Kiem set to work on the strange ingot, but the material proved nearly impossible to manipulate. Heat would not soften it, he could not cut it, and finally, his hammer shattered on its surface. Frustrated and exhausted he stepped into the cool breeze outside his shop, pacing and packing his pipe, uncertain how to continue. He had avoided using his family's tools his entire life for fear of damaging them, and now when that possibility seemed most likely, he considered it. Opening the small family chest he stared at the tools, he had always wondered how they held up in the past, none of his recent ancestors had used them, as they appeared to be made of heavily oxidized copper and gold. Until no...