Rynn sighed heavily as she reached the safe confines of her home. It had been nice to meet a few of the people Malis had always been talking about, but then there had been a few who unnerved her. The warlock held herself tight for a moment as she remembered the expression on that bloodelf's face, the piercing eyes which seemed to dive right in and cut her soul to shreds. With a deep breath Rynn realized she had been standing in the doorway and stepped through. Klathgrave slunk in after her, a shadow of his usual self. The warlock had drawn off him quite a bit that night.

It had started off well, she had met Lenandria who seemed very pleasant. Amirynth coloured slightly as she remembered the praise that Lord Archeon had said about her. It was one thing to have someone tell her something but it meant so much more to her when she heard he had spoken that way to others. Malis had spoken highly of him and she could see why, she was growing quite fond of him herself, not used to people overlooking her obvious social faults.

"He's not the only one M'lady." Yazuri popped his head out of the lab, startling Amirynth. She must have dismissed the voidwalker without realizing it. A frown crossed her face for a moment before she returned to her train of thought.

"You are right Zuri, Lord Elitharan is also very kind... if a little forward." She clasped her hands tighter as his gentle yet insistant worry enveloped her once more. She didn't feel like she was ready to bare her soul to anyone yet, worried of the rejection that would follow after. "And Deru was very nice..." she attempted to move away from the topic not wanting to tread where it would surely fall down. "Zuri, is everything ready?"

"Right you are M'lady! Got everything here, though it's kinda unstable, I don't trust this new batch..." the imp scurried back and forth from the lab. While he didn't always know what she was trying to do, this experiment had not gone exactly to plan last time either.

In the lab, Rynn carefully moved her way around the room, checking on the many bubbling vials and beakers that were attached together in a network of glass. She had been trying a new recipe, something she had found off the auction house, and this was a variant on that. If she could get this right then maybe she could sell it to the local merchants for a higher price while keeping her costs low. With delicate fingers she poured the first half of the mixture into a glass bottle and held it up to the light. If everything was well it should be clear. The warlock smiled as her hunch was correct; in half the time she had completed the first few steps. Now to start on the harder part...

"Trouble... M'Lady come here..." Yazuri was skipping around excitedly near a pot that had decided to bubble over and was oozing a thick black substance that seemed to glow purple in the light. "Diddn't touch anything, I swear." He peered at the pot once more before skipping off to the side so she could pull it off the heat and take it to the alcove to clean up the mess...

The troll was reading the book that had been given to her by Elitharan. She mouthed the words to herself as she worked on deciphering the sentences. The pictures did help quite a bit and Malis was quite getting into the story line of this warrior extraordinaire. Turning back to the front cover she mouthed out the words... "The Wonderful Adventures of Bloodelf the Mighty" In retrospect, it had been quite an interesting book and the troll was quite engrossed in looking at the paintings as she read. There even had been a story about a dragon, she had especially liked reading about that even if the scaled beast seemed to be drawn oddly. Something about it being named 'Puff'? The shaman thought that was a very weird name for a fierce dragon.

Looking up at the window, Malis realized how late it had gotten and closed the book with a sigh. Rynn would be home by now and hopefully cooking. The trolls stomach growled in anticipation. She was not allowed in the kitchen after the last experiment of the dragon omelet she tried to cook. Amirynth was still finding pieces of eggshell scattered around in hidden places. Sitting up and stretching, she placed the book on the only empty corner of the desk and stuck her head out of the door listening to any movements downstairs. The darkness met her deep red eyes with shadows and Malis made a face as she realized that even the fire had gone out. "Hey... Rynn?" She called softly down the steps, hoping for an answer. Making her way down, the shaman used her flametounge spell on the pen she had been holding to give her a little light. Though she could see in the dark better than most, the pitch black curtain that parted before her was almost impenetrable.

"Rynn... Ya in here?" The troll peeked her head around the door to the elf's laboratory as she curiously looked inside. The cacophony of sounds rang in her ears as she squinted at glass tubes filled with bubbling liquid, copper pipes that sang and other bits and pieces which looked important but Malis had no idea what they were for. "Ya be in?" Ah be wantin' t' talk wit' ya." Taking a sniff she wrinkled her nose at the aromas that floated about the room before deciding to try her luck. Taking a few steps into the dimly lit room she looked around in case that dratted imp was there as he would definitely sound the alarm. Deftly the shaman wiggeled her way through the debris that cluttered the tables and floor around the edges of the room. Everything seemed to be going well until she felt her foot land on some dark black muck that had been dropped onto the floor. "Eeeew..." Malis tried to scrape it off her toes onto the hem of her robes before she realized it was stickier than she origionally thought.

"Ack!" The troll fell down, her head hitting the back of the chair that managed to spring in the way of her fall. Groggily she felt her hair and groaned as she realized the black goop was mixed in with her dreads... her next thought was how much she hated washing her hair as it meant she had to take a bath. After the room stopped spinning Malis lifted herself up and took a look around. She was no prepared for the sight that met her eyes. Around half the floor was now covered with bubbling liquid that hissed and popped as it ate the flagstones. A greenish glow seemed to emanate from the corner of the room and was slowly spreading outwards as if it was part of a rolling fog. The troll turned to see the doorway was soon to be cut off by the black ooze that mas making it's way towards the wall where the embers of the fire seemed to make it glow with a malevolent sheen. "Rynn! Rynn! Ah... Ah broke... Oh Shells!" She backed up and muttered under her breath hoping that her sister hadn't come home... not that she could do anything to stop the impending doom...

The crash was the first thing that alerted Amirynth to the mayhem that was happening in her lab. Spinning around she winced as the sharp movements sent stabbing pains up her hip. Shaking herself she motioned for Yazuri to stay close before she opened the door to a scene that made her gasp. Dark purple smoke rolled from the floor and made her cough as it filled her lungs with an inkiness. The pot she had been cleaning out dropped onto the floor which resounded with a clang. She looked around with wide eyes as her lab seemed to collapse around her. It was the sudden dawning realization that she would be stuck there in just a few moments.

"Yazuri!! I need...!" She reached out towards the heavy wooden door that protected the rest of the house from the lab. If she got caught in here who knows what may happen. It was at that moment she had wished she had read the instructions a little more closely and studied the reactions before leaving it alone. "Zuri... I can't..." A wave of coughing over took her as she felt the air being sucked away from her lungs. She frantically pulled what mana she could from the surrounding area only to hear a subtle pop as Yazuri was thrust back into his own dimension. Now she was on her own...

The Sin'dorei peered through the fog and tried to make out the door which was quickly becoming obscured. If she could get up enough strength she might be able to hop onto one of the tables, she did not trust the floor that now seemed to hiss and crackle with each and every moment. She saw the embers of the fire flare up for a second which unnerved her. Rynn didn't know how much more time she would have. With a rush of energy she had not felt in years since her illness, the warlock dived towards the tables and danced her way over the first one only to be stopped by the large chest that can been placed on the second. With a cry of fustration she started to clamber over it when a cracking came from the fire. The black ooze had finally reached it and Rynn's eyes grew wider as she remembered what had been in it. The pitch and tar combination was only moments away from the biggest...

and then it went black...

Malis leaned her back against the heavy wooden door holding it shut in the hopes that maybe it would all just go away and the next time she opened it the lab would be whole once more. She felt her heart beat in her chest as her breath came heavily. Leaning her head back she felt more than heard the 'whomph' that came from behind the door. Her expression changed from worried to horrified as the extent of the damage dawned on her. Fervently she wondered where Rynn had gotten too and, rather than face the destruction that lay behind the wooden barrier, she pushed away to look for signs of her sister.

"Rynn!! RYNN!!!" The search upstairs turned up nothing as well as her frantic looking through the living room quarters and the kitchen. The small abode proved to be quite empty which lead a momentary sigh of relief before the troll noticed the long dark cloak that hung from the hook by the door. Malis recognized the cloak, the warlock never left the house without it, not wanting people to see her frailties. The troll had always thought it was a silly thing, herself being quite proud of the 'war wound' she had gained from loosing her tusk. Malis stared at the cloak in shock hoping that it did not mean what she was considering. If the cloak was inside then Rynn was also.... which meant that Rynn...

The troll rushed back to the door. "RYNN!!! AMIH-RYNT'!! RYNN!!" She was shouting at the top of her lungs and bashed her fists against the unyielding wood forgetting in her panic that she needed to turn the handle to open the door. "RYNN!!! HELP!! SOME ONE HELP!!!" She scrabbled at the handle, not finding purchase before finally managing to almost rip the wood of it's hinges in the beserk that followed. Dark clouds of smoke billowed out of the doorway and filled the room. Coughing, the troll ran to the front door to let the smoke out before casting water breathing in case it helped. The thick fog made it hard to see anything and the only sound in the room was the 'tink tink tink' of cooling metals. Most of the black substance on the floor had vanished leaving behind a layer of soot that covered everything. The tables had been overturned and broken glass spilt everywhere interspersed with twisted copper tubing and other mangled machinery. Malis tiptoed in, suddenly afraid of what she might find in the room before her sharp ears caught a small whimper in the corner. "Rynn?" She dashed over.

The bloodelf lay under a large wooden table that seemed to have been the only thing that protected her from the ravages of the explosion. Pale skin was covered in scrapes and cuts from the glass and her usually pallid look was even more sickly. She was in shock and hung limp in the troll's arms. Malis picked her up gently and rushed her out of the room worried that it was too late. She couldn't feel her sister's heart beat and no breath seemed to come from her chest. "Ryyyynn..." Malis almost wept as she saw some of the damage that the warlock had endured. Placing her down on the couch, the shaman seemed to addled to think of what to do next, a small boat lost in amongst the raging storm that surrounded her.