In confusion, Lola glances down at her body, becoming red as she notices she has reverted back to her child form, "Oh no, not again. This always happens when I get too flustered,"
Sitting back, Sydra studies Lola's childlike form, the biggest difference being mainly her size, "What exactly is going on here? Is this your natural form, or is it the young, mature woman one?"
"It's this one," Lola says, raising her arms as her suit of armor changes to fit her small stature, "I am over three hundred years old, and I supposedly have an incredibly long life, because it is taking my body forever to match my age. Luckily, I have the ability to control the swamp plants, and growing up in the swamp came naturally to me,"
"I see, but if that is the case, then why did you come down the stairs resembling a mature woman? I would have understood your situation because I am also a Spirit, just one of nature," Sydra says, releasing a bit of his aura into the air around them.
Before answering, Lola summons a small plant that resembles a dog and has it bring them something to drink, "That is because it seemed more proper to discuss things in the form of a woman who knows what she is doing, and not the appearance of a small child,"
Nodding his head, Sydra accepts a cup of water off of the back of the plant dog, "Was that your only reason, or is there more to it?"
"Well, it might have also had something to do with the fact that I dislike it when people see how young I look, and assume they can take advantage of me because of it," Lola says, eyeing Sydra suspiciously as if he might suddenly lunge towards her with ill intentions.
Setting down the cup, Sydra looks at Lola innocently, "You don't have to worry, I have no plans to take advantage of you, but I am curious about why you don't buy some Age Pills. After all, they have the ability to change your appearance to the age you desire. I heard they are very popular with the elves that are getting into their old years,"
"That would be great, but they don't seem like they would be very useful to me, as I can't even leave the swamp," Lola says, looking sadly out the window, "If only I had the Swamp Gem, then I could travel all over the world,"
"Swamp Gem? What is that?" Sydra asks, trying to recall if he had ever heard of such a thing.
Getting up, Lola makes her way over to a bookcase made from roots and pulls out a book titled 'The Hidden Treasures of The Swamp'. Opening the book, Lola walks over to Sydra and hands it to him. Looking at the book, Sydra sees it is opened to a photo of a brown gem, wrapped in moss.
"That is the Swamp Gem, and if I had it, I could leave this Swamp," Lola says, watching as Sydra reads the description. The Swamp Gem is actually the creation of a previous Swamp Spirit, and they had used it to travel between swamps. Most of the time, Spirits needed to stay in close proximity of their items, and this was especially true for those of lower ranks.
However, if a Spirit managed to form a Bond Crystal, they could travel as far as they wanted from their items. This is what Lola wished to do, but instead of forming her own Bond Crystal, which would take a few centuries, she wished to acquire one already made.
Reading farther, Sydra discovered the location of a Swamp Gem, and it turned out to be not far from where he was. The only reason Lola had not left for it yet, was because the Swamp Gem was outside of the Swamp.
"What if I went to get this Swamp Gem for you," Sydra asks, pointing towards the one in the book, "Then you could leave the swamp, and travel the world as much as you want,"
Hearing this, Lola becomes excited and starts jumping up and down, before suddenly pausing as something dawns on her, "Wait... I'm almost positive you wouldn't something like that for free, so what is in it for you?" she asks in suspicion.
"It's true that I do want something in return, but I'm sure the price will be worth your freedom," Sydra says, standing up and walking over to the Staff of Wisdom, "I would like this, as payment for my services,"
"My Staff? But it doesn't even do much," Lola says, picking her staff up and waving it over the ground. As the staff swings over the ground, small plants begin to sprout from the floor, each one releasing a heavenly scent.
Watching the effects of the staff, Sydra feels as though he might have mistaken it for what he was looking for. Turning to the Red Wisp, Sydra leans over and begins to whisper, "Hey, do you know what this so-called Staff of Wisdom looks like, and if that is it?"
Bobbing up and down, the Wisp floats over to the staff, circling around it a few times. Coming back to Sydra, the Wisp bobs up and down again to let Sydra know that it is the right staff this time. 'Whew, I would have felt bad for getting her hopes up,'
"So is this really what you want, I'm sure I have a few other items that might suit you better," Lola says, pointing towards the stairs.
"No, I think the staff will be just what I need," Sydra says, shaking his head and turning to leave the mansion, "If I don't come back within two days, it means I'm dead, so expect me back before then,"
With the way to the Swamp Gem fresh in his mind, Sydra hops onto his silver board and leaves the stump. This time, he manages to make it through the swamp without running into any more roots, reaching solid ground within the next hour.
Looking around, Sydra realizes that although he knows in what direction to head in, without any landmarks to go off of, he is basically lost. "Great...Hey, Wisp, do you think you could fly up and find an area that has a whole bunch of hills in it?"
Flashing red, the Wisp flies as high as it can and looks around. Turning in all directions, it spots the area Sydra was asking about and floats back down to him. Circling Sydra a few times, the Wisp leads him in the direction of the hills, feeling proud to be of some use.
Entering the hills, Sydra eyes dart around as he searches for one in particular. 'The book said that the Rolling Behemoth lives inside one of these hills, but I'm not sure which one,' Sydra thinks.
Continuing to make his way through the hills, Sydra begins to notice a light changed to them. The further in he goes, the less grass the hills seem to have on them. Eventually, he comes across a hill completely void of all grass, and with a gaping hole in the center of it. Crouching at the edge of the hill, Sydra peers into the hole, only to see a massive creature, covered in white hair, slumbering on top of a pile of priceless treasures.
"Holy crap, when the book said behemoth, it wasn't kidding," Sydra says, pulling his head away from the hole before the beast wakes up and sees him. 'It would be suicide if I went in there, and the Swamp Gem wasn't even there. I need to make sure it is before doing anything,'
Looking around, Sydra's eyes catch onto the Red Wisp hovering in the air beside him. An idea forming, Sydra squats down on the ground and draws the image he had seen inside the book. Once finished, he stands back up and motions for the Wisp to see if an object resembling his drawing was hidden among the pile of treasures.
Floating past Sydra, the Wisp peers through the hole, only to pull back suddenly when it notices the beast sleeping inside. Trembling, the Wisp hides behind Sydra, not moving an inch as Sydra tries to coax it back.
Sighing, Sydra decides to enter the hill himself and throws his cloak's hood over his head. Activating its ability, Sydra fades into the shadows as he heads inside, quietly approaching the Rolling Behemoth. 'Now then, where might that Swamp Gem be?'
Without touching the pile, Sydra searches through the items for the brown gem, only to discover it hidden halfway beneath the beast's paw. 'That won't be easy,'
His brow scrunched, Sydra squats down next to the paw, glancing towards its face as he reaches out towards the gem. Moving his hand with the beast's breathing, Sydra's hand grazes across the gem, only to pull back suddenly as the beast snorts in its sleep.
Watching the beast continue to sleep, Sydra exhales as his hand returns to the surface of the gem. 'Almost... Got it!'
Grabbing the gem, Sydra jumps up and turns to run out of the cave, only to find his way blocked off by the tail of the slumbering beast.