Solo Another Snake Charm

[Marone]

11th Fall 514 AV

There was a headless body of a snake just sitting out in the open in Marone's workspace. The thought of just getting rid of it after trying to unsuccessfully sell the earlier charm he made did come to his head but he did pay for both rat and snake out of his own pocket. Being a maledictor if he wasn't going to get rid of the body there was only one thing left to do. Make something out of the thing.

But the ordeal the snake put him through left Marone completely wary about it even if the snake was already dead. Deciding to leave the head alone despite whatever he was told about the snake not being poisoned Marone took the lifeless body and held it high to try and think of what to make. He could make another charm out of it and maybe have another to sell but the body was just too big and unsightly. Not to mention Marone couldn't think of a way to put a snake body as attracting more snakes the same way rats would.

Deciding to look at a more general use for the item Marone would maledict the snake based on its more common characteristics. Using the snake's bones would be easy. Very easy but not too sellable. With snake skin being something people went for in terms of accessories or clothes he had seen in the Bay Marone felt he would have a good thing if he used that instead and brought him to the first hurdle he had to pass in order to make the item.

Getting the skin off.

Because Marone had no experience in getting a snake's skin off nor did he have any knowledge on how to do it he went for the most obvious thing he could do and grabbed his knife. Holding the snake's body down to the table Marone did his best to cut the knife through the snake from top to bottom. Finding a lot of resistance from the snake's flesh Marone tried to keep only the tip of the knife in the snake's body in order to just cut the skin which was his prize.

Snikt. Snikt. Snikt. Snikt. Snikt..

When he got through Marone tried to peel off the skin with his hands thinking it would easily break from the flesh but its muscles stuck fast prevented him from that. Marone seeing no other choice available to him took the knife again and tried to place it in between the flesh and muscle to try and cut the skin out.

Snikt. Snikt. Snikt. Snikt. Snikt..

The end result after Marone was able to evaluate the skin and cut off the damaged bits had him decide the item was going to be a lot smaller than he wanted it to be. At first he thought of making a belt. Then looking at the size of the snake thought a pair gloves. Now it looks like all that was left is good enough to make a bracelet or two if he could salvage the entire project. At least bracelets would be the least complicated items.

Marone took a needle and thread this time and started to sew on the inside of the skin. If a person had been near him they could hear him in his usual ritual of circles which would show things in between all the pauses and squeaks which escaped him when the needle pricked himself. Except for rare occasions where the item required him to Marone's experience with the needle was limited to pathwork jobs on his ripped clothes only his ripped clothes were not as troublesome as the snakeskin.

Not wanting to spill blood on the item prematurely and potentially messing up whatever effect would come from it Marone quickly put on a pair of gloves before continuing with his work. With his hand being more protected against any accidental pricks he was able to be focus more on getting his work completed rather than not getting pricked.

"A circle. A circle. A circle."

[Marone]

As best as he could do it Marone made a circle on the inside of the skin with the outside having only a few spots of thread visible as it should be when the final product is completed. Without the distraction of the needle pricking himself Marone was able to make good time with the stitching. When the needle made its final run through Marone pierced it all the way through and coolly broke the thread saying the final line of his ritual.

"Everything will be shown to all"

The circle he would say is the hardest part of malediction because it was the most important part to malediction eventhough it is the easiest to put on any surface. Today Marone would admit that the circle was hard both to both maledict and stitch on the snakeskin and it was going to get harder. He was going to have to maledict something on the snakeskin either in words or a picture. Those were not going to be as easy as the simple shape of a circle.

Marone already decided on the snake's common characteristics but that can only be based on something he has already observed it doing. He could focus on how poisonous the snake was but he couldn't see the relevance of poison with the snake's skin. The way it was swallowing the rat whole could be used as well but because the bracelet he had planned would be going on the wrist instead of the waist like a belt he felt a little strange attempting it.

He tried to remember more and the image came to him of how the snake had the rat wrapped up while it was trying to devour it. A tough grip on something by an item on the wrist. That might actually work but it came with a problem. A problem Marone was dreading. The way he was going to have to impress it on the item.

But only the bracelet needed to know what he wanted it to and no one else which allowed Marone to take the easy option. To impress its legacy on it with words. Words which will describe what Marone saw the snake doing to the rat. He reluctantly took the needle up again after a brief struggle to go through the sewing again and put in the words.

"To wrap" he said with the image of the snake in his head before realizing that the circle he made didn't have enough space for him to put everything.

Marone continued sewing making another circle just like the first. And another. And another from the start of the strip of snakeskin to its end. With the circles in place he continued to sew on the words he wanted.

"To grab"

"To hold"

"To grasp"

With the snake being as long as it was Marone found he was able to put in all the words twice. He was fortunate because now he would be able to make two bracelets or more accurately a pair if someone was in the market for them which was all Marone needed. All that was left for him was to complete the item.

Without any more worries of his blood prematurely being spilled on the item and activating them Marone took off his gloves and put a drop of blood on each of the circles one by one before putting the gloves back on again. After cutting the strip of skin in half he took the needle. There was only a little bit of sewing left for him.

He folded the strip of skin over itself so the circles would no longer be visible and started joining the two sides together with thread. This he could've done by asking a professional so the item would be more appealing but Marone didn't want to risk having anyone find out about his malediction. After both sides were together as firm as he could make them Marone stitched the ends together so the item would wind together.

"There. Complete." he told himself with satisfaction before realizing that this wasn't his finest work and even if he was able to complete it he couldn't feel proud about it at all.

[Marone]

For a craftsman having an unsatisfactory product is a problem easily remedied as long as they have the time or materials. For Marone this only means that he has to craft another item. Only having used the skin Marone and having plenty of time there was nothing to stop Marone from doing what he wanted except for the same problem he experienced with the bracelets. What he is going to make from the remains.

Eyes drawn to the skinned body of the snake with only meat and muscles remaining Marone thought about food. He heard the meat of poisonous snakes being popular among some of the gangs because of the superstition of consuming them and living through the experience being able to grant them the powers of the snake. This made him think about the arrival of the new snakes. If someone was able to consume them what powers would they obtain?

Power in Sunberth to Marone was considered to come from money or his malediction. Following the other gang's ideas is only a waste to him. Marone cut into the body of the snake and started to take chunks out to find something he could use but the only thing left for him to use was bone. Something he didn't expect to find in a snake because they are so flexible.

One day when he becomes more experienced he would be able to use everything without wasting anything.

Now that he could only make what he knows and having previously made something from the skeleton of a rat the same item came to mind. A charm. Completing a charm that attracts snakes to it or to detect them would mean a waste because he already made one. Marone felt the opposite would be a better idea not being too fond of snakes after the previous experience.

Marone took his knife and started scraping away more of the snake's meat and flesh. Not being made an item and very likely to be thrown away if not eaten Marone didn't keep the same care he had when he was trying to remove the snake's skin. Cutting and cutting Marone only slowed down when he felt the knife was close to bone in order to not damage the skeleton too much with any markings which might throw off the entire maledicton process.

With the bones as clean as it would be after a dog had a chance through it Marone cleared out the snake innards before preparing his tools.

The skeleton of the snake was unfurled and laid out across the table. Straight across Marone saw there was no way he would be good enough to carve on the skeleton. It was too narrow and too much work even if he knew what he was going to carve on it. Marone tried a few other angles and points for the skeleton but nothing.

He left for a break and came back with a stroke of inspiration. Marone took the skeleton on both ends and started joining them together until the snake was in a ring but he didn't stop. Marone continued winding the skeleton together until it was coiled together and fastened them together with a rope. A nice flat circular piece of bone.

Now he was getting somewhere.

With the coiled up snake skeleton forming a few sets of natural circles for him Marone started to make his own actual circles. With chisel in hand he started etching a circle in the bone along the ones naturally formed. The circles made it easier for him to etch his own and the only improvisation Marone needed to do was when Marone needed to join the circles he was etching together.

"A circle. A circle. A circle. Everything comes into a full circle."

Digging into the bone with the chisel Marone continued his chants. By the time he finished repeating his usual lines Marone was able to make a few rounds with his chisel and make a few circles on the skeleton. When he finally finished carving on the skeleton he ended.

"From start to end everything comes to a full circle. Everything will be shown to all."

Finished with making the circles on the soon to be charm Marone made a look over the skeleton to make sure his chiseling only made a mark on the bones and nothing else. Especially not the bonds he used to tie the skeleton together so it would stay in place. Marone did not need the extra work in carving on new connections if the entire thing got loose.

With the circle done Marone only had to get on with the only other most important thing to make the item work. What the item could do now with what it has done in life.

[Marone]

Marone remembered something about malediction his father used to tell him as an example of how it worked. It was about a follower of Rhysol. Actually two followers of Rhysol. Both were more or less similar in life and in death until they got into the hands of some maledictors. One made the remains about the follower's pain and suffering while the other praised the follower's life.

Both obviously made different things. One was bad for followers of Rhysol while the other was the opposite. Actually helping the follower near the item or so he heard. Marone was not too sure about the facts but he knew what the story was. This made the followers attracted to the items or trying to avoid the items respectively. It was supposed to be an example of what a maledictor can do with an item and how each difference could affect the result.

He also knew the story was to give him an idea to try and make the latter effect happen. He wasn't too fond of snakes after what happened a few days ago.

Marone took a finer chisel and started carving into the circles he already made taking care to not hit any of their borders. He was going to have to make sure the words he wanted to put on the bone was going to fit in the circles. He was a little into carving in the letter 's' to start with when he stopped deciding it would be more prudent for him to actually decide on what he wanted to do.

Snake was obviously something needed to be confirmed with the item and Marone started moving the chisel again. The tool dug deeper into the indent to make the letter more solid and continued with the n until he spelt out the full word.

Starting off strong it was as if his inspiration naturally came to him. The words started appearing in the bone as Marone continued carving into them. House. Meaning Marone's house which was the snake was brought to. Food. What the snake thought it would find when it was released and was devouring the snake. Death. What the snake ended up with instead.

Wanting to make his work more accurate Marone took the chisel and stabbed it in deep where the circle containing food was. He slashed it to the side and did the same from the opposite side to make a large cross over the words then a little below the border of the circle containing the word death he stabbed in and started moving the chisel along the shape of the circle.

A large cross to cancel the meaning of food and a large circle to highlight death. Both ideas which Marone wanted exemplify to any snakes.

His work left only one circle in the skeleton for Marone to use. As luck would've had it the circle was right in the center of the other four circles which were boxing it in from their respective corners. That circle he knew was going to be the most important one. Instead of mucking up everything with something he decided on in the last minute Marone decided to consolidate all the ideas which were already in his work.

Marone started digging his chisel into the bone again and followed in order of the circles he made for the elements he would add into the circle. For the snake he used the method he used for his first charm. He carved in two lines running along each other before joining them at the ends. Additionally he carved a small circle of the same width in front of one end to represent the head.

He followed through by carving in four lines at the borders of the circle to make a large square that took up most of the space in the circle. That would be the house Marone was in. He looked at the other two circles he was left with. Food and death having no idea of how he would express them.

Remembering what he wanted the item to do which is to keep the snakes away Marone decided to do the next best thing. Marone carved on a few smaller snakes in whatever space was left outside the square the same way he did the one in the square and had them looking like they were moving away from it. In front of each he put smaller dots in front of them. Two lines sticking out from each and a wavy one trailing behind like when he made the first charm.

"A house with a dead snake that didn't get its meal and outside even more snakes that are avoiding it and getting the food they want" Marone said convincing the item just as he was convincing himself of the picture he just carved into the bone before pricking his finger and dabbing some blood on each circle.

[Marone]

There was only one thing left for Marone to maledict and that is the severed snake skull. Although he wanted nothing more to do with this particular snake or any other snake he felt that having the snake around would serve as a good reminder of how bad things turned out for him after he was bit. Trusting the person that sold him the snake and being overconfident in his own abilities. That should not happen again.

Because there was always the chance he wouldn't be so lucky.

Fully prepared to butcher the head up Marone took his knife and removed the eyes which he believed would be the easiest parts to remove. A stab into the first and a second into the next and Marone was able to pull out both eyes quite easily. Then he got to the part of removing the skin and flesh. Having already done the first Marone was still used to the task.

He cut into the snake deeply for the line to split the head to two sides. Then working towards each he repetitively stabbed in and pushed out all the skin and flesh. Over and over again Marone did this until only little remnants of the snake stood out from the bone. And then he continued.

Stab. Push. Stab. Push. Stab. Push.

Now Marone had many choices of what to do with the skull. A lot of things came to mind but he decided on one thing in the end. The skull was at least suitable enough for his purposes although a little bit uneven from his messy decapitation. However as long as the gap at the back remained he would still be able to complete the item he wanted. A weapon just as the fangs the snake used on him.

Flipping the skull around Marone tried to decide where would the appropriate place be to put his malediction circles. The top of the head would be the most obvious place as it had the most space but Marone was not too fond of the idea. Professionally he was a weaponsmith and a skull on a weapon would be a great trophy but a skull with carvings on the weapon would only be cluttered and overdone.

When Marone was done examining the skull his belief that carving inside of the skull would allow him more freedom to work on the piece compared to any ornamental design which would limit him. Immediately getting to work the tools were already in his hands and busy chipping away into the bone starting with the beginning of all maledicted items he or anyone else has ever made.

"A circle. A circle. A circle. Everything comes into a full circle."

The narrowness and the inclines of the interior of the skull made Marone take longer than usual in making the circle. To make things worse he had to pause a few times just to clear out the dust that was accumulating inside the skull to interfere with his work. Sometimes even confusing him on whether or not the depth of the carvings were uniform or not.

"From start to end everything comes to a full circle" continued Marone in stubborn persistence. The circle in malediction he knew was the most important part. The part which brings out the power in the item. Even if he botches up the later carvings describing the item's past the worst that could happen was it turns out cursed. At the very least the item would still work and the general consensus is a failure is only when an item doesn't do anything.

Finishing off the circle by making sure the carving was deep enough in the bone and making the necessary corrections so its depth is uniform in all places Marone was finally able to take his brush and really get all the dust which was interrupting him during his crafting. When it is clean he would be ready to continue with the next step.

"Everything will be shown to all" he finished. No matter how many times he has said it this stage of his ritual was the most satisfying one.

[Marone]

Poison. Poison was the aspect of the snake which Marone remembered most in its short time with him and this is the part of it he wanted to bring out in his maledicted item.

Taking a deep breath Marone's chisel touched down on the inside of the circle and his happer started tapping gently on it to get it moving. Everything planned and everything known to him Marone didn't hesitate to continue carving on it the word he wanted. S. N. A. K. E. Snake. The obvious element to the maledicted item which was its source.

Marone followed this through with the event which was able to traumatize him. The event which required him to have a constant reminder and that was what the snake did to him. He started carving as the next word in the line. B. I. T. E. Bite. Snake bite. Whatever he wished to portray couldn't be anymore direct than that.

Snake bite represented both the subject and the action so it should've been easy to foresee the word which would come next. Marone started carving out the letters to the result of the snake bite. P. Pain? O. Point? I. It could be a really sharp one considering Marone barely felt it. He continued carving and at the end of it with words etched deep into the bone.

Poison.

Anyone would've been satisfied with that but Marone felt that it would not serve as a good reminder to him if he ever used it. Most of his malediction involved a visual aid to keep it more accurate but Marone experiencing the entire ordeal first hand knew better. He could easily describe what he felt. The poison. The pain. The suffering. It might have been fake but for Marone who didn't know better it felt as real as it got.

Marone shut his eyes and tried to recall what he felt after he got bit. His hand was trembling too much to continue crafting until he was able to compose himself. When he finally stopped trembling and was able to hold his tools with a straight hand Marone started tapping into the skull again and carved in the words to describe what he felt.

'Numb' The first thing Marone noticed with his hand when he noticed the snake bite.

'Dizzy' The difficulty for Marone in leaving his house when he tried to get help as he tripped over various things in his house.

'Breathless' After running so long for help. A run normally sustainable but for Marone panicked state at the time.

And finally ''Exhausted' for when Marone finally found someone that could help and allowed the whole day to catch up to him.

The only step left was for Marone to expose the item to blood but eventhough he tried to compose himself he was not successful at all times. Sometimes the shakes came back. If Marone was lucky it would be in between chiseling when his hands was free. If he wasn't the chisel would be on bone making little notches and scratches. It made the words look more aged and gave them character but Marone was more worried that the item would mistake things somehow.

Marone took a break and returned to his item the next day when he got the time. This time more composed and without a need to recall his near death experience because the words were already there Marone took up his chisel again and started tapping on the words which were already carved. Making them deeper so they could easily be distinguished from the mistakes he made.

When he was satisfied with how the malediction circle looked Marone split the blood needed to activate the item. His malediction item was complete but the entire item was not complete yet. Being a weaponsmith himself Marone had no worries about completing it on his own and without anyone else being in the position to ruin it.

[Marone]

It was the next day when Marone was in the Knight's Armory making sure that he was able to keep his day job. After making the weapons he was expected to make to ensure the store always had enough stock on hand Marone started to make the weapon he wanted for himself. Using the store's equipment and resources were part of the perks but he always made sure he only does it when his own work was done. No excuse beats his own being a part of his job when there is a pile of weapons made by him close by.

Marone wasn't the best in crafting weapons made of metal since his specialization is in ones made of bone but that didn't mean he couldn't. It just meant he needed to pay more attention to his work and keep trying to recall what they tried to teach him since the first time he joined the Armoury.

While heating up the fire so he could begin the smithing process Marone tried to identify the tools he'd need.

"This?" he asked himself while picking up the tongs.

"Oh yes. This." he declared taking the hammer and giving it a few practice swings in the air.

"No?" he said putting the chisel to the side. To his understanding the chisel is only for working with bones especially malediction.

"Maybe" he queried when he fiddled with the hardy.

Desire to make sure he was well prepared to make his weapon soon gave way to his wish to have the item finished. Marone decided that if he needed any other smithing tools they would come to mind while he is crafting his item. Immediately he got to work in feeding the fire until it was bright and hot.

Then Marone put his chunk of metal into the fire. Soon it became red which was a good sign for Marone but he continued waiting. Orange. Marone was told the time to start shaping the iron would come next. They also told him that when he got more experienced with smithing he would be able to identify the forging heat stage just by sight alone but Marone wasn't at that level yet.

Instead Marone just waited a little while more until the heat started getting to him. The metal became yellow by then which Marone knew was taking it a little too far the last time he was demonstrated the various stages of heating metal. Either way he was going to continue until he either ruined the weapon or completed it.

Clank!

Clank!

Clank!

Clank!

Sounds familiar to the Armory started echoing in the forge as Marone started shaping the metal with his hammer. It wasn't even the hard part yet because Marone was only straightening the metal. The piece he took was quite bendy and wouldn't do too good for him unless he was going to make one of those vicious weapons that leave a bigger mark going out than going in.

Clank!

Clank!

Clank!

Marone continued with hammering and reheating and hammering even more until he was able to make a nice straight piece of metal. Now the easy part was done and Marone was going to have to really get to work to finish his weapon.

[Marone]

Marone was quite familiar with the shape of the weapon. It was the material of the weapon which became a problem to him. While he was given a rudimentary introduction of working with metal when he joined the Armoury he didn't really practice it. It was only because of how he planned to use it that Marone saw no problem in making this item on his own. It may take a few tries to get it right but eventually he would get what he wanted.

The basic idea as Marone was shown in smithing is none other than just pounding away at the metal until he got the shape he desired. He heated the tip until it was glowing bright red and pounded hard at it on the anvil. He hammered it thin and the shape started to form.

Clank!

Clank!

Clank!

The same sound of smithing can be heard in the Armoury but to someone familiar with it the sound wasn't like when Marone was working on the metal earlier. No. It was more chaotic that uniform. It went without rhythm. It was just the sound of hammering metal on metal and nothing more when Marone was trying to make his new blade.

Or more accurately reacting to the changes to the metal to make sure that its shape will take the form he wanted it to. It was the times when he had to fold the metal over itself that Marone felt he was making progress because it actually allows to think he was given a fresh start. Only thing was it was harder than that.

Struggling on between the hammering and shaping Marone finally made something which looked like a knife if a knife was only its point and edge. He cut the excess metal and started using the file on the knife. After working hard on it Marone was finally able to finish. File going past the blade without any resistance.

Eventhough Marone has finished making his blade there was a thought coming into his head about his work. Before he could think further a voice from behind confirmed it for him.

"Nice job. If you were making an arrowhead."

Marone gave a frown and found one of his colleagues appraising his work. He thumbed to a pile which Marone knew as the pile all the rejects of discount crap weapons were put into. There was no way they expect this knife to be sold or would they? Any weapon is better than no weapon in Sunberth even if it looked like it couldn't even hurt a fly.

"A practice piece. Never intended it to ever be used" Marone said before dumping the dagger into the pile. He had such plans for it.

Plans that could still be completed as long as he didn't have too much that very same day or the next but as Marone looked into the pile he found some blades that were good. Not too good or they wouldn't be there but enough for his purposes. A quick look around and he saw his companion was no longer around and took one of them for himself before getting back to work.

Marone drilled a hole where the blade and hilt met and then another hole into the snake skull before putting both pieces together and connecting them with a long piece of metal. Feeling it was firm Marone put on the finishing touches.

From the jaw of the snake he etched a few lines towards the tip of the blade. Not straight to it but in an organic way. Like a snake's tongue if someone looked at it in just the right angle which branched out at the end like a fork. As Marone was carving into the metal he was glad that he didn't need the heat of the furnace to do this as his tools were enough.

And before any weapon could be used it had to be tested first. Not really the practice of everyone but Marone preferred to make sure especially if the weapon was going to be used by himself. Fortunately Marone could test his personal weapon right in the Armoury itself if he didn't want to wait until he went back home.

But he was going to test it back home anyway right after he finished the remainder of his work for the Armoury today.

Back home Marone first tested the weight of his dagger. It was heavier in the middle for the obvious addition to it but the extra weight would help Marone somewhat. He took a few practice swings in the air and knew his suspicion was right. The skull itself was propelling his swings making it slightly faster and more driven forward. A few more practice swings from side to side. The only flaw Marone could ascertain was the weight of the skull made it hard for him to change the angle of his slashed when he needed to.

The next method of attack with a dagger which Marone relied on more than the slash because it was so instinctive. Marone started thrusting the dagger forward and increased the amount of repetitive stabs. Again not much of a problem and the weight actually made it easier for him to propel his thrusts. The only flaw he felt after numerous stabs was his arm getting more tired from the added weight. Being rather inexperienced in a fight Marone didn't put much stock in believing it was a problem with the weapon and with it being more of a problem with himself.

After his practice with the blade Marone kept the blade away feeling quite satisfied with his work. His only reservation is whether the weapon would perform the same in a real scrap just like it did with the air.

[Amora Jade]

Congratulations, you've been awarded!

 

Marone

Skills

• Observation +3
• Sewing +2
• Planning +3
• Carving +4
• Malediction +4
• Weaponsmithing +1
• Blacksmithing +1
• Weapon: Dagger +1
• Butchering +1

Lores

• Using Gloves While Sewing Reduces Injury
• Anatomy: Large Poisonous Snake
• Maledicting Snakeskin
• Maledicting Snake Bones
• Snakes Have Bones
• Making a Bracelet out of Snakeskin
• Making a Snake Charm out of Snake Bones
• Making a Weapon Accessory out of a Snake Skull

Earnings/Expenses

• +2 Snake Skin Bracelets: The items are poorly made and will likely fall apart if the wearer puts much resistance on them. The wearer of the items will notice the bracelet slightly squeezing his/her wrist while wearing.
  +1 Snake Charm: The charm is poorly made and will need to be up-kept to prevent it from falling apart. The charm will help to keep snakes away from the area it's in, but isn't foolproof.
  +1 Dagger: The dagger itself is oddly shaped and this may cause problems when using it. The added Maledicted snake skull will cause whoever is injured by it to experience a slight burning sensation when cut, but it isn't powerful.
  
  If you decide to sell these items in a future thread, please use the price list to find the price of the base item (even though it is maledicted) considering the poor quality.

Notes: Please try not to play above you level, the items I awarded have flaws because a Novice will not be very good at creating them. Also, adding more detail to the action of creating the items as well as what the final product looks like would have gotten you more points and better items. The last thing is: there were a couple times you switched tenses while you wrote, please try to stay in the past tense.

If you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to send me a private message! Also, please remember to edit your post requesting the grade as "Graded."

With love,
Miss Jade