Late Night Research

[Avedri]

Octavia pinched at the bridge of her nose with two fingers. It must have been at least eight hours since she started and while the lab had no windows, she could smell the bacon and potatoes being cooked on the floor below. She sat back in the high-back chair and allowed her arms to fall to either side, she was glad Marcus decided to take a break so that she could relax a bit and he wouldn't be around to see her pouting over this failure.

Atop her workstation lay the bone scepter she had collected from a necromancer that had met his end the night before. While Eira was only present to do the work of the church, the other rook Zeel, had seemed quite interested in the goods of the crypt but Octavia only wanted to evidence of the necromancer’s power and skill. The scepter was a good enough place to start. It was crafted of bone but something about the surface made it hard to determine the host creature. A vivid orb of bright green jade adorned the cap. This had been the second time she had seen one of them and both had originated within the hands of a necromancer.

She wondered if this was a symbol of a united cult that was producing the same staff to work as an identification piece or if the jade allowed for better manipulation of nether or animate properties. Once she had read a book containing stories and prophecies from the Grael Aetsen, a group of mystics and seers within the Fasa culture. They often spoke about using certain types of quartz to help augment their abilities and increase the potency of their visions. It did not seem odd that where ferrous metals might inhibit one's ability to use sorcery that some ores or gemstones might have the opposite effect.

So through the night she attempted to infuse, imbue and destroy the orb with a concentration of heavy nether. She mixed minor alchemical solutions and braced herself as she poured small doses of boiling liquid onto the jade. An when all else had failed she attempted to break a piece off from the orb and see if she could incorporate it into a potion. Everything had proved to be a dead end and quite tiresome.

She took another heavy sigh while shifting restlessly in her chair. Allowing her mind to drift away from her research, she thought about the dogmatist she had met in a tavern near the wall. He gave her direction when she was lost and suddenly wondered if he knew anything about the spiritual, elemental or destructive properties of gemstones. The thought was quite amusing to her at first but then she rationalized it to be very awkward that in such a quiet moment she should brood upon someone that she knew so briefly. Her hands came up to her face and she rested her knees on her legs, leaning forward. The heels of her palms pressed into her eyes as they became watery. Her life beyond the wall was so very lonely.