RP:Augmenting the Axe

Eboric stands before the gates to Frostmaw's town, his bearskin cloak wrapped tightly around his mail-clad body. He stares at the gate, but does not step toward it. Instead he holds his position directly in front of them, blocking the center of the path and paying no heed to the guards or anyone else that happens by. It would seem as though he is waiting for someone.

"One of these days, you should come in off the doorstep. As much as I do enjoy chats in the snow." The voice is quiet yet carries with ease, coming a short distance from behind where Eboric has placed himself. Its source, a few paces away and purposely out of sword's reach, stands Satoshi, but where exactly she's come from is an uncertain thing. She hadn't passed through the gates and by Eboric, he would have seen her, nor has she been approaching the city from outside, for no trail of her passage is on the snow. One would think the iceling sprung up from the very frost. And judging by the ice and hoarfrost clinging to skin, hair, and clothing, it might just be plausible. Whichever it is, Satoshi is present now and regarding Eboric with a mixed expression of amusement, interest, and contemplation. A long, canvas-wrapped bundle rests in her hands, held tight and close while she devotes her attention to Eboric. "What brings you here, Warlord?" For she knows the warrior doesn't pay visits for idle chats.

Eboric turns around at the sound of Satoshi's voice, and though his black sword is bared in his hand, he makes no move to attack. "If I were to enter your city," he says in response, "I cannot promise that your subjects will survive my visit." He grimaces, and with an effort forces himself to drop that line of speech. "I have come for two reasons. Well, they are truly one and the same, I suppose. When I first set myself against the Timelord, you offered your aid in whatever I might need. The time has come for me to take you up on that offer."

Satoshi 's face betrays no reaction to the Warlord's remark, although she does allow a slight lifting of her eyebrows when he mentions her earlier offer. "It still stands, of course. Just tell me what it is you require, and what information you feel might be of us to moi." Truth be told, little in the way of solid details have reached Frostmaw of late. Satoshi's sources have been hardpressed to manage more than rumors, hints, and estimations without the psionic aid of her couatl. Eyrie's gryphons might have keen eyes when flying patrol above Gualon, but they can bring no more news than what is seen, as little as that is. The Warlord, she's guessing, has had more luck with his groundbound followers where that all is concerned.

Eboric shrugs his shoulders. "The minions have been in hiding, I think. None have dared show their faces since I humiliated Askelus in the tavern. Until now. Hadrian has returned, and has found the courage to face me. That brings me to what I need from you. First and foremost, I would have the woman Jerica shelter here, until it is safe for her to return. She bears my son in her womb, and I mean to keep her from harms way. Secondly, I have need of more...magical means of defeating Hadrian. He is a monster made of metal now, as I'm sure you know, and strength alone will not win the fight."

Satoshi taps out a tune against the bundle she carries, the sound of claws striking metal clear even through the fabric, and musical in its aid with her thoughts. Eboric's words are mulled over with care, especially the part concerning Hadrian. She hadn't known about his change. Or rather, hadn't been certain, until now, fed only on rumors. "Tell me more about the traitor's changes, if you have more? I've an idea or two of what I can do to help, but the exacts depend on how much is known about his state. Although, considering the Leech's habits, I doubt there's more to Hadrian now than meets the eye. The Hellspawn reject isn't known for making elaborate minions." The magus falls quiet then, muttering to herself and continuing to tap out that melody, mind at work on possibilities and designs. It's only after a brief lapse does she remember to add, "As for Jerica, she's already sought refuge here, and it's been given to her. None will hunt her successfully so long as Frostmaw stands."

Eboric nods in response to Satoshi's last words, before returning to the subject of Hadrian. "He is a towering figure now, heavy enough to scar the ground when he walks. My spies tell me that he appears to be made out of some sort of metal. The tell me it looks much like that metal the foul ogres of Gamorg have at their disposal. That is all I know."

Satoshi laughs, the sound oddly mirthful considering the circumstances. "Ghroundium? Hellfire, lead the fellow into the swamp, he'll sink and die simply due to his weight." Shaking her head then, Satoshi continues, "At least, that'd be an option if all else fails. Ghroundium is incredibly durable, as far as metals go, but its weight is outrageous. Most grown men can hardly lift a gauntlet crafted from it. However, it -is- still metal... and all metal is victim to the same bane... Hrmm. Do you have your axe with you? The one with the unusual enchantment? I've only seen you use it from afar, but I've got wind of its knack even at a distance. Might I see it a moment?"

Eboric eyes Satoshi suspiciously for a long moment, but finally reaches to his belt, pulling the axe from the loop on his belt and handing it over. The bearded blade is unusually light, a trait given it by its elven makers, and the metal is inscribed with magical symbols. "Careful not to nick yourself,: the werebear says with a dark grin. "It'll even rot the dead."

Satoshi , after she's propped her own bundle in the snow against her leg, is plenty careful in lifting the axe. Hands well used to handling ancient, crumbling texts have little trouble in holding the dangerous weapon. Satoshi dips her face closer to the axe, eyes examining the symbols etched into the metal while magic-sensitive whiskers quiver above its surface. "A rotting enchantment... Druidic. Interesting~. I can work with these symbols, I think, without having to alter them. At most I should only need to add a rune or two more to them." She then offers the weapon back to the Warlord, only once it's left her hands again does she turn her gaze up toward him. "If you're willing, I can add an enchantment to accompany that one. They'd be similar enough in design that they shouldn't clash, despite being druidic and arcane. But mine, rather than rotting flesh or bone, would work on metal. Water and ice, after all, are notoriously skilled at devouring metal, I need only encourage them to eat faster when they've bitten into the material. What say you? It might not fell a ghroundium beast in a single stroke, but with your skills, you should be more than capable of inflicting enough scratches to set the enchantment into work like a poison."

Eboric nods his head. "I had thought of something along those lines, myself. I know that this fight will be one where I must be the faster fighter for once, and I think I will be able to inflict enough small damages to bring him down. However, only a fool relies on one way to kill his enemy, and in addition to this enchantment, I think I will need at least one more secret weapon. When I lived up here, I once ran into a strange...man-thing. It was very womanly, and it tried to enter my mind. Alongside that power, though, it seemed to have control over stones and gems, and I thought that it might be able to do the same to metal."

Satoshi said to you, "That... sounds like Kirien. Or perhaps Dami. Both are terramancers, and both are kin of mine. I was actually going to suggest you seek one of them out as well. Kirien is likely your better bet, for while Dami is powerful, she doesn't have much in the way of enchanting abilities. Kirien is closer to a mage in that respect. He might be able to design something to aid you, such as... an item that resonates with terramantics? It might do to repel blows from Hadrian. While I doubt a ward could completely stop a swing from a ghroundium creature, any sort of buffer might spell the difference between a broken bone and outright death." Nothing like an invisible, metal-repelling cushion to soften the blow of a Ghroundium golem, after all. "But I'll leave that to you and one of the earth-callers, I can only work in things regarding that element. Your axe however, I can work with, and I can do so now, if you wish." Satoshi's spent the last two months singing enchantments over a weapon, what's one more? Especially when it's a minor modification to an already existing trait. "It shouldn't take long at all, I'd think."

Eboric nods once more. "The sooner the better, I think. I hope to kill the oathbreaker sometime this week."

Satoshi nods and takes back the axe without invitation--if he wants the enchantment now, she's not going to waste time on formalities, now is she? Not delaying, the kit drops down to sit crosslegged in the snow with the weapon resting before her, its elven-make preventing it from sinking despite its metal appearance. "I'll need a few moments..." she murmurs as a half-explanation, the Warlord partially forgotten already as Satoshi falls into the mindset necessary for magic-weaving. Hands stretch out over the axe and words begin to spill from her lips, the melody almost tangible as it drifts through the snow-laden air. Hints of the arcane workings are made visible in the form flecks of pale blue light scattered about herself, most heavily concentrated around the magus' hands and the head of the axe. Onwards the song carries, its lyrics an unearthly combination of archaic language and the sounds of Winter, where one moment she's speaking in a tongue of old and the next she's giving voice to the crackling of ice caps and falling of snows. In response, the symbols on the axe begin to glow, first a deep green that slowly gives way to a heavy blue. The claws on Satoshi's right hand reach down then, even as one begins to extend until it's torn through her glove and taken the form of a needle of ice. This she uses to etch in two runes, one on either end of the former symbols. With this, the magus withdraws and abruptly cuts off her song. "There. It now carries the bite of Winter, a bane to all things Metal. May it continue to serve you well."

Eboric stands well back during the enchanting process, the werebear's dislike for the magic obvious, despite his need for it. When it is done, however, he moves over to take it, examining the new symbols carefully. "You have my thanks. Frostmaw's help will not be forgotten, when I come into my own. I am sure it goes without saying, however, that this is best kept a secret until I have used it for its intended purpose. Until we meet again, Satoshi." With that, the warlord turns, striding back through the snow to the cliffs.