You sniff down at the Rune now emblazoned on Valaya's shield. This particular statue stood next to an equally large stone depiction of her husband outside Kraka Grom's future Underway terminal. Though that particular bit of construction was still a long ways away from even starting, let alone completion, you'd at least gotten Valka to agree to have the terminal built and properly defended from the natural cavern discovered beneath Grom's lowest levels.
While a good deal of your time has been spent inscribing preservative Runes on statuary, it has hardly been wasted. Never underestimate the effect a depiction of one's ancestors staring down on you can have on the average dwarf, especially when that statue bears Runes that bolster morale and improves one's endurance as these do.
I hadn't thought of it until just recently, but --
We're putting a lot of statues of Valaya in Kraka Grom, right? Because Kraka Grom favors Valaya as a result of, well, ah, things.
And we just did the Basket research, right?
So, I wonder if Kraka Grom will appreciate having more Runes of Valaya on them, as a result of our Basket Research!
It took the better part of the year, but you did manage to discover the truth behind one of the Runes on the handle. It was seemingly the source of the basket's ability to store stonebread far in excess of what its visible volume entailed. This Rune of Stacking as you've come to call it, somehow allows a container to carry far more than its normal capacity, though not indefinitely. The amount varied depending on the item, but it seemed to scale poorly, with bags having the most growth while anything larger than a barrel saw smaller and smaller gains. Further, the Rune reduced the weight of that extra volume by half according to your measurements.
Heh. Know what I'm reminded of? The Rune of the Unknown. (Hammerspace!
)
Also: I just realized!
These Runes are perfect for our Hearthguard's mission!
Carrying supplies everywhere? Going and traveling everywhere and rescuing people?
The Runes on Valaya's baskets may be quite useful to the Hearthguard.
... For that matter, the Runes might be useful
to the colonization efforts themselves, rather than to the Valayan Guards necessarily. Giving stuff to the colonization and settlers...
The other early test you attempted was to try and stack the Rune, hoping to see if multiple copies on an item would increase the effect's potency to no success. A sad thing considering the name you chose but nothing else really worked.
That aside, the Rune was undoubtedly useful.
Further testing was required, and your mind thinks about ways to expand on the concept now that you think on it some more. It makes you wonder what the other unknown Rune on the basket will do.
Um. So what
did happen when you stacked the rune?
The shield is composed of a wutroth core and Gromril covering, the Metal embarrassed with the emblem of Clan Tinbeard
I swear I feel like there's a word that is very similarly spelled to that -- embrassed? auto-correct says that's not it, but -- and would fit with meaning, but...
Did this mean to say "emblazoned"?
This Rune sent your mind a tizzy just like the Rune of Stacking did. You've given it the name the Rune of Repair, which was perfectly apt, given that the Rune allowed whatever it was inscribed on to heal from minor cosmetic damage, things like hairline cracks and fractures that could cascade into worse damage over time. Stacking the Rune increased the speed of that effect but not its overall efficacy.
It's the Rune of Cleaning/Cleanliness/Preservation!
Healing Runes that allowed inorganic material to repair itself like living flesh had ever been a dream among your colleagues but had never truly worked out. Aye you could make Runes that fixed mistakes, the Rune of Forging was proof enough of that, but they always required outside material. New pieces to be added, replaced or fuel the growth that needed to be done. Nothing like the sort of regeneration the Master Rune of Vitality could do for instance, and yet here before you was that fabled Rune. One that, seemingly from thin air, generated new material to repair small bits of damage done.
Hm, I wonder if the Master Rune of Metalblood combined with a few other runes, could be a way to achieve that dream? Or maybe Metalblood was a way that one Runesmith tried to achieve that dream. Perhaps he paired it with a Rune of Forging and some third rune. And in the end, he made a combo that
can do restoration and regeneration of organic stuff -- but, well... it's a whole
combo. And it uses a Master Rune. Back to the drawing board said Runesmith had to go, grumbling all the while.
Their people had better odds together than separate
"Gloin, good you're here," Otrek greets him before waving away the rest of the tent's occupants to give them privacy.
Missing a period here.
Snerra revels in the sense of fulfillment, of knowing that her work and knowledge will be carried on beyond her mortal span but more so in knowing she helped shape two young souls into fine Dawi with a bright future ahead of them and the skill to grab it with both hands..
I found the missing period!
Jolla had, unsurprisingly, chosen to use a Rune of Fury, but had branched out of her usual comfort zone by applying the Runes of Frost and Lightning on it as well, matching the stylized Brana she had turned the handle into, the double-headed axe forming its splayed out wings.
Interesting. You know what came to mind? The Master Rune of Swiftness. Which in canon was said to come from cooperation between Dwarf and Elf... And now, I want to see what Dwarf and Elf and Brana can achieve. Because both Elves
and Brana are
fast as hell.
The Master Rune of Swiftness can be an interesting one in this timeline...
Still, such trials were relatively uncommon across the Karaz Ankor. Maybe a few dozen Masters and Runelords who had partaken in the practice in total. The reasons it was so uncommon were rather simple, after all, who wanted to teach Journeymen? All joking aside, making a Rune simple enough that a Journeyman was capable of learning, while within the remit of any Master, teaching said Journeyman was always an investment. Teaching however many beardlings who came to learn from you meant less time working on commissions, research, duties etc. Moreover, unlike a Master Runesmith, you couldn't expect as much out of them which meant you had to pay extra attention to ensure they weren't fumbling on something. By your estimate, for every 3 Masters you could teach, that same amount of attention had to be put on just 2 Journeymen. Not worthwhile, but on the other hand, Journeymen were more pliable and willing to accept correction and learn than a Master. So while you spent less attention on them, a Master Runesmithtook longer to learn if they had habits that made teaching difficult as opposed to a Journeyman.
... You know what?
That makes Runelord Hammerspite
even cooler than before.
This is a guy who still teaches
Journeymen. He takes time out of his schedule to spread his gifts even to bumbling youths.
What a guy.
I like him.
Regardless, it would remain a thought for a while longer and it wouldn't be a reality until you actually had the free time to do it properly. Most likely after the work at Grom was over and the number of Masters learning the Rune of Forged Limb lessened. Well, that or you got more comfortable watching over larger and larger groups of Dawi without jeopardizing the quality of learning they received.
The time in between then, you would be spending on creating a proper trial for them to undergo.
[ ] [Trial:] Write-in a trial for each Rune, or make it clear the trial is for both. Be general, set the aesthetic of the trial and Snorri will do his best to match it and keep within acceptable norms.
[ ] [Trial:] QM's choice.
... ... What about a delivery of some sort? Of getting to some place and disseminating supplies or ingredients or medicines or whatever?
... Wait, darnit. Playing Santa is easier
with those runes, making it a catch-22...
Actually, for another cool idea...
I wonder if having them work alongside our Hearthguard would be appropriate?
- Understand Valaya's Runes complete! Research Unlocked!
-- New Rune Unlocked! Master Rune of Valaya [Talisman], Necessary Ingredients: [T2] Stone Troll's Blood: Enemy magic is absorbed and the energy is used to create a defensive shell of energy around the bearer.
-- New Rune Unlocked! Rune of Repair: Items inscribed with this item can repair minor cosmetic damage done to them overnight. Does not work on flesh. Multiple copies of this Rune inscribed on an item increase speed but not potency.
-- New Rune Unlocked! Rune of Stacking: Containers that bear this Rune can store multiple times their volume. Weight of extra volume half of what it should be.
You know what's nice about a Talisman Master Rune? They can be put on statues and buildings. I...
think we could already do that beforehand -- the Gates of Kraka Drakk bear the Master Rune of Valaya -- but now that I think about it's weird that we could do that, because it was a
banner rune. I guess the Master Rune is on a
banner that is on those walls, probably.
(Also, obligatory "Oh no, more research unlocked! D:" heh.)
