie”'s Arc

Chapter 1 of 1

Woggie stops at the edge of the clearing where the wooden structure leans hard to one side, half-swallowed by black water. The post still has rope loops hanging from its frame and a cracked lookout platform near the top. It won't last another season. Woggie knows the Ironscale Warriors used to claim places like this, back when they patrolled deeper into the marsh. Woggie slides forward into the water and reaches the slanted doorway. Inside, the walls show carvings of warrior symbols and old weapon racks bolted to stone. One rack still holds a rusted spear tip. Woggie stretches up and grips the platform edge, pulling their body weight onto the wood. It groans but holds. From up here, they can see three different patrol routes the warriors might take. Woggie presses their form into the corner where the roof meets the wall, claiming the space. When the Ironscale Warriors return to check their old posts, they'll find a slime already standing watch. But something catches against Woggie's side as they settle in. A bracelet hangs from a nail driven into the support beam, its feathers still bright despite the damp. The colors spiral outward from a center stone shaped like a flame. Woggie reaches for it carefully, then stops. The warriors left it here on purpose, the way you mark something you plan to come back for. Woggie pulls away from the bracelet and positions their body directly beneath it instead, so anyone climbing up will see the slime first, already in position, already part of the watch. The post is claimed now, and when they return, they'll know someone held it for them. The floor shifts under Woggie's weight. A crack runs through the wood where the platform meets the wall, and muddy water bubbles up between the boards. Woggie drops down and finds a hardwood tool wedged behind the weapon rack, its curved end still solid despite years in the damp. They jam it under the sagging corner post and lever it upward until the structure groans back toward level. The wood holds. Woggie wedges the tool in place and tests their weight on the platform again. It doesn't sink. The lookout stands now because a slime made it stand, and when the warriors come, they'll find their post exactly where they left it, still on watch, still waiting.