Spectral Regalia

Ch 64: Joyful Discovery

Eitri was currently frowning as he and Avrin were making their way inside a mine the dwarf had rights to. Avrin, who was walking behind him, pushed a mine cart across some old rusting rails and had a somewhat annoyed look "Master, I apologize. I didn't know imbuing my energy with an ingot would cause your furnace to explode..."

Eitri, who knelt down to examine some rocks on the floor, replied "Ahh it's not that. That was my fault for rushing things. I'm disappointed because it didn't work. Also, stop calling me master. I'm only 39 years old dammit! I'm still young"

Avrin shook his head in response to Eitri's words. He whispered softly "Young with a beard longer than that of a 70 year old..." Eitri heard Avrin's faint whisper but thought nothing of it. "Come, look closer. Here, this is a good spot."

Avrin walked beside him, gazing at the wall face of the mine that stood only a couple meters high. "It doesn't look special. But I'm sure a dwarf blacksmith has some tricks?" Avrin spoke, not doubting this being's expertise. "I do. You see it's common knowledge among us dwarfs that we are the best crafters when it comes to anything related to earthen material. We are born with an innate sense that becomes stronger the more we use it. "

Ooo... Avrin was somewhat interested. He had only thought that dwarfs were just good at their trades, but to have an ability to make obtaining minerals easier seemed to make more sense. "-I'm learning quite a bit. I'm sure when I meet up with Gregson I'll have learned quite a bit. That will prove valuable-"

Eitri pulled out a long black rod before pressing a button like feature on the side. "Swish!" A sound echoed before two large flat blades extended to shape a pickaxe, only showing how amazing dwarven craftsmanship was.

Without waiting, Eitri began to mine against the wall while Avrin gazed. "The ore I'm after is Earth Silver. It's silver that has a copper color, but you can see lines of energy like veins going across it. It's pretty rare, but from what I know this is the only mine that has it. So don't just stand there, get digging! Use one of the pickaxes in the cart"

"-Such a boring task-" Avrin thought to himself. This dwarf clearly was young with his mindset. But Avrin didn't argue and took a pickaxe out before he hit it downwards towards the rocky wall. "Crack!" The hilt of the pickaxe broke, and the wall face shook before a portion of the wall crumbled down.

"Whoa! By Fafnir's fire... That's some hand you got there boy "Eitri chuckled as he began to go through the debris "Where is it... I'm sure I sensed it..." Avrin also looked around. He didn't show much excitement at the small event he had caused. He knew the pickaxe wouldn't be able to handle his strength.

"Bingo!" Eitri pulled out a large clump of earth silver that had streams of slightly brown energy coursing through it. "This one's a beauty. Around 25 kilos, ho ho! What a find. This would fetch around 600 gold if we sold it. Maybe 700. But that's not what we need it for"

Avrin looked around "What is it that you need it for? After the furnace exploded, you told me to quickly prepare to head to this mine..." Eitri placed the ore in a large sack that was glowing blue. Most likely an enchanted sack of high quality meant for ores.

"We need a stronger furnace. When you were imbuing your energy into the iron, it wasn't that it wasn't incompatible; it was because the energy was too much for the furnace to contain. Think of it as pouring water in a filter. When you pour a thicker substance and a faster rate, not only will the filter not be able to filter it, but it will overburden it as well"

Avrin figured as much After his explanation. dark matter was a very mysterious thing. Humanity for thousands of years was only able to grasp basic uses for it such as lighting, energy and weaponry when its potential was much more significant.