Bismuth is a brittle, silvery-white metal best recognised by its naturally stepped crystals. Exposure to air can produce a thin rainbow-coloured surface, making well-formed specimens desirable for display and jewellery even though the underlying metal is comparatively plain.
Metalworkers use bismuth in low-melting alloys, while alchemists include it in a small range of potions and experimental mixtures. It is useful but rarely a major trade metal. Zaboom is rumoured to be collecting unusually large quantities for an unknown purpose, which has made an otherwise modest material the subject of some attention across Orth.