The three smiths watched in curiosity as the boy picked up the sword and adjusted his grip to match the sword. He seemed to hold it for several seconds during which, Von became more difficult to see, almost as if he was blending with the wall and workbench of the forge behind him
They all glanced at one another trying to determine if all of them noticed the change, or it was just one of them, but upon noticing the other two looking around, it was certain all of them were seeing the same thing.
Oren remembered crafting something like it long ago from the heart of an octopus-like sea creature. The bracelet was supposed to help its owner breath underwater, but instead, it allowed her to camouflage herself as she wandered through the woods or explored the depths of the water. He remembered the woman fondly as she provided many cores to further enhance the effect, causing her to eventually be able to mask her scent, move silently and without a trace.
She gave up her quest for pearls. Thinking back, she could have been the perfect scout, spy, or even an assassin, but instead, she became an explorative zoologist. She took up explored the wilds, including the water, then wrote of the properties of the myriad of beasts she found in the wild, how they lived, what they ate, and everything about them.
She was one of the most prolific writers of her time and to this day, nearly ten centuries later, Oren still had over two dozen of her tomes in his collection. All of them were a gift and nearly all of them allowed him to enhance his imbuing techniques when he created items from hearts of creatures within her books as he could read to learn what to expect of the magical beast's abilities and intentionally concentrate on bringing out those attributes on his creations.
His reminiscing completed Oren returned his attention to Von and the unusual green blade within his grip just in time to see a faint red outline form on the blade and feel the essence of fire surrounding the metal. It disappeared in the blink of an eye, but Oren was certain he saw it. Previously, he thought he detected the essence of fire within the unusual weapon, but now he was certain it had some part of it within.
Looking on, something changed about the boy. His body seemed to straighten. He held Marshfang with more confidence and less shakiness in his arm. Although he still didn't look like a master swordsman, something about the boy shined through and the weapon seemed less taxing on his arm. Having seen this many times, it was obvious to the three of them. The youngster just tapped into the weapon's strength, and it was pouring into him.
The boy paused in his dance with the weapon and looked around the room. As they watched, the air became more humid until finally, a light fog started to form. Moments thereafter, Von's tired appearance seem to be gone. He went from looking tired about his eyes to nearly refreshed as if a healing spell had been cast removing all signs of injury and weariness.
Impressed with what the boy was getting from the sword, Grimdon was about to speak when the green sword glowed a brilliant reddish orange color and a wedge of flame spewed forth from just above the cross guard hitting the forge and bringing it to life. The three smiths leapt back from the flame causing Oren to stumble over the fascinated Maggie who had joined them in watching as Von examined Marshfang.
* * * * *
Continuing to maneuver the sword about he thought of the thinking of fire leaving the sword and reaching the diminished coals of the forge. A blast of fire leapt from the sword striking in a wedge the center of which was the spot in the forge where he directed his thoughts. The green edge of the sword seemed almost wet with moisture, and he could feel the sword itself bonding with his aura.
He saw the three smiths jump back in surprise. Strangely, it felt completely natural to him. The sword was becoming an extension of his thoughts. It wasn't like when he used a focus to enhance his control of essence, it was completely different. The essence was already within Marshfang. He merely had to let it out as he desired.
Like right now, more than just the moisture in the air, he could feel the weather surrounding the city and farther out into the bog. He noted it wasn't natural and enchantments were keeping the weather at bay only allowing rain to fall at night although water-filled mist could enter the city at any time.
Thunder and lightning could never enter the city except for a small area near the elemental tower of the academy devoted to primarily to astrapimancy—the magic of lightning. Here there were rods and protections which would allow the lightning to be absorbed and stored into the wall surrounding Sungrove.
In the event of an attack against the town, whether by beasts or humanoids, the stored lightning from over a thousand years could be projected from the walls by one of the several lightning mages within the academy. Interesting, he thought. He didn't expect ancient protections against so much, but knowing it was here made Sungrove and the Ouranios Haven within, the safest place in the world. Fell demons were known to be weak against lightning and this was the only place he knew of using it as part of their defenses on such a scale.
Putting aside the thoughts of the weather, he proceeded to feel the sword in his hands stretching his aura about it. Despite his low affinity for venomancy, he felt certain the liquid on the blade was some sort of venom. How potent? He couldn't guess, but its poison felt deadly in his mind. Somehow, he knew even if he touched it or was nicked by Marshfang, it was loyal to him and it would not allow this poison to affect him in the slightest.
He paused in his swings for a moment to look at smiths standing back from his swings. Seeing Vorolen and remembering she could resist poisons, he asked. "Mistress Vorolen, I need to ask you. Just how dangerous is swamp dragon venom?"
The dwarf gasped as she stepped back hitting the workbench against her back which brought her to a stop. She stared wide-eyed at the sword and more specifically, the moisture clinging to the blade. "Is that what's on the blade?"
He wasn't absolutely positive, but something in the back of his mind and from the way his aura perceived it, he was pretty certain it was in fact swamp dragon venom. This being the case, Von nodded. "I believe it is. I'm not one hundred percent sure, but something tells me it is."
Only one word left her mouth. "Deadly."
Oren, Grimdon, and Maggie all nodded. Maggie spoke next. "Von, that stuff can kill quickly. Most of those bitten don't survive for more than a few minutes. If a strong choromancer is nearby the can teleport someone to the healer's tower, but if not, even dwarves can be killed in an hour or two from a scratch containing it if they don't get treated."
Von whistled in awe. "Thank you. I think I'm almost done, but I'm not certain." He continued to examine Marshfang, probing with his eyes, his senses and his aura, doing his best to see if there was anything he was missing. He could feel something else sort of hiding away, but he couldn't discern exactly what it was. Pushing his aura into the heart and trying to extract memories or feelings didn't work either. Instead, he seemed to find some trace of other creatures, probably the dragon's food.
So far, from what he was able to discover, it seemed to have significantly more strength than the dagger, some sort of telepathy effect which didn't require one to be in contact with the other party, and its own version of a fiery breath weapon which seemed to expand in a cone starting at the cross guard and expanding outward centered on his intended target.
There was the much more subtle form of weather sensing allowing him to have control over or to some extent the ability to manipulate the amount of moisture in the air. Then, of course, the much more obvious poisonous blade. In the back of his mind, Von still felt there was something more, something he was missing, something important, but so far, he was unable to discover what Marshfang's final secret was.
He continued to stretch his detection abilities in an attempt to learn what he was missing of the green sword's abilities but after another half hour, he knew he learned all he might. The visions of other humans and swamp rats, eels, and other things the dragon might consider food were definitely now likely to be related to its powers.
He finally decided, they only way to be certain of everything was to use his system, but before he had done so, he wanted to examine the weapon like a normal smith would and he felt he had exhausted this method. What would be the final result? He was ready to find out.
Analyze.