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"Captain Moira of the Morpok Lane watch house has asked for some assistance with a case my lord. She feels that perhaps your unique talents may be of help to us"

Elrik stepped forward and placed a section of parchment on the desk next to the young lord.

Lord Sherlot Akela, third son of Duke Akela ignored the parchment.

Elrik continued, "There is a young lady, of noble birth. Her name is Sesara Vi Swaingriud. I believe she's the daughter of the Viscount Swaingriud. Her guards tell us that she has disappeared from the Swaingriud manor house two days. Captain Moira asks that you assist the watch in finding and recovering her, my lord."

Sherlot hefted a metal block of a showpiece from the window mantel, and tossed it from hand to hand, in thought.

"You do not know this, corporal, but my father and I have a rather.. complicated relationship"

Elrik waited for the young lord to elaborate.

Sherlot went on, "My father has offered me a choice", biting out the word, "when the mages sent me back. My father, the lord duke bade that I be of use to the Imperium. And since the army has no use for me, and since the corps will not have me, I'm here to help the watch".

"I'm under no delusions. As high an opinion as I may have of myself, corporal, I doubt Captain Moira or the watch share it. The Imperium has little use for my wit. I know what strings my brother pulled to get you here", The young lord gave a bitter smile.

[Warning: threat-level high: type volatile-info-hazard]

Elrik quieted the voices in his head.

Elrik walked over to the window mantle. He wanted to diffuse some of the tension hanging in the air.

"What is that?", Elrik examined the showpiece that Sherlot had been playing with.

"Ah. This." Sherlot held up in one hand what looked like a cube of dull iron, "It's.. just a toy of sorts. It helps me train my mind. Would you like to see it?"

Elrik raised an eyebrow, "I would", then he remembered who he was talking to, "If you care to, my lord"

Sherlot laughed, "Alright, I'll show you corporal"

His eyes narrowed as he stared at the block of metal in his hand

For a second nothing seemed to happen, then the cube seemed to warp, the dull grain of the metal twisting and moving. The cube seemed to almost melt, becoming a silvery blob. Then it twisted again forming into the slim shape of a dagger.

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Sherlot grinned, "Did you want to give it a try corporal?",

He tossed the dagger to Elrik, who caught it. Elrik stared at the dagger, now in his hand. When he looked at it, it looked simply like a metal dagger, perhaps one rather roughly hewn. It lay peaceably in his hand.

He looked back at the young lord, "What is this?"

Sherlot gestured, "Try it corporal. Form an image, a shape, in your mind"

Elrik stared at the dagger, then closed his eyes. He started simple - an image of a simple shape - a pyramid - small enough to fit in his hand. For a second, the image of a simple pyramid floated behind his eyelids.

He felt something, like a prickling at his fingertips-

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A bursty chirrup of noise echoed in his mind. When Elrik opened his eyes, a dull metal pyramid now sat in the palm of his hand.

Then he noticed Sherlot's eyes. The bitter weariness was gone and instead he was watching Elrik carefully - too carefully - as the small pyramid fell into his hand.

Elrik put it together, "This was a test. You were testing me, again."

Sherlot shrugged unrepentantly, "Yes, corporal. This was a test. My brother said he looked into you.. but I had to check myself to be sure. If you were school trained, if you were a frostfoot or had a trace of ichki running through you - that little piece of titian in your hand would have melted like water from between your fingers"

[Warning: threat-level high: type volatile-info-hazard]

Elrik threw the pyramid up in his hand and caught it, ignoring the warning, "What is it"

"A magical metal. A curiosity. A toy. Depends on who you ask", Sherlot gestured out the window, "About five years ago, some miners dug some of this ore from a clay quarry near here, scarcely a few miles from the Yitka. They called it titian"

"They didn't know what to do with it. It was softer than steel, but lighter too. The alchemists were excited, very excited by the potential applications of this ore.. You could mold it with a mere thought! Imagine - a blade that never dulls!", the young lord was smiling wanly.

Then he sighed regretfully, "Unfortunately there were.. difficulties. It was common enough here, near the Yitka. It is hard to find though, and incredibly hard to work. It took a frostfoot to smelt the ore hot enough. And so.. it was outrageously expensive"

He shrugged, "It turns out most people don't have the patience to bend it to shape with their minds. Harder than you think to hold that image in your head just as you want it. If you were school trained blade or a mage - the metal turned to water in your hands..

Then people started to realize that a blade that changes its shape and balance on you wasn't that useful. Not when you can have a simple blade at a fraction of the cost"

Elrik tossed the little pyramid in the air and caught it again.

Sherlot waved to the thing, "They realized that it was too expensive and of too little use. There's crates of it rotting in warehouses all over the city, or so I'm told. I like the exercise it gives me. There's something.. calming - about the art of focussing on a thing in your mind - and making it real - that I've quite grown to enjoy. And... I find it instructional"

Elrik looked over, "Instructional, my lord?"

Sherlot walked over and picked up the parchment, not meeting Elrik's eyes, "Yes corporal, it reminds me of what I so often forget. Just because something is unique, does not mean that it is of any use to anyone."