Mithril

Mithril is valuable, lightweight, and durable. It is workable, but hard.

Dwarves take immense, and possibly disproportionate, risks to acquire mithril, and mithril-lust has been the downfall of many dwarven lords. The Deep dwarves are said to seek it. Dwarves see it as a mark of prestige, and not even as a mark of wealth.

Selling mithril, even for gold and platinum, is almost a matter of dishonor, matched only by buying it. Gifting is the most honorable way to transfer ownership, and the ceremony is extensive and overindulgent. Where dwarves write wills, mithril assets are often documented with extensive caveats and conditions.

Theft of a mithril piece casts opprobrium on the thief and, in an odd sense, on the victim, for failing to protect it. The provenance of certain mithril artifacts is known, celebrated, and embedded in dwarven history.