|
Time finally permitted. All V had to do know was wait for Artie to arrive. He'd said he could talk to the mystery knife- and if nothing else, this should make for great storytime!
True to his word, the Art man arrived not long after he'd received the call.
Dressed simply as ever, the smith offered a wave as he took a seat across from the elemental. "Hiya." (edited)
"Good evening. Morning? Eh. It's dark realside. You sure you're feeling up to this, my friend?" Vorpal asked, letting him answer.
"Yep. It should be ok. Though I'll warn you: i have no idea what it'll say. Like I said before , it might be a little confused from all the time in the hedge." Artie prefaced. (edited)
"... is that a thing?" She asks, pulling the blade from under her coat and setting it down gently between them. "Does being here confuse tokens?"
The knife rests on the table between them, its green blade interrupted by slim lines of gold, a strange sort of kintsugi. Any Lost would know, just looking at the thing, its Token status.
"Why not? It can confuse us? Imagine being in a place you can't explain that changes and morphs all the time. Being alone and uncalled. It fiddles with your head. Why can't it do the same to a knife?" Artie posits.
With a shrug though, he reaches out and strokes a delicate blackened finger down the knife's blade and whispers:
"Hey there. I used to exist in the dark all alone. The only light I ever got came from the forge but that only meant I had to work. So I used to be afraid of fire. Not because it burned but because it meant I'd have to hear the screams..." His secret revealed, he infused bit of glamour.
" How about you? Can you tell me how you work and who used to own you? "
There's a sort of chittery feeling, a sensation like someone's scratching fingernails on Artie's eardrums, and he can feel the knife not quite... come alive in his hand, but it sort of thrums in his hand in a way that's hard to explain, but familiar to anyone who's held a particularly satisfyingly-shaped rock with a good heft and a pleasing weight. The gold between the jade glimmers softly as if illuminated from within.
That sensation like scratching on his eardrums resolves into something like a whisper, "I cut the insides out. I cut the insides out. I cut the insides out-- "
And that repeats and repeats, the sensation becoming more and more unpleasant as it repeats, and before Artie's eyes flash three images:
One and Vorpal leans down to pluck up the knife from the Thorns; even with the indistinctness of the high-Wyrd Lost's features, Artie knows how deeply pleased Jackie is with herself and her work.
Two and the blade rests in a red leather glove, a red robe, he remembers that red robe, he knows the iron mask before he sees it, knows the Interfauxter who cut Doll from collarbone to hips and left her to bleed on the sidewalk, knows, knows...
Three and he stands before a giant, golden throne, taller than mountains, taller than planets, taller than time itself, and he can see golden thrones to the left and right of him, and on the throne before him sits an indistinct figure, shadows and robes, and when he stands before the throne the head moves, and it isn't a head, it's just an eye, an eye, an eye, a massive eye, and it is looking at him and it sees him, it sees him, it sees him...
As the images resolve, Artie snatches his hand back. The look on his face as if he'd been burned.
"It only knows that it cuts the insides out. But it won't stop saying it. And..." The summer pauses, looking around rather paranoid.
"Whoever the bad lady got the knife from... I don't know what they are but it seems like they were looking back at me. Big... Gigasmically big with an eye for a head. "
Jackie grimaces in her own shadows as she watches Artie check and react. Yeah, she was worried about that, but he seemed so confident he'd be fine. Was this what other people felt like when SHE was confident she'd be fine?
Nahhh. She WAS always fine.
Mostly fine.
"Hrm. Okay. So it won't talk about its effects, just about what a knife does? That's - reasonable, actually. And it USED to be a sword. Before I broke it and let the Hedge infuse it. So that's the bad man- and before that... can you tell me more about these huge creatures? Anything around them? Anything they said?"
She has a hunch from what Fox has shared but then again. A name can just be a name.
"Giant thrones of gold. Soo many of them. The thing wore robes. And I really do think it looked at me because I was looking at them "
"... looked at you or your viewpoint, Artie? There's a difference and one is- well, not that concerning, they've sent assassins, they know we exist."
Johnnie eyes the knife a moment, lifting it and twirling it through her fingers idly. "Those must be the evil wizards holding reality hostage. The evil wizards WE deal with are called the Seers of the Throne. And those, Artie. Sound like the Thrones and the assholes on them."
"Me. It was seeing me." The smith affirms
"Well. At least we didn't alert something new to our presence, aye?" Johnny comments- then stops. Full stop. And siiiiiiighs.
"Why did you seeing a giant evil eyeball not remind me of my goblins eye- but me saying "aye" did. I can be an absolute idiot sometimes." Deep breath. "Okay. So I don't think this can have backlash but. If I go crazy or something, just get people put of my way and call the Motley, alright?"
She waita for acknolwedgment- and flexes her mind and spirit to turn the Eye in her gut towards the knife.
Glitch steps into the Hollow, tugging a set of earbuds out and tucking them inside his jacket, followed by his sunglasses. Noticing Vorpal and Artie alike, apparently here by coincidence, he approaches cautiously, noting that they seem busy. His attention goes to the knife...
She can feel the goblin's eye move in her belly, wiggling about as it looks for the knife, examining it from within her. Best not to think about how the answers get from inside her gut to her mind.
Vorpal knows -- without having it explained, just knows -- that the catch is wielding the knife in the wielder's off hand with her own blood on her palm, knows she may activate it with glamour or the catch, knows that the closest Regalia to its effect is Mirror, and knows there are oaths of some sort associated with the object she holds.
Johnnie's expression twists sour as she feels the eye shift. "Hwughhh. I will never get used to that." She can feel a sense, too- like a distant ledger being checked with satisfaction- of the Debt she's incurred. "Gonna have to make a stop by the Market. They don't like taking leaves for payment, but once a deal, always a deal." Being Autumn was just... lovely in some ways.
"Ah! Glitch. Welcome. We are... learning. About this little darling here," Jackie murmurs, retrieving the knife and turning it in her hand. "It's funny. I expected it to want to be wielded directly. Seems like it might be more akin to a parrying dagger or some such? I haven't figured that out. But it IS a Token, Glamour works to turn it on, the Catch is holding it in my off-hand with my own blood on my palm... and the effect is most like Mirror. Which is encouraging. Mirror is the Regalia most associated with changing people. Jewel changes objects, mostly. So... maybe it empowers another weapon instead. I... don't know.
But I do know this, and Gods, do I hate it. There were- are- Oaths associated with this weapon. Which means they existed before I broke it, most likely. And I Do Not Like That."
"... hold on, "insides out" could mean... other things. Silver Cords go into the body. If it does what I hope it does, that would technically be one way to describe it. Or- it could magically eviscerate the Helldivers I want to free. That's... a wide spectrum of possibility..."
Glitch approaches further, folding his arms as he stares down at the weapon. "Where the fuck did you get this thing again?" he beeps out gently, pixels flickering in the corners of his eyes. "Reminds me of...Dark Souls. I don't think whatever otherworldly evil is behind this plays Fromsoft games, though. Can you ask it what insides mean...?"
"I mean, I can't. Artie's the one that can chat with objects. And frustratingly, Goblin kenning won't reveal what a thing does or even its downsides. So I'm either gonna have to try it out and hope the Drawback isn't too brutal- or else ask a wizard or something to puzzle it out. But- I didn't get it from anywhere. I made it, from the broken shards of the sword the Seer assassin used to try to execute Doll and Peter. And I highly doubt They on the Thrones play video games, you're probably very right on that mark."
Jackie rubbed at her chin, sighing. "So do I try tracking down some briarwolves or something to test it out- or do I beg the Mages for assistance and hope they don't freak out when they hear there were Oaths sworn on the original sword or something?"
"... I mean, I'll have to tell them anyway, but. I don't have to like it."
Glitch considers. "Using it in a random fight in the Hedge is...not controlled conditions. Finding something or someone to use it on under controlled conditions has its own...issues." He frowns. "I don't like it either, but...if it's Mage stuff, we should talk to them. Otherwise we're just messing with this blindly." He stares down at the knife a while. (edited)
"That's the thing, it isn't- TECHNICALLY- Mage stuff. It was a mundane sword I broke to pieces and used as material for a Hedge-forged Token. My intent was to create something that could sever Silver Cords- so I used a sword that had been used in a successful attempt to sever a Changeling's life- at least, most likely, I don't think we got far enough to find out if she was going to die- and that was also in a timeline that was severed. But the Hedge does what it will, and I don't actually know if it's gonna do what I hope it does."
Glitch looks up at Vorpal with a slight frown. "And you didn't check if there were Oaths or other things on the original sword before you broke it...?" There's a slight bit of tension in his question. "I assume everyone already scried the thing as much as could be done. The mages will probably still help. Especially if...did you say something about "Thrones"...?"
"Goblin Kenning only works on magic. When I checked it the first time, it wasn't any special metal, it wasn't magical anymore, so I-"
Pause.
Facepalm, and Vorpal melts to lie flat on the ground.
"Every. Token. Is related to Oaths. I'm so fucking stupid with this knife, it's embarrassing. Every Token EVER is a manifestation of ancient pacts between the Keepers and the Material World. So if there WERE Oaths directly related to it, I could never have found out, because the moment it was magical, it was gonna show Oath-related immediately. So it's probably NOT related to creepy Seers pledges."
She lifted her head. "And yeah. The bad Mages are Seers of the Thrones. The fuckers on the Thrones having their minions SWAT our people are on those Thrones. They've basically got Reality held hostage."
Glitch's eyes widen a bit more. "Vorpal," he beeps gently. "Even I know that Tokens are inherently...Oath things. That's what makes them work. You feeling okay...?" There's a brief look of genuine worry on the Sprite's face, and he reaches out to put a hand awkwardly on her for a moment, to make sure there's sympathy to it.
The Sprite's either heard of the Exarchs before, or evil monarchs on supernatural thrones holding Reality hostage just fits with his worldview already. "Great. More of those. We didn't have enough," he flatly intones. "I just walked in here. Only overhead a bit. But if that thing has any connection to or attention from some kind of magic Super-Keepers we don't know shit about...we really should talk to the Mages." (edited)
The comments are received in good favor, and she just sighs and lays her hand over his. "I'm fine. There's just so much goddamned information in my head that I forget which bits are relevant sometimes."
(Also the player only learned that a few minutes ago whilst trying to figure out if you automatically know what a Token does once it's activated. Which they do not.)
"I don't really think it's anything they have interest in. It's a mundane weapon wielded by an assassin sent by the same, which means they already know about us and where to find us. I also don't think there's much concern to keeping it around. The Dreams everyone's been having seem to be related to lynchpins in the struggle the Seers are trying to win before it starts, and not one of them seemed about me at all. So "carrying something that might possibly make it easier to find me" when they can already find us just fine doesn't seem concerning."
A long pause. A longer sigh. "But. If I managed to make this do what I hoped, then it wouldn't be obvious without a Corded Helldiver to test it on. And even if I HAD one- if I'm wrong, and it's just GREAT at disemboweling people, I could kill them on accident. So."
SIGH.
"I guess the smart thing to do is to ask the cosmic agents of change if they would be so kind as to peek under the hood."
"That would be. You don't have to figure this all out and solve it... All on your own." Glitch smiles, as much as he manages at least, and nods. "Not that I'd know anything about that kind of... Behavior or urge."
"But yeah. Can't try it on a Helldiver mid battle without testing. Can't capture a tethered Helldiver to run tests, escaping is their whole thing." He pauses a moment. "What about an already severed thread?"
Jackie flops a little on the ground in a tiny tantrum. "I've already been bitched at by Artie for not knowing stuff he thought an Autumn oughtta know. I really don't like the look of "hey I made this TREMENDOUSLY powerful magical artifact out of one of your opposition's assassin's weapons but I can't tell what it does so you figure it out." It makes me look stupid and incompetent and I HATE seeming incompetent."
A hand lifts, wavers. "Ehhhh, not technically a solid proof of concept. Once severed, Silver Cords serve a very different purpose. Being able to cut them after the fact isn't assured to work on an active tethered Cord."
|