Terror on Shivre! What It Means To Be King!

[Fox]

---

“C’mon Kobei!”

Wolfric darted up the long and winding road to the top of Shivre Mountain in her suit of armor. They were off to Shivre City! She was possessing her suit of armor, so her voice came out all manly and scary. However, to anyone familiar with her, they would be able to decipher that the wickedly gleeful tone of her masculine voice translated to genuine excitement in her normal one. Stopping on top of a high ridge, she waved down to Kobei enthusiastically.

“C’mon slowpoke! We’re almost there! I can see it from here!”

Turning on her metallic heel, Wolfric flicked the fur coat tied around her shoulders like a cape. She waited for Kobei to catch up and walked alongside him for a bit, so that she could bombard him with a torrent of questions.

“So there’s hot springs right? We gotta go! I guess we can go see the forges and blacksmith shops too! I wonder if I could pick up a new sword…”

Taking out one of her greatswords as they walked, Wolfric issued a little sigh as she looked at it. It was a little messed up from all of their adventures so far. It ever had a big crack in it. Definitely needed some work. At least she had the other one for now. The two walked up to the city gates, being allowed to enter after stating their business. Wasn’t too hard to get in. Wolfric scanned the city with a hand to shield her nonexistent eyes.

“Alright! Now where are those hot springs…?”

---

@xanderill

Vio

[Vio]

¹

---

“So, you’re saying you found this on a ship? Do you have any idea what this is?” asked a woman, strong of build and blonde of lock. The look on her face was one of equal parts concern and astonishment, but the look she received back was near enough expressionless.

“No,” replied the dark-haired damsel, dressed in drab cloak and hood. Upon the workbench between the two women was a case of solid metal, longer than either was tall and about a yard in width. Sturdy catches had been unlocked, the lid raised to reveal its contents, and it was clear neither was exactly fond of what was inside.

“My husband’s side of the family are blacksmiths,” the blonde replied, “and I’ve been told a lot of stories about objects such as this. Specifically, there is a legend surrounding this blade. It is up to you whether or not you believe it, but the legend tells that this blade is cursed.”

“Cursed? In what way?” she queried.

“I don’t recall the entire legend,” replied the blacksmith’s wife, “but I can say without a doubt in my mind that this blade has killed indiscriminately. It makes no distinction between friend and foe. It lives to feed, and feeds to live, even if it must turn on its own wielder to do so! It is better off locked away on some rock and forgotten about.”

Chocolate eyes looked down into the blackened steel of the blade; a twisted, sickle-like halberd that seemed to hiss quietly as the gentle mountain breeze caressed its endless edge. Every facet was sharpened, not a single indication of division between head, haft and heel. It looked as if it had been cut straight from a sheet of steel, blacker than the ocean’s abyss.

“I guess we share that in common then,” the hooded one muttered.

“Pardon?” A silent response. The blonde winced slightly, watching as this robed stranger, face forever in the shadow of the tattered hood, reached forth with pallid fingers. A hand moved to block them. “Do not lift this weapon. I dare to say that there is more blood on this blade than there is on the hands of any New World pirate. It will kill you.”

A dark reflection of an eye in the steel glinted red for a second, a smile creeping onto the stranger’s obscured visage as she raised her face to meet the woman’s own. The blonde’s reaction was first shock, perhaps panic, and then coldness. And the stranger replied: “I’d like to see it try~!”

---

SPOILER: Click to show

{OOC}

[/sub]

Starring…

_{Grimm-Rosa Scarlette (960018)
A Certain Blacksmith’s Wife (eeeeee)}

[/ul][/spoiler][/font][/sup][/blockquote][/div][/div][/div]

[Deleted]

Kobei sighed as he and his captain climbed this tall, white-capped mountain. It's not as if he was walking slowly, he is easily able to keep pace with Wolfric if he wished... She was just much too excited about those hot springs, even though their original intent was to gather supplied so that Kobei could enhance their equipment!


"Yes, yes captain, I'm coming. I'm sure the hot springs aren't far now. Just remember why we came here in the first place."


Kobei's face was both tired and unexpressive. One would think him bored had they not known him. The closer they got to the top of the mountain, the more at ease he began to feel, though, as was evident by his posture straightening the more they walked. It was as if he felt better the colder it got, even with the little amount of clothing he had on!


"This is it right, Shivre City?"


Kobei's eyes also began scanning the city as they entered. He was glad they didn't have to do much to get in, as he hated putting in more work than what was necessary. Besides, he hadn't gotten his nap today.


"Let's hope this place has what we need. What do you see, Captain?"

[Fox]

Wolfric didn’t see anything resembling the plumes of steam that came off of hot springs. She frowned. Maybe it wasn’t open to the air. Probably not with this weather. Her eyes landed on a sign for a blacksmith’s shop.

“Oh hey!” Wolfric pointed, “Let’s go drop off my sword to get repaired, then hot spring it up!”

Setting off excitedly, Wolfric bounced over to the blacksmith’s door, metal feet clanking on the stone loudly. She burst inside with a little more force than she wanted, making the door slam open. In all blackened iron armor, she cut the menacing figure. The fact that her voice got all masculine and scary didn’t help either. With a little more restraint, Wolfric looked around timidly.

It was pretty empty. Something she was grateful for. There was a blonde lady at the counter and a customer all cloaked up and such. They were kind of mysterious looking, but Wolfric didn’t pay it much mind. Weapons lined the walls on racks and in barrels. There were a lot. Maybe she could pick up something new here?

“Hmm…”

Wolfric muttered to herself as she looked at all of the different blades around. She really wasn’t a good judge of a sword just by looks. Plus, most of these were probably well out of her price range. Her voice almost sounded like a growl. She quieted down so that she didn’t accidentally scare somebody.

While she looked around, Wolfric managed to catch some bits of the conversation between the blonde lady and the cloaked figure. Something about a cursed blade? Wolfric edged closer curiously. She wanted to hear about cursed things. She inched closer and closer until she was essentially looming over the pair. Trying to be stealthy about it didn’t really help her remain hidden as the blonde woman’s eyes flicked up to look at her.

Wolfric panicked a bit, rubbing the back of her head. Damn. Caught. Might as well come clean.

“What’s this about a cursed weapon?”

Dammit. Her possession voice made her sound way too hostile. Ugh. Wolfric kinda hated that.

[Vio]

²

---

“What’s this about a cursed weapon?” echoed a voice from behind. Hollow and masculine, perhaps even a little jarring, it baited the attentions of a would-be customer turned curiosity. Clearly she had not been paying much attention to her surroundings for something so clunky to sneak up from behind, but the woman’s interest was more to the blade that her fingertips now gently brushed across. Again, hushed hissing as the gentle winds blew in from outside.

A man, she assumed, in a suit of black armour appeared as an eerie silhouette within the scythe’s ebony reflections. She turned her head, a few black bangs falling free of their hooded confines as she did so, side-eyeing the newcomer.

“Oh! Another customer,” the blonde said, closing the lid of the case before its contents could be properly grasped by its owner’s fingers. “Welcome to the Wayland Family Blacksmith. I’ll be with you shortly.”

^{“Huh. Well,” the figure added:
“Thanks, anyway…”}

Taking the handle of the weapon’s case in one hand, she turned to face the newcomer. A suit of armour was right; standing over six feet and carrying twin swords, a distinctly wild and wolfish theme was present. It did not take much to gather that this was a person of superior physical strength to the average man, but they lacked something.

Nonetheless, she gazed into the oddly empty eyes of the helm, hood falling back to reveal a messy black bob and a pale, scarred face. Bandages around the forehead covered the right eye, leaving a single, deep brown iris staring back at the figure of iron. Slow scrutiny in her gaze, her head tilted slightly as she began to speak with lethargic intonations.

^{“Who… are you? And,” she paused:
“Why do you care for a cursed weapon…?”}

---

SPOILER: Click to show

{OOC}

[/sub]

Starring…

_{Grimm-Rosa Scarlette (960018)
Wolfric Hertz (bbbbbb)
A Certain Blacksmith’s Wife (eeeeee)}

[/ul][/spoiler][/font][/sup][/blockquote][/div][/div][/div]

[Deleted]

Kobei walked into the blacksmith shortly after, sighing and putting on one of his gauntlets as he approached Wolfric. The look on his face was tired and cold, and even his voice was tired. His long hair that was drawn into a ponytail matched the color under his eyes. He wore what was equivalent to half a shirt and a pair of shorts, which was especially strange in this weather. Tattoos covered large portions of his body, mostly around his chest and shoulder and scars were apparent on other parts. It was clear he had seen his fair share of battle, though through his eyes shown an unexpected warmth towards the "man" in metal armor.

A look of aggravation barely peeked through his calm exterior as he clenched his fist.

"How many times have I told you..." A fist slammed into the back of the Wolfric's helmet, sending it flying off the shoulders of the suit of armor. A little more force than he intended, but he couldn't hold back right now, he had just woken from his nap and was still feeling a little slothful.

"To wait up when we go into towns! Your voice scares people when you're in that suit!"

Kobei dusted off his gauntlets and put them away again, collecting the helmet and placing it back on the shoulders of the suit.

He hoped they weren't paying enough attention to notice the "man" in the armor had no head... Even if they did, he was sure they would think it a mistake.

"Sorry about that. My friend here gets a little excited when we go to new places. Doesn't know how to be... polite." He says, shifting his eyes away from the blacksmith, a bit guilty in his own right when he saw the girl... and the cloak. It was of a dreadful make. He could make better in his sleep and he works with metal more than cloth! It was a shame, too, as the black hair that leapt from it was almost pristine by comparison.

"Anyway. We would like some repair down on our equipment. We've got the materials and coin, but I haven't the time or equipment to repair it myself. Can you fix Greatswords?"

[Fox]

Wolfric glanced down at the hooded figure as her hood fell back. Huh. It was a girl. A kid? Maybe, but heck, Wolfric was still pretty much a little kid herself. If not in body then certainly in mind and attitude. She didn’t look especially strong. Kinda spindly. Not that Wolfric was judging or anything. If Wolfric had a face right now, she’d be smiling brightly. As it was, she was just staring really unintentionally threateningly down at the girl.

“I’m Wolfric-“

And then her head was gone. Her metal hands went to where it should be, feeling around the opening for the neck. Turning around, Wolfric jabbed a metal finger at Kobei.

“What. The. Hell.”

Each word was punctuated by a clear masculine menace and murderous intent. Her voice still came from the main body of the suit of armor. Wolfric would get into a huge argument with Kobei. It would be easy. But she held her tongue. Mostly because she wanted her head back first. Scooping it up off the floor, Wolfric put it back on with a huff. Grumbling quietly to herself, Wolfric marched back over to the girl with the cloak.

“Sorry about that...anyway...Right! Cursed weapons! Because they’re cool! Why else?”

Despite the overall friendly tone that Wolfric was trying to convey, it really came across as strained or mixed. Like she was having a lot of trouble attempting to sound nice. Like she had some sort of ulterior motive. She was totally oblivious to the fact that she’d just been unveiled as some headless monster. Or a midget in a suit that was way too big for them. She almost wanted to glue the helmet on, but then she wouldn’t be able to turn her head!

“Can I see it?”

[Vio]

³

---

Wolfric…? An appropriate name given this peculiar character’s theme, though introductions were apparently cut short by a rather surprising turn of events. From behind, a second figure struck at the suit of armour’s helm and knocked it clean from the shoulders. The blacksmith lady was taken aback, a sharp inhalation indicating her shock, but Scarlette was not so readily fazed. No, she was more intrigued, for the armour had no wearer, yet still moved and spoke?

^{“Your head-!?” The blacksmith gasped:
“I… We can, yes, but… What are you?”}

^{“Sorry about that… Can I see it?”}

“I guess so…,” she replied, scrutinising the helmed horror before her and their otherwise normal compadre. There were few things in this world that could provide such a supernatural ability as this and, though somewhat unsure about its origins, she had her suspicions that this was the work of a Devil Fruit. She had not seen many; those she had seen had possessed great strength, herself included, and that excited her.

^{“Oi!” she barked to the shopkeeper:
“What did you say this was called again…?”}

“It’s… L’Hydre Vorace. Wait,” the woman panicked. “Please, don’t do that!” Too little, too late. Having already popped open the case of the cursed weapon yet again, the dark-haired demoiselle reached in with slender fingers. The darkened blade hissed as air rushed across its edges, but its hungry warning went unheeded. The shaft of the weapon came easy from its container, held by the woman’s bandaged fingers, but it was as she heaved it free of the case proper that the weapon’s personality revealed itself.

Shriek! Given an inch, the head of the halberd took a mile, cleaving the air with a horrific and metallic scream as it whizzed around in a steep crescent. It was all its owner could do to try and control it at first, the cold steel in her hands indicative of its remorselessness. Whether or not it did any physical harm in its wayward arc was yet to be determined, but it was certainly a monstrous tool.

You wanted to dance, huh? Scarlette sidestepped, turned and twisted fluid, dancing steps. In just a split second she had garnered understanding of the midnight steel, the weight not unlike the scythe she once wielded as her weapon of choice, but magnified five-fold. Its wild momentum was soon quelled as she ran the slender toe of the sickle into the stone slab floor, the blade not bouncing, but biting into and splitting the rock. She hadn’t yet noticed the shallow bite of steel into the flesh of her own hands, drawing a light trickle of crimson…

---

SPOILER: Click to show

{OOC}

[/sub]

Starring…

_{Grimm-Rosa Scarlette (960018)
Wolfric Hertz (bbbbbb)
A Certain Blacksmith’s Wife (eeeeee)}

[/ul][/spoiler][/font][/sup][/blockquote][/div][/div][/div]