"Treasure Hunting"

The autumn rain had fallen without cease for three days, and only today did the skies brighten slightly. Countless golden threads of sunlight streamed through gaps in the clouds, bathing the valley in brilliant light.

Ferrum laid his neck flat against the ground and opened his jaws as wide as he could, exposing rows of scimitar-like fangs.

On the other side of those fangs was Moqi's head. He was peering inside, inspecting Ferrum's teeth one by one.

"As expected of someone named Solaxus. Your recovery speed is extraordinary. The wounds in your mouth have basically vanished; only some of your teeth still have flaws and cracks."

As Moqi spoke, he lightly flicked one of his clawed toes inside. It struck a fang with a ding. "Does it hurt?"

Ferrum bared his teeth, rose to his feet, and shook his head. "What do you think?"

"Hey, I know you wanted to show off in front of the Nurturer, but that kind of training was meant for Iron Dragons. It's really difficult for the likes of us."

Moqi spoke leisurely. "The sight of your mouth full of blood that day even scared me."

"Really?"

Ferrum did not seem to care. "But you went three days without eating, and you still look pretty lively."

"The Nurturer said there would be no blood food for three days. She never said we weren't allowed to find food ourselves."

Moqi was full of energy, showing none of the effects of punishment. "My skill at catching fish and crabs is something no other Dragon Hatchling can match. In mortal terms, it's called 'effortless.' As long as I dive into a river or stream, I can fill my belly whenever I want. Heh heh."

By the end, he could not help sounding smug.

"Still, fish and shrimp only taste fresh at first. Eat them too many times, and they start feeling like they lack richness."

As if worried Ferrum would immediately send him out to catch fish, Moqi hurriedly added, "The red meat the Nurturer gives us still tastes better."

"Blood food definitely tastes better."

Ferrum nodded. "That was Kodo Beast meat, specially supplied by the Nurturer for Dragon Hatchlings. It comes from the great ranches of the Steelspine Plains, not something you can find everywhere. Gray Dwarves and Kobolds might never eat the meat of such large beasts of burden in their entire lives. All they have is barley mash, dried beans, and salted fish."

"The Nurturer treats us quite well. Even though she's an Iron Dragon, she fulfills every fantasy I have of a mother."

As Moqi spoke, he searched through the gaps between the bony spikes beneath his neck, then held out his claw to Ferrum. "Want some?"

"What?"

"Tobacco leaves."

Moqi stuffed a handful into his mouth and mumbled, "I only got them a few days ago. You can keep chewing them in your mouth. The juice is a little bitter, but after chewing for a while, it has a different kind of flavor. They smell pretty good too. I heard mortals use this stuff to dull pain. Your teeth are damaged, so do you want to try some?"

Ferrum picked up two leaves and chewed them a few times, then glanced at him. "You stole those from a Gray Dwarf drying shed, didn't you?"

"No. It's stuff from our own clan. How can that be called stealing?"

Moqi sounded utterly righteous. "I just took it when nobody was around."

"After these leaves are dried, they still need to be dampened and fermented before they can be strung together into tobacco. Once they're made, the Great Dragons trade them to merchants for gold coins."

Ferrum was a little helpless. "You're stealing them to eat now. If the Nurturer finds out, you'll be hung up and beaten again."

Moqi gave an awkward laugh. He was clearly afraid, yet he kept chewing and muttered, "If you don't say anything and I don't say anything, who'll know?"

Ferrum was not exaggerating when he mentioned punishment. The Nurturer truly would tie offending Dragon Hatchlings to chains and whip them endlessly with magic vines, over and over, throughout the entire night.

In short, she would hang them up and beat them.

Valyria looked stern, but she was not actually overbearing or vicious, nor did she like resorting to violence at every turn. It was simply that the Dragon Hatchlings sometimes went too far.

When those offenses were listed out, even Ferrum could not help shaking his head.

Extorting Kobolds, sneaking into mines to steal, poaching livestock, trampling wheat fields and tobacco plots, deliberately wrecking the homes of retainers, and so on. Some especially wicked Nickel Dragons even wanted to attack Gray Dwarves and eat them.

When Dragon Hatchlings like that were hung from iron chains, not a single lash was undeserved.

Even Ferrum himself, though he seemed well-behaved, had been caught and beaten once.

He had just hatched at the time and was curious about everything around him. One sunny afternoon, he had wandered about aimlessly until he left the bounds of Ochre Valley and ran into the clan troops stationed outside.

The Gnoll soldiers had no way to deal with a Dragon Hatchling, so they could only respectfully escort him back.

"Why are troops stationed to guard a clan heartland like Ochre Valley?" Ferrum had wondered then, but he had not thought further about it.

Leaving the valley without permission was naturally forbidden, and the consequences had not been pleasant.

Still, in Ferrum's view, the Nurturer was fairly gentle toward Heavy-Metal Dragons and Lesser Dragons like them. Some Lesser Dragons made minor mistakes due to their ignorance, and the Nurturer would forgive them, often sparing them punishment.

But with Iron Dragons, it was an entirely different matter.

Valyria was especially strict with Iron Dragons. Whenever she punished them, her magic whip nearly solidified into physical form, and she struck them far harder than she did other dragons. Not a single observing Dragon Hatchling was unafraid.

Those Iron Dragon young, however, sometimes had their viciousness beaten out of them. Rather than yielding, they would crane their necks and stubbornly endure it. Even covered in wounds, they would grit their teeth in fury. It was quite a sight.

"Come to think of it, what exactly are we playing today?" Moqi asked again after a while.

"I feel like the Nurturer's training three days ago had some effect, but I'm worried that might just be an illusion. So I wanted you to help me find some more ore and use it to confirm it," Ferrum said.

"You're terrifying," Moqi remarked.

Though he said that, Moqi readily agreed. He had nothing else to do anyway, and he was happy to follow Ferrum on a treasure hunt.

Ochre Valley had always contained plenty of exposed mineral rock. Its iron content was not high, so the Gray Dwarves had not specifically mined it.

But to Dragon Hatchlings who possessed nothing, it was still a form of wealth. Whenever they saw it, they would dig it out directly. Some Dragon Hatchlings had even searched the area several times for it, using it as currency among young dragons.

After several months, mineral rock in the wild had become quite scarce. Ferrum would likely have to put in some effort to find any.

The two Chrome Dragons walked through the mountains, relying on the Heavy-Metal Dragons' innate affinity for metal. After wandering around for nearly an hour, they finally found their target behind a rock wall.

The rock wall had cracked after long weathering, revealing the outline of iron ore within its fissures.

The Chrome Dragons immediately crouched down and clawed at it. They were lucky: most of the mineral rock was brittle, and with only a light break, several chunks the size of dragon claws fell free.

Moqi was thrilled that they had accomplished their goal so easily, and Ferrum was pleased as well. He continued digging deeper.

"Buji, buji."

Tiny sounds came from within the crack.

"Huh?"

Moqi froze for a moment, then shoved his head inside, trying to squeeze in for a look. "Are there Mushroom People in here too? It must be because of the rain these past couple of days. They probably came up to collect moisture."

"What Mushroom People?" Ferrum asked in confusion.

"They're tiny things. A few playmates and I caught some near Bay Lake before. They were really interesting, but without a fungal nest, they died after being kept for a while. What a shame."

Moqi stuffed half his body into the rock fissure. As he scooped around with his claws, he explained to Ferrum.

Mushroom People were small fungal creatures that lived in mineral veins. They were only as large as a mortal's palm, with short arms and legs and eyes as tiny as black dots, yet they bore broad, hard mushroom caps and possessed a degree of intelligence.

They liked damp mine tunnels rich in life energy. After rain or during tremors in the earth's veins, they would occasionally appear on the surface.

"Buji."

As Moqi searched, the frightened Mushroom People swiftly scattered, slipping into finer cracks deeper within the rock wall.

Those were places dragons could not reach.

"They got away," Ferrum said.

"Yeah."

Moqi withdrew his claw, but he was not discouraged. "Don't worry. I have another way."

He pulled Ferrum back as if they were leaving.

After waiting quietly for a while, Moqi crept back, lay beside the crack, hid behind the cover, worked his throat, and softly began to imitate the sound.

"Buji, buji, buji."

Moqi made the same sounds as the Mushroom People.

Dragons possessed an extremely broad vocal range and could imitate most sounds in nature. If dragons in their hatchling stage were ever forced to survive in the wilderness, they could use this as a skill to lure or deceive prey.

Ferrum watched Moqi lie on the ground, wagging his tail as he imitated Mushroom People, and immediately became alert, swiftly scanning the surroundings.

It was not because there was any danger. It was just that if other Dragon Hatchlings saw Moqi like this, they would laugh at him for who knew how long.

With rumors growing more absurd as they spread, even Ferrum, standing beside him, would probably be dragged into it.

Fortunately, the wilderness was quiet, and no one had deliberately followed the two young dragons. Ferrum lowered his gaze and discovered that Moqi's ridiculous-looking lure had actually worked.

Rustling came from the crack. Some Mushroom People had returned to the surface and were cautiously hiding inside, peeking out.

Moqi could wait no longer. He lunged forward, using his exquisite fish-catching and crab-catching techniques to snatch ahead like lightning.

This was an inevitable strike that sealed off every escape route for the little Mushroom People. Moqi bared his teeth, and a smile even began to form on his dragon face.

By the time the Mushroom People realized they had been tricked and tried to hide or flee, it was already too late. With nowhere left to go, they could only rise up and fight back.

The little thing simply stood where it was, raised its mushroom cap, aimed it at Moqi's reaching claw, and launched an explosive headbutt.

The dark mushroom cap collided with the Dragon Hatchling's sharp claw with a clang, producing a crisp sound like metal striking metal.

Moqi stopped from the sting of the impact, while the Mushroom Person took advantage of the monster's stunned reaction. It quickly turned around, moved its matchstick-like short legs, and went buji buji as it vanished into the depths of the crack.

"This time, it really got away." Moqi looked dejected.

"Why did you stop? Were you hurt?"

Ferrum examined the tip of Moqi's claw. There was only a faint scrape, not even enough to count as a wound. If they did not see it now, it would probably disappear before long.

"That mushroom cap is actually these little things' weapon. It's hard and heavy, and getting hit by it really hurts."

Moqi sighed. "It's fine if I can't catch one. They can't live after leaving their nest anyway. I wanted to see if I could follow the trail and find their nest. If I succeeded, we'd be rich."

"How so?" Ferrum knew it was time to ask.

"I asked Iron Dragons who had relevant knowledge in their inheritance. They said Mushroom People live in mineral veins and feed on mineral dew."

Moqi was delighted to have the opportunity to teach Ferrum. "So-called mineral dew is actually an aggregate of salts, fungal membranes, and humus. Mushroom People eat that."

"But because they live around mineral veins, the mineral dew they lick must contain trace metals. Mushroom People can't absorb those, so they can only store them inside their bodies, then periodically return to their nests and transfer the metallic elements into the fungal bed. That's how they survive."

"Then the fungal bed uses an enrichment reaction to gather all the metallic elements from every Mushroom Person together and condense them into Iron Grease."

Moqi spoke without pause.

Ferrum fell thoughtful. "That sounds a little like bees making honey."

"You could understand it that way. These little things don't harm mineral veins, so they aren't pests. But the Iron Grease in their nests is good stuff, like crude iron that has already been smelted once."

The more Moqi spoke, the more regretful he became, growing a little annoyed. "The Great Dragons don't care for it, but it's much more valuable than the ordinary ore we have."

"You said their nests are in mineral veins."

Ferrum thought for a moment and asked, "But the Nurturer won't allow us into the mines. How are you supposed to get them?"

"Ah, I just wanted to catch Mushroom People when I saw them. When I failed, I made up an excuse and started talking nonsense. It was a spur-of-the-moment idea. How could I have thought that far ahead..."

The lives of Dragon Hatchlings were always carefree. After being discouraged for a while, Moqi quickly put the matter behind him and became cheerful again.

He dragged Ferrum toward a stream, insisting on demonstrating his exquisite fish-catching and crab-catching techniques.

The two Chrome Dragons swam beneath the water in the stream and caught several Tropical Giant Crucian Carp, then happily feasted.

Only when the sky darkened did Ferrum bid Moqi farewell and return to his nest with the iron ore they had gathered.