"Concrete?"

"Dealing solely with matter and energy and not with souls, knowledge, or theoretical concepts. Most people are referring to concrete alchemy when they say 'alchemy,' since most people aren't really aware you can alchemize things that you can't physically interact with."

"How do you... exchange a theoretical concept? I can guess how you do it with souls or knowledge but could be guessing wrong on that too."

"I haven't actually figured out all of the exchanges for esoteric alchemy yet."

"I don't even mean what do you trade it for, I mean what would it mean to stop having it?"

"I'm not actually sure. Anyone who's made that sort of trade wasn't polite enough to write it down where I can find it."

"Rude."

"Alchemists often are! In that way, at least."

"What else do you need to know before this runs out, it'll be any minute now?"

"Don't think there's anything urgent, unless you have allergies. You could ask us questions for us to elaborate on later I guess."

"Sunshine's bad for me, I can compensate by wrapping up or using a spell."

"I can alchemize you local style clothes that will block sun pretty thoroughly."

"My spell that makes me look more like a surfacer - I'll still have pointy ears - also takes care of it fine but it has an opportunity cost if I prep it."

"People probably won't notice the pointy ears, at least... But full coverings would also hide any unusual features just fine."

"I'll defer to you on what clothes I glura nimube shil."

"And I guess that's the spell... Can you still understand us?"

Apparently not. She gets the phrasebook and points at things so she can write down transliterations.

Bellona handles giving transliterations.

And then she casts another spell.

"Do you understand us now?"

Nod.

"We should probably head out and back to our room, maybe after this wears off... Though actually - Em why'd you say the government's evil like that's news. That seems like it's pretty important?"

Shrug. "Translated enough of Doctor Marcoh's notes to get that the key ingredient in the philosopher's stone is human lives, or maybe souls. We know the government was making philsopher's stones for the Ishvalan War. It'd be stupid to stop making them. Easiest ingredients are anyone no one'd miss, enemies of the state, and people you've already vanished or put on death row. Your new friend probably wouldn't be an ingredient, but you know how the Fuhrer gets over potential assets."

"Not so much a revelation over them being more evil than expected, but over their capacity to keep even large scale deaths secret, which suggests getting caught up in their web's not something you want to do incautiously."

" - Yeah that sounds like maybe a problem..."

To Belmarniss - "Philosopher's stones are supposed to let you break equivalent exchange, so they're a big - thing to try and have and control."

"Elaborate on that?"