The cries and shouts for friends go unanswered, echoing back strangely, the names becoming twisted and off as the bard's voice passes through the strange realm.  As her voice became strained with the screaming, the echo of her cries seems to become quieter, duller.<br/><br/>As Lorelei drops to her knees next to the dissolving black substance, a shiver goes through it's body.  The feminine form seems to become softer, melting even as Lorelei lift's it's head.  Thick dripping black liquid slides between her fingers, though the core of the oil-slick beast seems to still be present.  Two dull white eyes open to cracks, further down the face than they should be and it's mouth opens for a moment.  It seems to be trying to speak, but struggling.<br/><br/>With an effort that sends the entire mass of black slime jiggling and shaking, she raises an arm, really more of a tendril towards Lorelei, the inky black skin of the monster's appendage slowly moving toward Lorelei's face.  It shivers and falls, the appendage dripping back into the monster's body.  Then with a little buzz of electrical energy where Lorelei's hand touches the oil woman's neck, there is a voice, familiar to Lorelei but distorted.  It takes her a moment to realize that it is her own, though lacking the precision of her own speak.<br/><br/>"This collapses without a mind to hold it steady.  And with it, so do I.  Neither it nor I will last long.  Like this place, I need a master,"[/quote] comes the voice-not-unlike-Lorelei's.  The creature seems to be right, the light from the fountain is decreasing and the boundaries to darkness seem to draw ever closer in.<br/><br/><strong>Lorelei, what do you do?</strong>