They continued to discuss their plans and what they would need if they were to travel to the Academy for the remainder of the morning, until a large hand dropped heavily on Chance’s shoulder. With a startled yelp Chance attempted to jump out of the chair but his Dad’s hand held him firmly. Laughing, his Dad asked, “You two about ready for lunch? Then we can discuss the rest of the conversation from last night and what you have learned this morning.”

Chance rose and started towards the table when Alyssia once again launched herself off of his shoulder. This time she did not panic once she got comfortably into the air, but gently glided all the way to the table. Then right before she was to land she began flapping her wings gently and raised the front of her body up, she touched down gently on her hind legs first and then her front legs followed. She had executed a perfect landing. Chance and his parents clapped their hands and cheered the little dragon excitedly. Alyssia folded her wings and then walked with grace and dignity to her spot at the table, as if to say that nothing less was expected from her. Chance though could feel her brimming with pride and he did not fail to notice that she enjoyed the praise.

Well done Little One. That was beautiful. Chance took the time to offer her additional praise.

You really think so? I could feel how I was to do it from my memories. It is like I have always flown. I just lost focus this morning. That was so embarrassing. Thank you for not laughing. Alyssia said self-consciously.

After they had eaten lunch they all moved back to the main room. Chance’s mom began closing the shutters and pulling the curtains across the windows and his dad barred both the front and back door. Chance just stood there with Alyssia on his shoulder quietly wondering what his parents were doing. Once they were all back in the same room, his dad moved to the large family heirloom chest that sat in the corner of the room. The chest was a large steel chest with multiple padlocks and even a few internal locks built into it. It was an incredibly heavy piece of furniture.

“Pay close attention son. You will need to remember this. Also please remember all of the precautions your mother and I have taken just now before we made a move to show you this.” His dad said somberly. His dad placed his hand on the closest hinge on the back of the chest. “It is the bottom screw on the closest hinge. Push it in and then pull by the handle on this end.” After saying that his dad grasped the handle and pulled the chest slowly across the floor with little to no effort what so ever.

“Dad, how are you doing that? That chest must weigh near to fifty stones.” Chance questioned.

Smiling his dad pointed out the little metal tracks that were visible in the floor back where the chest had been. “The button releases the lock pins that hold the chest in place. Once they are released the chest is designed to roll down the small metal grooves between the floorboards.” His dad told him.

Then for the first time Chance noticed the hatch that had previously been hidden under the chest. He was stunned. How long has that been there? he wondered. He was broken from his reverie by his father handing him an unlit torch. “We will light these once we are in the tunnel. Your mother will stay behind and move the chest back and conceal the tracks again.” His dad said and then turned to his wife, “We will be back shortly dear. I love you.”

“I love you too. You two have fun.” She laughed and gave her husband a playful shove.

They opened the hatch and descended the stairs under it and after the hatch was closed and the chest had been returned to its place his dad lit both of their torches with his firestarter and headed down the tunnel. His dad would not answer any questions and seemed to be lost in his own thoughts. Chance took the opportunity to use his heightened senses and looked at the walls and floor. Both were made of fitted stones and from what little he knew of stonework the work looked to be incredibly well done and based on the wear on the stone it was also really old. He could also tell that they were descending.

Where are we going Chance? Alyssia asked.

I am not sure Little One. This is all new to me as well. He responded.

After walking for about ten minutes the tunnel ended in a large arched opening. As they entered into the room beyond Chance could make out in the torch light what seemed to be a smithy but it was a much nicer smithy than the one that was back at the house.

His dad walked around lighting torches and opening the vent hoods. Then he turned to face Chance and spread his arms out wide, “This is the family forge. It has been in our family for around twenty generations. The first human smith in our family was a Dwarvenfrund, or Friend of the Dwarves. It was he who was taught the secret of Dwarven Steel as a reward for saving the life of their King. The secret was given on the condition that it only be shared with the oldest male child of the family that is gifted enough to learn to craft it. Our family has been fortunate to be able to pass it on for twenty generations. I have taught Horace the secret and he has agreed to take up the legacy when his time comes and teach it to his son. This though is a perfect place for our discussion.”

His dad paused for a moment to let it sink in. “Now let me share something else with you. You know that you were fostered to us. There is more though, one night thirteen years ago we were settled in for the night, Horace had been put to bed and your mother and I were sitting and talking in front of the fire when there was a gentle tap from the chest. Moving the chest aside and opening the hatch we found a Dwarven Royal Guardsman and Brother Joshua along with a young boy. They had come knowing I was Dwarvenfrund and that I was to be trusted seeking a place for the young boy. They said he was in danger where he was and that they needed a place for him to live until such a time as he could go home. Of course your mother and I accepted. We could have no more children ourselves and he had quickly attached himself to your mother’s heart. So we took him in as our own son and have raised him ever since. We love him with all our hearts.”

Chance had never heard this story and his heart started to break and tears were forming in his eyes. He had been grateful to his Mom and Dad when he learned that he had been fostered to them several years ago. Now to hear that he had been brought to him because of some danger that he was in and that they accepted him in spite of that danger. His heart felt full to breaking.

I am here Chance. I love you. Alyssia said comfortingly.

I love you too Little One.

“You are our son Chance. We love you and you will always be our son.” Harold watched the emotions run their course through the young man. He had seen the shock that was there fade into what could only be described as a sense of belonging.

“Now to let you in on a secret and the reason we are down here talking about all of this instead of up at the house.” His dad continued. “When you apprenticed with me I doubted that you would ever be able to learn to make Dwarven Steel and thereby continue the legacy through you if something were to happen to Horace. That is because to create Dwarven Steel you have to be able use Ard.”

“Wait, what?” Chance responded. As his father’s words sunk in he realized, “You can use Ard? And Horace too?”

Laughing Harold responded, “Yes I can use Ard. It is not enough to make a bond but it is enough to make Dwarven Steel and yes Horace can too. This is a secret that is to remain in the family and not to be shared outside of this room. Your mother knows and Horace as well, and now you. Other than that no human alive knows about that part of crafting Dwarven steel. Now let us head back up so your mom can join our conversation.”

Chance’s head was swimming with the information he had just learned. It was difficult to take in. His mother and father had accepted him in spite of possible danger to them and Horace, and his father and brother could use Ard. All of this on top of the changes from yesterday were difficult for him to take in, so he walked quietly beside his father as they returned to the ladder.

Once they got the ladder, his father showed him a small lever set to one side. “If you work this lever in the following pattern it will perform an identical knocking pattern on the wall by the back door to the house. There is a set of pulleys and ropes that are connected between here and there hidden in the walls and ground that works a small mallet hidden inside the coat closet by the back door. It will signal the person inside the house to move the chest and also prevents us from coming up into a room full of unexpected guests.” His father worked the lever twice, paused, and then pulled it three times quickly.

As his dad finished, the chest moved away, the hatch opened, and Chance’s mom smiled down at them. Chance took the stairs two at a time and once out of the tunnel scooped his mom up in a big hug. “I love you,” he whispered gently.

“I love you too.” She responded hugging him tightly.

They moved to the chairs by the fireplace and Chance began to explain to his parents the information he had discovered from the scroll and what all of the equipment and jewelry that he had received the previous day did. His mother and father questioned him about some of the items and he showed them some of the items stored in the pouch and then he made sure to return them back to it for safe keeping.

“I would love to take a look at the dragon dagger if I can. The opportunity to see a new material and take some notes would be nice. It sounds though with you having to go to the Ard Academy that you will be leaving us soon. I can’t say I was expecting you to stay forever but I know your mother and I were not expecting you to leave this soon. Before you go if you would like I can show you some exercises to help you learn to control your Ard, focus your mind, and maybe a few incantations. They are ones that the family has passed down from generation to generation to help in making Dwarven Steel. I will also need to finish up a few final things before you go as well. I will also need your help in the forge to make sure we fill the existing orders by the deadlines, alright?”

“Alright. I was thinking it would be a week or two at least before I would leave. The lessons sound great Dad and of course you can inspect the dragon dagger. When would you like to do it?” Chance asked.

“Well we will need to be downstairs. So how about after supper?” His father suggested.

“Sounds good.” Chance agreed.

“Why don’t you two go wash up and come to the table and I will go set out supper?” Janice offered as she headed toward the kitchen.

“That sounds even better.” Chance said smiling ear to ear. “Don’t you agree Alyssia?”

Definitely, ask your mom if there will be bacon? Alyssia responded and Chance could feel her hunger through their bond.

Laughing Chance asked his mom, “Alyssia wants to know if there will be bacon?”

“No, no bacon for supper but we do have some smoked ham and a few leftover pieces of chicken from lunch. Sounds like I will need to speak to the butcher and increase the amount of bacon I keep on hand. I cooked up the rest of what I had this morning.” She responded.

Chance and his dad walked to their rooms and wash clean up the dirt from their afternoon in the tunnel. Chance poured a fresh bowl after washing up to allow Alyssia to take a swim and get cleaned up too. Then laid out a towel for her to climb out of the bowl onto so that she could roll and dry off. Then scooped her up and headed to the kitchen to eat.

After supper Chance went to his room and grabbed a few things and then headed back to the living room to join his father and mother. They had already sealed up the house and had the chest pulled aside waiting on him.

“Ready son?” Harold asked.

“Yes sir.” Chance responded. He hugged his mom and then headed down the ladder with Alyssia sitting comfortably on his shoulder.

“You two have fun and don’t stay down there too long. Chance still has evening chores to do.” Chance’s mom reminded them.

“Ok Dear.”

Yes, Mom.

“Yes Mom for me and Alyssia.” Chance responded. I don’t think she heard you Little One.

I know that. I knew you would let her know though. He could feel the self-satisfaction flowing through their bond.

Chance and his father walked down the tunnel to the forge in companionable silence, both lost in thought.

Once they reached the forge area Harold walked over to an unlit torch holder on the wall. Placing the torch, he had carried with them in it, he pushed the holder into the wall. Chance could see the muscles on his arm bulge and strain. Slowly the holder sank in about a quarter of a span then he twisted it to the left. Chance watched in awe as a section of the wall next to the holder sunk in and slowly swung inward.

Laughing his Dad asked, “Dwarven ingenuity is something isn’t it Chance? This was all built by them for our ancestor all those generations ago as a concession to teaching a non-human how to craft Dwarven Steel. Our forging it in secret and never above ground was the condition they required.”

“This is where we develop and practice incantations to be used at the forge.” Harold explained as he pushed open the door and walked into the room beyond. “The floor and walls have been engraved with runes of protection and enhancement. They will provide a shield in case the incantation becomes destructive and can also be used to strengthen incantations if the user is not strong enough to use the incantation needed. There are also runes of enhancement that are used to assist in forging Dwarven Steel. These I will show you later. Suffice it to say that you will need to learn them at some point. I know that some of the runes we use are Dwarven in origin, some are from Mages, some are Elven, and some were created by our family. We also have some incantations that are from all of those sources. To examine your dragon dagger, I will be using an advanced incantation that I will need the enhancement circle to cast. It is a family specific incantation. This means I can share it with you and you can pass it on to your son but it must never be passed on to anyone else outside of this family. I will work on transcribing our family book of incantations for you. Most you should not use until you have more experience. Most of them are related to metal and forging but you never know when you will find them useful.”

I can feel the power in this room Chance.

Me too. Chance responded

The room was circular and about six spans across. Embedded in the walls were golden characters that seemed to glow to Chance. There were also two smaller circles of the characters that each took up about one third of the width of the room.

“That one over there is the one to enhance the strength of the incantation and this one here will add additional protection to that already built into the walls. The family history books state that it was used in developing incantations as it provides shielding and can be used to cut off the use of Ard to anything in the circle. From the notes a majority of this circle came from the Mages.”

“Amazing Dad, all this time this was here and you knew about Ard and I never knew.” Chance remarked as he stood staring at the room in awe.

Smiling and patting Chance on the shoulder, “That is about the same reaction Horace had and a much more subdued one than I had when my father showed it to me. Now, if it is ok I would like to take a look at dragon dagger.”

Chance pulled the dagger from the sheath and handed it to his father.

Harold stepped into the enhancement circle and sat down in the center placing cross-legged and placed the dagger on a rune in front of him that was separate from the circle. “Can you close the door Chance? The protection circle on the walls won’t activate until it is closed.”

As soon as Chance closed the door he could feel an increase in the flow of Ard in the room. It felt like all the hairs on his body were slowly starting to stand on end. He turned and looked at his father. He could see what looked to be little sparks of lightning tracking up and down his father’s arms and then flowing from his hands, which were extended over the dagger and appeared to be going into the dagger itself. The flows gradually increased until the dagger itself began to glow a faint green that grew brighter the stronger the flow into the dagger became. The flow finally ceased increasing and held steady at a deep emerald green. Then suddenly the flow ceased and the sparks ceased and his father inhaled deeply. “Goodness! That is one complex metal. I thought Dwarven Steel had a difficult pattern.” He stated as he extended his arms behind him and leaned back supporting his weight on his palm.

“So did you figure out what it is?” Chance asked excitedly.

“No.” His father shook his head. “I can tell what some of the components are but there are some that I have no clue about.”

“You look tired, but would you be able to examine two more items? Alyssia says they are important but is unsure why.”

“Let me get a drink of water and I should be able to do that. Do you have them with you?” His father asked.

“Yes, I am keeping them in the pouch.” Chance responded as he thought of the keyword and incantation to draw forth the items and reached into the pouch. He instantly felt the small sack he had placed them into and pulled it out of the pouch.

Chance handed his father the small sack containing Alyssia’s egg and her dam’s skeleton. “Here dad, take a look at these. They look and feel like metal but I am not sure if they are or not. The bag holds the remains of Alyssia’s egg and the skeleton of her dam.”

Harold sheathed the dagger and placed it outside the circle behind him. Then he carefully took the remains of the egg out and placed it where the dagger had been and then carefully set the sack outside the circle. Resuming his sitting position and extending his hands out of the egg, he closed his eyes and focused. Once again the sparks appeared and the flow began. Only this time instead of the item glowing green it appeared as a pale blue that gradually grew brighter. The flow ceased and Harold nodded as Chance handed him a cup of water from a small spring fed pool that was on the side of the room opposite the door.

“So different materials glow different colors?” Chance asked.

“Huh? Glow? I have never seen them glow.” Harold said. “The incantation allows me to feel the material and sense its composition. It stores it in my mind so that if I ever examine something else with this material in it I will be able to tell that it is there. I can’t tell how much of it is there just that it is part of the composition. For instance, I can feel that your dagger has some Dwarven Steel in it.”

“Ok. That is strange. When you were using the incantation I could see sparks jumping and flowing down your arms and into the dagger and the egg. The dagger glowed a deep emerald green and the egg, a pale blue.” Chance explained.

Harold moved the egg back to the sack and took out a portion of the skeleton and laid it where the egg and the dagger had been. Then proceeded to cast the incantation a third time. Chance saw the same thing only this time the glow was a deeper blue in color.

“The egg and skeleton are similar materials and yet both are uniquely different. I wonder something. I am going to examine the dragon dagger again in light of these two new materials I have learned.”

Harold once again placed the dagger on the rune and sat down again after placing the portion of the skeleton back into the sack. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and repeated the incantation for a fourth time. Again Chance saw the same results as the first time. Once the glow faded and his Dad opened his eyes, he exclaimed, “I knew it!”

“What?” Chance asked. “Did you figure it out?”

Grinning his dad sheathed the dagger and handed it back to him. He then returned to the circle and placed his own dagger on the rune. “Tell me what you see when I do this. Alright?”

Nodding Chance watched his father repeat the incantation for a fifth time. This time the glow from the dagger was a bright yellow. His father stopped the incantation and leaned back again. A big grin spread across his face.

“What can you tell me about what you just saw?” he asked.

Puzzled, Chance answered, “I have no clue, Dad.”

I think I know Chance. What two colors when combined make green? Alyssia chimed in.

Blue and yellow…wait. Are you telling me that my dagger is made from part dragon and part Dwarven Steel? Chance asked excitedly. Then realizing he had not answered his father. “Are you thinking that the dragon dagger is a blend of Dwarven Steel and dragon eggshell or skeleton?”

“Exactly!” Harold exclaimed.” I don’t know the quantities of each but I know that it contains some of all three of them.”

“But Dad, doesn’t Dwarven Steel require silver scalite to make? I think that the scalite might actually be the scales of a demi-dragon.” Chance asked.

“You are right about the requirement, Chance.” Horace responded. “Let me think on the connections between the Dwarven steel and what appears to be a large tie to dragons. I never thought about what scalite actually was, but looking at Alyssia and remembering the silver scalite I have used it does look like it could be true.”