Modern Magick

Alchemy and Argent: 18

'When you say "soon", do you mean "before Crystobel Elvyng could conceivably do anything else to impede us"?' I said.

'Precisely. If the Elvyngs possess such knowledge yet have not chosen to make it public, we can always employ the defence of ignorance. But not if we engage in the kind of delay that might lead to intentions becoming known, and measures taken to prevent unauthorised explorations or inconvenient discoveries.'

'The mines don't belong to them, after all,' I said. 'Presumably they are still the property of the Yllanfalen.'

'Whether they might have an agreement with Aylligranir, or are operating independently and without the queen's knowledge, might prove an interesting point,' agreed Milady. 'But not yet a relevant one.'

'Speaking of Aylligranir,' I said. 'Did they send the moonsilver that they promised?'

'It arrived,' said Milady. 'I am not sure what her majesty intended by it.'

'Why is that?'

'In itself, it is insignificant. The sample is only an inch wide, and unworked.'

'Unworked.' I drummed my fingers on the arm of my chair, thinking. 'Unworked. How much moonsilver, or argent, is left in the world, would you think?'

'All of it, surely,' said Jay. 'It cannot be destroyed, that we know of.'

'Yes — and the examples of it that we've seen or heard of have all been finished articles, or in other words, very much worked. How much unworked argent is likely to be left, hundreds of years after all the known mines ran empty?'

'Not... much,' said Jay.

'Exactly. So how does Aylligranir have even a small piece of the raw stuff?'

'Either they have a stash of the raw metal put by, and have somehow managed to preserve it into the twenty-first century,' said Jay. 'Or...'

'Or they have a source,' I finished. 'Like the mines. We gave her majesty a fairly comprehensive account of our purpose in seeking argent, Milady. I thought at the time that she was peculiarly uninterested and unhelpful, but perhaps I was wrong. Perhaps this unworked piece is a hint.'

'Why a hint?' said Jay. 'Why not just say, oh, we happen to have a renewable source of exactly what you're looking for, why don't I send you a catalogue?'

I shrugged. 'Is that what you would have done, in her shoes? Not everyone can be trusted, even those employed by the Society. We could have been anybody, with any motive. A likely story is proof of nothing.' I thought of Miranda as I spoke, and Ancestria Magicka. Her majesty of Aylligranir probably wasn't unwise to work around the subject, considering the extraordinary value — and power — of the substance in question.

'Take the argent with you,' said Milady, wisely skipping over the question entirely. I swear, one of these days I will drive myself mad with my wacky theories. 'House, if you would?'

The wall rippled. Something unspeakable oozed out of it and dribbled towards the floor, followed by a nugget of something pale silver and gleaming.

'I feel like House isn't a huge fan of summer,' I murmured.

'It is maintenance season,' said Milady. 'We've had builders in all week.'

'That would suck,' I agreed. Like a trip to a particularly aggressive beautician: unpleasant as a process, but the results would be worth it. Hopefully.

Val had scooped up the argent, and sat examining it, having cleaned the physical expression of House's displeasure off it with a tissue. 'It feels interesting,' she said, and passed it to me. 'I never saw it in its raw state before.'