"Right. You'll do nicely." Ophion was impressed with the conjured weapons. "Anyway, about the job. Like I said, I was gathering some ingredients. There's a salt flat outside of the city, wherein we are supposed to find some very fine mineral salts. They're really an amalgamation of salt and silver. Very useful for a large number of alchemical formulas. My wife requested them specifically. It's a lot of ground for one dracon to cover, so having a second pair of hands would help." True enough, Ophion was leading Fasuto towards the west gate of the city.

"There are risks, of course. These plains are also the feeding grounds for creatures colloquially known as 'rust monsters.' They subsist on various minerals, including the salts we are looking for. They look a lot like giant ants with bronze-colored flesh, a long snout, and about the size of dogs. Just watch out for their acidic spit. It causes metal to rust, but can seriously burn skin if it hits. Same thing with your fur."