When the dragon returned to my side, I could almost feel him gloating. He stood tall, his shoulders back, and that helmet creaked as he turned to stare at me. I could almost hear him say, Now what?
I ground my teeth as I stared at the golden knife at his belt. He may think this was a game, but it was a game I was going to win.
“Fine, show me the way,” I said sourly.
The dragon blade began walking with sure steps. I followed in behind him, staring at the black helm, imagining a giant target painted on the back of it. With every creak of his armor, I imagined taking a giant mallet and striking it like a gong.
As we passed through the halls and the natural light flickered across his armor, I couldn’t help but stare at the workmanship it took to create the pattern within. The faint linework of gold in the scales. I’d first thought it was outlined and painted with gold, but now I wasn’t so sure. I wanted to get a closer look at the blade’s armor because I had a feeling if I could, then I might be able to put together the basic spell. It could lead me to figuring out how they worked. My brain turned its earlier frustration aside, and I formulated unique experiments on spells that I could use to determine their exact makeup.
The bladesman turned and held open a great wooden door. Grudgingly, I stepped into the Gilded Hall and gasped. It was like a giant birdcage made of gold. Windows surrounded the circular room and great iron pillars ran up the sides for support, culminating together in a knot in the ceiling. Two long wooden tables ran the length of the hall and at the far end was a massive stone fireplace.
“What is this place?” I asked in awe. “Why has no one used it?”
The dragon gestured toward a dusty green banner on the wall and the giant golden axe. I looked closer at the table, and that’s when I noticed the height and the width of each of the chairs. The symbolic knots that were prevalent in the decor. Where King Goddrick’s rooms were extravagant to the extreme, this hall was based on form and function.
“This is where the dwarven guilds used to meet,” I guessed. “When there were more dwarves in Ragnar.”
Another nod.
“This is perfect.” It felt right to use the dwarven hall as my workspace.
I spent half the day setting up my tools. The blades left me in relative peace as I assembled what I needed.
I had never tried to create gold from nothing. Philosophers and scholars had spent years trying to use alchemy to create it. None of them were sorcerers. There were seven metals of alchemy, and I was familiar with all of them: gold, silver, mercury, copper, lead, iron, and tin. Gold was the most interesting to me, as it was unaffected by water, air, alkalis, and acids. I knew that transfiguration of metals needed mercury and sulfur. Maybe, if I had everything I needed, I could combine alchemy with my magic and create gold from nothing. But it would take time. That was something I wasn’t sure the king was going to give us.
I had to buy time. I could use the spindle’s magic and possibly create gold, but it was against our code to use our magic for selfish gain, and it would slowly destroy the spindle in the process.
I could create a transfiguration charm and change a singular item. Maybe that would appease the king and give me more time to figure out the blades and the thing deep in the mountain.
It was almost like being back in my workroom at home. I created a spell circle, and instead of the sigils, I used the alchemy symbols.
“Here goes nothing.” I placed my copper coin in the center and watched as the spell circle lit up. It fizzled out, sparked. It was a dud. Smoke came from the coin, and I backed away. It was better to not touch it.
I grinned at my failure. It was all part of the process and why I loved potions and alchemy. You couldn’t rush greatness.
“I need more metals.”
I received odd looks from the palace staff as I walked around, picking up everything that was metal, then closing my eyes to figure out the makeup. Tin, copper, lead, silver. My actions drew in a crowd, and soon Annette was following me around doing the same, then Shannon joined us.
“I have no clue where to start,” Shannon whispered conspiratorially to me. “How do I make gold?”
“You can’t make something from nothing,” I whispered. “You need to have a starting point, and then manipulate the matter and change its physical properties. Which is almost impossible.”
“But can it be done?” she whispered.
I shrugged my shoulders. “Maybe if we had a year, but I don’t think he’s going to give us that long.”
Shannon grabbed my elbow, her blue eyes filled with wonder. “It was you. You’re the one who made gold in Verdan. You know too much. You started this whole mess,” she hissed.
I pulled my elbow out of her grasp. “This mess? You came to the castle. You had the chance to leave on your own, but you stayed. You have no one to blame but yourself for being in this mess.”
“You can help me. I have four brothers. I need to get the reward.”
I shook my head. “Listen to me. You can’t create gold. No one can.”
Shannon’s lip trembled. “You lie. You’re just saying that because you're selfish.” She grabbed her skirt and ran off.
Annette was watching our exchange with narrowed eyes. I ignored her and touched a gold candlestick. My knees went weak, and I stumbled, smacking my hip into the table. It wasn’t just gold. It was cursed.
I took the candlestick with me and headed back to the Gilded Hall. The candle stick wasn’t the only item I pilfered.
Maeve would have been proud of my thievery, as I also snuck in—well, I didn’t sneak, more like walking in—and demanded the silver cup that sang from the kitchen. With a blade on my heel, the kitchen maid practically threw it at my head in her hurry to get us out of her domain.
I had all the metals I needed, and I preceded to run experiments on them. Testing their density, using chemicals to identify their makeup. Taking notes on both.
Food appeared at intervals throughout the day, and I didn’t even notice it. I was so focused on my work. When I tried to leave, the dragon blade stepped in front of me.
“Not now. I would like to go to the library,” I grumbled.
He shook his head.
“I need more information than what is here.”
Again, I was met with a giant black wall as he denied my request. I grabbed my satchel and put it over my head, letting it cross over my body. The dragon blade grabbed my elbow and led me back to my room. As we passed the halls, I saw the sun was setting and knew my free time was over.
“How am I supposed to work if I keep getting locked in every night?” I fumed.
Freya met us by the door to my room and I noticed her key was in hand. She must have already locked the others in.
“Freya, I need to keep working. I feel like I could get further along to solving the problem if I only had more—.”
Freya shook her head. “Hurry, it’s almost time. These are the rules, and you must obey them.”
“But you don’t,” I challenged as I stepped into the room.
“I’m the only one that is guaranteed safety,” she said.
The dragon blade watched the exchange, and his dark helm turned toward me. “Don’t lock me in,” I cried out. “Please.”
He took a step forward as if to stop her, and then he stiffened as though he were in pain. The moon rose in the sky, casting a light in the hall. As it touched him, he recoiled.