If her workroom had not been thoroughly shielded, Alyssana would have listened to the news over the radio as she carefully examined the latest set of test results.  Instead she had a record player going, and Gershwin drifted through the lab.  Her calculations were bearing fruit, though not in the way she'd initially imagined, when she'd started the project.  Curses were dangerous, and no ward was perfect.  Even if she could cast both more or less on the fly, another layer of protection never hurt -- and that didn't take into consideration those who had no skill in the area.  Besides, she had other motives beyond the obvious.  It wasn't like she enjoyed being patted down every time she came on the grounds, simply because she set off the detectors by her nature alone.  That aspect she would have to live with, of course, but there were other places where she might use a full shield like the one isolating her research area.  Of course, that one had been laboriously constructed, and part of it was set into the very stones of the walls.  Nothing that could be used to isolate an individual.

She checked her watch.  It was time to head to the briefing.  In short order Alys had everything put away, and she arrived at the conference room in plenty of time.  "Good morning, Sven," she said with her usual slight upwards curve of her lips, accepting the packet he offered and taking a seat to go through it.  She nodded back to Imogen, but did not greet Miss Tamiko when the latter arrived with tea.  The woman always seemed to know just the right person to..."acquire" various things, and Alyssana suspected she was taking advantage of her contacts more than was strictly polite.  Still, the tea was here now, and there was no sense letting it go to waste.  She did love the beverage, and once she'd finished skimming the papers Alys went to pour herself a cup, adding a sugar cube before returning to her seat to go through the packet again to examine it in detail.

Jack arrived next, and she looked up in time to catch is broad grin.  Alys returned it with a bit more than half a smile, as much as she gave anyone.  The American was almost always in a cheerful mood, and it was catching.  His lazy Texas drawl hid a keen mind, and he didn't have the stick up his behind that characterized many men in academic fields.  Although he'd needed convincing before he'd give her a proper spar.

When Sven addressed the group, Alys turned her attention to him.  When he concluded his spiel Alys had a few different questions, though none that were so pressing she needed answers right away.  Jack's joke was not entirely unexpected, but she shook her head.  "And then two other locations after, for the other two fragments."  But the mirror was only a key.  The real question was what lay beyond the door it opened.  She suspected that they'd have a chance to find out, if all went well.  "Mirrors and souls...I suspect it's more than merely reflecting them.  While it's far too early to hypothesize, a blind guess would be that it can not only reflect but might also capture souls."  Alys shrugged.  "But that's an entirely unsupported conjecture."