Goldfire had been monopolized by the Brass Dwarves. This strategic resource, with its "universal properties," had brought those short-tempered dwarves enormous profits. It was also the reason they could afford to build an unparalleled fortress like Brass Fortress.
But when people across the continent talked about the huge profits from Goldfire, they often overlooked a crucial part of this wealth's story: the halflings!
In fact, it was halfling engineers who first discovered Goldfire's strange properties. Their steam engineering only experienced a "super boom" after they began using Goldfire as an additive and catalyst.
Before that, halfling engineering had amounted to little more than "cool, mysterious, and fun, but nobody cares" toys. But once Goldfire demonstrated its power, the arrival of everything from steam trains and airships to hunting crossbows and Goldfire ammunition sent steam engineering rocketing from the bottom of the rankings straight to T0.
You could say the Brass Dwarves made money from Goldfire, but this miraculous mineral was the foundation of halfling civilization's rise.
Given the engineering skill Sulk Flywheel had displayed, it would have been laughable to suggest the warlord had no idea what Goldfire was worth. The moment Murphy produced the sample ore, the engineering master, who had just been furiously shouting "Show them out!" changed his tune in an instant.
He had no doubt that Murphy had good reason to show him the stuff.
Ordinary people didn't even know what Goldfire ore was. It was the Brass Dwarves' lifeblood. The Silver Dwarf architect Illich had said that his people had gone to great lengths to protect this secret, and wouldn't even hesitate to fall into depravity for it.
It seemed that the saying "wealth moves the heart" held true in another world, too.
"Look at this beautiful cluster of energy crystals, embedded in the rock