"You said the miasma had to have started a while ago? To get as bad as it is?" Yuze asked.
Eirian nodded. "At least a few decades. It's rare to mix magic and poisons because it doesn't change their effectiveness. The poison will do what it meant to do regardless of the magic; all the magic can change is the speed at which it has that effect."
Finn, confused. "Then why do mix them at all? Magic's expensive. It's not like someone can just afford to pay a wizard on a whim."
"Wouldn't the City of Illumination have a say as well?" Marian put in. "They are the governing force for magic."
"By law, only for wizards who follow them. Some kingdoms say they follow the City when it comes to any magic, but it's just empty words. They barely follow the City's law when hiring its wizards. They'd never bother hiring a free one." Eirian explained.
"It's just a matter of saving face," Chenzhou murmured in agreement. "Politics."
Finn made a face. "Then what's the point?"
"The point," Marian frowned at all of them. "Is order. Civilization requires laws to survive. Without a standard of agreement on what is right or wrong, there would be nothing but chaos."
"There's chaos now," Chenzhou muttered and then offered a sheepish smile when she turned a stern look on him.
"Less chaos than there would be without laws." Marian sniffed. "Law and order is what separates us from the animals."
Eirian raised a hand, feeling oddly like she was back in school. "There are a lot of animals that have their own versions of…" She trailed off when she saw Marian's eye start to twitch.
But she couldn't resist pointing out. "Humans are just another type of animal."
Marian's long-suffering expression managed to convey exasperation, annoyance, and resignation all at once.
"Back to the actual subject of this meeting," Yuze, annoyed with all of them. "The timeline fits. The motive fits. The only thing I haven't found is how. There are a few items in the Inventories that could explain it, provided Arnheim had a basic knowledge of magical items."
"Is there a reason to think he didn't?" Eirian asked.
Yuze shook his head. "He started using the Arnheim name after he returned to the Camelia, so he had to know some of his family history. The Arnheims were so powerful for so long, it's hard to imagine he didn't know something."
"Even a fool can do damage with the right object," Chenzhou agreed. He was starting to sweat. The scent of the incense sank into his skin. He was going to smell like it for weeks, but every time, he tried to push it away. Eirian glared until he pulled it back.
Maybe she was trying to kill him? He glanced at her, but it was almost like she had a sixth sense for when he was looking at her, and her eyes immediately met his.
Chenzhou flushed, suddenly embarrassed by his thoughts. She didn't need to put any effort into killing him. He was going to take care of that for her soon enough. He'd pretty much spelled out that he didn't expect to live long, and Eirian was smart enough to look at him and realize how bad his health really was.
Eirian didn't seem like the type to waste her time like that.
But she had shown tendencies toward impulsiveness and a fiery temper. Both of which had also resulted in her magic manifesting despite how many people were around to witness it. She didn't seem afraid or even worried about that, so maybe she wouldn't be worried about what would happen if she killed him.
A low beat started in the back of his mind, a headache caused by his own racing thoughts. It would be a waste of effort and time for Eirian to kill him when he was already dying.
"Chenzhou?"
He blinked, squinting at Eirian through the smoke.
"Chenzhou?"
Her lips weren't moving, but he could hear his voice. Her eyes narrowed, and she reached towards him, pressing her hand to his forehead.
Another hand landed on his shoulder, and he jerked in surprise.
"Chenzhou?" It was Yuze, worried. He'd set his papers aside and joined Eirian at Chenzhou's side. Marian hovering over his shoulder.
"What?" Chenzhou croaked.
"You didn't answer. Are you alright?"
It was a knee-jerk reaction to say, "Fine." But none of them looked convinced. "Continue."
Eirian and Yuze shared a concerned look. Chenzhou stiffened, suddenly angry that they were treating him like a misbehaving child. Or that they were cutting him out. His head was a bit foggy, and his thoughts were hard to gather but they were there. He was angry. They weren't listening to him.
"Continue." He said it again with such force that Eirian and Yuze pulled back. Yuze looked hurt, but the hurt quickly disappeared behind the professional mask he always wore.
Eirian didn't look hurt, but she did look confused. It quickly gave way to calculation and suddenly Chenzhou was afraid. He had no strength to fight back if she pushed and there was no relationship between them that she would care about damaging.
"Why don't you answer Yuze's question?" Eirian asked him.
Chenzhou turned back to the incense burner, pretending to study it.
"You didn't hear him, did you?" She continued, making Yuze, Marian, and Finn look over.
"Chenzhou?" Marian sounded so worried.
Guilt ate at him. He hated worrying the only mother he'd ever known.
"You're hearing is going," Eirian stated.
After a moment, Chenzhou reluctantly nodded.
"Oh gods," Marian whispered, barely restraining herself from reaching for him.
Finn tugged on Eirian's sleeve and whispered. "Is that normal?"
He was trying to be kind by whispering, but whispering to Finn was not whispering to everyone else, and even Chenzhou heard him just fine.
Still, Chenzhou looked to Eirian for the answer, unsure himself.
"Depends on the poison, but something that would target the human body could easily shut down individual functions," Eirian answered. "I think it usually affect organs before something like you're hearing. I need to do more research."
"Healer Huang has said nothing about losing his hearing," Marian hissed. "He insisted it was unlikely to occur until the illness was further along."
"Healer Huang is an idiot," Yuze muttered.
~ tbc