"Yes, in layman's terms. I'll be mostly dipping it in acids, bases, running conductivity tests, comparing luster and streak, and a few other things depending on how the first run of testing goes. Hopefully I won't need to run all of those. The results normally indicate its identity fairly quickly unless it happens to be an alloy. Alloys of three metals and above always make things more difficult." Liselotte carefully took the searing-hot blade and sliced off a thin sliver from the key, only millimeters thick. The cut was even and clean, standing out from the rest of the key's worn and smoothed exterior. "There we are…a lovely piece if I might add. Now let's put you away before you get lost somewhere." Putting the red-hot blade away in a drawer out of reach to cool, she proceeded to lock it as to keep it away from causing potential injuries. Returning to the work station she pulled out a clear glass jar with thick walls, and gently coaxed the metal fragment into the container; sealing it with a rubber stopper. With a steady hand, she wrote: 'D.S. sample' on the glass surface with a peculiar black pencil.

"There. Now all that's left is to check on that distillation and clean the glassware for next time." She went over to a distillation apparatus still in progress, and turned down the burner fueling the reaction. Turning to Douken she smiled, back to her usual self. "So where do you plan to head off to after? The whole series of tests will take a while, but should the results turn up earlier than expected it wouldn't hurt to let you know sooner than later, would it?" 

Liselotte was certainly well within her element, considering her layman's terms still used vocabulary that felt quite foreign to him. Still, he stood there and watched her move about, handling a searing hot tool with easy as she took a small segment of the item, admiring the cut and setting the sample and blades aside as her mind's gears turned. Douken smiled as he took his key back, peering over the cut itself. Without any dirt of it, the item itself nearly looked gold in color, making him think that maybe he should go one day polish it… before taking a sudden pause. There was… something else within that cut. It was tiny, but so standout that he could not help but look at closer.

When she turned back over to him, he was taken aback when she called over to him. "H-huh? Oh, uh, I am currently residing at the Deep Iris Inn close to the market district. Second floor in room 203. But still, I don't think things will go so quickly." Motioning her over closer, he pointed at there she made her cut. While it may have looked a tiny sliver, there was a shine of a silvery blue underneath the golden metal.

Drawing closer, she examined the place he pointed at on the key. There was the layer of gilded metal covering an entirely different one composing the core. "Is that…? But it couldn't be. That luster is unmistakable, it certainly isn't silver or aluminum. I'm not sure if I even have a sample of whatever that metal is in my laboratory's stock." Liselotte looked troubled as she crossed her arms, considering how to go about this. There was a possibility that she suspected, but she had to take another look at the testing sample she had just taken. Opening a drawer, she produced a small shallow ceramic plate and a pair of tweezers. Very carefully she opened the glass container and removed the sliver of metal, setting it on the white ceramic plate to get a better look at the side where she had made the cut.

"…The heated blade I used to remove the sliver was made of steel. Yet in spite of being subjected to intense heat and pressure, there are no visible traces of that second metal in this piece. Properties aside, I am sure there is only one logical answer as an explanation. The key is plated lacriamium. No matter what kind of tests I run, nothing will be able to corrode or cut the core." Leaning against the worktable, she crossed her arms with a grin. "This key of yours is turning out to be quite a find, don't you agree? Lacriamium isn't something used to make common items, and then that leaves the question on why it was plated with another metal. Whoever crafted this wanted it to last for a long time, in my opinion." 

Douken blinked as he watched the information run through her head, taking in the notes and details before piecing them into one solid answer she felt comfortable with: Plated Lacriamium. This brought forth two questions to his mind, but he doubted he could only get one of them answered. "What's lacriamium?" was the one he figured he could get an answer from, and thus he asked Liselotte about it. "I mean, from the sounds of it, its a really tough metal, but what makes so important that it plastered such a wide grin on your face? You think its something to do with the Ancient's strange methods of thinking?"

The other question was 'Why was it plated," though the half elf had a theory of her own: to make it lasting. I mean, it did stop the metal itself from being as beaten up as the shell itself, however, he couldn't really think of it like that. After all, the shell was cut clean while the core was untouched. If anything, Douken would think it was to hide the metal itself under something less valuable or rare. Either way, they did not have the power to ask.

"To think that old man was right with his stories for one," he couldn't help but joke before latching the key back around his neck.

"Lacriamium is the king of all metals, rarer than gold and silver while more durable and resilient than steel and orichalcum. The only material with properties vaguely comparable to it is diamond–commonly referred to as 'adamant'. The color itself gives its identity away–and there's no doubt on why people laud it as the metal of the gods." Liselotte gushed as she was feeling giddy from discovering such a rare metal in what had masqueraded as a simple trinket. "You see, anything made with lacriamium could theoretically last a lifetime or several. That detail in itself means this key, is important. How important I have no idea, but if they went through the trouble to make a key out of this then it should very well be worth the find."

Regaining her composure and stopping herself before she continued into an extended spiel on metallurgy, she put her tools away and cleared her workbench. "I'd say that plating was what saved it from being re-purposed by treasure hunters. Even for an ancient relic, a piece of solid lacriamium would sell for a good price. With the guilds in Karith and smiths in Baltil, it would be easy to find someone more than willing to part with their coin for it. Since there's no need to analyze the piece of plating anymore, I could return it to you to have it melded back on if you'd like." Unfortunately for her knowledge, she was only versed in the decomposition of items than putting things back together. She could attempt to weld it back on but it would be uneven, and unprofessional. She wasn't sure how precise the lock this key matched would be.

"I think things are fine as is," Douken commented, looking down at the key as it hung from his neck. From where it rested, the region where the sliver was taken was not even visible, meaning any gleam from the metal core was hidden as well. It was as if he had a simple brass key hanging around his neck just as before. Just, instead of brass, it was one of the rarest metals on the planet it seemed.

"Its still strange to see it as a basic key shape though. That part still gets me." It was so simple, and yet, held a ton of mystery. Why use such a rare metal to open a door when steel could do the same? Either it was once more a case of Ancient madness, or something more…. complex. It was almost an idea was being forged in his head.

"… How does Lacriamium react to magic?" he thought out loud, holding his hand up as his fingers began to glow green, sparking with mana, just like how he demonstrated his rune casting in the book store. He was honestly willing to draw on it the UNlock Rune he knew for kicks, but once he touched it, the key itself sparked to life, littering the key and the air around it in a set of much more complex runes. "Very well, I guess," he chuckled, using his free hand to once again free the key from around his neck so he could look at it closer. "I can tell you this much: The runes here are definitely very complex…"

Liselotte watched as Douken tested the lacrimium key's reaction to magic. The conductivity and affinity the metal had was simply fascinating. "Astounding… It makes you wonder if the Ancients crafted the key in such a way that it would serve as wordplay aside from its practical purpose." The arcane arts were not exactly her area, with her focus more on the aspects of biological compounds and processes. She was still green regarding the deeper complexities of advanced alchemy, but the magical power from the artifact was palpable. "Again, congratulations! It's a pity we don't know where this key belongs or what it was meant for. It's almost like one of those fantastical novels that are popular nowadays which sell for a dozen crescents or less. Discovering lost relics of fallen civilizations and inter-generational romances have become the literary trend this year."

At the end of her musing and hypotheses, it was up to the owner–Douken to see what future the key would hold. She had done her part in informing him on its composition and the background regarding the components. By now she could hear that her distillation of hartshorn was now complete, and she began filtering the boiled liquid to prepare the unrefined salts for crystallization. The smell was strong, pungent even. The telltale stench of ammonia filled the air and lingered even after she capped the container. It was no surprise why she had her laboratory separate from the main house now. Even those without delicate sensibilities would find it hard to endure such odors on a daily basis. The ventilation of the structure made it more bearable, but even a light breeze couldn't immediately dissipate it. "Ah, it's finally done. Once I process it a few more times, I'll be able to replace my dwindling stock of smelling salts." Carefully placing the vial inside a cabinet to cool, she revealed several jars of various pieces of animals ranging from claws to dried tendons.