That's a mirror.

The last time Kogan came here with his father was more than three hundred years ago, when he, like Mork now, was not yet four hundred years old, and he was in the prime of life for a dwarf, strong, and confident...... But he is also as reckless and irritable as himself now.

The items that were hidden here were all items that had been identified by the priests as having some kind of magic, or that they were reluctant to throw into the furnace, but which, once used, might be recognized, and some of which were simply useless—strange wooden statues, the skulls of some long-extinct animals, necklaces strung together of plant fruits as hard as iron...... Kogan didn't know why a dragon would collect those things.

The fragile glass mirror, round and unadorned, larger than a dwarf's head, had been placed in a broken, old-looking wooden box, which Kogan had opened with a casual lift, and he unconsciously glanced into the mirror, clearly seeing that his whole body was reflected in it.

He was startled, thinking that his soul had been sucked into the mirror, but soon he realized that there was nothing wrong with it, and he couldn't help but look again.

Still nothing happened.

His father walked over with heavy steps and pressed the box shut.

"Stay away from these dangerous things!" roared the equally grumpy old dwarf. The dwarves are suspicious of all spells that are not cast by their priests.

They examined the magical items that the priest thought might be dangerous, made sure they were still properly sealed, and left.

When he returned again, Kogan was alone. His father is long dead, and he has been king for many years.

As he examined the remaining treasures, as his father had done, he saw the mirror again.

This time, the wooden box containing the mirror had completely decayed and scattered, revealing the contents inside. Korgen should have been wary of this, but in his memory, the mirror was harmless.

He walked over and picked it up. A dwarf whose appearance had not changed much, but whose beard had begun to turn gray and was gradually aging, appeared in the mirror.

Dwarves have a longer life than humans, and they are able to face death peacefully, but aging is still not pleasant.

Kogen was about to throw the mirror aside, but in the blink of an eye, the dwarf in the mirror turned into the one he had been a hundred years ago, young, strong, and in the prime of life.

He looked down and saw that his red beard was glowing with a healthy sheen, curled beautifully, as bright as a freshly drawn red copper wire.

Kogan's hand shook and he nearly threw the mirror to the ground.

Kogan had been here for a long time that day, and he was sure that nothing had changed except that his body had become younger, and that neither his memories nor his soul had been affected by it.

He walked out, briskly and full of joy, and the excitement of returning to youth completely overwhelmed the apprehension in his heart, and though it was worth it to have to hide his red beard in a cloth bag for many days in the name of maintaining his beard.

After that, many dwarves learned from him to put their beards in cloth bags, and even wrapped various kinds of cloth around their beards, and then tied them tightly with ropes as some kind of decoration, believing that this would make their beards red and shiny again like the old king. Even if it never really helped, it became a habit - at least, it kept their beards clean.

Kogan replaced the mirror with a tin box, which was still in the chamber. He swore never to use it again, because it was not right - all life has a doomed end, and he could not steal time from the gods. What's more, although the lifespan of dwarves is not as long as that of elves, they are already much longer than those of other races.

He believed that Anduhe would forgive him for his unintentional mistakes, and he really didn't know that the mirror possessed such magic.

For many years after that, Kogan was torn apart, fearing that the magic would suddenly disappear, or that it would one day show its evil side. Over the years, Kogan had almost forgotten the existence of the mirror, until he began to age again, his beard turned white, and even the bones in his body began to ache, and he remembered it again.

The fear of aging and death and the fear of the gods came together to keep him at night. He finally couldn't help but take the mirror out of the secret room and hide it in his bedroom, but he didn't dare to look at it.

Upon learning that a group of human adventurers had entered the mine, Kogan rushed back to his room in a cold sweat, dragging out the chest he had hidden under the bed, opening the secret compartment that only he knew.

The mirror was still lying there.

He breathed a sigh of relief, but instead of putting the mirror back in the treasure room, he re-set the mechanism and stuffed the chest back under the bed, as if just being there was enough to comfort him.

But when the adventurers escaped from the pit and he opened the dark grid again, the mirror was gone.

"Could it be that Silverfang stole it?" asked Mork with a hint of luck. Silver Fang is dead, and if it hides the mirror somewhere, perhaps no one will ever find it, it is much better than falling into the hands of a necromancer.

Kogan shook his head, "I don't know, Silverfang didn't answer. But if that's what Silver Fang wants, of course it knows what the mirror is for, and it can use it whenever it wants, not to die and still look like it's broken. ”

Mock fell into a long silence again. They didn't even know what the power of the mirror was, and they didn't know what the necromancer could do with it, and they couldn't stay away from it if it did cause disaster.

"Anyway, we've got to get that mirror back. Mock said. But how do you find a necromancer who is forever hidden in the dark, and even Duane can't tell what he looks like, where he came from or where he's going?

He had no clue about it.

"I'm sorry, kid," the old dwarf wrenched his hands guiltily, "I'm sorry to make us ...... Let the mistakes I make be a burden to you. ”

Mock shook his head.

"I'm glad to have taken on this burden, grandfather," he said softly, "and that means I'm not alone. ”

He had wandered alone for many years, thinking that he would never find a home, but now he had returned home. The warmth and comfort brought by the word "family" far outweighs the weight of responsibility that comes with it.

"I'll get that mirror back. He firmly promised, "Or ruin it." ”

Kogan hung his head, not daring to let Mock see the panic in his eyes.

- He didn't want anyone to ruin it.