My problem with that is that at some point there will be to much sozials at one point. Like we are already struggling with balancing our cultivation and sozials.
Not unless we bind our ducklings together like our sparring group. Sure it may take sometime post whatever it is the sect's gonna drop on us. But I imagine a crafting group dedicating at first to collab for various special charm or an effort in hunting down rare mats from the depths would be cool.
I would imagine it would be like Nokai's situation though, roll the dice and see if the group's all available for some crazy mission or what not. Or it may look like the Hearthguard in @soulcake 's Dwarf quest if we manage to get really chummy and have the adequate clout (But this I imagine would be a long endeavour at this stage of the quest)
A/N: A big thanks to the 46 people who have pledged to me on Patreon! If you'd like to join them, you can do so here. Or, if you'd like to support me without the monthly commitment, you can buy me a cup of Ko-Fi here.
>Plan Trapped Under the Ice
>> You are now a member of the Eighth Circle, and as such, your time is no longer your own. Elder Siani and his Caretakers require your service. x3 actions
>>> Use Wind pills when necessary if we are cycling An Elegant Plume
>> Much to your bemusement, you have been informed that Zhao thinks very poorly of your howling skills. Nokai has informed you that both of you are to suffer through the hound's remedial lessons. Attendance is heavily advised. (Pack Mentality Roll: 20! May be taken at no cost this week!)
>>> Use Choir Note if training Warhounds Cry.
>> Mei Daiyu has not given up on her charmcrafting aspirations, and has begun planning another project. But this project requires an unconventional material: frozen starlight. You have been invited to traverse the Brightmaples with her as she gathers it.
>> Word has reached you through the murmurs of the Prospector's Courtyard: Zhuan Kun has extended an invitation for an audience with your name on it. Though considering that the noble has been absorbed in his proving ground for days, you suspect the invitation comes more from his household. You sense Yi Tai's hand in this.
>> Siau Satai impressed you during Mo Hanyng's tournament. She has not a lick of formal training, but there is clear talent and potential there. With a bit of training, she can see how bright her jewel will shine. You can provide that training.
>> Your fingers itch to begin work on a new charm. You shall begin planning one out.
>>> The Axe you've long since promised to Jai Fa has begun to take form. All it will take is a bit more work to hone this creation of ice and twisted steel to a sharp edge. You will put in that work.
>>>> Crafting X1 w/ Chui Dao, Infusing X2
>>>> You will infuse the charm in The Twice-Forged Thicket
>> The only true way to walk your path is to cycle the anam of the world. You will do so. x1 action
>>> A Second of Eternity
>>>> Shatter the Mirror
----------------------------
As you stalk from the confines of Mo Hanying's amphitheatre your mind is a confused tangle of thoughts. Even though you saw everything happen with your own eyes, you still can only guess at what just occurred. Mo Hanying wanted you to crown the winner of her contest… until she didn't? But if she wanted you to pick someone specific, why did she not simply tell you beforehand and at least try to talk about it? Why were you even there? Why did she not seize back the power she gave you and countermand your decision? She's nobility; that kind of thing may not be encouraged, but few would have been surprised if she did.
You… you need to be somewhere else right now. You need to be doing something else right now. It doesn't matter what it is, you just need to focus on something to still the buzzing in your beehive of a mind.
Simple, mindless work might be just the thing you need to regain your control. But what? You do not want to work on Fa's axe in this state; you cannot risk polluting your work with the feelings currently boiling in your gut. Perhaps you should seek out one of your friends and exchange pointers. Or you could see what Sister Xiong has to offer you. You could even go seek a regular assignment for once! Simple labor may not be the most glamorous thing, but it would at least be completely mindless. Or you could… you could...
Your thoughts come to a complete halt as you round a bend in the tunnel.
What had so far been a flat and uninteresting stretch of stone that should have led you back to the central cavern is instead replaced with the towering spires and rhythmic rain of the Second of Eternity.
The echoing splashes of water meeting stone sounds almost like a friendly greeting.
....very well then. This will certainly do. You pick your way through the stone, pat one spire on the side in a friendly greeting, and drop down into your cycling position.
18 Successes! A Second of Eternity: 25/25 -> 7/25!
Technique Upgraded: Shatter the Mirror!
Shatter the Mirror (EMP 4)
Defender Technique 3 (Time 39) (13 Remaining)
Cost: 5 Anam
Phases: 5/7
Description: There was once a Vestige which could create many copies of itself. Kong Zhi is incapable of that feat, but thanks to time anam, he does not have to recreate it as is. Instead, he can pluck himself from another moment in time, having that copy do his bidding for a short period of time.
By the time you feel that you have taken all that you can safely take from the Second of Eternity, you feel much better. The effort of managing Time Anam did a great deal to distract you from your thoughts. As you rise up, the energy of the ages settling in your bones, you feel more at peace than you did hours ago. More… centered.
...cycling Time anam helped to calm you down. What a strange world you live in.
But regardless of how strange it is, it is undoubtedly true. You leave the Second of Eternity with your thoughts well and truly in order. So what if you do not understand what just happened? How is that any different than how you are after a normal conversation with Mo Hanying. You are certainly still upset, and eventually you will have answers, but for now you are content to tuck those feelings into the back of your mind. You will retrieve them later, when they can do some good.
That is a matter for later, though. As for now? Now that you are centered, you feel ready to return to the Twice-Forged Thicket. Fa's axe is so close to completion that you can practically taste it. All you need to do is finish shaping the blade and affix it to the haft. You will not let such minor tasks stand in the way of your friend receiving her just reward any longer.
It is only a brief journey from the Second to the Thicket, and your new form makes it even shorter. Before long, you are back at your makeshift workstation amongst the iron boughs. A flick of your wrist summons the partially finished charm from the depths of the Wandering Estate. You almost flick it again to call up your tools-
<Muuuuuuuuu.>
-but before you can, your eyes find the unblinking azure stare of Chui Dao, who seems none too pleased at the thought of you using another tool. You consider the spirit for a moment before shrugging and lifting it's hammer from your belt sash much to the kukuni's joy. The small spirit has been very helpful thus far. You may as well continue on as you began.
With a grunt of effort, you lift Chui Dao and continue your labors.
Craft (Weapon): Check: 3d10s7(1.4)+5 (Son of Kong Shuren)(Chui Dao, the Hammer) vs. Build Target 13 (55-8-8-9-9-3-5). Dice Rolled: 10, 7, 7, 8. 5.6, rounded up to 6 plus 5 equals 11 Successes!
Craft (Weapon): Check: 3d10s7(1.4)+5 (Son of Kong Shuren)(Chui Dao, the Hammer) vs. Build Target 2 (55-8-8-9-9-3-5-11). Dice Rolled: 6, 5, 3. 0 plus 5 equals 5 Successes!
Craft (Weapon): Check: 3d10s7(1.4)+5 (Son of Kong Shuren)(Chui Dao, the Hammer) vs. Build Target -3 (55-8-8-9-9-3-5-11-5). Dice Rolled: 8, 8, 5. 2.8, rounded up to 3 plus 5 equals 8 Successes!
Craft (Weapon): Check: 3d10s7(1.4)+5 (Son of Kong Shuren)(Chui Dao, the Hammer) vs. Build Target -11 (55-8-8-9-9-3-5-11-5-8). Dice Rolled: 2, 1, 1. -2 plus 5 equals 3 successes!
Build Target: -14! Build Target Met!
This time, Chui Dao does not do anything as pedestrian as sit atop your arm while you swing it's hammer. Instead the spirit reaches out for the axehead and sinks down into it, it's semi-gelatinous form squeezing into every nook and cranny of the unfinished weapon. The webwork of steel suspended in the ice shines with an inner fire as the kukuni brings its power to bear.
As you watch, the blade slowly seems to alter it's form on its own. The uneven surface begins to flatten out, the twin heads both expand, a fine edge forming on each end. If you wanted, you could likely sit back and watch as the axe finished it's own creation. Or rather, you could watch as Chui Dao puts the finishing touches on your creation.
But no. You will not be outdone by a Kukuni with a one-sound vocabulary! You bring the hammer down on the malleable ice, adding your own strength to the Spirits. Chui Dao seems to take your force and adds it to its own efforts, speeding the process up even further. With each hammer-stroke, the blade gets larger and larger, the edge taking on more and more of a wicked sharpness.
A quick test reveals that the blade is already sharp enough to draw blood. You stick your now dripping fifth finger into your mouth to soothe the pain before grinning and swinging the hammer once more.
The blade might be sharp, but it is also absurdly thin. You're sure that the steel lattice Chui Dao is adding to the ice will strengthen it, but you would rather be safe than sorry. It needs more mass. Thankfully, you have the remaining shavings from the anvil to add to the equation.
Leaving Chui Dao behind to continue its work, you make a quick fire with fallen boughs and throw in a small nugget of specially prepared charcoal to make it burn even hotter. Once the flames are nearly blue, you drop your pot full of anvil shavings on top- and then add another with the scraps of what used to be the door knocker on top. You have a new idea.
Soon, the scraps are gone, leaving only the shimmer of molten steel and bronze in their place. You waste no time in gathering the steel and labeling it over the axehead as if you were Ming Hui basting a cut of meat. The majority of the steel drips right back off of the ice and back to the pot but some remains, sticking to the axehead like a new coat of paint. A flick of your wrist spins the axehead and you repeat the process, staining the ice with silver-gray.
Several hours later your ladle finally scrapes the bottom of the pot. The steel has all adhered to the axehead, adding mass and stability to the unfinished weapon. Where before your project was blue with veins of gray, now it is gray with streaks of blue seeping to the surface. The only part of the axe that is still unquestionably ice is the edge, which still is a proud, unbroken azure.
Chui Dao has not lain idle during the long coating process either. Even now it works inside the axe, ejecting pockets of air and unifying the metal into an unbroken coating. The kukuni lets out <Mug!>'s of joy every few moments, clearly delighting in the work. Every now and then, it pops it's bright blue eye out of the axe to peer at you, as if checking to make sure that you approve of what it's doing.
The next time it pops out, you gesture at it to vacate the axehead. It does so with a groan. Tentatively, you reach out and pat it on its… head? Its head. You feel a small amount of sympathy for it. Being told to stop working before the project is obviously done is not a fun experience for anyone. But just as Father stopped you from helping him assemble the Tapestry of the Twin Dukes when you were seven, you must stop Chui Dao from assisting you now and for much the same reason: you cannot risk anything distracting you while you add the brass.
So once Chui Dao is free from the charm, you dip a brush with a head of miststeel strands into the molten brass and move it over to the burning hot axehead. Then quickly, with a deft hand, you begin to paint.
You've no design in mind, but your hands certainly have ideas on what they wish to make. Brass forms a jagged edge near the frozen edges before tapering off, segueing into dozens of thumb-sized teardrops. The droplets of metal meet again in the middle, unifying into a worn crown- perfect for one who walks the Path of the Bloodstained Tyrant. A few carefully placed rubies completes the look, making it appear as if blood is arcing from every strike.
The other side gets a less thematic design, but one no less meaningful. Several lines cross from edge to edge, winding and twisting in labyrinthine patterns. The maze of brass is only interrupted in a few key locations, leaving steel silhouettes of beasts you and Fa have slain together peeking through: a skeleton with a segmented lower body. A crab. And in the center, the towering elephantine figure of the Vestige you fought in the ghost city.
With the designs done you can barely wait for the metal to cool before moving to bring it all together. The last of the steel is alloyed with the last of the brass and combined with a healthy dose of Angel's Tears, and you coat the well in the center of the axehead with a brush dipped in the resulting mixture.Another coat on the haft itself allows you to press the two components together into one complete piece. Another dash of Angel's Tears and some unguents to heat and mold the axehead one last time ensures it.
Just like that, all you have to do is infuse the completed charm with anam and Fa will finally have her just reward-
Cycling Check: 10d10s6(1.4)(Son of Kong Shuren). Dice Rolled: 10, 8, 8, 8, 8, 6, 6, 6, 5, 3, 5. 11.2, rounded down to 11 Successes!
Cycling Check: 10d10s6(1.4)(Son of Kong Shuren). Dice Rolled: 9, 9, 9, 8, 5, 6, 5, 5, 3, 1. 7 Successes!
Cycling Check: 10d10s6(1.4)(Son of Kong Shuren). Dice Rolled: 10, 8, 8, 8, 8, 6, 3, 3, 2, 1, 7. 8.4, rounded down to 8 Successes!
Cycling Check: 10d10s6(1.4)(Son of Kong Shuren). Dice Rolled: 10, 8, 7, 7, 6, 6, 4, 3, 3, 2, 6. 9.8, rounded up to 10 Successes!
Cycling Check: 10d10s6(1.4)(Son of Kong Shuren). Dice Rolled: 10, 8, 7, 7, 4, 4, 4, 3, 3, 1, 10, 4. 5.6, rounded up to 6 Successes!
Cycling Check: 10d10s6(1.4)(Son of Kong Shuren). Dice Rolled: 9, 8, 6, 5, 4, 4, 2, 2, 2, 1. 2.8, rounded up to 3 Successes!
Cycling Check: 10d10s6(1.4)(Son of Kong Shuren). Dice Rolled: 10, 10, 9, 9, 7, 6, 5, 3, 2, 1, 9, 8. 9.8, rounded up to 10 Successes!
Build Target Reached!
-and that is, surprisingly enough, easier done than said.
You hardly have to try to infuse the axe. The materials have been bathing in the power of the Twice-Forged Thicket since you began the charm's construction. The anam has been a constant presence in your mind's eye as you shaped the metal, wrangled Chui Dao, and painted the designs. It barely takes a slight breath to fill your lungs with the power of Wood and Steel, and from there it is simple to coax the mixture into the charm.
Barely an hour after you began infusing the charm, you have completed it.
<THE AXE> (Weapon/Axe)
Warrior Charm 4 (Steel 35/Force 9/Ice 5)
Trigger Cost: N/A(Passive)/4 Anam (Final Strike) The physical embodiment of a promise, <THE AXE> is a weapon forged by Kong Zhi for his long time friend and accomplice Jai Fa as both payment for a duel and as a token of appreciation.
When in combat and wielding <THE AXE>, the wielder gains 3 bonus dice to any melee attack they use. In addition, every round that the wielder rolls a 10 or their opponent rolls a 1, they gain 1 point of hardness up to their CON score. At any point in the combat, the wielder may pay <THE AXE>'s trigger cost, sacrificing their stacked hardness and gaining that number of successes to their current roll.
Now, only one thing remains before you can hand your latest creation over to your roommate.
You need to give it a name.
What do you name the axe you have forged for Fa?
[] Write-In
Hail because its both an ice word and references her Path (Tyrant, saluting/hailing a ruler etc). Inevitable both like Winter, and our promise to repay our friend. Also her fighting style is somewhat methodical and grinding.
@Vesvius@Cteatus, question, how long does the armor last once it's up? There's no mention of it degrading after "x" rounds. Is it until she cancels it? Could she pre-game and get it up in advance by wailing on a wall?
@Vesvius@Cteatus, question, how long does the armor last once it's up? There's no mention of it degrading after "x" rounds. Is it until she cancels it? Could she pre-game and get it up in advance by wailing on a wall?
