510 AV, Winter 11th.
With Alma’s request approved by the Synchrograph Office, he could finally start practicing his Malediction on his own. And this excited him. Finally, he thought. I’ll get some work done!
While Alma had been writing in his journal, which he kept his stray thoughts in, a golem had brought him his requested items.
“The items you requested have arrived,” the golem announced as it rolled towards Alma. Alma looked up from his writing. The golem held a wooden box, which was filled with various items. Alma stood up—standing on the tips of his toes—and peered inside of the box, seeing everything that he had requested, and a piece of parchment.
“Very good,” he said quietly. “Thank you,” he said to the golem, and grabbed the box. He heaved the box on top of his working desk as the golem rolled away silently.
Let’s see what we have here, he thought to himself. He began pulling things out of the box, excited to see what details and ideas he could come up with for his projects. The first thing that he pulled out was a rather large skull.
The skull looked as if it had an expression of constant happiness with a large smile. This was odd to Alma, but he disregarded it. The next item was a small woven sack. Alma untied the string that kept it closed, and peered inside. Teeth, just like he had asked for. Alma put the small bag to the side; he would examine the teeth in further detail later. Next, he pulled out a small box. The box was made of dark wood, polished to perfection. Alma unhinged the latch in the front and opened it. He was pleased with the tools that he saw in front of him. He smiled a small smile. He found himself in a more pleasant mood since he had arrived in Sahova, finding the place much to his liking. The tools were metal and had a sheen light about them. They looked perfect to Alma. I can’t wait to use these.
The last thing that was left in the box was a piece of folding parchment. Alma opened it. It read:
“Your request for details on the items you received is understood, and we will comply. The skull is that of a human woman. She was a prostitute in the port city of Zeltiva. She was the scum of the city. Next, the teeth you received are that of an old Chawktawe storyteller, a prized, valuable find. The woman was a wise and great storyteller, never making mistakes in her art. Take great care of these. And lastly, the set of tools is a compliment of the Citadel. We welcome you.”
Alma set the note down on his work-desk and sighed. They’re being quite friendly towards me. I hope I don’t disappoint them… Alma grabbed the small sack and carefully poured its contents on his desk. The teeth were somewhat yellow with age, but this was no matter. He looked at them gratefully. They have shown me great kindness by giving these to me.
It was time to start working. Alma began thinking about his studies in Zeltiva. Malediction required that he tell a story of the item, one that will bring out the Djed and relay effects. Alma looked at the set of teeth and considered his options of what he could do with the items. I’ll have to write on the teeth, I’m afraid, he thought grimly. That’ll make them harder to sell… Alma put the thought behind him and grabbed the thin charcoal stick in front of him. Alma grabbed one of the teeth, and began his work.
He drew a small circle on the tooth, and carefully wrote in the tiniest letters he possibly could, “Elegant Speech.” A simple statement, but he could feel the Djed he drew out of the tooth. The words didn’t exactly tell a story, but they related to the teeth’s former owner, and Alma felt like it would suffice. He repeated this step on every one of the teeth. After he was done, he grabbed the small drill from the tool pack that he had received, and began drilling a single small hole in every tooth. This step took quite a while, but it was necessary. After Alma was complete with all of holes, he retrieved wire that had come in the box and wove it through the set of teeth. After he was complete, he tied the ends of the wire. The necklace was complete. Alma hoped that we wearer of the necklace would be blessed with gracious and eloquent speech.
Alma sat the necklace aside, and grabbed the skull. Okay, he thought. What can I do with this? He looked at the skull thoughtfully for a long while, considering all of the possibilities. The owner was a prostitute… I could make it affect the atmosphere of a room! He thought excitedly. This was a dangerous risk, for it could have dire effects, but it was all that Alma could think of.
Alma grabbed a piece of parchment from a drawer in his work-desk, a quill and an ink well. He looked at the paper for a long while, and then wrote:
“Passion, lust, and desire,
These feelings that we can all acquire,
Let all those whom enter here,
Be graced with love,
But no fear,”
These feelings that we can all acquire,
Let all those whom enter here,
Be graced with love,
But no fear,”
The poem was badly written, but Alma didn’t care. It would get the job done. Alma grabbed a chisel and hammer out of the box of tools that he was given, and began carving a large circle into the front of the skull. After he was done, he then began carving the words of the poem into the skull. The process took several hours, but Alma finally finished around nightfall.
After he was done, Alma grabbed a small knife from a drawer from his desk, and made a small cut along his wrist. It hurt, and Alma winced at the pain. Ichor began to pour from it, Alma realizing he might have cut too deep. He quickly gathered some of the ichor into his finger tips, and dotted it on all of the circles on the skull and necklace of teeth. He took a needle and thread and patched the cut over twice, deciding he would go and get it repaired better later.
A small glow emitted from the skull's circle,and he felt his heart to beat faster, and felt joy flood over him. He looked around at the other Nuits near him, and watched as their facial expression changed from blank to something near smiles. Alma let out a huge grin, overjoyed from the success of his item. He then stopped and wondered, Am I only this happy because of the skull?! Alma was amazed by the effects, and started laughing.
Alma then remembered the necklace, and wanted to see its effects. He grabbed it and pulled it over his head. He sat for a moment, feeling no different. Puzzled, he went to speak, but, to his surprise, he could not. When he tried to make a sound, his throat would spasm and he could break out into a raspy cough. Still feeling overjoyed because of the skull, Alma started laughing, only to break out in another cough because of the necklace. Feeling conflicted, he removed the necklace from his neck. “Well that wasn’t what I planned,” he said aloud. He looked around at the other Nuits, and they were all carrying about their usual business, only they seemed more happy about it, and some even looked lustrous at each other. This certainly was an interesting experiment, Alma thought to himself.
Fin.
