Taking a small chunk of ore, I dropped it in a petri dish of acid. The majority of the rock stayed unreactive, but a bit of grey substance started to leech out. It had hints of silver sheen to it, almost mercurial in its reflectiveness. After stirring the ore around for a bit, I had a small dish filled with grey liquid and a few inert stones at the bottom of the dish. The people crowded around me watched as if transfixed. A few muttered back and forth. I dipped my thumb into a drop of the acid as stealthily as I could, feeling a slight burn as I continued.
