Chapter 1-26: Traveling Legs (1/2)

“Yes. As I understand it, it came from an undead giant that was blown apart by a tank. Someone went out and harvested the femur and brought it back here. They still see it at the walls over by old Smithtown, using some fused skeletons for a makeshift leg.”

I eyed the thing again. “That’s definitely one of the big true Jotuns. Good material. Why didn’t they use it?”

“No affinity to it. It’s been Cleansed multiple times, but the Staff rejects our people. Given it doesn’t work as an Implement for us, no one bothered to make it a Weapon.”

It was long and pretty straight, polished down to be thick enough for gripping, with a somewhat thicker base than the normal spike, and almost mace-like protruding knobs for the head, so definitely looking like a leg bone.

It was also a QL 35+ material, a Storm Jotun leg bone...

“It’s partially fossilized,” I noted. “That giant was dead for a long time...”

“Nobody could figure out where it came from, and even the Indian tribes we talked to had no stories about it. The Shroudlord must have dredged the skeleton up out of somewhere.”

I hefted it... it was not light, at least as heavy as oak, and I wasn’t that strong to start with. I’d be getting better soon enough, however... and there were things to help with that, given a bit of time.

I could feel the resonance as soon as I laid hands on it. They’d done fair to average work on making it an Implement, but there was no rejection to me...

“I’ll take it. It’s responding to me being Shroudborn, I think.” I picked it up, hefted in in my hands, and flexed my arm, making a face. “I really have to start working out more...”

“Are you sure about that?” Initiate Hugo the Bleached said, and I nodded. I could make a really nice Weapon out of this thing... given time, and Levels.

“A secondary request.” He turned to look at me as he closed up the armory, lifting an eye. “I seem to have been designated a Shroud-tied Witch as well, and am Ringbound.” His eyes naturally fell to Einz. “My Ring is my spellbook. As I don’t have any other contacts, would it be permissible to look at your spellbooks and copy from them?”

“This...” He was hesitant, until I popped up my Darts, and then Sanctified them right in front of him. He blinked at the display of holy magic. While it was possible for almost anyone to use some of the spells Aligned with Good, using the Feats absolutely required a Good soul. There was no way around it.

“In addition, I have a Pure Soul and won’t be affected by the Taint from reading some of these books. I can skim through them, derive what knowledge is worthwhile from them, and simply lay it out in languages that won’t be so harmful to read and use. I am fluent in Demonic, Diabolic, Necrus, and Aklo, so I won’t have to use magic to translate and make the effect even worse.”

His jaw opened and closed for a moment, looking at me in astonishment. “Shroudborn truly are unusual,” he finally managed to get out.

“I believe it has more to do with having an annoyingly strong Bloodline. I certainly didn’t choose those as foundational languages.” He could only nod agreement at that. “Consider it an investment for the future. I can’t do it now, but I will absolutely return and can work on it in my down time.”

He considered that, looking at me. “Can I get an Oath on that?” he finally asked hesitantly, not sure if he would be offending me.

“Certainly,” I replied promptly. “Is on Sylune’s Name acceptable?”

He looked immensely gratified. “The Queen of Silver Magic is most certainly acceptable in this instance!” he agreed in relief. “While what we have on hand is not the equal of a guild or one of Her temples, we should have all the basics covered from I to III.”

“Excellent.” I turned to Sir Pellier. “You may stay while I study, or you can go visit the Shrine. I can find you there.”

He just nodded and headed back the way we’d come.

-------

Hugo the Bleached showed me to a table in the corner, and went off to fetch some weighty books.

Weighty, because the pages were made of gold foil over thin sheets of wood!

“Impressive,” I acknowledged, “and a bit extravagant. Why not lambskin, or cowhide?” I asked him, as I turned over the first page of the first Libraim he set down for me. Cantrip collection, I should barely need it... although there might be some specialized ones in here I didn’t have.

The book had plenty of Wards and Seals on it, but they seemed linked to the local Wards, and had been rendered inert for now.

“Wear and tear. We noted that fraying started, and ink dissolution, among the spells commonly chosen as references for Scroll-making, and the Rituals. Given how long the books could be used and how many times they might be referred, it was judged better to do the job right once and have it endure for centuries.”

I noted the clean lines of the writing, Assay’d it at a glance. “Excellent typography. Doesn’t have a human feel to it. Rockborn?” I asked politely.

“The Dwarves are the best at working with metal, and strong advocates of Harse. One of their better goldsmiths did this for us at a nominal fee,” he confirmed.

I had to smile. “You paid for him making the tools and runestamps necessary to make this book. He could then scribe dozens more for nothing but his time. It was a great deal for him.”

Initiate Hugo the Bleached looked somewhat thoughtful at that, and smiled wryly. “Ah, dwarves will get the best of any matter involving gold,” he said fatalistically.