Von's words lingered in the air. "Can you help me understand what went wrong, and how to fix it?"
Vorolen exchanged a glance with Oren and Grimdon before nodding solemnly. "Aye, lad, we'll help you," he said in a reassuring tone. "But first, we need to understand what happened. We need to examine the sword and see if we can unravel the mystery of its failed imbuing." She reached down and aided the boy in standing, then moved back to where the sword and dagger were resting upon the workbench.
Vorolen motioned for Von to join them as they gathered around Marshfang, their experienced eyes scanning the weapon for any signs of aberration or irregularity. Von followed suit, his heart heavy with a mixture of anxiety and determination.
As they inspected the sword, Oren's keen eye caught something peculiar. "Look here," he said, pointing to a faint shimmer along the blade. "There's a residual trace of magic, but it's unlike anything I've seen before. It's as if the sword absorbed not only the magic from the beast core, but also from Von's aura."
Von leaned in closer, his brow furrowing in concentration as he examined the shimmering aura. "So... the sword absorbed my essence?" he murmured, his mind racing with possibilities. "But why.... and what does that mean for me?"
Vorolen pondered for a moment before responding. "It means Marshfang is unlike any weapon we've encountered before," he explained gravely. "It's a blade infused not only with the magic of the swamp dragon, but also with the essence of its creator; this presents both opportunities and challenges."
He turned to Von, his expression serious. "To fully understand the nature of Marshfang and unlock its true potential, we'll need to probe deeper into its mysteries. In the meantime, we must ensure that you're not harmed by its unexpected absorption of your aura."
Von nodded, his resolve firming. "I understand," he said, his voice steady despite the lingering uncertainty. "I'm willing to do whatever it takes to master Marshfang and harness its power for good."
As the dwarf was speaking of the blade, Grimdon was examining the dagger. Lifting it, he pushed the slightest amount of his aura into it to determine what enchantment was in it. Without warning, his eyes widened and his mouth fell open as he looked to Oren. "Did you make this?"
Oren's head moved from side to side before indicating Von was the creator. "Not I."
Grimdon let out a whistle. "What tier heart did ya use lad?"
Von shrugged. "I don't know, sir. It was from a bogstrider cat."
The short stocky man looked back to the elf. "He made this from an UNCOMMON beast heart?" Oren nodded. "A plain old bogstrider cat?" Again, Oren nodded. "Was it a dominant male heart?"
Oren shook his head, "No, it was a female just like the others in the drawer over there."
"At least tell me it was a large old dangerous female who kept the others in line," said the astonished man.
Still moving his head from side to side, he replied. "Sorry Grim, it was the smallest heart of the lot, probably less than five years old. The pelts are probably still at the 'Hide waiting to be tanned. A human brought them in and used them to pay for the repairs to his armor and a new sword with an agility affinity."
Grimdon wandered over to the drawer and found eight remaining bogstrider cat hearts in a drawer. None of them were particularly large. "You said it was the smallest of those here?"
Oren raised both eyebrows together and pulled his cheeks in. "Yes."
Grimdon looked at the dagger then back to Von then back to the dagger and again back to Von before motioning for Oren and Vorolen to step outside.
Wondering what Grimdon saw in the dagger causing him to ask the questions, she stepped over to the dagger, lifted it to examine it closely for imperfections or issues before gently pushing her aura into it enough to identify its features. She breathed in sharply at her findings. She returned the dagger to the workbench before turning to Von. "You have an exception eye for detail. Both weapons are quite well made for someone with little experience."
"Thank you," he replied. "Oren's been a great instructor allowing me to partake of his knowledge from time to time."
She smiled at the boy as she made her way to the door. "As well he should, but you are an apt pupil, and one without the other and you wouldn't have done such nice work. We'll be back. Please don't eavesdrop."
Von's face turned red as he looked to the floor as he'd been thinking of doing exactly that.
After a moment, he walked to Felinblade to see what the fuss might be about, but to the best of his ability to see, there wasn't anything wrong with the blade, the grip, nothing. Finally, he shrugged and returned to pondering Marshfang and how it tried to pull his aura from him.
* * * * *
The three master smiths looked back to the doorway to make sure Von wasn't there. Not that he couldn't be listening in via magic or some such, but it was force of habit.
Grimdon looked to Vorolen then Oren before asking, "Did you examine that dagger?" Seeing the two nod, he continued. "How did the boy get all the senses, plus the stealth, speed, power and more out of a single uncommon heart? Oren?"
Oren shrugged. "I've never seen the like. On the best of days, I can get the increases to one's power, speed, and visual acuity OR smell, usually not both. I have never made something so grand. It's almost as if the blade practically turns one into a bogstrider cat without actually becoming one."
Vorolen asked of the two men, "Did either of you try to examine the sword? I tried and it brushed off my aura as if I were nothing. In fact, it felt like it tried to poison me in my attempt. Luckily, I'm almost immune to most poisons. Just what did he make it from? I would have guessed a swamp dragon from the green color, but I couldn't detect anything from it."
"This is exactly what worries me," said Oren. "Felinblade is essentially a cat in the form of a dagger. Just how strong might Marshfang be? And yes, Marshfang was made from a swamp dragon heart, except for the cross guard which was from the same bogstrider cat heart. He used the leftovers to create the dagger. Unlike the cat heart, Marshfang was created using one of the weyr queens we killed a few months back. I still have three remaining from when we did the purge."
"You were lucky to get four. Four years ago, I only got three queens and seven total hearts," responded Grimdon. "I got stuck with a group of journeymen. You got the adepts."
The dwarf sighed at the two of them. "Eight years back, I got stuck with the apprentices and a handful of guards. So don't feel bad." During this, she laughed to herself. They didn't know she also got four weyr queen hearts, and twelve total hearts. Of course, she had armed all the guards with the best equipment in the shop and found a series of tunnels leading to warring queens. Quite a number were dead by the time they arrived, so they just had to store the bodies. It was a stroke of luck, but she would likely still be using the scales for armor and the hearts for years, until her turn came around again. Of course, she marked the entrance on a map. They were friends, but still sales rivals to some extent.
Grimdon broke back into the conversation. "Well, it doesn't matter who got how many. What does matter is the one that sword is made out of. If it's strong enough to bounce all three of us, we'll have no way of knowing exactly how to restore the boy to his former self, if it's even possible. Though if you don't mind, Oren, I'd love to see what he can make from that demon heart you traded to me last year. I still can't figure out what to do with it and the boy has a good eye and quite the skill for bringing out the properties."
The elf nodded. "Maybe it's because I didn't tell him not to worry if he only got three effects from it. Most of the best students stop when they get those three and don't keep trying. He kept trying for quite a while to pull out everything he could from it. Of course, he has a few more strong affinities than I do. He seemed to have skill in everything they threw at him during the challenges. It doesn't matter at the moment. They key is to get him back to normal, then maybe we can see what he can do with that demon heart."
In unison the Grimdon and Vorolen said, "Agreed."
Together the three reentered the smithy to see what they could do with the boy who had given up so much of his own essence and aura to create the sword within.