Chapter 144: Star-Forge Waystone
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Miryam’s head peaked above the sling, her fragile nostrils flaring at new scents. Kai felt miniature aura tremors run through her body, reflexive sampling of the environment. To distract her, he pulled out a decrepit two-star core and let her gnaw. Runes along her dorsal crest lit pale topaz, then faded once she swallowed.
The boars used their tusk-plows to push the scree aside, creating a narrower but stable groove. Shards skittered down the slope like glass rain, each clatter echoed for seconds.
By Mid morning, a sheet of clay rock fractured underfoot. Kai grabbed Luna’s wrist and hauled her back as a five-meter slab plummeted. Stone Ram thrust one tusk into the cliff wall, hinges in his neck joints absorbing the jolt. Iron Ram anchored the sled with his opposite tusk, legs braced. The slab crashed into a lower shelf and exploded into glitter.
Kai’s Insight traced micro cracks radiating from the new gap. He ordered the boars to angle higher and the procession resumed.
By noon they reached the pre marked waypoint. It was a ring of half melted granite boulders surrounding an ancient menhir. The stone, one of Skyweaver’s survey markers, contained a fist sized pocket of star metal ore.
Skyweaver unfolded her wings, heat glands along the leading edges venting white steam. She pressed her hands to the ore, violet light pulsed and slag trickled out like glowing honey. With deft strokes of wing tip claws she sculpted the soft metal into a way spike, a palm length obelisk etched with Kai’s sigil. Once cooled, the spike was hammered into the menhir top, flaring crimson. It would serve as a beacon in storm haze for the return journey.
Tunnel Crown used his mandibular chisels to carve depth ticks along the spike, marking barometric pressure at the moment of forging data for future navigation.
Heart Mason uncapped a drum and distributed nutrient pucks soaked in star milk whey. Luna fed Miryam droplets. The wyrmling accepted them, still refusing to speak with Luna but no longer shrinking away.