>>5344326The Eldest Dwarf is not exactly FRIENDLY after this, but his hard-edged demeanour cracks a little. You see understanding dawn on him that, if he were to stick to his principles and die a defiant death, it would mean torture, mutilation, and terror filling the final moments of every female and child now in his protection. He is short—rhetorically as physically—and perfunctory, and you sense shame in him…
>19But he tells you what you want to know.
There are a dozen more company-towns scattered throughout the Bloodrise, belonging to one of four corporate sovereignties. Each of them is dedicated primarily to the mining of orichalcum, with the gems or other metals varying beneath each fort and of secondary importance.
“The land holding itself is most important of all,” he tells you gruffly. “We… Hoped to expand, to make a place for our families, where we could live, grow, trade…”
He stares at you, hate in his eyes.
“And then we attacked,” you acknowledge. “Yesss… It musst sseem a terrible thing. But thiss wass our land, firsst.”
“You aren’t dragons!” he shouts, losing himself in a fit of trembling rage for a moment. “The dragons are all dead, lizard! You have no right to—"
“We are their heirsss,” you answer calmly. “Tell me, why do you covet thisss orichalcum sso greatly? I underssatnd that it sstores and channels magic readily, but… What usesss did you mean to put it toward? Sssimply the creation of weaponsss?”
The Eldest Dwarf calms himself somewhat, though his voice ye quakes with repressed rage for a time.
“Orichalcum is not merely useful for making weapons,” he answers. “It can be used as a sort of… Reservoir. A sink, into which magic can be poured, stored, and then drawn upon as needed. A structure with orichalcum struts, and filled with magic, is practically a living thing. It can be enchanted with a single defensive spell, and armorued with magical protection as easily as a dwarf can cast a spell of protection upon himself. A mechanism made with orichalcum gears and plating can be enchanted as if its entire body was a single weapon. And more than that… It can be cooled, heated… Electrified. The great dwarven technologist Ondael Blazingbeard realized what this meant: lighting, heating, cooling, all with such simple spellcraft an elven whelp could run a castle on his farts.”
You stare blankly for a while, not really understanding.
“Lizard, are you slow?” he asks, impetuously. “I’m talking about—”
