[sblock=The Sword of Five Elements]
Cousin Eustace’s Sword of Five Elements
A battered, massive broadsword with a blade discolored by intense heat. The flesh of Cousin's Eustace's hand is burned into the grip. When activated, the Sword strobes through five different elemental states: water, earth, air, fire, or void.
Base Item: Broadsword
Enhancement: +1 to attack and damage rolls.
Critical: +1d6
Power (At-Will): Free Action. Activates the sword's elemental properties. On a successful hit, roll 1d6. Apply the results as follows...
- Water - All damage dealt by weapon is acid damage.
- Earth - Attack pushes target 1 space.
- Air - All damage dealt by weapon is cold damage.
- Fire - All damage dealt by weapon is fire damage.
- Void - Blade vanishes. Weapon inflicts no damage to corporeal target, but inflicts full damage to insubstantial target.
- No elemental effect.
Another free action returns to sword to normal.
Power (At-Will): Free Action. On a successful hit, while the sword is in elemental damage state, the wielder can select the elemental effect, rather than relying on the 1d6 result. This inflicts a measure of pain to the wielder and drains a portion of his vitality, causing the loss of a healing surge.
Level: 2
Value: 520 gp
[/sblock]
So, oh patron, tell us of these rats that plague your relative so. What are they doing to warrant fiery destruction? Are we talking wererats, or dire abyssal fire rats? C'mon, what's the deal?
"Did I say it was my relative that had the rat problem?" Marco says, thinking for a moment,
"No, no. I don't think I did, but if I did, I apologize for misinforming you. Hmm. No, the unfortunate victim of the vermin is another resident of the Feather Falls community, an old enchanter of my cousin's acquaintace."
"Cousin Eustace mentioned him last time I visited. I thought that since he was an enchanter, and since he had a problem..."
"Well, he should be grateful, don't you think?"
With a sheepish smile, Marco opens his hands.
"Let me get the directions from my cousin."
Marco confers with Eustace in quiet tones. After much pointing and resorting to a hastily scribbled map on the back of an old grocery list, the hunchback returns to the group. He holds up his prize.
"Here we go! It's just a few blocks..." He turns the map sideways and looks at the street.
"...uh..." He turns the map again.
"...that way!" He points and marches off, waving for you to follow.
---
As you leave Cousin Eustace's house, the one-armed halfling--a raw steak pressed to the bruises on his head--waves to you from his rocking chair on the porch.
"Goodbye!" he shouts in clear, unaccented, quite intelligible speech,
"Good luck at the TURTLEDOME!"
The old halflings on the porch laugh.
You can hear them, in the distance, gobbling to one another in that horrible patois. Then, another responds in falsetto, obviously imitating a member of your adventuring group. Again they laugh.
And laugh.
And la--
A broadside glued to a lamp-post captures your attention.
You could have sworn that a few seconds ago, it had not been there.
But there, indeed, it is.
It is a poster, cut into the silhouette of a turtle. On its surface, painted in garish colors, is Finnian, screaming in terror, perhaps even soiling himself, being hefted into the air by a group of angry skeletons.
As you watch, the image moves.
The skeletons pop off Finnian's head and begin to play an impromptu game of soccer. All the while, Finnian's head sobs and wails.
It's not so much bloody, as it is comical. Cartoonish.
After the skeletons kick his head into an open grave and hurl the body in after it, the image focuses on the tombstone.
It says,
"Three Days 'til Battle Bone! TURTLEDOME!"
Then the image replays.
[/sblock]
