It's a fantasy role-playing game.

DM: You are Caleb Widogast, a human wizard . You are the member of the famous group of adventurers. Previously, Nott grudgingly says she'll talk to you about it, and they give her the things they need identified. Molly throws in an extra platinum coin.
DM: You back away from it, and it dissipates over the next 30 or so seconds. You keep watch to see if anybody else notices, and it doesn't. It rises up, and thankfully by the time it would hit the roof as a smoke beacon, it mostly has dissipated enough in the sky where it doesn't cause a column of visible darkness. The edge that you're catching of it, the little bit that's wafting through, has this very fine metallic smell to it, almost. The brief bit that catches your nostrils, you feel your sinuses open up very abruptly, and like a mouth full of wasabi, it's like (coughing). Eventually it clears out, and you walk inside.
Player: So not a ball of fiery death.
DM: No, not a ball of fiery death.
Player: Okay, so it's cleared away, Schmidt's gone, I assume.
DM: Schmidt is--
Player: Well, if it wasn't damage-dealing, he's still there.
DM: It might have been damage-dealing.
