Crafting the Perfect Sound

[Mysticsage]

Kryas was pacing outside of one of the guild's many bedroom doorways looking slightly guilty and unsure of himself. He was glancing at the crystal long sword sheathed in his left hand and then back at the door. Kin had put his heart into this blade and now he was going to ask him to help him change it. It just felt wrong he felt a feeling of guilt settling in the pit of his stomach, but then he would glance at the crumpled up note in his left hand. A copy of a legend of a bard with a crystal sword that harmonized with his powers and granted new strengths to the one who was in tune with it. The method of making such a blade had apparently been lost to time, but Kryas new a thing or two about finding long lost secrets. After weeks of searching over old tomes in the town archives and his connections he was able to cobble together a method of making such a blade.

So now he was at an impasse within himself pacing in front of his friends door. He needed a blacksmith who could handle the deed, and he had decided beforehand that if he was going to be doing this at all then it had to be with Kin since he had made the blade in the first place.

"The only thing that could happen is he says no right?" [/color]He said to himself finally "All you have to do is ask." [/color]

Stealing his nerve he finally built up the nerve and knocked "Hey Kin you in there? I wanted to ask you a huge favor it's about altering the sword you gave me." [/color] His voice sounded horrible and shaky and he could feel his face getting redder by the second. Desperately he now hoped no one inside had heard him.

[Linwelin]

"ALTERING THE SWORD!?"

The yell echoed through the door and down the hall.

Moments later the doors swung open, with Kin standing there exasperated. "Kid, do you realize how much goes into making a crystal blade? It ain't no metalworking, nor a cakewalk! And why in the world would you need it altered? It's good enough quality to be enchanted! Before I even consider this, I'm going to need a VERY good reason and explanation."

Kin was trying his best to hide the fact that asking him to change the blade was an injury to his pride, but he managed considering it sounded like Kryas had some sort of weird plan. It was Kryas, after all, there were nothing BUT weird plans in that mind of his.

[Mysticsage]

Kryas' face was near beet red at this point. What was the best way to explain why he wanted to change the sword so badly? Perhaps the legend would be the best way to start Kin always seemed to enjoy a good story plus the challenge of making something like this might be to hard to resist.

"I'm sorry Kin! It's a truly a fantastic blade and I really do appreciate it greatly.  Only, I found a legend of a crystal blade coveted for it's ability to amplify music. The bard who held this blade was said to be able to turn mere sound into a razor's edge! The bard's powers were in perfect harmony with his weapon, and his weapon with his very soul. It was thought only the bard who carried the original knew how to make such a blade. It was one of a kind, unique among all others. The art of making it was said to be lost when the bard eventually died,and all attempts to recreate it has failed.

I however after doing a great deal of digging have thought up an idea of how to accomplish the feat. It will take the both of us working together though, I cannot do it alone I need a skilled smith who I can trust to work with me. You are the only one I'm willing to try this with Kin since we know each other well, and you made this wonderful  blade in the first place. I understand what I'm asking isn't easy to hear, and I'm not gonna do it if you refuse, but please think about it. If you do say yes I promise to cover any and all costs that might appear.[/color]

Kryas bowed his head deeply towards the end he felt really quite badly for imposing on his friend's good nature like this. He just could not allow such a unique and interesting idea slip through his fingers. So, he would toss his dignity aside for the moment apologize for the wrong doing, and hope that what he had managed to blurt out was enough to peek Kin's own imagination and curiosity.

[Linwelin]

Kin stood, leaning against the door at this point, looking up to the completely unnerved half-elf before him. After the flustered bow, he thought for a few moments before speaking; those moments being "Kin moments," so to others it must have seemed as though he immediately began speaking. "Honestly, what is it with bards and recreating mystery and legends? ESPECIALLY you, Kryas. That's one hell of an expensive and exhausting pass-time." Then the halfling grinned, "But it seems you found a rather interesting one here. A blade made of crystal that resonates with sound, that certainly isn't easy to accomplish. In fact, I would argue it's magic in nature, so I don't think it would be exactly possible to smith the ability. BUT, I could certainly modify the blade once we've researched the enchantment."

Kin looked at the bard expectantly, blinking a few times. "Well? I'm sure you came here with SOME sort of documentation if you're talking about as crazy an idea as this. Let me take a look!"

[Mysticsage]

Handing over the sheet of paper that he had written his notes on he smiled happy to hear that his friend was at least willing to hear him out. What he had written looked like some kind of occult ritual rather then a smithing technique.

It required

Spoiler

a cone of silence spell around the both of them For Kryas to sing continuously one note for 32 hours straight Eight vials of his blood And Kin hammering and shaping the blade to hum to the notes like a tuning fork.

[close]

So what do you think Kin I think it?s doable!

[Linwelin]

Kin didn't think he could be thrown off-guard again after this talk of legends and magic, but he stood corrected upon reading the note. His hand immediately went to his forehead in disbelief. "Gods, Kryas, I swear you're nuts. You want to drain your own blood and sing for a day and a quarter straight while in a silenced area? I mean, I know I can do the smithing part, I've done it plenty of times before. Are you sure we're not binding a demon to the sword or something? I mean, really, what IS this?" He couldn't keep his thoughts straight. The bewildered halfling wasn't even convinced that this setup would DO anything. Hell it'd cost him at least two days' work, as well.

"Kryas, you aren't pulling my legs here, are you?" He asked, just to check.

[Mysticsage]

Kryas' eyes turned serious and a little unnerving at the question. "I'm always serious about this kind of thing." Chuckling he waved the change away returnig to his usual demeanor "Besides the odds of a demon being bound to the sword in the process are most likely is about one in hundred." it was a joke of course but it had a tint of truth to it.

"I believe we can do this Kin! I'm willing to pay any costs that I have to pay for this! I just need to know if your willing to do this because if your not then I'm not gonna do this. You made the first sword your the only one I trudst making these allterations. He held his hands up pleadingly. He felt bad for this and he did not want to preassure him, but he felt that with this sword he could really help his friends out in battle rather then just always feeling useless espically the  halfling who is always on the front line.

[Linwelin]

Kin sighed, but relented, "Alright, alright, let's get this going, then! The thought that there's a 1% chance for a demon is still frightening though. Truth be told, I'm curious if this'll even have a result, it all sounds nonsensical. But you've done your research, so I guess that's that." He then clasped the half-elf's shoulder and looked at him squarely. "Now then, what needs to be done first? And how are we going to get this strange environment set up?"

[Mysticsage]

Kryas couldn?t help but laugh as he clapped Kin on the shoulder ?You leave the set up to me by tomorrow we?ll have everything in place and ready to go.? He began walking away with a whistle calculating what the pair would need. Before he left completely however he turned and smiled, ?Thank you Kin this really means a lot to me. See you tomorrow.? Waving he was off to get everything he needed in order for the next day.

Kryas found kin early the next morning with a large rucksack and a large number of goods strapped to his back all ready to go. It looked like the half elf was preparing for some kind of camping trip then a crafting experiment. He led/drug Kin out the guildhall quickly while it was still dark barely giving the Halfling any chance to get ready for what to come next. The Bard was bouncing of the walls he was so happy to be feeding his craving for the strange. The pair made their way to a rundown wooden home at the edge of town that did not look like it had been used in years. The home stood on a bluff alone with all kind of plants and weeds growing out of the loose stonewalls it did not seem the most obvious place to craft a sword.

Kryas led the way inside quickly, the space was actually roomier the expected though even more decrepit. Dust and cobwebs were on everything ceiling joists were rotting and a hole was opening up from the sagging support. The only thing that seemed to be in any kind of serviceable is the oversized hearth and chimney against one wall. A rusting anvil and flume were sitting in the opening alongside a small forge. Certainly not the best of equipment but they seemed serviceable with a little bit of cleaning.

However Kryas seemed more then pleased with the space, ?So what do you think, perfect right? This place used to be owned by an alchemist who did not do the best of business so eventually abandoned the place and everything in it or so my friend who owns the place now said when he said we could have it. They said that this place was nothing but a money sink and was more than happy for the guild to take it off his hands.?

[Linwelin]

Kin was barely out of his bed before Kryas began dragging him out of the room. He could swear the half-elf was about to add him to whatever else was in that pack. "Can't a man even be allowed to get up normally once in a while!?" No, not here; he practically heard his own thought.

The halfling bare got clothing and his good blacksmith's hammer and tongs before he was hoisted out of his room. "Could ya calm down already, Kryas, I'm perfectly capable of walking myself. But Kin could see the expression, and knew that, once again, the bard couldn't hear a single word said around him.

When Kin found out that the ritual DIDN'T involve his own forge and workspace, the halfling was quite pleased. It meant if something went wrong, it wasn't Kin's well-kept forge that was damaged. The tone changed, however, upon seeing what they DID have to work with.

"Perfect? Kryas, have you ever BEEN around a forge before? This is hardly a perfect place to perform a high-end, smithing-slash-magic ritual, let alone making anything of use. I'd sooner expect some hag's cauldron to sprout from the ground, boiling over!" He then perused the space more closely, sizing it up for his part. The hunk of metal that was supposed to be an anvil was rusted over. The billows looked like they were about to wear out and get punctured in multiple places. On top of all that, it was obvious the forge itself hadn't been maintained, let alone lit, in ages. He wasn't even sure he could get a proper temperature with this thing. And there's no TELLING if the ventilation will work. The gods most certainly have forsaken this space to all smithing practitioners.

Through out the entire scouting, Kin was muttering his thoughts to himself, changing between grimaces, sighs, and moments where it looked he was about to cry out in empathy for the tools.

"Never let an amateur scout out a smithy..." Kin muttered to himself, and more of a future vow than a statement.

After some moments of silence, which were obviously in displeasure, Kin spoke. "I'm almost sad to say I can work with this. Normally I wouldn't touch it with a 10ft pole without first looking over and repairing it. From the looks of it, that'd be a week's job at LEAST. No time for THAT." He then proceeded to rest his hammer upon his shoulder and walk toward the unhallowed workspace. "Well, let's get this going. I don't want to spend any additional time here."

"And Kyras?" Kin said, pausing for a second while Kryas looked at him. "You're a damned lunatic, especially when it comes to mystery."

[Mysticsage]

Kryas could not help but smirk at his friends comments. "Have faith!" [/color]He laughed "After all I'm no ordinary bard as you know and it hurts me to think that you would assume I have nothing up my sleeve!" [/color]It had been almost a month now since Serena had appeared in that rift and since then Kryas had sworn the two to secrecy as to his background, most of which was still unknown to the halfling. When Kryas was not busy he currently spent all his time in the medical ward watching over her. To be honest he thought of the legend because he knew that she would have reprimanded him for hovering as he did.

Still with his smile he pulled a piece of white chalk from his bag. "Magic Chalk," [/color]he said throwing Kin a piece before using the rest to draw patterns all over the floor. Taking a stance at the center of his drawing he held out his hands and the lines began to glow.

The building around them and the things inside it began to shift and move piece by piece. The entire structure was mending itself but more then that it was incorporating the vines and trees haphazardly taking over the space into the design. When all was said and done they were standing in what looked like a different house. Nature and debris had fused together to make a new kind of house that looked like it belonged out of a fairy tail then anything else. Even the furniture and smithing equipment had used bits of the house and what was left around it to repair any damage. While it might not have looked exactly what one would expect in a forge everything looked surprisingly useable.  Looking around at his handiwork Kryas could not help but say aloud "I might have let that mending spell go a little bit to far."[/color]

[Linwelin]

Kin mumbled and grumbled the entire time Kryas went through his "something-up-my-sleeve" moment. Like some magic chalk was going to change the fact that I have to work with precision in a dump like this..." There was no way some scribbles and words were going to make this any better in Kin's eyes.

Or not.

That's all Kin thought as he watched the room and furnishings transform before him. His jaw had dropped once he noticed that it wasn't some illusion, or simply parts of the house.

"I might have let that mending spell go a little bit too far."

"THAT was a mending spell? That's a load of bull, Kryas, that was no mending spell!." Kin was tired of being surprised, almost to the point of not looking around the house. Which was another question, were they inside a plant or a house now? For the love of the gods, the walls have BARK and LEAVES. He thought to himself in exasperation.

"I don't even..." Shaking his head, he walked over to the oddly-transformed forge area, wiping off the anvil and starting up the forge and bellows. "Screw it. I'm done thinking. Let's do this."

[Mysticsage]

Kryas template

Kryas nodded still mulling over how the spell had worked out. He had gotten the spell from a wandering wizard he had met along his own travels. The wizard had used it to add  and fix rooms to the moving monstrosity that he had called a home. Regardless, kin was right and they should just keep plugins forward.

Kryas went about clearing a space where he could sit elevated by the forge. Then he went back to his bag pulling out all kinds of things out of the many pockets. Bowls and incense sticks were the first to be placed around the room. Nine in total, he placed each shallow brass dish in one of the compass points and one at the center of the room. He filled each with a clear liquid from a crystal flask then threw a bundle of herbs and the incense sticks in each as well.

"Sage along with some other stuff in magically purified water, helps with the silence spell and makes sure that the magic doesn't interrupt our focus." [/color] he said off handily to explain what he was doing.

With that in place he cleared off the remnants of the magical chalk from the floor and began drawing a new design. He drew a circle around each individual bowl and then the drawing spider webbed. When he was finished he had run out of chalk and the only blank space large enough to stand was in random areas and around the forge.

"Finally, we're set to go!"[/color] he said with a smile. He took a place standing just behind the center bowl he snapped his fingers and a delicate ember fell from his finger tips igniting the herbs and incense. At the exact moment that the first bowl ignited so too did the bowls in the circle around the perimeter. The air was quickly infused with the sharp fresh smell of burnt sage, mint, lavender, and sandalwood  with a hint of sweetness of honey and roses. The intense smell did not last very long as it dissipated and permeated into everything however it still remained noticeable. A kind of new energy came into the space as the two breathed the air in. Any feelings of exhaustion Kin still had from that morning was washed away. It did not leave him feeling hyper however just more awake.

After a moment more the chalk lines began to glow a brilliant amber color starting from the area around the center bowl and then spreading out to the bowls at the edges. Once all the lines were alight an inky semi-translucent substance began to seep from the outer most lines. It crept up the walls eventually meeting at the ceiling creating something similar to a dome. It almost looked like they were surrounded by the night sky as the magic had speckles of all different colors like stars suspended in the darkness. As it finished closing all the noise from outside the hovel was completely gone. The spell was a cone of silence leaving little more then a bit of static in the air.

Kryas couldn't help but smirk as he looked over his handy work approvingly. "So what do you think Kin ready to?" [/color] Kryas smiled as he held out the sword for him to take. He knew what he had to do and that one of them would have to be caring for the blade the whole time, but this was going to be fun he just knew it.

Now all that was left was for Kin to get the party started with a nice hot fire.

[Linwelin]

Kin decided, for his sanity's sake, to disregard any more magical goings-on. As much as he loved his dear friend, the energy involved to keep up with his schemes were beyond the halfling. He'd rather use his energy for fighting, taunting, or feasting. He did, however, notice the refreshing aura of the mixture Kryas had used. "Well...that's different. What am I saying, it's all different!" Kin says under his breath, shaking it off to go back to concentrating on NOT noticing Kryas' magic.

Right as the forge got to the correct temperature, Kin noticed that Kryas was holding out the blade toward him. "Now we're talking!" He exclaimed, "Let's get this going! I was tired of of waiting and trying to ignore your eccentric spells." With that, Kin snatched the blade out of Kryas' hands, laid it upon the anvil, and waited for the start of the ritual. "Go for it!" He states plainly, hammer and tongs at the ready.