Week 2 Dowsing Rods

DOWSING RODS

by omgitsabist

METRICS
Area > Cycles > Cost
Cycles > Cost > Area

REAGENTS
Invariant Metal Fragment

PRODUCTS
Silver Dowsing Rod
Golden Dowsing Rod

There are many great contentions between miners concerning dowsing rods, for some say that it is of the greatest use in discovering veins, and others deny it. Those who swear by its efficacy wander hither and thither at random through mountainous regions. It is said that the moment they place their feet on a vein the rods immediately turn and twist, and so by its action discloses the vein; when they move their feet again and go away from that spot the rods become once more immobile.

The truth is, they assert, the movement of the rods is caused by the power of the veins. On the other hand, those who say that the rods are of no use to good and serious men, also deny that the motion is due to the power of the veins, because the rods will not move for everybody, but only for those who employ incantations and craft. Those who advocate the use of the rods make this reply to these objections: when one of the miners or some other person holds the rods in their hands, and it is not turned by the force of a vein, this is due to some peculiarity of the individual, which hinders and impedes the power of the vein, for since the power of the vein in turning and twisting the rods may be not unlike that of a magnet attracting and drawing iron toward itself, this hidden quality of a man weakens and breaks the force, just the same as garlic weakens and overcomes the strength of a magnet. For a magnet smeared with garlic juice cannot attract iron; nor does it attract the latter when rusty.

— De Re Metallica (adapted to the theme of the puzzle)

download: weeklies2026_dowsing-rods.puzzle (where do i put this?)