Ag was making his way out of the Platinum Palace after the morning meeting was done. The vambraces of his armor were still melted to his forearms. Mordeki caught him on his way out.
"Ah, Ag, there you are. May we talk for a moment?"
"Sure. I see no problem with it as long as we keep moving. I have places to be." Ag finished starkly as he waved to a servant to open the outer gates of the palace.
The Platinum Palace was set on the very northern edge of the capital city. The original king who settled there before the Winshires wanted to be able to wake up every morning and look over his whole domain. At the time it was quite sensible, but as the city grew it was hard to have the court building at the far edge of town. King Elias now makes a small commute every morning to the new council building in the center of the city, making the Platinum Palace his proper home away from all the business, except with whatever Zackaria, Julia or Kivara are up to.
Ag and Mordeki continued walking out into the noble district of the city. Though the town was in motion, there was silence between them.
"You wanted to ask me something?" Ag spoke suddenly startling Mordeki for a moment.
"Uh, yes. I wanted to formally apologize for what happened. I was careless, and I hurt you because of it."
"You're wrong." Ag stopped and spoke sharply.
"What?" Mordeki asked in surprise.
"You're wrong. It was that damn court mage that got the mission wrong. It wasn't your fault. And these..." Ag clasped his melted vambraces. "...my armor has been melted to my scales more times than I can count. Your fire was an inconvenience at best."
Mordeki couldn't tell if he should be insulted for having 'weak fire' or relieved that the dragonkin isn't seriously hurt. "May I ask you another thing? Back in the time when our nations were allies. You had the largest dragonkin military in the world. Even Azigon to the north couldn't compare with their necromancy making more and more undead forces. What's the secret to your kind, dragonkin?"
Ag thought for a moment as they continued their travel. "I'm not sure of what secret you're referring to, but it maybe our auxiliary magic glands."
"Magic glands? Don't you mean Mana?
"No. I do not." Ag replied. "As you should know when someone casts a spell their mana is converted to that spell's magic through runes, glyphs, and sigils. Dragonkin, however, have an auxiliary gland in our body that stores pre-converted magic. I my case, it's red magic. For a blue dragonkin it would be blue magic."
"That's quite fascinating. What about your breath? Is that you expelling your internal fire magic?"
"No. It's a common misconception the we have 'breath' attacks. We actually spit." Ag then spat a slimy orange viscose liquid into the palm of his hand. "Watch." He said as he slammed his vambraces together to create a spark to ignite the saliva making it burst into flame. It died out in a matter of seconds.
"Then how do you ignite it in your mouth?" The lizard was incredibly curious. Even in all his years this was his first time really getting to know a dragonkin.
"All dragonkin have specialty teeth depending on their color. For red dragonkin, our canines are built like a flint and steel kit." He then opened his maw for Mordeki to get a better look. His upper canines were black and shiny while the lower ones were silver and course. When he closed them again Mordeki could see a sizable gap in between his front teeth.
"If I clasp my teeth when I spit, it's a full physical ball of flame. Nothing magical about it. It's why it can't be countered by magic wards, but can be blocked by magic barriers. The Azigon never understood this."
The two finally found the blacksmith Ag was looking for upon entering the Commonwealth of the capital. "Excuse me good Orc! May I borrow your crucible."
The orc was busy pounding the axe blade of a halberd into shape. "When I'm done 'ere!" The orc shouted not caring to look at his potential customers.
"Why do you need a crucible?" Mordeki asked looking at his companion.
"To melt these vambraces off my scales without disintegrating the material. I'm then going to have them reforged with a little gold, and whatever amount of my scales that come off in the process."
"I assume the gold is to add extra enchantability to it."
"Yes. I does make it less durable, which is why my scales are also going to get added to it. If done right, a red dragonkin will only have one set of armor their entire life. As it gets melted down and reforged with our scales, they become more like us. They share our history and drive. It becomes like wearing a second layer of your own skin. I know of one dragonkin who did it so many times his armor couldn't be pierced by the sharpest blade, or the most violent of magic."
"Losing a set of armor is like losing a child to your kind, isn't it?"
"Very much so."
The orc finally finished with his blade and looked over to Ag. "So wat was eht dat eyou want?" His broken accent mildly annoyed Ag, but he let it go.
"I need to have my vambraces melted and reforged. I can pay with a Paladin's Favor."
"Pal'din's watnow? No affence but eyou don't look dah part. Wat Horder eyou from?"
"The Eternal Flame, I am currently stationed at the Platinum Palace. Simply ask them for me and I will answer."
The orc thought for a moment. He looked at Ag who was eye level with him. "So'nds made hup to meh, but I'll do eht." The orc then held up his hammer against Ag's chin in a threatening manner. "But, ehf I find hout eyou lyin' to meh, then I'll 'ave yer 'ead!"
Ag simply brushed the hammer away. "Can I get your name, Orc, so I can commit it to memory?"
"Klaus."