"I wasn't allowed to see it," Rutile bitterly notes, recalling the technician who had quite firmly insisted on escorting them back. "Nor find much technical information on it, other than that it's a large reserve of some sort of crystal. I can't imagine it has inclusions or anything of the sort, that would be obvious. Still, I..."

They trail off, searching Padparadscha's face for some reflection of their own distress. But though their expression changed almost imperceptibly, it is impossible to tell what they're feeling.

Rutile closes their eyes and draws themselves up to their full height. It takes a moment, but they regain their composure. "It is not what I expected," they say. "I don't know what I expected. But it wasn't this."

And though it is just the two of them, Rutile feels as strangled and overwhelmed as if they are once again in the center of the Tourney square.