Falling to Dust [Vermillion]

[quaggan]

 Fortunately, the personal quill Research Assistant Lyra was assigned, survived yesterday's fiasco. "Just a moment" she promised, searching the mess that has been made out of the lab for an ink puddle or something close enough. She estimated that the iridescent pond by the door was too far from the shelves to contain anything dangerous and bent down to dip the quill in it. The strange substance bubbled questioningly at her.

"Sorry for the mess" she muttered, her nerves frayed to ribbons thin enough that she was now making excuses to the delivery gnome. "It should be safe now." Those words were spoken with more confidence than the rest - while she was as much at a loss about what to do with Silence Within, she trusted her knowledge of its mechanics. If there was any bad consequence of the mess, it would have triggered when its cause was still present.

She examined the package. One celestite crystal, ready for the ritual. "For all the good it'd do." She suddenly realized that she's spoken her thoughts out loud. Oh no! The last thing she needed was to make a reliable supplier think Lyra doubted her wares! "I mean, I'm sure the crystal is of high quality. I just, well, don't know if anything would work against this stupid curse."

[Vermillion]

    Mags fidgeted awkwardly while the woman frantically searched through the messy lab. Normally, she would be impressed with the state of the lab, it wasn't unlike hers, but Elimara was waiting on the other side of the door and she hated to make her friend wait. She tried to appear as patient as possible until there was mention of a curse.

   Thoughts of Elimara waiting patiently outside left from her mind and her ears perked immediately. Surely she would understand. Not like Mags hadn't tagged along for any of her adventures into the unknown. Weird, normally she could sniff out something like this from a mile away. Either this curse was exceptionally powerful, or the object wasn't present. Or both, of course.

   "The crystal, uh, it's synthetic. But not to worry, it's just as good, if not better, than the real thing." Her previously anxious eyes lit up, "But you must tell me about this curse. You could call me a connoisseur of sorts, if that's even the right word. C-could I touch it?"

[quaggan]

 Was it the hint of scholarly curiosity she heard? Lyra could appreciate the sentiment - as frustrating as her current work was, she hasn't forgotten the indescribable thrill of finding something fascinating to poke. She could sympathize - and she couldn't actually think of a single reason to say no. While the competitive environment of Wyrdwood did not encourage allowing just everyone access to their work, the Torverath kid has far since crossed the line between case study and into sunk cost fallacy. Researches better and more skilled than Lyra have long since written the kid off, and she has been working on him long enough to almost give up. Definitely long enough not to look a gift horse in the mouth.

"You can touch curses?" she asked, interested. "I mean, of course you can. Well, the cursed person isn't here at the moment, so I doubt that there's a lot left in the room here to touch."

[Vermillion]

   Magdiana clicked her tongue, shaking her head almost to vibratory levels. Not asking for permission, she stepped further into the lab and started touching, sniffing, tasting everything in sight. It was as if Mags forgot she was speaking with another person, and spoke more to the room than anything. "Touch? No, no, much more than that. The full suite, all five senses... six? I don't know anymore," She picked up a phial of Stuff^tm and gave it a heavy whiff. "Cursed person, you say? Not my usual expertise, to be frank, but I know my way around a good curse no matter the subject. Given the state of your lab, this should be fun."

   Mags' frantic self-guided tour of the room died down and she turned to the woman who'd ordered from her. "So this is why you ordered the crystal? How do you intend to use it?."

[quaggan]

 Lyra's body automatically tensed up. She was not in a habit of allowing people to just do as they pleased in her lab. She reminded herself that if anything were to go wrong, it would have when the damn kid was still inside. As erratic as the Silence Within was, some elements were predictable enough for her. And she shouldn't blow up on a good supplier.

"I found a mention of celestite in the Verdan folklore" she began. "The book explained its purifying properties, apparently there is some kind of a ritual one can transfer the curse to the crystal. The notes I have on this case never describe any such attempt, so it's a potential avenue to pursue." She wasn't holding her breath, though. If it were her own research, she would be less willing to waste resources and money on trial and error, but the size of the Astanill grant made her more adventurous in this aspect.

[Vermillion]

   It took everything in Mags to hide her disappointment that the intention was to cure the curse, and almost regretted bringing the product with her without knowing the full story. However, the idea of having it contained into the crystal amused her enough that it made it easier to ignore said disappointment. Still, she wanted to see this curse in action with every fiber of her being.

   "I, uh, the crystal, I mean... See it was synthesized with my blood and my presence is required to activate it, yes," She lied, but only partially. She, indeed, used her own blood in its creation, however her being there was not required. At least in the literal sense. Her eyes shone bright and she approached the woman quickly, taking her hands in her own. At this point, she all but forgot about her friend waiting for her outside. "I believe it will work for your curse. Depending on what it is, I guess. W-what sort of curse is it? May I please see it?"

[quaggan]

 Lyra's eyes widened slightly at the new revelation. She wasn't exactly an expert on gnomes, but if making celestite with their blood was a property of the species, she probably would have heard about it. So it must have been a personal power, something unique. She quickly ran through a list of colleagues in her mind - perhaps she should introduce Miss Mags to someone - but she couldn't think of anyone. She felt comfortable letting it go - it wasn't her area of expertise anyway.

"I sent him away so I could clean up the lab in peace" she answered. She really didn't need another accident. She cast a glance at the window - the enchanted hourglass she used was broken, so she was forced to estimate time from the course of the sun, like a barbarian. Looked like she still had some research time. "I can call him back."

[Vermillion]

   Mags did a little dance through the lab, unable to contain her excitement. In her particular line of work, it was much easier to find cursed heirlooms and trinkets. Gifts from spurned lovers, artifacts from old crypts, and the occasional killer wardrobe (they are more common than one might think). Maybe they were just looking in the wrong places, but most of the people she deals with are dead before she arrives.

"Oh please do! I promise I will help with clean-up, yes. You can do your little experiment with the crystal, and I can perform my own. Oh yes, this is very exciting," She was wringing her hands, giggling, like some sort of mad scientist. "Yes, very fun."

[quaggan]

 Lyra rummaged through her pockets in search of the messenging spirit. Her original bottle was broken in the incident that ruined her lab, unfortunately. She had to go and get a replacement - she's just returned when Miss Mags brought the crystal. She didn't expect having to see the test subject again today, but she was a good enough of a scientist to take advantage of unexpected opportunities.

Lyra hesitated, considering the offer of help. She could use it, that was true. And while she didn't like letting people inside her lab, it was unlikely that other scholars would question a supplier for intel about competition. Then again, she suspected that the moment that this walking disaster zone set foot inside, everything would start exploding again.

"Actually- no, never mind. If I didn't clean up, it will probably start reacting when he comes in" she sighed. "What happened to old good curses that just affected the target alone? Anyway. The arcanoactive powder is in the third cupboard. I keep the apprentice's mop over there. The purifying spray is in the chest, in the leaf-shaped bottle."