After what had been several months worth of travel, the undeterred trio had set back out on their mission of information gathering and subduing! Where we last left our weary heroes, the trio had just finished rescuing a small group of scholars from an acidic trail that had been left behind by one vicious Elder Ooze with one nasty attitude. In the time since then, the trio have done several things.

Despite their initial decision to continue after the Elder Ooze, the trio had resolved to resupply back in Frost Gale. There were a few things that they had needed to discuss with the resident Field Researcher concerning the creature that they were tasked with capturing. It was on the way back to the Pale City that the group had come across a pair of majestic magical equine. Each of these beasts had managed to secure a bond with the group and would ultimately join up with them, turning their group of three into a group of five. Once they had managed to make it back to the Pale City, for the most part, things were business as usual. The only real exception to this was in the time that Videl had decidedly slipped away from Sylvari.

While it might not be all that memorable to some, the day that he had slipped away from Sylvari had been one that Videl was sure to always remember. He had come to delve into his feelings for the vampiress that day, recognizing that she had held a greater importance to him than any other. He didn't quite know how to explain what these feelings had been and as such, he had decided to try and show her how he had felt by getting her a gift! After meandering about the Pale City for the better half of the day, Videl would ultimately come upon the precise thing that he had been hoping to gift to her. A silver circlet with designs of ice and snow. Said circlet could be worn in an array of different ways, and had even contained magical properties, but Videl hadn't been aware of that much upon his initial purchase. The only reason that he had settled in on this was due to the fact that the circlet would have looked fantastic on the vampiress. And luckily enough, they had been willing to sell them off to him in pairs.

When it had come to delivering this gift to Sylvari, the T'saya had found himself at a loss for words. His cheeks had been tinged a deep red, and there were so many things that he had wanted to say, but ultimately he couldn't get the words out. Instead he had just kind of shoved the circlet out to the woman, all the while averting his gaze from her. It was evident that he had managed to secure one for himself at the time as well, considering that his own circlet had been dangling around his wrist. Anything that had occurred after that moment was a blur to the T'saya, his mind currently focused on the present.

Today was the day in which our intrepid heroes would arrive at the shoreline of the Marsh Flats. From all of the information that they had gathered, it was evident that this was the location that the Elder Ooze had been heading off to. Pair that with the rumors of the creature having trudged through the murky waters of the land and it was a dead giveaway as to where the Elder Ooze had come to reside.

After docking along the shoreline of the Marsh Flats, the group would be allowed to depart from the ship. Videl was the first to make his way off of the boat, having come to learn that he was quite prone to seasickness throughout the trip. If the waters here weren't so terribly disgusting, Videl might even have found himself kissing the very ground that he had stood upon. Thankfully that wasn't something that the T'saya would come to do.

Upon arriving on the ground, Videl would reach his hand out to Sylvari and attempt to assist her off of the ship. Whether she had accepted the hand or not, the man would go on to survey the area surrounding them once she had found her way to land as well. "Now that we've managed to make our way here, we should probably start looking for the damned thing. If my memory serves me correctly, the Ooze that we had encountered had been positively massive. The terrain here might be a bit complicated, given the excess of swamp and trees, but I'm certain that we can locate such a ginormous creature with ease."

---

SPOILER: Click to show

Quest Name: Elder Ooze
Chapter: Four
Description: The Elder Ooze has been located in the Marsh Flats, but it is a massive beast, a Extreme danger level creature with a nasty attitude. If we are going to be able to study it further, we need help in subduing it. Thats where you come in! Before it can be studied it needs to be weakened and put into a calm state. While we are normally against violence against these wild animals, sometimes it is needed. You must combat the Ooze, survive, and weaken it enough so that our researchers can study it further. But please do not kill the Elder Ooze!
Requirements:
- Requires at least two people (you and one other)
- You must make at least 7 post to complete the mission with each post being at least 200 words
- Must defeat the Elder Ooze without killing it
- Once you complete this mission you have completed this quest chain. (which needs to be a separate topic)

As the pair neared the shoreline, Sylvari smiled, having many reasons to be happy. Foremost among these were courtesy of her friend and their travels together: a steed, a circlet, and a deepening friendship the likes of which Sylvari had not known since her exile. As if to drive the reminder of her points of thankfulness home, her glistening white mare, which she had named Mercy, snuffled at the hand Sylvari extended upward to trace the delicate snowflake patterns of her elegant crown. Sylvari chuckled as she moved to pet her new friend, prompting a war of jealousy between her and Noe as the little dragonling tried to interpose himself between them.

"Now, now, you two. Plenty of love to go around. It'll be nice for us all to stretch our legs."

Sylvari looked over in sympathy to Videl, who was decidedly not of a seafaring constitution, having spent the majority of his time at the ships railing between bouts of sickness. She was happy to be almost ashore for his sake, as well as it being the confirmation of the beginning of the end, a denouement from the pair's adventures with oozes. Hopefully. Please gods let it be so.

She gratefully accepted Videl's hand to step down, as Noe atop Mercy followed afterward. She fought back a grimace, remembering her last excursion to the swamplands: an excursion with a nearly-mute lizardman that had left both on the verge of death. Another gem, courtesy of Lloyd.

Sylvari sighed. She knew the researcher's contributions were invaluable, but they had an unsettling tendency to require all of their compatriots' power and then some. Here and now, though, after months of training, and a partner with considerably more rapport built, Sylvari couldn't help but feel a bit more confident.

"Indeed, my dear. Let us hope that our excursion will be a simple one. I think we're due a bit of good fortune."

At the very least, their steeds' extraordinary ability to freeze over the ground they walked on would spare them the leeches and soggy clothes that had plagued her the last journey. She swung into her saddle and awaited Videl to do the same. "Onwards and upwards, dear V."

Having been unaware of Sylvari's past experiences in the area, Videl could only assume that her sighs were about the task at hand. He had been of the same opinion when it had come to these tasks that Lloyd had kept heaping upon them, so it wasn't all that surprising to the man that she had grown tired from the whole ordeal. "Good fortune, huh?" Videl couldn't help but turn his gaze towards Mercy as Sylvari had mentioned as much. They had already experienced a couple bouts of good fortune as of late. Perhaps it was the worlds way of making it up to them? "One can certainly wish for such a thing."

It wouldn't take long for Sylvari to mount her steed, after the pair had touched down on the ground. An understandable thought, considering the terrain of the area. 'Perhaps I should follow suit with her actions.. It would be good to gain a further sense of rapport with Lumi after all.' Much like Sylvari, Videl had decided to bring his steed along for the ride this go around. It was a subject of much debate for Videl, considering the fact that the Frigid Steed assuredly thrived in colder climates. When the topic was first broached about bringing their mounts along for the ride, Videl had honestly wanted to disagree with the vampiress. Eventually he would find himself acquiescing to her desires though. It wouldn't be fair to Lumi to leave her behind after all.

"Right.. We should get a move on." Videl's gaze would turn back towards Lumi at this point, a soft smile donning his face as he turns back. "Come along, beautiful. I'll be sure to give you a bath once all is said and done." Upon hearing that she would get cleaned up after her hard work, the Frigid Steed would depart from the ship and wait for the T'saya to mount her. She had been rather spoiled thus far and as such, had gotten rather used to the treatment. And much the caretaker that he was, Videl was likely to continue such diligent treatment, so long as the pair had worked together.

Although it had taken a bit of effort on Videl's part, he would eventually manage to make it atop of Lumi. Thankfully the steed had lowered herself to assist in the matter. "Let's get a move on then." The group would the move to wade into the murky swamplands at the behest of Sylvari and Videl. All the while, Videl would keep an eye out for any sign of the Elder Ooze.

As Mercy's footsteps sent out little clouds of frozen air, freezing the murky water beneath them and allowing the frigid steed to pass over the surface of the water, Noe cocked an eye socket at the terrain below them, burrowing into Sylvari's lap, apparently sharing his mistress' distaste for the brackish water. Sylvari let out a light chuckle and stroked the little dragonling's bony back soothingly. At the same time she leaned forward to pat Mercy's neck, murmuring a thanks to her steed for sparing them the slog through the swamp.

Seeing Lumi and Videl closely in tow, Sylvari urged Mercy to move forward at a light trot. Sylvari was careful to continually scan the group's surroundings for any sign of their quarry, the Marsh Flats being perhaps the one place in the world where a giant ooze might blend in to the background.

Sylvari looked to her left where Videl was riding alongside her and adjusted her seating to be more comfortable for a protracted conversation with her friend. "Alright, V, let us discuss our battle strategy. We are surely more than we were before in the inn, all those weeks ago, but our target today is assuredly more fearsome than the simple creature we fought back then as well. Adding in Lloyd's continual restriction against killing the thing, this fight may get tricky. Any suggestions you have?"

Strongly desiring to remain by Sylvari's side, Videl would urge Lumi into a trot by lightly tapping at her hindquarters with the heel of his right foot. Much like Mercy had just done, Lumi would call upon miniscule clouds of frozen air beneath her hooves. This had allowed for the surface of the brackish water to freeze over instantly and for both herself and her rider to make their way across the waters. As a way of thanking Lumi for her services, as she had willingly gone along with his commands, Videl would find himself lightly running a hand through the Frigid Steed's mane. "You're doing great out here, girl, so please continue on."

The matter of how they were going to address the Elder Ooze would come up not long after. This was actually something that Videl had attempted to discern in his free time, but he honestly wasn't sure if his ideas were good or not. Up to this point, it had been too embarrassing to even bring them up! Knowing that there wasn't any time left to do so however, Videl would speak up on his thoughts. "Well there are a couple of ways that we can take care of this.."

Before he could finish what he had began, the sloshing of water could be heard from behind. In an instant, the T'saya would swivel around on Lumi's back and call upon a masterfully crafted spear of ice ^{[Ice Spike]}. "Who go-" It was in this moment that Videl would lay his eyes upon a small group of researchers. Those that had boarded the boat alongside them but were quickly forgotten. "Ah, right. Forgot that you guys are supposed to be here with us.." A slight tinge of red would overtake the mans cheeks as he had swiveled back around on Lumi, spear of ice still in hand.

One of the most important details of their task had been to allow the researchers to do their thing. Sylvari and Videl had been sent here to effectively weaken the creature, so as to place it into a calm state that would allow for the researchers to get to work. This was the reasoning behind why they shouldn't kill off the Elder Ooze.

"..anyways. As I was saying before, there are a few things that I had initially considered for this ordeal. Remember when we saved these guys? How I mentioned that if I requested that you run, that you run? Well that's actually due to the effect of one of my spells. Or abilities? Something akin to that.. Anyways, I've more or less developed the ability to freeze over living things with my glacial magic, if I throw enough mana and focus into it. It takes about.. eighteen seconds to freeze over everything within my snowstorms range?"

A bit of an anxious sigh would peel forth from the T'saya's lips as he thought about the time that he had discovered this fact. "That was all before we met Mercy and Lumi though. I think that we should probably just aim to replicate feat from before. From back when we were in the basement of the Winter's Howl. We seemed to have a good thing going back then, but were limited by what we could do because of the situation. This time around, we should be fine. And honestly? We could complete the task even more effectively, if we make use of Mercy and Lumi. Have them frost over the Elder Ooze with their chilly breath before we rush in and beat the thing down. Kind of like that jousting thing that I hear knights do."

Sylvari found herself nodding along in the affirmative. Besides the fact that her icy arcana had proven singularly effective at combatting the lesser ooze back in the Pale City, both she and Videl had grown considerably in magic and might since that encounter. If their steeds were indeed capable of icing the creature over to be rendered inert and less malleable, she was certain that their weapon strikes would be very effective at pacifying it.

A wry smile worked its way onto Sylvari's face. "Between the two of us, we certainly have the frost to spare. And if it comes to needing more physical power," Sylvari continued while flexing her fingers to wisps of dark energy swirling them, "I can call upon my servants and dear Noe to assist."

The little dragonling in question perked up at his name being called, his little face looking far from a fearsome combatant. Sylvari's words were confident however, prompting mystery over her tiny companion's true power.

Sylvari looked back in sympathy at the team of researchers that she had quite forgotten about as well. She felt bad that they were waist-deep in muck while she and her friend rode high above the difficult terrain. She almost offered to create little ice bridges for them to walk on at intervals, sparing them from the travails of the travel, but as she went to speak up, she noted their expressions.

Far from the gloomy visage she sported on her first outing here, the researchers were determined, some even downright delighted at the new environment. A pair even compared leeches they accumulated as they took notes. A light chuckle escaped Sylvari's lips at the spectacle. She hoped they would keep that spirit of adventure and silently vowed to get them the specimen they needed.

Speaking of which, Sylvari squinted to a disturbance in the water in the distance. After tracking the ripples back to its source, she caught a glimpse of the roiling mass they were searching for disappearing behind a thicket in the midst of the swamp.

"V!" Sylvari whispered in an excited indication, pointing in the direction with her forefinger, "Seems we've found it at last."

Videl couldn't help but glance upon Sylvari questioningly as she had gone on to mention her servants being of used to them. Aside from Mercy and Noe, the T'saya hadn't encountered any of these so called servants of Sylvari's. He wasn't even sure of when she had developed such an ability to call upon the aide of others, if he were being honest with himself. "Is that so? Well.. I look forward to seeing what these servants of yours have to offer."

Although he wouldn't mention it, the discussion of Sylvari's servants would send a chill along the mans spine. He had trusted her with his life and yet there was still a piece of him that had worried about her vampiric nature. At this point though, it wasn't for his own sake but for the sake of others. After the brief run-in that Videl had had with the man known as Aledüne, Videl had been wary when it had come to others speaking on the matter of servants. That man had the ability to bend others to his own will after all. That wasn't something that Videl believed Sylvari to be willing to do but the thought alone was enough to make him a bit uncomfortable.

Trying to push such thoughts from the confines of his mind, Videl could only smile at the vampiress and her companions. "Hopefully I can offer up a fascinating site as well at some point. There are a few magics that I've been hoping to put into place but their time shall come later. After I throw myself a bit more into my spearmanship." Yeah, there was no reason for the T'saya to worry about such uncomfortable things. Not when he had Sylvari by his side.

Only a few more moments would come to pass before Sylvari had spotted the creature that they had been searching for. In hushed tones, she would mention the discovery of the Elder Ooze, offering Videl all that he had needed to launch himself into action. "In that case, my lady, allow for me to draw upon the beasts attention." His attempts at playing knight were likely embarrassing to see from outside of himself but thankfully Videl had been rather ignorant of the fact. Believing himself to be the coolest thing in the world at the moment, the T'saya would urge Lumi forward and off in the direction of the rolling mass.

"To arms!" From their light trot, Lumi would break into a full on gallop as she had made her way towards the Elder Ooze. If Videl had likened himself to a knight in this moment than the Elder Ooze would serve as a dragon. Albeit one that had various acidic tentacles as opposed to wings and a breath weapon. As the distance between Videl and his target had closed, the Elder Ooze would attempt to throw a massive corrosive tentacle towards the man playing knight. It's tentacle was just about to make contact with the man as Videl had channeled his mana into the silver circlet around his wrist. Rather than allow for the tentacle to make contact with him, Videl would summon forth a large block of ice ^{[Glacial Wall]}, that would act as a shield.

With the tentacle having been blocked off in this moment, Lumi could continue along her path. This would allow for Videl to drive his immaculate ice spear directly into the outer layer of the Elder Ooze. Upon piercing through this outer layer, the spear would shatter, sending various shards of ice inside of the Elder Ooze. Only a few feet in, thankfully, rather than all the way towards the core. He didn't quite know it but Videl was rather lucky in that moment.

As Videl charged into battle, with all the pomp and circumstance of a landed knight challenging an encroaching foe, Sylvari noted with a slight chuckle that he must have grown quite considerably in her eyes. While she had never thought Videl incapable, as he was ever an unorthodox and creative thinker to overcome struggles, it was hard for her to suppress her innate desire to protect those under her care. Now, however, Sylvari only felt pride as her friend surged forward to take the fight to their enemy, fully confident in his ability to safely combat even massive threats such as the ooze posed.

Brushing such frivolous thoughts aside, Sylvari urged Mercy to dash forward alongside their comrades, to join them in the fight. Once they had approached, Sylvari leapt off her steed, ordering Mercy to keep distance and freeze the ooze as best she was able. The noble steed complied with her mistress' wishes, retreating slightly and breathing out a gout of frosty air which immediately solidified a portion of the ooze's side. Not eager to miss such an opportunity, Sylvari dashed forward, Noe digging his talons into her pauldron to keep his footing. She leapt and brought down her mighty warhammer in a descending comet strike, flashes of frost and light magics rebounding off the ooze at the massive collision. A massive chuck of the ooze crumbled away at the ferocity of the blow, a fact most untenable to the creature, given its responsive wild thrashing, forcing Sylvari to retreat quickly.

Nevertheless, she had created an opening, a breach in the ooze's defenses as it focused its myriad acidic tentacles on her , seeming to forget Videl entirely. Sylvari gave her friend a fierce nod as she dodged and blocked the hail of incoming attacks ^{[Shield Hit Preventions 2/3] [Cuirass Hit Preventions 1/2]}, taking small acid burns in the process.

With Sylvari pulling aggro of the Elder Ooze, Videl would return the nod that was offered to him. It was clear what Sylvari had wanted from him and as such, he decided to give her what she had desired. "Unlike Sylvari, we're going to have to stay above the surface of the murky waters. When we close the distance once more, please release that icy breath of yours." In response to Videl's request, Lumi would belt out a whinny and begin to close the distance between the duo and the Elder Ooze once more. "Atta'girl, Lumi."

Much like before, Lumi would break out into a fully on gallop towards the Elder Ooze. It wasn't going to take all that long for the pair to arrive at the side of the ooze and as such, Videl had decided to gain a bit of an advantage. Whilst focusing on the block of ice that he had summoned from the murky waters only moments earlier, Videl would command the ice to shatter ^{[Brittle Shatter]}. It had managed to withstand the force of the Elder Ooze's tentacle earlier, only to combust in the moment that Videl had desired, sending shards of ice in every which direction from the other side of the ooze. All the while, Lumi had continued her along her path. Once within range of the creature, however, Lumi would unleash a thick fog of frost, the chilled air going as far as to freeze the spot in which it had hit.

Another tentacle would find its way towards the "knight" and his mount at this point, as the Elder Ooze would begin to flail about. There wasn't much room for Videl to call upon another barrier though, resulting in the corrosive tentacle to continue its descent. Videl knew that there wasn't much that he could do to prevent the blow though, so he would spread his body wide and take the brunt of the blow. Although she was new to his life, Videl refused to allow anything to harm Lumi. A pained yelp would escape from his lips as the tentacle had melted through the back of his parka, and dipped into the flesh upon his back.

Given the intelligence of his frigid steed, Lumi had been profoundly aware of what had just occurred. How her rider had risked himself to ensure that she had remained unharmed. This was a moment that she was sure to recall down the line and something that would serve to deepen the bond between the two.

Sylvari grimaced upon hearing Videl's cry, as if the pain was her own. We need to end this quickly, for our sakes' as much as the reasearchers'. This creature is not one to be trifled with. Reaching into the deep well of arcana within herself, Sylvari called upon the blizzard that had served her so well in the battle with the previous ooze, as an increasing snowfall began to blanket the area, noticeably slowing the ooze's movements ^{[Sheer Cold]}.

Sylvari dodged a much weakened strike from a tentacle as she incanted her next spell, calling upon the lingering bones and flesh of this place to coalesce into a servant fit to meet her commands. "Arise." A twisted amalgamation of discarded skeletons and meat rose out of the muck, towering over Sylvari, with a massive great axe in its hand, dripping with dark energy ^{[Summon Undead Hulk]}.

"Noe, Deathknight, attack!" Sylvari cried, spurring a frenzy into her minions ^{[Undying Frenzy]}. A pair of purple-black lich lights appeared in the eye sockets of both the behemoth and the little dragonling as they launched themselves at the creature with abandon, howling in rage, claw and weapon edge ripping swaths of acidic goop off the creature. Their mistress, meanwhile, took a moment to stumble back slightly, overwhelmed by the great river of arcana that she had been conduit to.

Gritting his teeth as he had attempted to overcome the pain, Videl would find that Lumi had been swerving back around and towards the Elder Ooze. A sense of determination could be seen within her eyes, eyes that were far too intelligent for an average horse. She truly was that of a special breed. Of course, in the process of Lumi turning about, Videl would catch sight of something that he most assuredly hadn't been expecting.

Not that far off from Sylvari, a mass of skeletons and meat would rise from the murky waters below. They would clamber atop of one another, eventually becoming a singular being that had held a massive weapon in its hand. The lights that had shined within the behemoth's eyes were near replicants of the ones within Noe's eyes, giving away the fact that they had been tied together in this aspect. The truth behind Sylvari's minions had finally been revealed. She was a necromancer. 

While the T'saya had more or less come to terms with the fact that Sylvari had been one of a vampiric nature, he hadn't quite been expecting for her to be a necromancer as well. Pair that with her knightly attitude and ability to heal others and one could likely assume that it was she that had been the Deathknight. It was honestly the most fitting term for someone such as Sylvari.. A term that left the T'saya conflicted once more.

'Just how many secrets is she going to keep from me..? I don't so much mind them, as long as she isn't using them for evil, but I thought she trusted me more than this?' The realization that she had been keeping such secrets from the man had managed to bring him back to reality. His back had still stung with pain but it wasn't something that he had the time to focus on at the moment. No, he was going to need to address this Elder Ooze so that the two of them could talk.

"Lumi.. Rush the ooze at your full speed before coming to a complete stop a few feet away." A reckless plan, all things considered. The Frigid Steed had been smart enough to be wary of such an idea but decided to play her trust in the rider. He had been willing to go as far as to sacrifice himself for her after all. If he had been capable of doing such a thing than she could place her trust in him.

Following the commands given to her to a tee, Lumi would gallop at full speed towards the Elder Ooze before stopping in her tracks. As she had been doing this, Videl would call upon yet another spear ^{[Ice Spike]} of immaculate craftsmanship. Once Lumi had ceased to move, Videl would find himself projected into the air and flung off in the direction of the massive ooze. In the next moment, his spear would pierce through the "skin" of the ooze, freezing over a chunk of its slime in an instant before shattering within the T'saya's hands. As for Videl himself? He would continue on in his trajectory, preparing to make contact with the ooze. So as to protect himself in the last moments before impact, he would begin to form a web of ice ^{[Frost Web]} along the outskirts of his body. The web allowed for him to remain briefly protected from the stickiness that the ooze had exuded. The web would remain upon the ooze as Videl had slipped off of it and into the disgusting waters below.

While Videl enacted his gambit, Sylvari had recovered and was in melee combat with the ooze alongside her servants, cacophonous booms coming from each swing of her hammer as light and frost sparked ^{[Spell Blade, Arcane Soul] [Celestial, Angelic Light]}. The group's efforts had certainly injured the creature heavily, evidenced by its greatly slowed counterattacks. In fact, the only damage that Sylvari now took came from the splashing acid from her and her servants' strikes, a considerable amount that left her quite wearied. They needed to end this now.

We've been laying into this creature from all sides. Noe even burrowed up from underneath to attack it. There's only.... One strike ought to do it.

Issuing a mental command to her undead hulk, the amalgamation lowered the head of its axe to hover just above the muddy waters. Sylvari leapt atop it as the undead swung, launching her high into the air where she might strike at this thing's only unweakened side: the top. As she flew, Sylvari twisted with all her might to deliver an extended, overhead double-handed swing. The hammer head struck deep into the creature, seeming to deflate its whole form a little and knock all the fight out of it. 

Sylvari bit her tongue to keep from screaming as the acidic insides splashed all over her body, over her face and in between the gaps of her armor. She tucked into a fetal position as she tumbled off the creature into the mire below.

Pain was all-encompassing as Sylvari, with great effort, stood to her feet, covered in still-decaying burns that ran from her head to her feet. Regardless of her own pain, she ran over to where Videl had fallen to check on him, looking ever more like the undead she commanded.

"V!"

Although the portion of water that Videl had fallen into hadn't been all that deep, the way in which he had fell had allowed for his entirety to submerge within the murky depths. The burning sensation that had run along his back, thanks to the Elder Ooze, had found itself temporarily enhanced as the charred flesh had been washed over by the water. It was enough to cause Videl to shout out once more, albeit in a much worse situation this time around. As he had subconsciously inhaled before screaming, he would find himself swallowing bouts of the liquid.

It was a disgusting and horrible feeling. He was effectively drowning within the several of feet worth of water, before he had realized what was happening. He continued to flail around beneath the water for a moment before rising from the depths, vomiting the liquid back up as he had done so. His throat and back had stung and his mouth had been left with a putrid taste. "Gah..!"

The scholars that had accompanied the pair could only watch on in dismay at the events that were unfolding. They were useless in a fight and had only come here for one thing. Concern had overtaken half of the scholars while fascination had resided within the others. Once Videl had managed to mildly recover though, the scholars would get to the task that they had been assigned. Inspecting the habits of the Elder Ooze now that it had been calmed.

Unlike the scholars, Lumi would make her towards her rider shortly after the Elder Ooze had ceased attacking. With the rage that had resided within her equine mind, she had strongly desired to take the damned thing out. Having been there when Sylvari and Videl discussed their care of the beast though, she would put the anger aside and attempt to soothe her companion. Overcoming her particular distaste for getting dirty, Lumi would find herself gently nudging Videl to ensure that he was okay.

As he had managed to overcome the upheaval of the water, Videl would groggily turn his gaze towards his two companions. "Ugh, this is horrible.. Never let me do something like that again." A weak laugh would escape from his lips as he had stumbled forth and gently leaned against Sylvari, his head resting simply on her shoulder. "After all of that training, I still went ahead and made a mess out of things.. I'm sorry Syl."

Still worried for her rider, Lumi would rest the bridge of her nose against Videl's back. She had simply been replicating what she had seen Videl doing with Sylvari but in her own way. This was the most affection that the horse knew how to muster up. "..thanks Lumi."

Sylvari breathed a sigh of relief when Videl emerged up from the water, choking and sputtering though he was. She grabbed a small handkerchief from her saddlebags and gently wiped off the excess mud and bile from her friend's face as he leaned on her for support. For the justiciar's part, it seemed she was unaware or else entirely unwilling to care for herself while her friend was discomforted and so tended to him even as her own skin sizzled and sloughed off.

"Looks like you took a beating there, V," Sylvari began with a smile, totally unaware of how ironic it sound coming from one as injured as she. "Let me tend to your wounds." Drawing on the inner well of righteous purity that Ellyria had placed within her heart, Sylvari channeled the holy magics into her friend, completely absolving him of his major and minor wounds from the fight ^{[Celestial, Holy Gifts (Massive Healing)]}. 

Only once Videl was completely made new did Sylvari stagger, finally forced to come to terms with the overwhelming weight of her own injuries. She collapsed on hands and knees, staring straight down into the muddy waters where Videl had fallen moments ago, as each of her limbs quivered with exertion.

By sheer force of will, Sylvari extended out one hand to the direction of her summoned minion, grasping at air and yanking, as if pulling spectral chains. The creature silently dissipated into a murky black energy that swirled like a whirlpool to Sylvari's outstretched arm and into her body. As the energies swirled her, her skin regrew and her body was quickly made whole ^{[Necromancer, Consume Essence]}. 

After a moment, Sylvari unsteadily got to her feet, unsure how fully her new ability had cured her. She threw a lop-sided smirk towards her friend and shrugged. "I suppose I have some explaining to do..."

As his burns would begin to fade away, flesh regrowing where it once was lost, Videl would start to pull himself away from Sylvari. He had been aware of her capacity to heal, and how grand such an ability truly was, but even now he had found himself in shock at how effective the magic was. Guilt had begun to override the man as he had thought about just how much energy he was having Sylvari expend. That guilt would only compound atop of itself as he had managed to catch a glimpse of just how torn down the vampiress had been in this moment.

Seeing just how poorly her physical state had been, Videl's eyes would go wide with worry. As she had fallen to the ground, this worry would also find itself compiled. Unlike Sylvari, Videl didn't have any sort of special ability that could coax the pain away from his companion. As far as he was aware, his Frigid Steed didn't have one either. "Syl!"

Just as Videl was about to extend a hand to Sylvari to aid her in standing, the vampiress would extend her own out towards the hulking monstrosity from before. In doing so, the creature had turned into this inky energy that had whirlpooled back into Sylvari, ultimately healing her throughout the process. There wasn't really much that the T'saya could say or do in this moment other than watch as the events had transpired. Much like Sylvari had mentioned, there was much for her to explain in the days that would come.

"..later. For now, let's just finish up here and make our way back home." By home, of course, he had meant the inn that they had consistently found themselves at in the Pale City. "Before anything else, I just want to ensure that you are okay. Just uh.. Please, after this, no more secrets." From there, Videl would sling Sylvari's arm over his shoulders and would carry her back towards Mercy. He had intended on aiding her in mounting her Frigid Steed before they would depart. The scholars could do the rest from here.

[EXIT]