In a spare corner of Cichol's Arcane Library, Milo had begun working on a long overdue task. He needed the privacy and the advice of the old mage to work on the special project. The table he was working on had a polished stone top, and legs carved from the thigh bones of several large and extinct creatures. To one side was the knowledge he had accumulated in the Tower of Strife. Cichol was happily copying it all to have for his own library.
Besides the Journal of Ragasano Curd-Hoarder, Milo had found three books with information on runic formations, along with seven scrolls, and a dozen torn and burnt pages from a book lost to the ages. Despite his near-perfect memory, he had read through each bit of literature several times. He also asked both Arlothe and Cremona for their thoughts on the validity of the manuscripts, and their interpretation of the spells and runes presented.
His physical components were sitting on the table as well. In front of him was the arm bone of an ancient creature he had appropriated from Philistron, the old weapon he had bought in the marketplace of Limburger Hollow, and the enchanted weapon Shadowblight. He'd managed to bind the weapon to himself again by using blood, but something was different. He hadn't felt it at first, but every time he'd used it since, the feeling had grown. His weapon was hungry. Cichol had only nodded when he told the old bone mage about the feeling and pulled down a volume from the library. "Read this. Most of it is crap, but the section that talks about the weapon spirits is insightful. An old, magical weapon like that wakes up over time as drinks the blood of your foes. Just like a person, it wants to grow and some of them get very upset if you don't listen to them."
"So what can I do?"
"That's going to be your decision. Some people make sure the weapon gets fed on a regular basis, either with blood or the points that you earn. Get's expensive in the long run, either way. The weapon will want to drink deeper and deeper. Or you can find ways to upgrade them. Magical pommel gems for a sword or jewel-encrusted sheath. The dwarves carve runes onto their axes and the elves turn the shafts of spears into carved works of art. Of course, that weapon of yours is more primitive and made of bone. Bone has a strong connection to the living, as you've seen." He left Milo to his work
Milo was contemplating the classic puzzle that pondered what happens when a damaged piece of a ship is repaired. Is it the same ship? What if each piece is replaced over the years, slowly but surely taking away the old parts and replacing them with new ones? At what point did the ship become something different?
However, the ship in question lacked a magical aura that was made up of the sum of its parts. Shadowblight was made of different parts. The largest bone spikes held most of the mana, and the ancient wooden handle had very little. Two of the spikes were chipped and worn. They didn't have any mana in them. What was left was old and brittle. Milo had been studying the weapon for weeks, and now with Chichol's help, he examined it one more time, making notes as he looked over the weapon bit by bit, finding the runes used in older books, and studying the bones.
The wooden handle was the simplest part. It acted like a mage's staff, channeling the power of the runes between the different bone spikes and drawing power from the mage. Milo had read several books on the construction of wands and staves among the resources in the tower and examined Arlothe and Cremona's personal staves while asking numerous questions. He had no doubt that he could create a staff that would channel his own magic if he needed such a tool.
The spiked bones of the weapon were from different creatures. The tooth of a Gigantic Spasmotic Leech was the largest. Cichol had identified the effect from an old account of the fall of the Kingdom of Kazmar. The leeches had been bred by Spasma the Great, a breeder of fantastic beasts. The King of Kazmar desired an army of beasts that would attack the undersea cities of the Azcantl Merfolk. Complications had arisen when it turned out the Gigantic Leeches didn't like the taste of merfolk but found humans very tasty. A horde of hungry leeches had rampaged around the island kingdom until Spasma managed to turn them into kittens. After all the kittens on the island had been slain to make sure the leeches were dead, Spasma was hung by an angry crowd and his notes burned. Whether because he was the creator of such misfortune, or because the crowd was upset over the kittens, is unclear. The few remaining fangs of the leeches were prized because of their debilitating effect on those wounded.
The second bone spike had been carved from the elbow spike of a Vampiric Hell Beast. These large, flightless, bat-like creatures had infested the Mountains of Morun for ages. They were heavy-bodied swoopers who dove off cliffs, driving their prey to the ground where they feasted on their bodies after draining their blood. The poor victim grew weaker as the Hell Beast grew stronger. They finished their meal, climbed back up the cliffs, and went looking for bigger prey. These creatures were still in existence, and for that reason, no sane person came within a day's journey of those haunted cliffs.
Other bits of bone had been enchanted with common runes for Swift Striking or Durability to keep the wood from splintering.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
Starting with the ancient arm bone, he separated the arm from the hand bones with their two small fingers and huge, clawed thumb. He was going to replace the old wood with this ancient bone. Even as it was, the material was twice as strong as the enchanted wood had been. Milo improved on that by carving the ancient bone-rune for Hard-Runed Bones. Instead of Swift Striking, which was a powerful, if mundane rune to make a sword or weapon faster, Milo used the bone-rune for Velocity. He shaped and sanded the three feet of arm bone until it was what he needed for the weapon's handle. Even as it was, it would have made a good weapon, but Milo knew this could be more than just a club.
Cichol made suggestions for carvings on the handle. Some were simply decorations that would improve his grip. Others were copied off of the wooden handle, the old mage explaining how some of the minor runes linked the carvings and merged the parts of the weapon into one magical item with one aura.
The handle finished, they began work to improve the Leech Fang and Hell Beast Spike. Milo repaired minor fractures in them and polished the bones, removing discolorations from the long years it had lain in the dirt. Two of the bones from the weapon he had purchased from Scrap-Hunter were still useful. The rest of it was rotted junk. The two spikes had minor enchantments of Hardness that had kept them from breaking. There was good bone inside the two pieces.
Milo placed one on top of the Hell Beast Spike, and slowly manipulated the good bone to enter and reinforce the Hell Beast Spike. After an hour's work, he was tired and sweating. The good bone had finally collapsed into dust, and now the Spike was heavy and hard. After a small rest, he labored to do the same with the Leech Fang. This one was tougher to do. The structure of the fang fought against him, and it took all of his willpower to win against the inanimate object. But in the end, he had two parts of Shadowblight improved.
The thumb of the unknown creature contained a powerful Rune of Sundering. With it, the beast could shatter rock as it dug through the earth. Milo had hoped it would do the same to enemy armor. Carefully he drilled and carved until he could fit the three spikes into the handle of the weapon. On all three spikes, he carved the Rune of Destruction. Small pins of bone held the pieces in place. Velocity and Hard-runed bones were carved into the handle. There was room for one more rune, and he added Sharp-Runed Talons.
Milo rested until he had refreshed his mana, and then held the completed weapon in his hands. He manipulated the bone of each part to merge with the other pieces. They fought and struggled and slowly the weapon merged into one piece. From the old weapon's handle, there was a soft vibration that became a heartbeat, beating in time with his own heart. Then it stopped, and so did his own heart.
[The Weapon Spirit known as Shadowblight demands a binding contract with you. Once before it served you, yet your bond was broken and it was set aside. Never Again!
-To create this stronger binding, your mana will be lowered permanently by 100 points. You cannot regain this mana by simply abandoning the weapon. This weapon will be bound to you, and cannot be lost, nor can it be used by someone else.
Shadowblight has grown and demands more foes to kill. It can grow stronger still!]
Milo agreed. He'd bound himself to the weapon before. As soon as he thought this, the weapon turned in his hand, and one of the spikes gashed his chest, drawing blood. He felt a little weak, but it passed quickly. He examined the improved weapon.
[Shadowblight (Legendary Bonepick) Sundering, Nigh Invulnerable, Destructive, Quick
A traditional weapon of ratkin warriors and scouts, sometimes referred to by the uneducated as a 'Spikeystick'.
Base chance to hit: 40+DEX x 5 + Rank with (Ancient Rune Lore) x5
Damage: 150 + 5xDEX
Effect:
Sunder Armor: As part of your attack, Shadowblight unleashes the Rune of Sundering on your foe, destroying armor and shattering bones. Your foe loses 50 points of armor protection or natural mitigation. If used against inanimate objects (rock walls, doors, cheese wax) it does a large amount of damage. Cost: 50 stamina.]
Milo's blood seeped into the weapon, not even leaving a stain, and his heart began to beat again. Cichol observed this and stared hard at the weapon. "That is one vindictive spikeystick. Not many of them get used enough, or mean enough, to form their own spirit. It was bad when Malskitter was using it. This new one is even sharper and hungrier. You and it should have some fun together."
Milo wondered about Cichol's definition of fun. He was just happy to have repaired his Bonespike. He staggered upwards from where he had been sitting. He was stiff and tired from hours of research and arcane tinkering. He needed to get back to the tower of strife and his comfy chair for a couple of hours of sleep before heading to fighting practice. It was going to be a long day.
[Rune Crafting has reached Rank 8
Ancient Rune Lore has reached Rank 8
Runic Lore has reached Rank 8
Bone Carving has reached Rank 10
Bone Manipulation has reached Rank 9]