"Marvelous. So I just have to do a very specific magical action that I've never done before, under pressure, in order to not die." Pause. "Yes that sounds like something I'm capable of, explain the process?"

He laughs, and does. It's... not the simplest thing, but well within her abilities. It involves, as he explained, using nearby magic and channeling it around oneself to absorb the heat and use it as propulsion.

There is a fiddly bit in that these tubes usually run a ways underground before ending in an exit hole, so she has to pay attention to the magic to use a little bit of it to move forwards inside the tube while absorbing the remaining heat to produce the final boost.

"And we're sure that there is in fact an exit on the other side," she confirms, once she's gotten this process memorized. "This is constructed or surveyed so I don't propel myself and have a horrible fiery splat."

"Yep! There is a lava entrance but it's not wide enough for a person so you won't get confused."

"Oh, well, if the side entrance that would kill me if I accidentally went down it is obvious, then I suppose there's no problem. How many people use this insane transportation method, James, is it just you, or?"

He laughs. "It's very effective! It's adapted from a transportation method used by the hylek in the Maguuma Jungle. And I definitely learnt this from other people! I did not invent it."

"Uh huh. That didn't actually answer my question, you realize. The fact that you didn't invent it doesn't mean that it's been accepted as the best transportation method available by the general populace!"

"The general populace does not typically go to places that are best accessed using this," he admits. "We could glide through a leyline instead, I just expect it to take much longer."

"This is fine. We're in a rush, the mechanics seem sound and actionable, and I already dealt with a fate worse than death, so what's the threat of it to me now? Though if I die from it I'm haunting you. This is not a turn of phrase, I will be your personal poltergeist, and warn people away from jumping into holes with you."

"I would expect nothing less. But I will raid the Underworld for you if you die." His tone is light, as if it's a matter-of-fact, casual declaration.

"If I were haunting you I wouldn't be in the Underworld," she points out, because that's easier to reply to than the declaration of... that.

"... But you really would?" she then confirms softly, once she's ready to engage with the declaration itself.

"Of course. Anyway, should I go first, so you can watch how it goes?"

"Yeah."

First, though: kiss, because she can't listen to a man declare that he would raid the Underworld to retrieve her soul and not kiss him. But it can be a quick peck instead of the passionate delight such a declaration deserves, because there's an island that is in danger of exploding and she'd like that to not happen.

He kisses her back earnestly then proceeds to demonstrate. First he coats himself in magic, then he steps gingerly onto the lip of the hole. He curls down into a ball and tips forward—then falls, hugging his knees to his chest and transferring heat to motion.

He disappears from view into the lava quickly, but Vetareh might be able to detect the magic working underground but close to the surface, driving him a few dozen feet forward until he is spit out the other side—what looked like a rock from here is in fact a protruding exit. He is ejected at a rather high speed, rolling in the air like a beach ball, some excess magic leaking in the form of visible light, and he's off, shooting into the sky and the distance.

That is utterly absurd, ridiculously dangerous, and... looks like quite a lot of fun, really. And yep, that magic sure is holding up and not causing James to burn to a crisp, that's a nice thing to witness and confirm. Well then. There's nothing else to do but follow him. She coats herself in the appropriate magic, checks that she definitely got it all right and that it matches James's instructions and the observations she made of his own example. Yep, that all ties in together nicely.

This accomplished, she swallows her nervousness, tucks herself into a ball, tips forward, and falls. This would be a really embarrassing way to die if she screwed up, so she sincerely hopes that she didn't. Also: she'd like to live. Just as a general preference.

It's warm inside, but not uncomfortably so. The magic keeps the sticky magma off, so once she's inside it feels a bit like propping forward through something like thick, hot air. Except she shouldn't try to breathe, of course.

Eyes closed as James instructed, it is utterly dark inside the tube, and only the magic is telling her she's actually moving. After a few seconds of black breathlessness, the lava becomes slightly lighter and less dense, which signs James explained mean she is approaching the exit—

—and then out she pops, the cold thin air a nice (and breathable!) contrast to her previous environment. Now all she has to do is make sure she doesn't let go of her knees and enjoy the flight.

Wheeee!

This is crazy, this is crazy, this is crazy—

—she finds herself laughing anyway, hugging her knees and sailing through the air and oh yes, it's crazy, but more importantly, it's great fun.

She reaches the top of her arc then starts sailing back down—

—and James receives her in his arms, taking a couple of steps back and exhaling an "oof" when she hits his chest. Still better than the inevitable loss of balance she'd face on her own.

She might find herself rather extremely dizzy.

She is indeed rather extremely dizzy! Also: laughing. She is laughing rather a lot.

"Hi, darling, nice catch," she giggles, leaning into him and waiting for the world to stop spinning. "Oh that was a rush, and also crazy, did I mention it was crazy, that was mad."

"I thought you'd enjoy it," he says with a smirk.

"You were absolutely right!" She feels steady enough to pull back from him enough to grin up at him, though she stumbles slightly and nearly tips over before she catches herself on him, grinning all the while.

"You're going to be smug about this, aren't you. In fact, you're already smug."

"Who, me?"

Smugly.

"Noooo, that other handsome necromancer, hiding behind that rock over there. Yes, you." Okay, she's stable enough to kiss him, so she's going to do that.

He's very on board with any plans that involve kissing this gorgeous time-displaced mesmer.

Kiiiiiiiiiss.

"Okay," she breathes, an inch away from his very tempting lips. "The islands are going to explode. We can have our way with each other after we go prevent that, hmm?"