15 Cursed sword (1/2)
Wake up in a normal bed and not feel a swollen body. What could be better? Today, the players will have a homecoming celebration. Yesterday, there was too much to do. Everybody's too tired to celebrate the victory.
Turin was sincerely happy to have the players back, although he had to do a decent job. Until nightfall, the dwarf crushed Draugr's bones with his hammer.
The players carefully collected the ashes of the monster and placed them in a specially forged container, which was later hidden in a stash. One day they will reach the sea, and the dead spirit will rest in the salty waters of this world.
There had been many changes in the castle, but because of fatigue, Dan didn't have the strength to look around.
The carpenters made the furniture, and the castle got a residential appearance. Now each of the players slept in their own room.
Dan took a look around his room. A bed with a pillow and a mattress stuffed with grass. Several animal skins sewn together replaced the blanket. A small chest for personal belongings. That's all he noticed in the evening when he fell on the bed.
*
This morning, Dan decided to look at all the changes in the castle.
The living room was empty, all players had already got up and left their rooms.
There were fixtures and candles on the walls. The Donjon Gate was open, there was a noise from the yard. The flame of the Respect was cheerfully crackling with tiny sparks. The bowl was filled almost to the edges.
Dan stepped out into the courtyard and smiled at the frowning sky, looking at the courtyard, which had changed beyond recognition.
Now there was a real sports ground near the chapel under the wall, where Dan saw the equipment. The dwarf managed to make a simulator from John's drawings. The assassin got some Glory from this case.
Michael and Alexander are now frozen on a small training ground. They listened attentively to a man who wasn't young and was sitting at the edge of the court. Dan noticed a couple of rough crutches near the chair. Looks like that's the cripple from the caravan security.
Nick was at the gym, John was standing next to him and saying something to a friend.
Another stranger was standing next to them, sometimes saying his words.
Yesterday, when Turin opened the gate, Dan walked past them and didn't even notice.
Dan walked up to the boys.
\”Alan, don't be scared, this is our Inquisitor. His name is Dan,\” said John.
\”I'm not scared,\” said the redheaded guy. \”Are you the Inquisitor or the Witcher?\”
Dan took a good look at the new player's eyes. The redhead wasn't afraid, his face expressed complete peace of mind. Dan thought that Alan wasn't particularly concerned about the details of the new world. Alan made the impression of a tourist.
\”Good morning, Alan. You know, I only looked like a witcher after visiting the local cemetery. But you're right! I'm more like a witcher than an Inquisitor,\” replied Dan.
\”You're good with monsters, disgusting attitude with locals,\” nodded Alan.
\”I didn't have time to talk to the locals,\” said the Inquisitor.
\”But you're right about monsters, Alan,\” said Nick. \”Dan was our main force in the cemetery.\”
Dan waved his hand and apologized:
\”Nice to meet you, Alan. Guys, I'm going to the blacksmith's.\”
Alan seemed like a smart and calculating man.
There was smoke over the blacksmith's, hammer hits. Dan was planning a mission for Turin. The player had an idea.
There were changes in the blacksmith shop, too. Some of the charcoal crates had disappeared, and Jim was sitting at his private desk in the vacant space. He was carving something out of leather.
\”I'm on a case,\” said Dan.
The dwarf hummed and looked at the player with interest.
\”Can you wrap my bracelets in regular gloves? I got a sword, I got to get used to it.\”
\”I heard about your sword and your adventures,\” said the dwarf.
Turin took the bracelets and spun them in his hands, then put them aside. He looked at Dan and said quietly:
\”I have a strong desire to put your empty head on an anvil and knock on it with a hammer. Maybe then you'll have something in your head that will help you think.\”
\”If I get an achievement for an experiment like this, I'm willing to try,\” joked Dan.
\”Joker. With bracelets, I'll try. It'll be hard, but I can rebuild them. But their quality can change.\”
\”It's not scary. I'm used to them when I'm not wearing them, it's like I'm naked. And I don't want to lose my protection.\”
\”Dan, you want some advice? Take your new sword and bury it in the ground deep. Things like this have never done any good.\”
\”I can bury my sword. What do you suggest I do with this?\” The player patted on an artifact that was hanging on his belt. \”It can't be taken off or sold.\”
\”You're a fool who plays dangerous games. These things are not cursed for nothing,\” said the dwarf angrily.
\”So I'm a fool. Can you do such a thing?\”
Dan pulled out a dwarf page with a drawing of an armor part...
The dwarf picked up the piece, looked at it carefully, looked at the player and hummed it again.
\”Do you think they'll pay less attention to you with that?\”
\”It's going to wrinkle less. Will you do it? Michael has given permission for any material available.\”
\”I'll do it. But it's an unusual armor. Although your class will be better with it.\”
Dan nodded to Turin and decided to go back to the castle.
He made some important requests. He'll get better equipment.
Dan went into the hall with the fireplace in the donjon. He wanted to finish the bestiary and start describing yesterday's events.
Cursed sword, you fool, bury it deep... oh Turin, Turin.
This strange sword told me how the cursed objects appeared.
Michael doesn't know yet, but he'll also be interested in the story of the sword.
There was a fireplace burning in the hall, two rocking chairs set up in front of him. In the center of the hall appeared a large wooden table and chairs.
On the table, there was a flat wooden box. Dan was surprised. Who made chess? The figurines were stylized to reflect the realities of this world. By the chess, there was a wooden glass with dice already familiar. Soon the company of players would make Gandalf draw playing cards.
Dan came to the fireplace and pulled on his chair, and heard a low growl. Right in front of the chairs, wolves were sleeping by the fireplace. And they had grown well, three times their original size, and that's only the second feed. It's unbelievable.
Dan sat in the chair and started working. He'd write down memories on a page, and he'd sew this page to a stack of homemade books. The work was monotonous, and time flew by unnoticed.
At the edge of his hearing, it was like a bell rang.
What the hell's this about?
He checked the interface, there were no new messages. Dan shrugged his shoulders and continued recording. Interrupted his session with the leader's voice:
\”Dan, do you need a special invitation?\”
\”Invitation to what?\”
\”For lunch, did you not hear the bell?\”
\”Was that the bell for lunch?\”
\”Let's go to the table.\”
\”Is there still time?\”
\”We've got about ten minutes until Turin and Jim get here.\”
\”Then sit down next to me and listen to an interesting story before lunch.\”
Michael sat in his chair. Dan took the writing instruments out of the inventory, and a sword appeared on the Inquisitor's lap.
\”And he changed,\” Michael noticed.
\”Yes, he's lost his skull and bone jewelers, now Tarrok looks like this. Tarrok is the name of the sword.\”
\”Why can't I see his description? What does he look like?\”
\”It's a feature of all cursed objects, characteristics, and descriptions only the owner of the object can see.\”
\”And now what? You're not showing it to me just to show off. You've learned something, haven't you?\”
\”I learned a lot. I now know why these objects are called cursed. Are you interested?\”
\”Of course I'm interested, go ahead and tell me.\”