This special dust has many uses. 

If a pinch is cast into a goodly volume of water, 1 cubic yard of liquid is instantly transformed to nothingness, and the dust pinch becomes a marble-sized pellet floating, or resting, where it was cast. Whenever this pellet is hurled down, it breaks and releases the same volume of water. 

When the dust is sprinkled over an area (such as with a wave of the arm), it will negate a precipitation or cloudburst spell, or else dry up as much as 1 cubic rod of water. The dust will not affect liquids which are not some form of water (fresh, salt, brackish, alkaline, etc.). 

If the dust is employed against a water elemental or similar creature, the creature must save versus Spell or be destroyed. A successful save still inflicts 6-30 points of damage upon the water-creature. 

A pouch of this dust will contain from 11-20 pinches. 

The contents of the pouch can be sprinkled (to dry up moisture) so long as at least half of the original amount (in pinches) remains. 

If several pinches have been used so that what is left is less than half of what was found, then sprinkling the remainder will have no effect.