"What...?" Sydra asks, his face becoming red as he looks down at the staff in his hand, "This isn't what you wanted?"
"Not at all, although that is a rare material, and can be used in some of my experiments," Solomon says, reaching his hand out for the staff.
Pulling the staff back quickly, Sydra looks at Solomon expectantly, "Rare, you say? In that case, I want something of equal value for it,"
Sighing, Solomon motions for Sydra to follow him back into the tower, "Although that thin is rare, all by itself it is nothing special,"
Leading Sydra up the stairs, Solomon passes through the potion room and into the fourth floor. The fourth floor was full of rare materials and ores, most of which had been lost for centuries. Gasping, Sydra makes his way around the room, picking up some items along the way.
"Woah, is this an eye of a Midnight Rhino?" Sydra asks, holding up a purple pebble covered in white dots, giving it the appearance of a night sky. The diamond-shaped pebble had the ability to give its wearer night vision so incredible, everything shone as if it was the middle of the day. 'With this and my Shadow Void Cloak, I'll be one of the stealthiest people out there,'
"Is that what you would like to trade for?" Solomon asks, a smile tugging at his lips, "I'd even be willing to turn it into a pendant for you,"
Looking through the room once more, Sydra nods as he hands the pebble and the staff to Solomon, "That works for me, but try to have it done before I return with the real Staff of Wisdom,"
Leaving the tower, Sydra follows the map back to the swamp, the red Wisp floating behind him. Heading back to the area he had killed the Silverback Crocodile, Sydra notices that all the bones have been taken by other creatures.
"I guess we should go further in... What do you think, Wisp?" Sydra asks, the Wisp bobbing up and down as it leads Sydra further in. Over the next few hours, Sydra takes his time crossing through the swamp, before the muck becomes too much for him to continue.
"This is an issue, I've only traveled a hundred feet in the past hour," Sydra says, glancing back to the trail he is making in the waist-high swamp. Taking a few seconds to think, Sydra comes up with an idea, "Maybe I could use one of my powers?"
Activating his water aura, Sydra spreads it throughout the swamp around him and begins manipulating the water to part a path for him. It works for a bit, and Sydra is able to cross through the swamp at a swifter pace than before, but he also finds himself running through his aura at a quick pace.
Sighing, Sydra releases the water aura, and the swamp sloshes back over him, "I guess it's time for the other ability,"
Activating his magnetism aura, Sydra controls the spikes he had taken from the Silverback Crocodile to form a board underneath his feet. Raising the board, Sydra rises to the surface of the swamp water, before falling off of it and back into the swamp.
Spitting out the swamp water, Sydra frowns as he notices the Red Wisp acting as if it was laughing at him. "I bet you wouldn't be able to do it on your first try either," Sydra says, turning away from the Wisp.
With the taste of Swamp water still fresh in his mouth, Sydra lifts himself up onto the silver board, before slowly standing up. Of course, it doesn't help that the spikes of the Silverback Crocodile are cylinder in shape, and slippery from the water.
Finally gaining balance, Sydra bends his knees slightly as he moves the silver board forward, a trail of swamp water splashing behind him. As he goes farther, Sydra begins to feel a sense of accomplishment and decides to speed the board up.
"Haha, if I had known surfing was this fun, I would have done it more often," Sydra says, the speed of the board increasing rapidly. With his hair being blown about by the wind, Sydra pulls out how two daggers and begins slashing trees as he goes past them, leaving himself a trail to follow back.
"You know, I could probably use this thing to fly until I get my wings back, but I'm not sure how fighting on it would go," Sydra says, his eyes darting around in front of him as he ducks out of the way of low hanging branches.
Suddenly, Sydra is sent flying through the air, his silver board crashing into a root that appeared out of the swamp from nowhere. Protecting his head, Sydra dives into the swamp, waves splashing as his body disappears beneath them.
Swimming back up the surface, Sydra coughs out swamp water as he looks around, "What da hell?! Where did that root come from?"
Manipulating his board, Sydra brings it over to him and climbs onto it, getting a better look at the root in the process. The root is snaking its way in and out of the water, its starting point being a massive stump twice as big as Solomon's garden. On top of the stump is a wooden mansion, and as Sydra makes his way over, he notices that the mansion is surrounded by a yard full of the most poisonous plants found in the swamp.
Pulling his board up to the edge of the stump, Sydra hops off it and sends the spikes back into the pouch Solomon gave him, "I wonder who this place belongs to," Sydra says, noticing that although the stump is covered in dangerous plants, it also has a sort of beauty to it.
Walking around the stump, Sydra comes across a small path that leads up to the mansion, just wide enough to allow a single person to walk through.
"Are those Sailors Dawn?" Sydra wonders as he makes his way down the path, his attention fixed on the plants, "And those there, I believe those are Ascension Cypers,"
As Sydra continues walking down the path, he begins to feel like someone is watching him. Pausing, Sydra crouches down and releases his Root Echo into the stump.
"Hmm, so that's where your hiding," Sydra says, standing up and looking in the direction of a second-story window. This causes the young girl in the window to try and hide, but instead, she becomes tangled within the branches of the plant she was using as cover.
"I've already seen you, what is the point in hiding?" Sydra says, watching as the young girl runs away from the window. Sighing, Sydra finishes his walk to the mansion and heads inside.
Just like everything outside, everything inside the mansion is made from plants found inside a swamp, except a little less dangerous. Looking around, Sydra marvels at the ingenuity of the mansion's owner, and their ideas on how to use the different plants.
The living room has Bubble Pods for people to sit, and a Clear Swamp Casing for small fish to swim in.
"I'm guessing the girl is still hiding upstairs, but I don't see anyone else here. Would it be creepy if I went up and talked to her?" Sydra wonders, glancing towards the leafy stairs that went to the second floor.
Walking over to the stairs, Sydra peers up only to see a beautiful young woman staring back down at him. The women's smiling face is outlined by her mossy green hair, her brown eyes gleaming beneath it. She is wearing a suit of brown armor, detailed with grassy vines running across it, and in her hand is a long staff, the top resembling that of a tree.
"I'm sorry, I didn't realize I had a guest, my name is Lola, and I am the Spirit of this Swamp,"
'Isn't she a little too friendly for this being the first time meeting me?' Sydra wonders, becoming suspicious of the young woman. "I'm sorry for just barging into your home, my only intention was to figure out where I am,"
Nodding, Lola makes her way down the stairs, each step being taken in the most delicate of ways as if she was afraid of breaking.
"I figured as much, and since I didn't sense any hostility coming from you as you entered, I decided to meet with you,"
Backing up, Sydra allows Lola to make her way into the living room, where she motions for him to sit down, "Now then, may I ask who you are and why you have come here?"
Sitting down, Sydra wonders how much he should tell her, before deciding on just the most important stuff, "My name is Sydra, and I am looking for the Staff of Wisdom,"
Softly gasping, Lola's eyes dart to the staff in her hand, which draws Sydra's attention to it. Seeing this, Lola begins to become flustered, and her loss of focus causes her appearance to flicker.
Glimpsing her true form, a smirki forms on Sydra's lips, "So, your actually a loli?"