On the following day, Ferra chased the junior apprentices out of the casting chamber before she unlocked the sample chest. Only Hajin, Vella, Marrick, Tobias and the forgemistress stayed inside while a small controlled bath heated behind its blast screen.
The damaged branch stayed shut off while the bath drew its heat through the working intake.
Hajin flicked the host stream open from behind the blast screen before anybody touched the sample.
Marrick held yesterday's transfer entry beside the sealed graphite crucible and read its label aloud, "One nest-lining grain transferred from the labelled inner-coat wrap, sealed here and stored in this chest, with no second sample listed, my lord."
"Yep, and here's the wrap it came out of," Hajin said, slapping the unfolded packet beside the ledger so both labels lined up.
"Empty, see? The trench-stalker core I paid for stays sealed in its cradle while we burn this one."
