Speculation and discovery

"Veronica Alsop Silverbeard."

Dago murmured the name, lost in thought.

His voice echoed through the empty ruins, carrying an almost imperceptible metallic quality.

The pad of his finger slowly brushed over the nameplate embedded in the goat's neck. It felt cold and rough beneath his fingertips, as though he were touching a scab formed by the passage of time.

This was more than a designation. It was a chain leading back to ancient history and secrets.

It was clearly a dwarf's name, while "Bronte Shorttail III," which had appeared earlier on the nameplate, presumably referred to the Grey Goat he currently held by the scruff.

So this metal Grey Goat was the pet of a female dwarf named Veronica?

Dago's gaze roamed over the metal construct, sharp as a scalpel.

In a wizard's eyes, there were no mere coincidences, only cause and effect that had yet to be deciphered.

He began rapidly searching the memory palace in his mind. Yellowed parchment scrolls and dry histories of various races churned through his mental sea.

Dago had read some literature on dwarf civilization.

Dwarves were an exceptionally rugged race, naturally strong and skilled at forging. Almost every one of them was a born master craftsman.

They were the favored children of earth and magma. Their muscle fibers were three times as dense as those of humans, and rare metallic elements accumulated in their bones, giving them the means to survive deep underground.

For this race, forging was not merely a craft. It was an extension of life itself, a physical means of altering the rules of the world.

Among dwarves, the vast majority took surnames from their forging tools, such as "Steelhammer," "Copperfurnace," or "Silverwhetstone."

These surnames were not only family emblems, but also the medium through which they interacted with the