"Gesundheit," Tony offers automatically, a brief and boyish grin appearing on his face -- that fades just as quickly, once he recognises that Stephen isn't, in fact, joking around. Cursemark doesn't sound promising at all.

Perhaps belatedly, Tony reaches for his glass of wine, sensing that he might need it to get through this next part.

"I've heard it mentioned," he adds after a swallow of the surprisingly good vintage, in a vague attempt to try and smooth that look off the wizard's face. "Kind of hoped it was part of the colorful local folklore. Something about purging? Energy? Some kind of magic?"

He clears his throat. "You're saying that it's legitimate?"