Chapter 107 — Materials from Other Worlds

The first pulse changed Arlan's problem from whether the egg could respond to whether he could keep it alive long enough to hatch. That demanded supplies FireStorm did not possess in abundance and, more importantly, secrecy while obtaining them.

Gloin's records described a mixture applied sparingly during the nourishment stage. Rendered animal fat served as the carrier, volcanic mineral kept the shell warm, and powdered dragon bone appeared in several traditions as a source of minerals associated with growing drakes. The proportions differed so widely that Arlan refused to copy any single formula blindly.

He asked Gloin for the records behind the recipes rather than the recipes themselves.

Arlan Ashenblade: Which mixtures were actually used on viable eggs?

Gloin Ironfoot: You have learned the dangerous habit of asking for evidence.

Arlan Ashenblade: You may blame the egg for being expensive.

The dwarf eventually sent a shorter set of notes in exchange for two cases of FireStorm glass. Arlan compared them against the larger books and reduced the treatment to the least aggressive mixture he could justify.

Rendered sheep fat was easy. Volcanic powder could be scraped from the same stone already forming the heat bed. Dragon bone remained the rare ingredient, and Arlan had no intention of wasting it simply because an old manuscript described generous handfuls.

He prepared three test batches with different concentrations and applied none of them to the egg at first; instead, he spread each mixture across fragments of similar mineral shell supplied by Gloin. One mixture dried too quickly and flaked. Another remained greasy enough to trap soot. The weakest mixture absorbed into the porous surface without obvious damage and held warmth slightly longer than untreated shell.

That became his starting point. The Group made the work possible, but Arlan refused to let convenience become dependence. Every imported material received a mundane substitute test where one existed. If FireStorm ever lost access to Gloin, the incubation process could not collapse simply because one jar failed to arrive from another world.

The same caution applied to the chamber itself: dwarven volcanic stone was superior to local rock, but the craftsmen at Blackstone Creek experimented with dark basalt from the surrounding hills and found two veins that retained heat reasonably well. It was not as efficient, yet it meant future maintenance would not require a trade across planes.

The chapter was reproduced without the author's permission from the page used to publish it; that official page supports the writer.

Arlan ordered those local deposits marked and left untouched for now. Only then did he begin the nourishment treatment, warming the prepared mixture until it softened, then using a cloth to spread a thin layer along the crimson seams without covering the entire shell. The egg reacted with a faint pulse through Vaelora's ring, followed by a gradual increase in internal warmth.

There was no smoke, cracking, or sudden brightening, so Arlan recorded the result and left the chamber unchanged for the rest of the night. Over the next several days, the pattern repeated. Blood awakening at fixed intervals. Stable warmth from the stone bed. A minimal amount of the nourishment mixture after the shell had been examined for damage.

The crimson seams became easier to see in dim light, and the internal pulse became regular enough that Arlan finally allowed himself to call it a heartbeat. Not every visit produced progress. Twice the egg remained almost completely still, and on one cold morning the chamber temperature had fallen after a vent stone shifted. Arlan corrected the airflow, waited another day, and resisted the urge to compensate with more heat.

The records warned that abrupt changes were more dangerous than temporary stagnation, and he believed them. Rodrick noticed his absences, naturally. One evening the former Citadel man waited in the study after the household had eaten. He adjusted his spectacles while Arlan removed mud from his boots.

"You have developed a remarkable interest in the mine after dark," Rodrick said.

"The dwarves are working on something delicate."

"That answer contains enough truth to be insulting rather than reassuring."

Arlan looked at him. Rodrick raised both hands. "I am not asking for the secret. I am asking whether whatever it is can kill the village if the chamber collapses."

"No."

"Can it poison the water?" Rodrick pressed.

"No."

"Can it explode?"

Arlan considered that. "Not if everyone follows instructions."

Rodrick closed his eyes for a moment. "I regret asking that third question."

Arlan almost smiled. "Cade has the outer guard. No one enters the branch without me."

"Then I will continue pretending your nightly mine inspections are an eccentricity of lordship."

The exchange mattered more than the humor suggested, because secrecy worked best when trusted men knew enough to prevent accidents without knowing enough to betray the secret under pressure. By the end of the second week, the egg's response to Arlan's blood had nearly doubled in duration. The shell remained intact, but warmth now persisted even after the chamber cooled slightly during maintenance.

Gloin's texts marked that as the transition point between simple awakening and sustained nourishment. Arlan did not celebrate; he wrote another line in the ciphered ledger, checked the locks, and ordered the eight-man mine rotation renewed for another month. The creature inside Vaelora's egg was no longer merely sleeping; it was waiting.