Untold Knowledge (Doctor Who x Genius Fem! Oc) [Book 1]

Chapter 138: The Fires of Pompeii

After Evelina had been taken to her room with Donna staying with her, both Echo and her Doctor went to inspect what they could with the help of Caecilius. "Different sort of hypocaust?" the Time Lord asked as he removed its grill.

The human man nodded and began to explain. "Oh, yes. We're very advanced in Pompeii. In Rome, they're still using the old wood-burning furnaces. But we've got hot springs, leading from Vesuvius itself."

"Hmm." Echo hummed thoughtfully. "Very interesting. Who came up with that?" though, already had a suspicion on what the answer would be.

"The soothsayers, after the great earthquake seventeen years ago. An awful lot of damage. But, we rebuilt." Caecilius elaborated for them. He wasn't surprised by their lack of understanding due to their "Celtic" origin.

He gave the man a look with furrowed brow. "Didn't you think of moving away? Oh no, then again, San Francisco." 

It was Caecilius's turn to be confused once again. "That's a new restaurant in Naples, isn't it?" not entirely sure if he's ever even heard of such a name.

But Echo wasn't paying attention to their conversation all that much. "What the hell is that noise?" she wondered aloud, greatly wanting to know more as she heard almost demonic sounds emanate from below.

Caecilius shook his head. "Don't know. Happens all the time. They say the gods of the Underworld are stirring."

The Doctor nodded. "But after the earthquake, let me guess. Is that when the soothsayers started making sense?"

"Oh, yes, very much so." he confirmed. "I mean, they'd always been, shall we say, imprecise? But then the soothsayers, the augurs, the haruspex, all of them. They saw the truth again and again. It's quite amazing. They can predict crops and rainfall with absolute precision."

"Hmmm." Echo hummed. "Just out of curiosity, no other reason what so ever. Have they said anything about tomorrow?"

Much to their confusion, the man then shook his head in denial. "Nothing of significance I can think of."

"Interesting. Also, do all the soothsayers consume those vapors?" she went on, feeling greatly but internally bewildered.

"Yes. That's how they see."

That was when the genius Doctor realized what she was getting at with her string of questions. "Ipso facto, says my incredible love." he said in passing as he reached down to examine the inner sides of the stone vent. In return, he was able to obtain a good amount of a loose, sandy substance that looked a lot like glitter. "They're all consuming this."

Confusion filled the watching man. "Dust." unsure on how to appropriately react.

"From what I gather, basically, is that they're breathing in bits of Vesuvius." Echo explained thoughtfully. "Oh! I know just who we should harass."  she then said happily with a snap of her fingers. Hopping to her feet, both travelers held hands as she led the way into another room without the company of Caecilius. They then stopped after approaching Quintus; to whom was reclining on a couch and drinking wine. "Why, hello there, young sir. You reckon you know where that Lucius Petrus Dextrus lives?" she asked with obvious mischief gleaming in her eyes.

The boy rolled his eyes with clear frustration, used to the oppression of his family. "It's nothing to do with me." he said sarcastically.

Echo then pulled an acorn from her pocket with a wink at her lover. "Let me clarify, if you please." She then pulled out a small bottle of purple liquid. With clear enjoyment, she then used the attached dropper to drip a single drop. The moment the liquid made contact, the acorn was transformed into gold, down to the last molecule, right before their eyes. "You can have an entire tree's worth once we get to that Lucius guy's house." she tempted with a knowing grin.