I brushed a spot of oil on my cheek with the back of my wrist by only managed to spread it out in a long smear. It didn’t break my focus, in fact I was only dimly aware that I had splashed oil on my face as it was. I pushed myself back from the table and looked at my finished work. I had spent four days working on my latest creations and had done little more than eat, sleep and work. It was rare that I’d focus on one thing for so long when I had so many other priorities, but this one was time sensitive. I needed to finish my work, then hop onto a ship for Alerar. If I waited too long I’d get caught in the shifting seasons and the unpredictable weather. The first idea for this particular adventure started two weeks ago when I procured a copy of Rare and Valuable Stones by the dwarven master Eeric Drumsplitter. The name didn't mean much to most people, but I knew him as a famous smith, especially well known among traders and merchants for his work with precious stones. One particular subject stood in his book stood out:
Dragon Amber
Dragon amber is named for its visual similarity with amber with nearly all dragon amber translucent. The amber forms when stones have undergone a high amount of exposure to dragon flames. The magic contained with the flames slowly imbues the stone with its own magical properties.
Typically this will occur within a dragon’s den where the constant close proximity to the dragon allows the stones to absorb many year’s worth of magic. Sometimes dragon amber is found at the sites of great dragon battles where stones have been exposed to continuous breath attacks from the creatures. However, such stones tend to be very more quality.
Dragon amber has many uses. Poor quality stones can me made into jewelry, or used as magical conduits for wands, scepters and staves. High quality amber will generate its own magical energy over time and can be used to perform some magical feats.
The type of dragon flame the stones were exposed to determine their affinity and colour. Green may denote earth or poison for example. In some rare cases stones are exposed to multiple types of dragon magic and the result will be rainbow dragon amber, a mixture of two or more colours. This often occurs at the site of a dragon battle, but the resulting amber quality is too poor to be put to good use. It can also occur if two dragons share a den (rare as that is) or if a dragon takes over anothers den. Because dragon amber will exhibit magic relating to the type of dragon flame they were exposed to, rainbow dragon amber can produce multiple types of magic and is especially valuable.
Typically dragon amber will exhibit offensive magics, such as projectile attacks like fireballs and blasts of frost. Elemental attacks can also take the form of claws and wings. There are some effects which will never be achieved by dragon amber, such as teleportation, transmutation, mind control, curses and hexes, and summoning. Rare effects include illusion, healing and body modification. To perform these sort of magics the amber must come from a rare type of dragon. For example, a white dragon may produce amber capable of healing.
The value of dragon amber varies greatly, potent amber can be broken down into many small portions for magic jewellery such as rings and amulets. A potent dragon amber ring may be able to summon a blast of fire or a few fireballs. They can also be grafted to weapons to add elemental effects. Less potent forms need to form large sections of of the weapon to have any effect. For that reason a pebble of highly potent Rainbow Dragon Amber may sell for hundreds of times the amount a large chunk of less potent, single affinity amber.
The method for valuing dragon amber is three fold. First, the clarity of the amber. The clearer the stone, the more magic it has been exposed to. Second is the colour. A single colour is most common an denotes a single affinity. The primary colours, green, blue and red are all common colours. Purple, yellow and black are examples of less common colours. Very, very rarely more than two colours stones have been found and these are worth far more than single affinity ones. The final check is the size. The bigger the piece, the more it can be broken down into useful chunks. This is the most easiest to judge, but can be the least important.
That got me thinking, if this stone could be used to generate magical items, why hadn't I seen more of it? I did some research and it turns out that the issue was with transporting the stones. In the ground they were earthed and their magic was released into the surrounding stones. When they were taken out and before being refined they were dangerously explosive. You put a few of them together in close proximity and BOOM! For that reason the stones were transported separately, but you can’t make much money if you’re transporting one stone at a time.
I grabbed an oil rag and wiped my cheek and then rubbed the excess oil from my hands. On the table in front of me were the five finished canisters I had worked so hard to complete. Each one was identical, a copper and brass top and bottom with a long cylinder of glass between. Inside the cylinders was a salt-water solution designed to regulate how much magic could be released from dragon amber. The oil that I had managed to get on my face was from the bottom mechanism of the canister. The base earthed the canisters when placed on the ground, but the copper components needed to be submerged in an non-flammable oil to ensure they didn’t overheat. The process of storing and releasing excess magical energy was not new to me. I had been dealing with my own issues for most of my life, and it was years of trial and error that had taught me a number of different methods to manage wayward energies.
The final step was a boring one. I had to travel to the most likely destination to find a dragon den, the Twilight Mountains between Raiera and Alerar. I knew of a few places that had definitely had dragons roosting in the past. An abandoned dragon den should be the perfect place to find some dragon amber. I had already sent word to some contacts to in Alerar that I was looking for abled bodied persons to accompany me… and possibly do the heavy lifting.
* * * *
Three weeks after leaving Radasanth I arrived at the small village at the base of the Twilight Mountains. There were dozens of such villages spread along the base of the mountain range. They ranged from grand, sprawling towns acting as rich trading centres for goods flowing in and out of the dwarven strongholds within the mountains, down to the dilapidated wrecks, etching an existence out of the mountain and yearning for the days past when their town was the centre of activity. The small town of Drachen was somewhere in the middle of the two extremes. It had once been a trade centre, but rather than fall into decay it had managed to strike up its own trade of fruits and vegetables using the rich soil from runoff of melting ice from the mountain range.
Yedda had sent fit to open the sky and bring down a thunderous pouring of rain while I was travelling. An hour into the ride to Drachen the rain had managed to dampen my mood, and an hour after that the last few dregs of excitement had truly drowned. I was sullen and more than a little dejected as my horse clopped through the mud of the flooded road. The buildings in Drachen at least looked well made. Thick slabs of wood, pushed together with craftsmanship somewhere between the elegance of the drow and the practicality of the dwarves. The rain was running down the building’s roofs and cascaded over the edge to create dozens of waterfalls along the edge of the road.
I came up to the Inn I had organised to be the meeting place; the Ambling Dragon. I wasn’t one for omens, but only a fool ignores the Thanyes when they present you with something so relevant. I jumped down from my mount with a splash of mud and water. I was quick to secure both horses in the Inn’s stable and retreat from the rain into the inn proper.
The inside of the inn was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. It was warm, there was a fire and there was food. I’ll be the first to admit that my expectations might have been lowered by the cold and wet journey. I dumped my bags on a bench and signaled for food. I’d organise lodging later, I stripped off my wet traveler's cloak and boots and stood next to the fire to get back some warmth. My red hair had been tied back in a braid, but was soaked through, as were my pants and top. If not for the awkward social issues of a woman stripping off in the middle of an inn I’d have done so right there and then to warm up. For now I’d have to settle for being wet and warm, I’d change later.