Although they had just finished up the task that Lloyd had given them, it would seem as though Sylvari and Videl were being saddled with another one. Whilst this would probably have upset anyone else, it had gone on to invigorate Videl. The fact that there was more work had meant that there was more time that he was going to be able to enjoy with Sylvari. It might seem a bit selfish of him but he wasn't ready to give up his time with his first friend. Not yet. If she were to turn down the job than that would be one thing but unless she had done so, Videl had planned on enjoying as much time with her as he could.

"From the intonation of your voice, this sounds serious. Just what is going on, Mister Lloyd?" Rather than dilly dally with the information, Lloyd would immediately fill the two in. "In your absence, it was discovered that an ooze has taken up residence in the cellar of this very inn. If I had known about it before your departure, I honestly would have just sent you down there!" With all the time that it had taken for the two to successfully track down an ooze that was in the process of budding, fight off those monster hunters, and make it all the way back here, it certainly would have been quicker for them to just inspect what was beneath the establishment.

"The poor creature has been doing nothing but causing problems since it was discovered. Not only has it been disturbing the patrons of this establishment, but it has been spoiling goods and lashing out at people. I fear that if this isn't handled properly, that someone will attempt to harm the thing. If that happens, either the ooze or the patrons will face a fate that they simply shouldn't have to. So please, I implore you, remove this ooze from the establishment. Safely! It might strike out at you and try to defend itself, so you may need to fight, but please don't kill the creature, and instead remove it from the premises without too much harm."

At present, the only experience that Videl has in dealing with these things is what had just recently occurred. Given that his most effective magic, in terms of combat, had been a piercing attack, Videl honestly wasn't sure that he could remove the creature from the premises without harming it too much. If he was going to complete this task alongside Sylvari than he was going to have to be resourceful and try a few new things out.. Hopefully his actions won't lead to any sort of trouble with the innkeeper. "Well.. I'm in if you are, Sylvari. Together, I'm sure that we can remove this thing without too much issue."

---

Part 1

Lloyd's Field Guide to Charon - Mold on the Walls

Dear gods. I should have known: it never ends with Lloyd. But he does make a valid point, though. We can't very well leave the creature where it might harm civilians.

"Lloyd, darling, setting aside your untimely information, why can we not simply exterminate the pest? I understand wanting to prevent harm to people, but what possible benefit is there in perpetuating monsters?"

"Sylvari, Sylvari, my dear sweet summer child," Lloyd began, not at all trying to hide his patronizing tone, "You are too shortsighted by half. Yes, we could simply kill the creature and be no better off than we were days ago. But we have here an opportunity, and I would hope the more adventurous part of you eager enough to see that through. Why, a live specimen could yield fascinating data, the likes of which could not be quantified without having it in captivity. I wouldn't need to request your services every time I needed further research data if I had a specimen in hand."

Sylvari had been quietly becoming more and more exasperated over the course of Lloyd's speech, but the ending, at least she could see merit in. And thinking on it, I am willing to go to such lengths if it will save people in the future. "Setting aside your rather discourteous address, I can see the merit when you frame it like that. It will still be an extraordinary pain, mind, but I am willing."

"Wonderful, I just knew you'd see it my way. There's a smart lass under all that armor. So, as mentioned: remove the ooze without killing it or causing irreparable harm. Once you have the creature subdued, I'm certain I will have some type of enclosure to contain it inside. Oh! Speaking of, I must go and see what this workshop has to that end. Goodbye for now, I expect great things from the pair of you!" The researcher hurried toward the exit, furiously scribbling in his handheld tome. "Great things!" he managed to shout again, just before leaving.

Sylvari sighed. Her long day just got even longer. "Well, Videl, no point in delaying the inevitable, right? Let's go see this thing."

As Sylvari had begun to speak up on why they should allow the ooze to survive, Lloyd would respond with a quick-witted reply that had conveyed the exact reasoning as to why they should do so. While Videl could understand where the both of them had been coming from, he wasn't quite sure how to feel about Lloyd's desires. Was it really necessary to capture the ooze simply for the sake of data? Any such data could also be gathered simply from watching it in the wild, couldn't it? Unsure as to how he should feel in this moment, Videl would cast aside those thoughts and save them for later.

"Right, of course. The faster that we take care of this thing, the safer the people will be." Remembering that he was taking on the guise of a hero for the time being, Videl would head off towards the underground level of the inn. Along the way, he would be sure to hold each door open for Sylvari so that she may pass through them. Once the pair had reached the underground level, Videl would find a worker and asked to be escorted to the cellar, so that they may remove the ooze. The staff was willing enough to bring them to the cellar door before turning back to return to their duties.

Standing before the closed cellar door, Videl would turn his gaze back towards Sylvari. "Hey Syl.." It might have been a bit too early on in their relationship for him to be establishing nicknames but it had merely rolled off the tongue. "I'm not quite sure how well I'll do down there but.. I'll try and heed your words from before. Whatever happens down there, just please don't be mad at me if I mess things up a bit." He had fully been intending on capturing the ooze without exceeding the reasonable amount of harm that would be expected in this scenario. The only issue was that he would have to make use of magic that he hadn't really used before. Even he hadn't known how well things were going to play out.

That said, Videl would pull open the door to the cellar and would begin to descend down a set of uneven stone stairs. The lamps that had lined the walls had been mostly intact but there were a few here and there that had seemed to of been destroyed. Well.. Destroyed, whilst technically the correct term, wasn't exactly what had occurred. It would appear as though the close that had contained those particular lamps had been melted via some kind of acidic property. The ooze was assuredly down here. All that was left was for the pair to find it, capture it, and remove it from the pale city.

Sylvari gave a nod of appreciation at Videl's continuing courtesy and smiled at the nickname he used. She touched his arm lightly in an effort to assuage his worry. "There's no need to worry, V. You handled yourself well in the Coldwood with sentient enemies, an altogether more difficult challenge than this. But even if something should go wrong here, I would ask that you trust me as your partner to have your back. I'm not in the practice of allowing friends to be hurt."

Looking down at the destruction evident throughout the cellar, Sylvari was forced to wonder about the size of the ooze they were dealing with. Enough corrosion to be indicative of one of the larger specimens, but it's not in plain view. An unusual circumstance...

Sylvari raised her guard at the prospect of the extraordinary, silently bidding that Videl follow suit. She went first, owing to her better protection, edging into the space step-by-step. She was careful to slide her feet, both in an effort to maintain her balance in the event of a surprise and knowing that some oozes were capable of leaving a slime trail that could cause a warrior to lose her footing and be exposed.

By a stoke of fate, she happened to look upward, seeing the roiling mass of a mid-sized blue ooze, slightly larger than herself. Gods. "Get back!" She practically tackled Videl out of the way to avoid the falling ooze which meant to engulf them.

If there was one thing that he was sure that he could do, it would be trusting Sylvari. After their encounter in the Coldwood, he was certain that he could leave his life in the hands of his companion. Or mostly certain about that particular fact. The temptations that she must have felt as a vampiress must have been quite strong. The fact that she was resisting them whatsoever was enough for him to put his faith in her however.

From the events that would follow their entering the cellar, this trust would pay off. Upon having bearing witness to an ooze that was larger than the two of them, Sylvari would tackle Videl out of the way, likely saving his life in the process. "W-wha?!" Still being relatively new to situations such as these, Videl hadn't been prepared for a frontal attack from the ooze. He had been so caught off guard by this that it would even take him a moment to realize what was going on. Sylvari had pulled him to the ground and what lay before them, only feet away, had been an ooze the size of which he couldn't possibly have anticipated. And to make things worse? It had been poised to attack once more.

Realizing what would happen if this thing were to come into contact with either of them, Videl would begin to internally panic. There was no threatening a creature such as this and getting away from here. If the two of them were going to make it out of here than they were going to need to do something fast. Recognizing this fact, Videl would start to push a lot of his mana into the ground. Just as the ooze had attempted to lash out at the pair with two slimy tentacles, a block of ice ^{[Glacial Wall]} would jut out of the ground and serve as a wall between themselves and the ooze. The creatures ichor tentacles would retreat after colliding with the ice wall and being denied access to the two fleshy individuals that had stood before it.

"D-damn that was close.." Knowing that they didn't have much time before the glacial wall would be breached, Videl would hop to his feet and attempt to pull Sylvari up alongside him. "I can hold the thing off, and maybe even trap it between walls, but I'm not certain how long I'll be able to keep that up.." He had wished to turn towards Sylvari in this moment, to look to her for guidance, but he didn't dare pull his gaze away from the ooze that stood before him. "..so what's the plan?"

Sylvari groaned inwardly. I've spent my life learning how to slay monsters and strike down those who do evil. I'm a justiciar, not a bounty hunter! What can I do to incapacitate this creature? Sylvari wracked her brain trying to think of a way she could safely neutralize the ooze. There is THAT spell, but I've never used it before. It's certainly stronger than the other base magics I can perform, but what if it's too much? What if it causes collateral damage to innocents?

Sylvari was shaken from her reverie as the ooze's attacking pseudopods had begun to crack Videl's ice barrier. "We need to wear it down! Hopefully, we can exhaust enough of its strength that I can quickly transport it to Lloyd's container when he arrives. Focus on protecting yourself, and, whatever you do, don't let it touch your bare skin."

Sylvari just managed to finish speaking as the ooze burst through the wall and lunged at her. She brought up her shield and drove her foot into the ground, bracing herself to hurl the creature back with all of her might. Despite its semi-solid body, an ooze of such size was very much heavier than it looked, and only by the bracing practice she had in her armor was Sylvari able to shove the ooze back ^{[Knight, immovable Bastion]}. She noted with distaste the scarring on the front of her shield from where the ooze's acid ate away at the metal finish ^{[Shield Hit Preventions 1/3]}.

"Stay behind me, V!"

A sense of embarrassment and panic would begin to overtake the T'saya as he had contemplated what to do in this moment. While there were certainly things that he could do, if they were hunting this creature, there wasn't really much that he could offer when it came to containment. Not at this point in time anyways. 'This is something that I'll have to consider moving forward.. I've got to find a way to deal with these sorts of things more effectively.' He had considered attacking the ooze with his ice spike but knew that if he had done so, that the attack would seep into the acidic ooze of the beast. 

'Basically everything I can think of results in the death of this damned thing.. What can I possibly do here?!' There was an overwhelming lack of items and spells within the T'saya's repertoire and as such, he was starting to lose himself to his thoughts. "I'll do what I can but it's not much!" Videl would proceed to channel his mana into the air once again, causing yet another wall of ice [Glacial Wall] to rise from the ground. Unlike the one before this though, this wall would rise from beneath the ooze, boosting it into the ceiling. Perhaps not the best move considering its acidic properties but this was all that he could think of in this moment.

If he were being honest with himself, Videl had done far better against those monster hunters earlier. He was at the very least able to disable the monster hunters. With this thing on the other hand.. Well it wasn't looking all that great. Left without very many options, Videl would have to find some way to protect himself. Just incase things got out of hand. That being said, in addition to having already called forth that glacial wall, Videl would summon forth a spike of ice ^{[Ice Spike]}. "If it pushes past your defenses, I'll be sure to give it a good ol' jab."

Sylvari smiled as her partner slammed the ooze into the ceiling with a clever application of his ice wall. She smiled even wider seeing the creature briefly stun at the impact, before compressing itself and rolling out of the space.

"That's it! Maybe if we can stun if with impact damage over and over, we can wear down its defenses and fatigue it enough to transfer it to Lloyd."

Sylvari leveled her massive warhammer in her dominant hand. Such an impressive weapon would normally need to be wielded in two hands, but Sylvari's inhuman strength and rigorous practice allowed her to swing the implement in one hand as easily as others would a shortsword ^{[Knight, Master of Combat]}. In this case, it was a bit overkill, and she would have to pull her strikes to avoid pulverizing the creature. Sylvari idly thought about how pleased she was that she had sprung for the more expensive option of having the weapon acid treated in its creation, which would now provide some defense against the ooze's ravenous physiology. 

Sylvari danced around the creature, hitting it with blows that staggered it again and again. A rhythmic balance established itself: dodge, pirouette, strike, backstep. She was assuredly keeping the creature locked in a cycle of shock and recovery, but she noted with displeasure it seemed in no way slowed in its movements each time it shook off the effects of her heavy blows.

Thankfully his method of stunning the overly-large ooze had been one that Sylvari had agreed with. It was apparently enough to assist her in terms of understanding a way to keep the creature in place until Lloyd had found his way to them. It was embarrassing that he could only do so much but it was at least enough to prove useful to Sylvari. "Hopefully we don't have to wait for too long for him to make his way down here."

Knowing that they simply had to stall for time at this point, Videl would coat his feet with a thin layer of ice ^{[Frozen Feet]}. With the way that Sylvari had been making her way around the creature, stunning it with her Warhammer and dancing around its attack, she had managed to keep the thing in place. Videl didn't wish to break her flow and as such, would wait for an opening in the way that she had been moving about.  Once he had managed to find a clearing of space, he would quickly glide across the ground and thrust his spike of ice into the bottom of the creature. The spike had flown freely through the ooze's goopy form and would crash into the ground beneath, ultimately resulting in the ice shattering and dealing mild amounts of damage to the ooze itself.

Before Sylvari had made her way back around the ooze, Videl was sure to backtrack to his previous positioning. He was twice as fast as he had usually been capable of moving but was a smidge too slow. In the process of his retro locomotion, the ooze would lash out with a tentacle and would catch the man in the shoulder. Its acidic form would melt through a patch of his Girallon parka and would leave Videl's shoulder burning in a bout of agony. Videl would yelp out a cry of pain as he had reached up to grab at his shoulder. Unless he finds a way to make use of armor, in a similar manner to how Sylvari can do so, than he was going to have to be far more careful in combat.

Hearing Videl cry out in pain as the creature tagged him made Sylvari frown intensely. Hells. I'm not fast enough. No choice now, I can't risk Videl getting hurt again. Here's hoping I can control this spell. No time like the present for a field test, right?

Sylvari looked back as much as she was able in her deadly dance to focus her attention on her friend as she spoke. "Good work, V, but this isn't sustainable. We've got no idea when Lloyd is set to return, and you and I are going to tire before this thing does. I have a plan, but it's not exactly... aimable. Retreat upstairs for me?" Sylvari hated asking Videl to leave the fight, as much as she understood the necessity. She knew that she would be upset in his shoes, but, failing to see a better option, this was the only method she knew.

Once Videl had retreated, likely reluctantly, Sylvari's focus returned to her foe as she danced backward just out of reach. The monster's recovery windows had grown shorter and shorter, adjusting to her barrage, and Sylvari knew this was her last chance short of outright killing the thing. ^{[Sheer Cold]} Clapping her hands together, a shockwave rippled throughout the room, seemingly draining the ambient temperature down to the freezing wastes outside. A thin sheet of frost exploded outwards from Sylvari coating everything in the cellar, the ooze included. Tiny frozen crystals permeated the air, and unbeknownst to Sylvari, a small snowfall began outside the inn.

Luckily, the gambit worked, the sheer cold slowing the ooze to a snail's pace as it fought desperately against the cold front it was subjected to. The persistent frost acted as a shell around the creature, inhibiting its movements and all but freezing it over. Sylvari called up the stairway, "I've got it locked down, hopefully until Lloyd gets here. Let me know when that frustrating scientist arrives, will you?"

Still gripping his shoulder in pain, Videl would silently follow along with what he had been asked to do. He wasn't thrilled about the fact that he had to retreat from the battle but he had trusted Sylvari's judgement. With his feet still frosted over, the T'saya would glide back towards the entrance of the cellar and away from battle, leaving Sylvari to take care of the ooze herself. Even with him trusting her though, he couldn't help but feel disgusted with himself as he had done so. He was weak enough to warrant her request, from what he had guessed, and that wasn't the kind of feeling that he desired to experience.

Almost as though it were to disprove Videl's worries, Sylvari would proceed to unleash an intense amount of mana. Videl could almost feel it before it took place but this magic that the vampiress had been casting had been something that he could not yet achieve. A surge of snowfall would burst outwardly from Sylvari, coating the area with ice magic and dropping the temperature considerably. If it wasn't for the fact that Videl had always felt dreadfully cold than the effects from said spell would likely have had him curled up in a corner.

Unsure of what kind of spell she had just cast, Videl had found himself in a bit of a stupor. 'That.. Even I can't do something like that yet. Just what in the world did she cast?' He didn't believe her ability to have been one specific to vampires. In fact, he was certain that he could replicate it with enough time. The only question was how long it would ultimately take for him to achieve such a feat. 

Temporary lost in thought, Videl hadn't noticed when the door behind him had opened. "..what in all the realms are you guys doing down here?" This very voice was enough to snap Videl back to the present. "This feeling of my blood freezing over is downright abysmal." Pushing past the distracted T'saya had been a familiar face. One that had been a rather welcome sight in this moment. "L-Lloyd... Quickly, contain the thing!"

With a look that had practically been calling its recipient crazy, Lloyd would turn his gaze towards Videl. "Me? Oh my, you are quite mistaken my frosty friend." The scientist would proceed to reach into his breast pocket before pulling out a small bottle of sorts. Lloyd would press the bottle into Videl's hand and gesture towards the bottom of the stairs with the other. "It's your job to contain this thing. All I can do is provide you with the means."

Even more confused now than he had been before, Videl would jump back into the battle. He wasn't quite sure what he was supposed to do with this bottle but he was sure that it held the answers that he had needed. Thankfully it hadn't taken all that long for him to get back down the stairs. "Just point the tip at the ooze and uncork it!" Those were all the words that Videl had needed to hear. Once he had found an opening in the ooze and Sylvari's movements, Videl would uncork the bottle and point the bottle at the ooze. In a few moments time, the bottle would inhale the ooze before recorking itself.

Once the ooze had been summarily contained, Sylvari practically collapsed, feeling drained after the large expenditure of mana. A tired smile appeared on her face as she looked up at Videl. "Very timely, darling. I appreciate your efforts." It took her a few seconds more to realize that Lloyd was there behind her friend with a smug look on his face. 

"Please, do go on, dear Sylvari. You may thank me for my nick-of-time intervention as well." At Lloyd's words, Sylvari seemed to get a fresh wave of energy, leaping up to grab Lloyd by the collar. "Thanks? I should knock you over the head for putting these people in danger so! Videl was hurt because of your harebrained scheme, and all of the staff and patrons here were put at risk." Sylvari pinched the bridge of her nose, calming herself down. "I understand the value of research, but I ask that you make a better assessment of the costs and benefits next time."

Lloyd, for his part, did not seem overly perturbed at Sylvari's outburst, either knowing she would not harm him, or else used to her excitability. "Ah, but no one was hurt Sylvari, and we've a precious subject now. All's well that ends well, right? Nothing happened; you can let your guard rest. Well, nothing other than you engaging in some cold property destruction, " Lloyd added, looking around the room.

The weight of displeasure in Sylvari's gaze could be felt even behind the veil that concealed it. "Destruction you necessitated. I trust you'll see the owners fairly compensated, both for the frost and the ooze's other rampaging before we arrived?" Implicit in Sylvari's sickly-sweet tone was the threat of making sure this course of action was followed. Lloyd acquiesced without too much fight.

"I suppose you have me there, my dear. All for the common good, eh?" Sylvari merely grunted in response before turning to Videl with concern. "You were hurt in the battle. How bad is it?"

The ooze having now been contained, Videl could finally catch his breath. Whilst the fight with said ooze hadn't necessarily been all that long, the duo had managed to exert quite a bit of energy. The cellar was covered in layers of frost and snow, and both Sylvari and Videl had expended quite a large amount of mana. So as to prevent something like this from happening again, he was going to have to expand his repertoire of spells. The more that he knew, the more useful he could be in any given situation. When the time had come, he would be sure to learn everything that he could.

The thought of growing stronger would temporarily lock itself away within Videl's mind as he had turned his gaze towards Sylvari. After having expelled such a massive spell, she had seemed to have run herself nearly dry. It was a worrying sight to see but one that wouldn't last all that long. Before he could even react, Sylvari would clear the distance between herself and Lloyd. His collar had been contained within her grasp and Videl had found himself feeling rather conflicted. On one hand, he didn't wish to see the scientist harmed. On the other though, he had completely understood why it was that she had been reacting in such a manner. One thing was for certain. He couldn't allow the two to come to blows.

Albeit a little hesitantly, Videl would find himself closing the distance between himself and the foreign pair. A single hand would come up underneath Sylvari's shoulder, so as to support her due to the lack of energy that she had seemed to have had a moment ago. "I'm fine, Sylvari, really. My shoulder stings like hell but it's my own fault. I shouldn't have been as reckless as I was." His spare hand would than motion towards Lloyd, the bottle being placed against the scientists chest. "We've done what you asked. Rewards, repayments, and such can all be discussed later. Allow us to tend to our wounds in the meantime."

Still taking the time to support Sylvari, until she had either pulled away or headed off with him, Videl would turn his attention back towards her once more. From this angle, he could even see a bit of her features from beneath the veil. "I'll do better in the future. I promise. For now, let's just take care of ourselves. After all of this, I'm going to need a drink. And a few bandages." He might now vocalize it but his arm had still been burning at the moment. It hadn't helped that he was supporting her with the shoulder that was tinged with acid earlier on. If one were to peer through his words and study him for a deeper meaning, they could pretty easily tell that he had simply been acting strong for his companion. "Despite the mess that we might have caused, the innkeeper will owe us at least that much."

[Videl's Exit]

Sylvari's gaze softened and her harsh demeanor melted away like frost before the noonday sun when Videl attested to his well-being. It was fairly obvious that he was putting on a brave face to leap to the researcher's defense and to hide the singing pain he must have felt, but Sylvari was not going to shatter his brave façade. She sighed and smiled at her friend, releasing Lloyd with a simple flex of her fingers.

"Small blessing, that, but we take them where we can. I've some bandages and herbs in my pack. Let's head up to the taproom and I'll patch you up while you get a much-deserved drink." Sylvari intentionally left herself out of this consumption. She had never been much for alcohol, and less so now that it tasted like ground bone dust when she partook. That said, she was thirsty too, for a different sort of refreshment. She had depleted her mana reserves perilously and needed a restock, a resupply that she would need a partner's assistance on. If I'm to call upon the spell again, I must refine it to not take so much out of me. If the fight was ongoing, I would have worn myself out. Still, it was an impressive feat, worth refining.

After making sure that Videl's wound was attended to and passing a polite requisite time in conversation, she slipped off to other parts of the city, to where she might find someone willing to slake the desire that had been building in her these last few days.