The green shard draws Blezzy away from the older entrance and up a narrow slope. Wind has carved the summit into a bare stone platform overlooking the slums.
The gaunt laborer and broad laborer remain below beside the rubble, preparing to clear the old ventilation cut. Blezzy continues alone as the shard’s light points toward the summit.
A smaller projected form of the intelligent dragon waits beside a locked iron coffer. Several empty weighing scales stand in the wind, their brass pans trembling softly.
the intelligent dragon
You have arrived with the routes intact. Place any rare ore you still possess upon the scales, and I will pay immediately according to its worth.
Green light spills from the shard across the scales, then reaches beyond them toward the distant slums. The intelligent dragon’s projection turns, its gaze following the unseen trail.
the intelligent dragon
My ritual requires one final vein. The green-shrouded lantern has identified its presence, but not its exact entrance. It lies somewhere beneath those roofs.
the intelligent dragon
Bring me ore from that vein, and the coffer will hold your payment. The watcher will guide you, but the first choice of path must be yours.
Locate the entrance to the final vein