Sage knelt by the pool's edge. The silver water swirled sluggishly. He uncorked Lysander's vial. It was lined with a dull, lead-like material.
"Don't let it touch your skin," Lysander warned.
Using a stone tool, Sage dipped the vial into the pool. The liquid inside reacted violently, boiling and flashing. He sealed it quickly. The vial grew warm in his hand, the corrupted light throbbing within.
As he stood, his foot dislodged a small stone. It plunked into the pool.
The reaction was instantaneous.
The pool's hum rose to a shriek. A geyser of silver mist erupted. Where it touched the cavern ceiling, the stone sizzled and began to flow like wet clay.
"Back! Now!" Lysander roared, his voice cutting through the noise.
They ran for the tunnel. The silver mist pursued, a glowing, corrosive fog. Valentine was last, ushering them forward.
A tendril of mist brushed against her boot. The reinforced material smoked, dissolving instantly. She cried out, stumbling.
Sage turned and grabbed her arm, hauling her forward as Lysander took a stance at the tunnel mouth. He raised his hands, not in a magical gesture Sage recognized, but in a commanding, forceful push, as if repelling a physical force. The advancing mist slowed, coiling against an invisible barrier.
"GO!" he yelled, strain evident in his voice.
Sage and Valentine scrambled up the rough tunnel. The shrieking hum began to fade, replaced by the sound of grinding stone as Lysander fought to contain the reaction they'd triggered.
They burst out into the Foundry, gasping. Sage still clutched the violently warm vial in his hand. Proof. Dangerous, undeniable proof.
The cost of the puzzle was becoming horrifically clear. They weren't just playing detective. They were handling live wires in a house of cards controlled by ruthless hands.