[center][img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/241208/a04161052c56932d95d6bf9168fcef02.png[/img][/center][hr][i]Alchemy Chambers[/i][hr]
The Aurelians liked things warm. Sitting further from the fire was no bother, really. She could see perfectly well, and even if the room was still a bit warm, there was no reason to fret. It was just like summers always used to be. As for the tea? That posed a different problem—a frustrating one at that. Tea was supposed to be hot, yes, and though steaming was too much to handle even before her change, she had at least been able to comfortably handle a cup with it. It was fortunate that she could levitate it as an alternative, yes, but the fact that it was a necessity to do so? Embarrassing, really. Who couldn’t hold a warm cup of tea? What kind of animal couldn’t enjoy a warm cup of tea!

With no input to offer on the matter of the gem or its inscriptions, all she could do was sit there. She gazed longingly into the cup floating above her hand as she listened to Eris and Nathaniel speak. Of course, the Lead Sage must have gotten the very same impression. Or perhaps it was something else. They departed, and Nesna was left with Lady Rovella. A heavy silence intervened as the other sages’ footsteps grew fainter. At last, Lady Rovella breached it with some minor pleasantries. Even if it was apparent that it was just some idle talk for the sake of formality alone, there was no fault in it. After all, did formality and decency not still have a place? 

And so it was with some cognitive dissonance that Nesna perked her ears and soon picked up on a conversation meant to be private. The mention of Lady Rovella alleviated some of her nerves about doing so. It was merely advanced knowledge she was picking up; not anything so scandalous that it would be her secret to keep for some time yet. And besides, the most exciting part of the whole affair in the moment wasn’t, in the end, the gem or its mysteries, but the implication of the breadth of knowledge Lady Hightower must have held in her library. As her mind began to race, Nesna’s smile grew then flickered. Oh, how Lady Rovella must have been composing some remarks on the apparent dullard sat before her. She was looking to be some vapid drifter with only a sense of propriety and nothing more in her eagerness to listen to other conversations than her own—not the keen and useful aspiring academic she’d be better served presenting herself as. And how could the Lady come to see her in such a light if she did not more politely devote herself fully to their conversation? How she’d bungled these finer points! Goddess above, she was rusty and inattentive.

It was fortunate that the others were in a hurry to return. 

[color=DDA0DD]“Bless you, my Lady,”[/color] she replied, [color=DDA0DD]“There’s no need.”[/color]

[color=DDA0DD]“I already look forward to it!”[/color]

But if only the cheery tone could have remained! It seemed Lady Rovella was a critical sort indeed—much to Nesna’s dismay. Scarcely had Nathaniel been here longer than her, and already the Lady seemed prepared to cast aspersions. Inauspicious. At least it did come to seem that she intended, in some roundabout way, to be helpful. If only she were better suited in temperament to offering impromptu advice. Soon after, another apparent sage entered the room. Lord Galahad, he was. She’d been halfway to rising from her seat when he commanded Nathaniel not to bow. Was informality truly so normalized here, that most elders save the most abrasive not plainly expect the respect they were due? And what a shame it was, that she would be given a chance then and there to consider the matter—for it seemed to her that Lady Rovella would have preferred not to engage in much further conversation. 

But if she was a sage, did they not share some things in common? A keenness for the arcane, perhaps? It was worth trying.

[color=DDA0DD]“My Lady…if I might venture to inquire on…a matter which has been of keen concern to me for quite some time?”[/color]

A raised eyebrow beckoned the proper question.

[color=DDA0DD]“What have the finest minds of the land made of the Blight in these past years? I’m afraid I’m woefully underinformed on the matter…”[/color]

[b]Mentions[/b]
Nathaniel [@Echotech71], Eris [@The Muse]