Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Community
Playing the Game
Story Hour
Morrow's Savage Tide Adventure Path
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Morrow" data-source="post: 4319544" data-attributes="member: 301"><p><strong>The Caerdel Rose (Garnham)</strong></p><p></p><p>Sasserine Eight Months Ago</p><p></p><p>The smithy lay on an unassuming street in the Champions District. Garnham entered through the heavy front door into the weaponsmith's showroom. The walls were covered with common blades of ever shape and description. Furthest from the door stood a line of locked glass cases and the till. A steady pounding of iron on iron could be heard from behind a thin door at the far wall.</p><p></p><p>A young woman stood behind the farthest case refining the edge on a silvered short sword.</p><p></p><p>"Hello. Anything in particular you're looking for?" She smiled slightly. Her hair was red and she had both human and elven blood coursing through her veins.</p><p></p><p>"I have a rapier in need of repairs." Garnham placed a scabbard on the case.</p><p></p><p>The woman removed the blade from its sheath and inspected the scarred and pitted rapier. An iron rose formed the end of the pommel.</p><p>"This has seen better days." She said looking up from the work. "What crypt did you find it in?"</p><p></p><p>"It just wasn't well treated for a long time. Anything you can do?"</p><p></p><p>"I'll have to get my mother. I'm just apprenticing. This is a bit beyond my skill." She opened the door and called through. Garnham felt the temperature rise 10 degrees.</p><p></p><p>The steady pounding ended and the smith came to the door. She stood slightly over five feet. Long black hair with streaks of grey were pulled back and held in place with a leather cord. The points of elven ears were obvious. She wore work pants, a sleeveless black shirt and a heavy leather apron, well creased from where she bent and pivoted. She still carried the heavy hammer. Her shoulders and arms were whipcords of sinewy muscle. She was sweating more than any elf that Garnham had ever seen.</p><p></p><p>If she was human Garnham would have pegged her as being forty years old. Elyosha was 140 and looked twenty. Garnham did some quick math and came up with old.</p><p></p><p>"Hello ma'am." he started. "I was told that you could repair my blade. It was neglected for a while and I've finally raised the money for restoration."</p><p></p><p>The half-elf put on another leather apron, took her mother's hammer and went into the smithy. Soon the pounding resumed. The elven smith turned to Garnham. "My name's Livinda not "ma'am." I was a regular in the third light infantry for more years than your great-grandfather has been alive and I stayed a sergeant. Unlike the officers I work for a living. Don't call me ma'am. This your sword?"</p><p></p><p>"Yes."</p><p></p><p>"Looks like you 'plucked a Caerdel rose.'"</p><p></p><p>"Pardon?"</p><p></p><p>"Caerdel is a small city two days ride from Octenbrook."</p><p></p><p>"Where's that?"</p><p></p><p>"About three days north of Techan."</p><p></p><p>"And that's...?</p><p></p><p>"The cartographer's guild is on the other side of town. I'd draw you a map, but I've just established that we aren't the cartographer's guild." She hefted the rapier into the air and juggled the pommel from one calloused hand to the other. "Caerdel is a rustic town built up beside a series of mines. The iron from those mines has a higher than normal sulfur content making it ideal for high quality weapons manufacture."</p><p></p><p>"And the rose?"</p><p></p><p>"Making an iron rose is tricky business." She turned the blade pommel up to demonstrate with the iron rose at it's hilt. "To make individual petals that look like the real thing is the work of a master. Any fully trained weaponsmith can craft a blade that will hold a dweomer, but this," she nodded the rose, "this is art."</p><p></p><p>"Is it worth more?"</p><p></p><p>"Maybe a few silver. It's art, but few appreciate the difficulty in making it. That's the thing about Caerdel, almost everyone there does." She was animated now. She placed a length of leather on the nearest counter, placed the rapier on the leather and began to pick at the iron rose with a fine tool retrieved from an apron pocket. "Just a bit of build up to pick away and I should be able to tell you the caliber of the master that made this."</p><p></p><p>"How?"</p><p></p><p>"The number of petals. The Caerdel masters used the rose to not only signify the place of origin, but to tell the quality of the maker. Six petals was the minimum; the most I've heard of was thirteen maybe fourteen. The more petals the harder to make. This has at least eight, but there's so much crap in here it's hard to say. There's a lot of silversheen build up here and mud." She looked disapprovingly at Garnham.</p><p></p><p>"I've never used silversheen."</p><p></p><p>"Well somebody did and they were sloppy with it. Here we are. Twelve petals."</p><p></p><p>Livinda paused at this for a moment. Garnham caught her looking at the palm of his right hand.</p><p></p><p>"Nice tattoo."</p><p></p><p>"Thanks." He turned his hand away from her gaze. He didn't correct her mistake.</p><p></p><p>"I can take care of this for you. The cost will be three hundred gold."</p><p></p><p>"Not a problem."</p><p></p><p>"There is one thing more. My daughter Ressadriand will be joining the Champions District watch after she's finished her apprenticeship with me. I can't be found taking stolen goods."</p><p></p><p>"The rapier was my father's. He left it behind."</p><p></p><p>""Every sword that comes in here belonged to somebody's father."</p><p>She reached under one of the cabinets and pulled out a small wooden box. She carefully unlatched it revealing a fine pair of white gloves.</p><p>"I picked these up a few years ago to save me some trouble. If I hold the sword while wearing them I'll know how you came to own it. I'll also know some things about the people who had it before you. I'll throw in the history of the blade so there's no hard feelings."</p><p></p><p>"I'm not worried." Garnham said eying the magic gloves as she stretched them across calloused fingers.</p><p></p><p>She held the sword in front of her horizontally resting the flat of the blade on her extended palms. For a full minute the only sound to be heard was the rhythmic pounding of iron on steel from the smithy beyond.</p><p></p><p>"The blade was forged by a human named Kushervrick for an adventurer named Khasthyr. It was Khasthyr's desire to one day enchant the blade, but he spent his money on horses and never did. The blade passed to his daughter Nystoir after Khasthyr's death. Nystoir gave the sword as a gift to her lover Emil Black. The rest you probably know."</p><p></p><p>"That's my father for you," Garnham sighed.</p><p></p><p>"I'll have the rapier done in two days."</p><p></p><p>"And the payment?"</p><p></p><p>"I'll take it when you collect the blade. If you don't come back in a month I'll sell it."</p><p></p><p>"Fair enough." he shook her hand. "I'll see you in two days time."</p><p>Garnham left.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Livinda sat down hard on a backless stool.</p><p></p><p>She hadn't been completely honest with Garnham. Some of what she learned she uncovered with the glove's magic; other things she had known already.</p><p></p><p>Memory is strange she thought. The tale of the twelve petal rapier came to mind so easily. Yet she had to concentrate to remember Emil's face, the sound of his voice.</p><p></p><p>The gloves also told her about the man who now owned Emil's sword. He wasn't evil, but he also wasn't good. Like his father, but less wild. And he was an adventurer, she'd seen the type before. A dangerous job. Very exotic for a young girl.</p><p></p><p>Should she tell Ressadriand? It was just as well she didn't see the familiar birthmark on the human's hand.</p><p></p><p>Just then the steady sound of metal-on-metal rang with a sour note.</p><p>"RESSADRIAND EMILY BLACK!! If you've just ruined the breastplate I've been slaving over for the last two hours I'll tan your hide!"</p><p></p><p>Livinda rose to her feet. She'd already decided to tell her daughter the truth once Ressa reached her majority. That would be a little over half a year from now. Until then she didn't need to know she even had a brother.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Morrow, post: 4319544, member: 301"] [b]The Caerdel Rose (Garnham)[/b] Sasserine Eight Months Ago The smithy lay on an unassuming street in the Champions District. Garnham entered through the heavy front door into the weaponsmith's showroom. The walls were covered with common blades of ever shape and description. Furthest from the door stood a line of locked glass cases and the till. A steady pounding of iron on iron could be heard from behind a thin door at the far wall. A young woman stood behind the farthest case refining the edge on a silvered short sword. "Hello. Anything in particular you're looking for?" She smiled slightly. Her hair was red and she had both human and elven blood coursing through her veins. "I have a rapier in need of repairs." Garnham placed a scabbard on the case. The woman removed the blade from its sheath and inspected the scarred and pitted rapier. An iron rose formed the end of the pommel. "This has seen better days." She said looking up from the work. "What crypt did you find it in?" "It just wasn't well treated for a long time. Anything you can do?" "I'll have to get my mother. I'm just apprenticing. This is a bit beyond my skill." She opened the door and called through. Garnham felt the temperature rise 10 degrees. The steady pounding ended and the smith came to the door. She stood slightly over five feet. Long black hair with streaks of grey were pulled back and held in place with a leather cord. The points of elven ears were obvious. She wore work pants, a sleeveless black shirt and a heavy leather apron, well creased from where she bent and pivoted. She still carried the heavy hammer. Her shoulders and arms were whipcords of sinewy muscle. She was sweating more than any elf that Garnham had ever seen. If she was human Garnham would have pegged her as being forty years old. Elyosha was 140 and looked twenty. Garnham did some quick math and came up with old. "Hello ma'am." he started. "I was told that you could repair my blade. It was neglected for a while and I've finally raised the money for restoration." The half-elf put on another leather apron, took her mother's hammer and went into the smithy. Soon the pounding resumed. The elven smith turned to Garnham. "My name's Livinda not "ma'am." I was a regular in the third light infantry for more years than your great-grandfather has been alive and I stayed a sergeant. Unlike the officers I work for a living. Don't call me ma'am. This your sword?" "Yes." "Looks like you 'plucked a Caerdel rose.'" "Pardon?" "Caerdel is a small city two days ride from Octenbrook." "Where's that?" "About three days north of Techan." "And that's...? "The cartographer's guild is on the other side of town. I'd draw you a map, but I've just established that we aren't the cartographer's guild." She hefted the rapier into the air and juggled the pommel from one calloused hand to the other. "Caerdel is a rustic town built up beside a series of mines. The iron from those mines has a higher than normal sulfur content making it ideal for high quality weapons manufacture." "And the rose?" "Making an iron rose is tricky business." She turned the blade pommel up to demonstrate with the iron rose at it's hilt. "To make individual petals that look like the real thing is the work of a master. Any fully trained weaponsmith can craft a blade that will hold a dweomer, but this," she nodded the rose, "this is art." "Is it worth more?" "Maybe a few silver. It's art, but few appreciate the difficulty in making it. That's the thing about Caerdel, almost everyone there does." She was animated now. She placed a length of leather on the nearest counter, placed the rapier on the leather and began to pick at the iron rose with a fine tool retrieved from an apron pocket. "Just a bit of build up to pick away and I should be able to tell you the caliber of the master that made this." "How?" "The number of petals. The Caerdel masters used the rose to not only signify the place of origin, but to tell the quality of the maker. Six petals was the minimum; the most I've heard of was thirteen maybe fourteen. The more petals the harder to make. This has at least eight, but there's so much crap in here it's hard to say. There's a lot of silversheen build up here and mud." She looked disapprovingly at Garnham. "I've never used silversheen." "Well somebody did and they were sloppy with it. Here we are. Twelve petals." Livinda paused at this for a moment. Garnham caught her looking at the palm of his right hand. "Nice tattoo." "Thanks." He turned his hand away from her gaze. He didn't correct her mistake. "I can take care of this for you. The cost will be three hundred gold." "Not a problem." "There is one thing more. My daughter Ressadriand will be joining the Champions District watch after she's finished her apprenticeship with me. I can't be found taking stolen goods." "The rapier was my father's. He left it behind." ""Every sword that comes in here belonged to somebody's father." She reached under one of the cabinets and pulled out a small wooden box. She carefully unlatched it revealing a fine pair of white gloves. "I picked these up a few years ago to save me some trouble. If I hold the sword while wearing them I'll know how you came to own it. I'll also know some things about the people who had it before you. I'll throw in the history of the blade so there's no hard feelings." "I'm not worried." Garnham said eying the magic gloves as she stretched them across calloused fingers. She held the sword in front of her horizontally resting the flat of the blade on her extended palms. For a full minute the only sound to be heard was the rhythmic pounding of iron on steel from the smithy beyond. "The blade was forged by a human named Kushervrick for an adventurer named Khasthyr. It was Khasthyr's desire to one day enchant the blade, but he spent his money on horses and never did. The blade passed to his daughter Nystoir after Khasthyr's death. Nystoir gave the sword as a gift to her lover Emil Black. The rest you probably know." "That's my father for you," Garnham sighed. "I'll have the rapier done in two days." "And the payment?" "I'll take it when you collect the blade. If you don't come back in a month I'll sell it." "Fair enough." he shook her hand. "I'll see you in two days time." Garnham left. Livinda sat down hard on a backless stool. She hadn't been completely honest with Garnham. Some of what she learned she uncovered with the glove's magic; other things she had known already. Memory is strange she thought. The tale of the twelve petal rapier came to mind so easily. Yet she had to concentrate to remember Emil's face, the sound of his voice. The gloves also told her about the man who now owned Emil's sword. He wasn't evil, but he also wasn't good. Like his father, but less wild. And he was an adventurer, she'd seen the type before. A dangerous job. Very exotic for a young girl. Should she tell Ressadriand? It was just as well she didn't see the familiar birthmark on the human's hand. Just then the steady sound of metal-on-metal rang with a sour note. "RESSADRIAND EMILY BLACK!! If you've just ruined the breastplate I've been slaving over for the last two hours I'll tan your hide!" Livinda rose to her feet. She'd already decided to tell her daughter the truth once Ressa reached her majority. That would be a little over half a year from now. Until then she didn't need to know she even had a brother. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
Playing the Game
Story Hour
Morrow's Savage Tide Adventure Path
Top