Ace follows behind the others. She knows a thing or two about metal, so maybe she can help. Besides, it's clear to her that some of these folks haven't spent much longer than a day on a ship before, and she'd rather keep an eye on the newbies, lest anything happens. As they pass her room she gives a little whistle for Circe. Circe comes flying out of the room and lands on her shoulder. As they walk Ace feeds her the berries from the bowl she brought with her.
Mae liked the idea of experimenting, but she didn't quite trust her fellow voyagers. She kept her distance, but followed them, checking each unlocked door for a room of medical supplies. If somebody gets injured, she thought. Somebody will have to heal them, and there seem to be no other healers on this ship… Mae sighed. She knew she could, but she never liked doing work alone. Her own hands were enough to heal minor wounds, but she'd need something to aide her with the larger injuries. You all better be careful, she silently warned.
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Tiergan walked into the room, flinging the door open. There were two canisters sitting nearby the bed. In the center of the room, the rug had been cleared out of the way. Four long metal poles stood straight up, with a rope connecting them and forming a square if seen from above. A rope was fastened around the top and bottom of each pole, each one tied onto the canister, which was perpendicular to the ground. The floor was covered in a rough-looking fabric and four metal canisters were rigged up on the ceiling, set to blow straight down onto the entire setup. Smaller ropes from three of them joined into the fourth, larger rope, which lay on a nearby chair along with a stopwatch.
"If the dragonfire gets on the carpet, pull that rope," he gestured to the chair, "and then try to minimize the damage. Do not get close. After it's full, I'll give you a thumbs-up, and you should start the watch. If it lasts for more than a minute, we should be good."
"Why don I jus have Circe 'ere breath on them? She might be small, but trust me you do not wanna get on 'er bad side. Plus, I think I recognize this type of metal, but…" Ace trails off not sure how welcome her ideas might be. It seemed to her that Tiergan was pretty smart, and she didn't want it to seem like she she thought she was smarter or something.
Tiergan blinked like he was seeing Circe for the first time. He squinted at the small dragon. "What species is she? How old?"
"Oh, uh well, based on my research, she 'pears to be an Antipodean Opaleye, mixed with a Peruvian Vipertooth. An well when I found 'er she seemed to be 'bout six weeks, so she's about a year now. " Ace replies surprised to not have been dismissed.
"Hmm." Tiergan headed to his pack, where he grabbed a book and started flipping rapidly through it. He slowed down and then looked up. "Opaleyes have low control until about a year and a half, but Vipertooths are renowned for their control. Looks like the max average temperature for them at one year is about 900 degrees Celsius. We have no way of knowing if it would burn through the metal, and don't know whether the fire could be venomous. I think it'd be safer if I do it. There's too much risk with a dragonet on a ship in the middle of the sea. Feel free to blast on land." Tiergan glanced back at Ace. "What were you going to say about the metal?"
Mae observed the experiment from the corner. She intended to keep back, but she couldn't help her curiosity. "Blunderbuss," she muttered. "It would've been awesome to see a dragon do that." Mae didn't quite understand what was happening, but she did understand dragons. She hadn't seen many, but her father had a friend who knew everything about creatures like dragons. Mae would often read his books when there was nothing else to do. She was disappointed she wouldn't see the dragon in action.
Ace takes a moment to study the metal again. "Well I travel a lot, an this metal reminds me of the ore located in the Galaga ruins, powerful stuff that is, used to hold sprites and enslaved dragons," Ace shudders at the thought of dragons being enslaved. "I've seen some swords made with it, and it takes a lot of heat to melt it down. It is usually laced with some magic as well." She nods towards the metal, "See 'ow it gleams in the low light? I'd reckon its got something charmed on it."
Ophira suddenly felt very lost. She didn't understand much beside her instincts and what was expected of a woman of her own household.
"So uh, are we going to do this?" She asked, trying not to think too much about what she had just head regarding the small dragon which belonged to Ace.
If reptiles hadn't already disturbed her, that information made her distrust of Circe worse.