For Grimholdkeeper

[arlenarkenstone]

The Nexus labs are kind of quieter than they used to be, but back on the old Nexus noticeboard there are still directions here with a weird little handwritten advertisement for a glassworks and alchemy supply. It also says to ask about specialty creations such as prosthetic organs. It's kind of a weird sign and also a little bit old but very pretty. It says to ask for Arlen Arkenstone. At the actual Laboratory complex entrance his name is on the map, and up the halls there is light and heat from where it is supposed to be even if the rooms around it are dusty now. The door is ajar.

Comments

[grimholdkeeper]

Balthazar cuts an odd figure in the bright corridors of the labs. He's more fantasy than sci-fi. Still, he's looking for something specific, and the glassworks seem to meet his requirements.

Beneath his arm is a long case, wrapped in sheets. It takes some adjustment to grip it well enough to tap on the door, then push it gently open. "Hello...?"

[arlenarkenstone]

"Open." It sounds kind of distracted and quiet but at least there is somebody inside!

It's a very big space but kind of divided in two. There is a big furnace in the middle that's on but very low, and a littler one to one side. The tables on that side have more glassblowing stuff, rods and colored powders and weird experimental shapes. The other side has the same kind of tables but covered in finished glasware for distillation and other experiments, and books and papers and microscopes and more mysterious things. That side is a lot more cluttered. Close to the main furnace though is somebody sitting very still in a hard wooden chair, reading, with a scarf and shawl. It's not all that cold in here though.

[grimholdkeeper]

Balthazar enters cautiously, looking all around. The energy fields strike him as a little like the Arcana Cabana's, but perhaps more peaceful. A number of his own artifacts conflict with one another. He sets his bundle down against the wall. "Are you Mr. Arkenstone? I need a consultation."

[arlenarkenstone]

He looks up almost like he is a little surprised to hear his name. He has the same kind of sitting-in-the-same-place-so-long-it's-dusty kind of look somehow, that everything else in the labs does. Also his skin and hair have almost a metallic golden sheen in the light of the furnace. His eyes are very dark behind glasses. "I am. Consultation on what?"

There is a teapot sitting on the ledge of the glass furnace and it suddenly starts hopping up and down. There is a chain from the handle to a hook set in the wall, like you would tie up a dog.

[grimholdkeeper]

"My name is Balthazar Blake," he says with a slight bow. "I'm a sorcerer and antiquities dealer. One of my items has...your teapot seems to be excited to see me."

Sorry, his train of thought got derailed there.

[arlenarkenstone]

He sighs in a kind of put upon way. "Would you like tea?"

[grimholdkeeper]

"...is that what it wants? To make tea?" He's secretly charmed, but trying not to show it. "I like tea. Where did it come from?"

[arlenarkenstone]

"Aodhan. Be still." He gets up a little stiffly and picks up the teapot, and his hand goes 'clink' against the handle, because his hand is made of glass with bone fingers. It was kind of hard to see before, he was so wrapped up. "From someone in the Nexus. They had many, animated with raw life force. I took several and condensed the essence into one. It has some... rudimentary sentience."

[grimholdkeeper]

Balthazar gets a good look at those strange hands, but says nothing. He's seen weirder modifications, ultimately. "That's...interesting. It's sort of sweet. I've seen artifacts that reacted like that before, but they're not usually friendly."

[arlenarkenstone]

"It likes to be useful, I think." He fills it with water from a tap that comes directly out of a pipe. The walls are kind of unfinished with pipes and beams and things showing.

"You have an item you want me to look at?"

[grimholdkeeper]

"Makes sense." He watches another moment, then shakes his head and retrieves the bundle he's brought. "Yes. It's an item I've had for two or three years, a sword purportedly made of glass. It's very sharp, and very tough, and obviously enchanted. Is there somewhere I can set this?"

[arlenarkenstone]

He puts the kettle closer to the fire where it kind of hops a little like it's dancing by itself.

"That... sounds impractical." He clears a space carefully on a nearby table and nods. "It must be heavily enchanted, to still be functional?"

[grimholdkeeper]

"Oh, very. I'm told it was a religious talisman for a small cult in the 1800s, but I haven't been able to trace it, and I think it may actually be far older than that."

He sets the case on the table and pulls the fabric away, then opens the fastenings. The sword within is clear glass, with only a strip of leather wrapped around the handle. It appears to be a single piece of material, and is shaped like a kalis sword, perhaps longer, with ripples along the blade.

[arlenarkenstone]

He adjusts his glasses and leans closer and sort of moves one hand over top of it for just a few seconds, not touching. "That's... I've never seen anything like it." He tilts his head a little and squints.

"You know, I... don't think I like it."

[grimholdkeeper]

"I can't blame you there. I have a strong suspicion it's been used for sacrifice or ritual combat." The current around the blade seem to bear out this statement, although physically it's pristine and quite beautiful.

"And that's the issue, actually. Over the period of time I've had it, the aura has gotten progressively darker and more restless. I don't think it was meant to be this dangerous, and I hate to just unmake it, but it's a little risky to keep around."

[arlenarkenstone]

"It's hungry." He nods and frowns a little. "If you don't want to unmake it you could just disenchant it, but the magics on... it are so locked together you would have to strip it completely, I think. That would leave it very fragile."

He taps a bone finger against his face thoughtfully.

[grimholdkeeper]

"Exactly. Which is why I brought it here. I thought you might have a more solid idea of what kind of enchantments made it so strong. With more information I might be able to work on it without breaking it."

[arlenarkenstone]

"How much time do you have?" He gets a couple of cups because the teapot is starting to hop up and down and whistle now.

[grimholdkeeper]

"I'm not in a rush. I suppose the artifact itself will have to dictate the timeline. And I'm willing to pay whatever fee you feel is fair, in money or goods."

He glances at the teapot, stifling a smile.

[arlenarkenstone]

"I will take either. I suppose that I am low on food..." He opens a couple of tins before he finds the right tea, and pours water into both cups. The teapot wriggles when he sets it down on the edge of the table and tries to hop closer toward Balthazar.

"It could take hours or days or weeks. It is... harder to analyze something you can't take apart."

[grimholdkeeper]

"I have weeks. I probably have decades. How low are you? I could do a grocery run for you, if you want."

He takes the liberty of sitting and smiles at the teapot. "Yes, thank you, I'm looking forward to drinking it." He talks this way to animals, too.

[arlenarkenstone]

"I will try not to take decades." He sounds completely serious, like it just might have been a possibility. He is a very serious person.

He also puts his bare hand on the teakettle for just a minute, to check the temperature and maybe to calm it down a little. "I would not touch it, if I were you. I... have soup...? I think..." He blinks and adjusts his glasses.

[grimholdkeeper]

Balthazar nods slightly. "Appreciated. And I'll...wait a minute to pat it on the head."

He straightens and removes his hat, like it's just occurred to him. "Food is not hard to get where I come from. I'm happy to fetch things, if you want."

[arlenarkenstone]

"Nexus food is unsafe. I have... not ventured out, in too long." He sits down again but he seems more alive and awake then he did when Balthazar first came in. "But if you get food for me, I can focus on the sword."

[grimholdkeeper]

"I can pay you in money, too," he says, and pats his pockets, getting out a piece of scrap paper and a stub of pencil. "What do you need, as far as groceries? Do you have cold storage?"