"Thank you," Magnus says placidly, because what else does one say when told they have an ominous name? "And yours suggests barren austerity, so I think we've both managed to escape the fate of being predictable based on our names. I take it you and Fri haven't run into anything in your scans that makes this different from any other pond water?"

He labels the vial and tucks it into an inner pocket, then looks at the angle of the sun and at the water. He'll take another sample when the trees have cast their shadows over the surface.