"I'd still like to try. Do you have two identical items ready to be imbued?" said Von as he looked to Oren.
Oren shook moved his head from side to side. "Not at the moment. I could make a pair of something, but I don't have anything on hand. Do either of you two?"
Grimdon just shook his head. "I only make duplicates of stuff which will sell fast, and much of what I make doesn't involve beast hearts. The plain stuff sells a lot faster with a decent enough profit, so I only make specialty items when commissioned."
"I do," said Vorolen with a smile. "They aren't much, but my last apprentice made a set of five rings from a swamp rat heart. Only two so far have been imbued, then he stopped because out of the two, both added agility and speed. One gave disease resistance, which was the intended effect, and the other provided keener senses, much like your dagger and sword."
With a wry smirk on her face, she added, "The unintended effect both of them possessed was the owner was doomed to be followed by rats wherever they went. As you might guess, this outweighed the beneficial properties of the rings since bog rats can be quite annoying. This being the case, I will happily let you see what you can do with any or all of them. You can't make them any worse."
Everyone in the room chuckled at the thought of a swarm of rats following the wearing of one of these rings. Maggie with a glint in her eye quipped, "Well, I guess you could use them to lead the rats out of Sungrove into the middle of the bog...."
Vorolen's face turned serious, "No, they just keep coming back. We thought the same thing. The ratcatcher tried it. The range at which the rings can pull rats in from appears to be enormous." She sighed in exasperation. "On the bright side, they are the perfect candidates for your experiment."
Walking toward the door, Vorolen announced, "I'll get them now." With those words, she was out the door to bring out her journeyman's failed rings.
"This is going to sound dumb, but beside what Mistress Vorolen mentioned, is there anything else a rat ring can do?"
Grimdon and Oren looked deep in thought for a moment. In unison, they shook their heads. Grimdon was the first to speak. "Well, that's pretty much it. Agility, speed, sneakiness, enhanced eyesight and smell, disease resistance, and having more rats follow you around. The only thing she didn't get was the sneakiness. Perhaps the ring you work on will have it."
While they waited on Vorolen, Oren set the tools and various metals out as he prepared the forge for the next workings. "Have you decided what you want for the other two items I owe you, Von or what effects that you are hoping to draw out of the item?"
"For King Garret, I was thinking something protective. He has protection magics, but something which won't wear him down so much would be good. I don't want it to be too noticeable either, nor do I want it to be easily stolen."
"Do you know if he has a focus?" asked Grimdon.
"I don't know. He has several rings and stuff, but I don't know if any are magical. I just learned about magic a short while ago. I do know there's a lot of mages, but most that I've heard of are not as powerful as those in the academy or Sungrove."
Oren thought for a few moments. "How about ring or bracer which enhances one's protections and provides a sort of invisible armor on top of that?"
The corners of Von's eyes lifted as he beamed with delight. "That you be perfect! It would be perfect for my mom too! She's always getting into fights."
Grimdon looked puzzled. "Your mom gets into a lot of fights?"
"Yes, she's the king's grand marshal and prime knight."
Grimdon whistled. "Impressive. So, you're a lord then?"
"Me? No, I'm just a boy. My mom was granted the title Lady Zupan, but I'm just me."
Grimdon shot Oren a look causing Oren to respond. "Things have changed a lot Grim. We may need to find out more about the outside world of today before we venture forth from the bog."
With this, they began querying Von about everything going on before he arrived in his world. Learning not only the new order of leadership, but how they dress, and other details from coinage to customs. During this whole time, Oren searched his extensive supply of beast hearts for just the right beast for Von's gifts.
Nearly an hour later, Vorolen returned carrying a large jade box. She set it on the workbench before opening the lid. Tucked within were five smaller jade boxes each about the size of one's hand. Within each of these smaller boxes was something wrapped in silk. Removing the first and unwrapping the silk from the object within, a polished silver ring shined against the green silk.
"What do you make of this, Von?" she asked. Von lifted the ring and pushed a small amount of his aura into it. The feeling coming back to him were much as she described. This ring would make one more agile and help them remain healthy. System, analyze this please.
Von responded to the dwarf. "It hasn't been named yet, but so far it provides a small increased to movement and agility and helps the person attuned to it to resist disease. Unfortunately, as you said, it attracts rats within a one-mile radius of the person to whom it's attuned."
Vorolen nodded returning the ring to the silk without touching it. "One mile? That is a precise number. Interesting. What can you tell me of this one?" she said as she handed a second silver ring to the boy.
Analyze.
"It hasn't been named yet, but just like the other one, it provides a small increased to movement and agility, increases the perceptions and attracts rats within a one-mile radius of the person to whom it's attuned."
"Again, a mile. Are you certain?" She asked.
"Yes. I feel it only stretches to a mile in every direction, including down. Can I ask why they haven't been named?"
"Why would you name something that attracts rats? Pouring one's essence into such a useless item wouldn't be worth it, and it's likely to just enlarge the range it can call rats from. That would be silly, wouldn't it?"
Von nodded, but still had his own thoughts. "I suppose so, but according to Master Oren, an item's not really finished until it's named, so these could do more, or be stronger."
"Well, you may be right. The journeyman who made them is outside waiting, so I might as well call him in." She moved to the door and caught the attention of a tall muscular human who cautiously walked through the doorway before bowing to the three master smiths.
"Ma'am?" He asked.
"Von has decided these two rings are incomplete. He thinks they need named before they are truly done, isn't that right, Von?"
Feeling a little embarrassed about being put on the spot, he hesitated before answering. "Master Oren tole me, 'an item is not really finished until it has been named.' If this is true, the rings aren't done yet."
The dwarven woman looked at the tall human. "Chet, let's see what happens if you name this one. She handed him the second ring."
Chet growled while staring at the boy. "Mistress Battlebourne, you said it would be a waste of essence to name something with that large a curse, but this apprentice thinks he knows better than you?"
"This is a lesson in crafting. So far, the young man has only created one dagger and one sword, but all the abilities have been beneficial. I want to show him what happens when an item with a detrimental effect is named."
The man stood straighter. "Yes, ma'am!" He sat down holding the ring while a small glow appeared surrounding his hands. Slowly the glow transferred to the ring a little at a time. When it was all gone, he stood. "Here is what I got from it."
As Vorolen started to examine it for herself, Von mentally said, analyze.
After several minutes of examining the ring, Vorolen handed it to Von. "Not much change. is there? Something so insignificant isn't worth the naming."
"May I try the other one?"
The dwarf looked at him then at Chet who just shrugged and nodded. 'The boy has to learn the hard way, I guess.' he thought. "I don't see how an apprentice can do better than the creator. Go ahead lad. I wish you the best of luck." He said as he handed the silk-covered ring to Von.