[OP-F4] Christmas Comes but Once a Year...

[Shield 0]

The impact of the bear cub made Shield stumble back, and for a moment all he could do was to stare into the little creature's wild eyes. Memories stirred that he had not intended to disturb, remembering toddlers leaping off of bunk beds and latching onto his neck among a chorus of child-like giggles. The memory lanced through his chest, and his normally hard eyes softened.

"Well, hello," he said, trying and failing to hold in a laugh.

As his chuckle turned into a deep belly-laugh, he doubled over forward, instinctively wrapping his arms around the fuzzy assailant as they had once been so used to doing with his own children. With the clear sign language that the cub gave him, he had to take deep breaths to get his breathing back under control.

"I'm sorry friend. I didn't think to bring food with me, and I was just on my way to pick up trail rations since I ran out this morning."

Time to go into dad deflection mode.If you can't give 'em what they want, don't let them think about it.

"Tell you what. I'll wrestle you for it!"

He bucked forward, tossing the wriggling beast into one arm as the other hand extended each of its fingers into a would-be claw. The pseudo-menacing digits dug into the cub's thick layers of fur, tickling every inch of its belly and neck that he could reach. Being in a safe zone, he was unconcerned with any over-zealous attempts to play-fight back. Shield looked over at @Necryptonix, giving her a smile.

"You go on ahead. I'll keep the little monster busy," he said, turning his attention back to the bear. "Your claws are no match for my mighty defenses, little warrior!"

[Mack 0]

OOC: Those of you that have placed item orders, in thread, and haven't received them yet please shoot me a PM. @Jazz I'll work on crafting your dagger next.

This. Was. Not. Fair. Tickling?!? WHO DID THAT?!? Growling, Chewie tried to wriggle around until he could sink his teeth into Shield's arm. But, that was not an easy thing to accomplish when the man insisted on keeping up an unending tickle attack. Making a very beseeching noise in @Necryptonix's direction the grizzly cub gave her a plaintive look with his big brown eyes asking for a rescuer to save him from @Shield.

Inside the tent, Mack grabbed up the next completed order form and scanned it momentarily. A two-handed sword and a set of heavy armor. Nothing he couldn't handle. Grunting, the black smith moved along behind the display tables that were piled up with various weapons and armor pieces. Selecting a sword the ginger man considered it for a moment with his storm grey eyes and then slung it against his shoulder before moving on to to a table with armor pieces laid out on it. Moving along behind the table, Mack considered several different armor suits before hefting one of them with the proper enchantments on it.

"Here," he rumbled in a deep tone, passing the armor and the weapon to @Alice. "These should serve your purpose."

-Xcalibur - Type 1 to Alice
-Fate - Type 1 to Alice

[Necryptonix 0]

Necryptonix blinked in surprise at the little bear's antics, then took the big smith's advice and stepped in to the tent to fill out the form despite her lingering bewilderment. She gave @Shield a shrug and a smile before going in as he too found himself getting harassed by the little familiar. "Feed the bear, apparently." She waved, and entered.

Inside she grabbed a form and a pencil and tapped her lip thoughtfully for a moment as she deliberated on what exactly she wanted. A two handed spear, obviously, but what kind of enhancements do I want...after a few more moments, she scribbled down what she wanted and looked for a place to put the order form where the big smith would see it.

Spoiler

2 Handed Assault Spear

Bleed, whatever slot assignments you feel like doing

"It's kinda crowded in here, so I'll just wait outside, yeah?" She wasn't sure if the smith heard her, but she carefully scooted out of the tent, wrapping her arms tightly around herself to try and retain some of the tent's warmth before she was back in the snow. Once outside, she cleared snow from a spot with her boot and sat down, knees pulled up to her chest, and looked at the sky. 

@Mack

Edited January 26, 2017 by Necryptonix

[Shield 0]

As the bearling flailed in his arms, Shield found it increasingly difficult to keep himself from laughing. Eventually, the protests of the cub rose to a mounting pitch before Shield finally decided he'd had enough.

"What do you think?" he chuckled. "Have I earned my passage yet, o mighty guardian?"

He set the squirming ball of fur and fangs on the ground with its nose pointed in the direction of the tent and gave it a swat on the behind.

"Go and tell them I'm coming, you little varmint."

He stepped into the tent after @Necryptonix, observing the gathered crowd. He had not been wrong in guessing that there was a line. He took out a scrap of paper and wrote down a few details of the item he hoped to have commissioned. There were a lot of thoughts he had to weigh, but he knew that as a tank, and a low-level one, it would be best to let the weapon do the fighting for him instead of relying on his own damage.

Spoiler

Item Name: Bleeder 
Item Type: One Handed Battle Ax
Tier: 1
Quality: Perfect
Enhancements: Bleed 2, Damage 1
Description: A simple ax with a barbed, harpoon-like spike protruding from the center of the striking edge, designed to rend flesh when pulled free after a solid strike 

He waited by the tent flap for @Mack to finish with those ahead of him, contenting himself to watch his calves for bear attacks until the smith was ready to take his order.

[Mack 0]

So, that was how it was going to be, was it? A vicious, unprovoked, attack and no gift of food? The sheer unmitigated gall. The instant Chewie found himself back on the ground the bear cub scampered back into the tent and then he waited. Shield would come in eventually and the bear could be patient, when the mood struck him, which was admittedly not very often. Still, these were special revenge motivated circumstances. The second Shield started filling out the order form, which left him unable to watch for Chewie, the bear struck. Rumbling out of his hiding spot like a fuzzy missile, Chewie sank his teeth into one of Shield's ankles. Quicker than anything that ate as much as Chewie had a right to be, he went haring off through the forest of legs until he spotted @Jazz. With a flying leap the cub struck the girl on one side and then scrambled up to perch on her shoulder with his fore paws on her head as he glowered at Shield.

Meanwhile, Mack turned his attention to filling orders as a few more order forms came in. Examining another one from the stack he moved along to a table of weapons and selected a two-handed sword that seemed to fit the bill. "Here, try this," the smith rumbled, passing the weapon to @Ignavus_veneficus. Next the ginger headed man considered the odd dagger request. Paralyze and Bleed seemed like strange choices to Mack, but he shrugged his shoulders and forked over a suitable dagger to @Jazz. Next came @Necryptonix's request for a weapon with accuracy and bleed. The blacksmith issued an ear splitting whistle, selected a spear from another table of weapons, and boomed out, "Who wanted the spear?"

-Black Iron Greatsword
-Gigglestick
-Scarlet Lance

[Alice 0]

After having received the short, but straightforward answer from the hulking blacksmith, Alice had reached a conclusion on her decision. A two handed straight sword, solely designed to dish out damage, and an armor set with the implication that it could both block damage and heal what pierced through. The current vanity set that she sported was quite similar to what she desired, though served no purpose beyond allowing her to use her skill at this time. As the smith returned to his crafting bench, Alice would leave him in peace as she looked around at what else the shop had to offer. Plenty of weapons and armor, certainly, but there were quite a few tools for trades that were available to improve crafting in a variety of manners. She took note, knowing that such items would come in handy when she could afford them. Though her attention on the decorations and sales weren't held for long as a cute little cub stirred some chaos nearby, "Oh, isn't he sweet?" A couple of the customers that showed up for the event had been playing with him and feeding him, having not upset it or the owner, "Shame that the spare food I have on me is just starter filler, wouldn't be much of a treat for the little guy." However, before she could approach to pet the cub and feel how soft it was, Mack had finished her requests. She'd quickly pass through the other players and bow her head in appreciation, "Thank you very much, it's greatly appreciated. I'll be sure to return the favor someday, be it to you or to someone else in your name."

[Necryptonix 0]

Necryptonix jumped at the shrill whistle, eyes wide and visibly leaning away, she raised her hand. "Me, sir. Two-handed assault spear, that's me." She gestured to herself, trying to keep the look of unease off her face. She took a moment to take a deep breath and straighten up into a less defensive posture. You ordered this ya know, you shouldn't be so jumpy. If he was going to hurt you, it wouldn't be on this floor...

Nix stepped up to the black smith then, having to navigate through the press of bodies from other players and keeping an eye out for Chewie for fear of stepping on the little bear. She was painfully conscious of how much bigger the black smith was compared to her, though she tried not to think too hard about it. Do not think about how easy it would be for him to snap you in half, do. not. Finally standing before the smith, she put on a smile and crossed her arms behind her back. "Is it ready then?"

@Mack

[Shield 0]

With his dad instincts so long unused, the surprise attack from the scorned cub had found Shield unprepared. Thankful for the safe zone's protections, he shook the offended limb instinctively to dislodge the teeth that had made their home momentarily there, but before he could do so the bear was already off of him and on his way to accost Jazz. With a little smirk he playfully returned the glare of his would-be opponent.

Attacking while your opponent is distracted? Effective, perhaps, but I'll show you what you get for being so unsportsmanlike.

The aspiring tank tilted his head forward and brought a closed hand across his nose, making a soft 'muff' sound, like a golden retriever who couldn't quite decide if it wanted to bark at someone or not. He shifted back and forth between the balls of his feet, his hands up and in front of his face, as if preparing to box with the cub.

[Mack 0]

"Sounds good," Mack rumbled in response to Alice as Chewie continued to run around the tent trying to beg second, and even third, treats from some of the players though, out of the corner of his eye Mack noticed that the bear had perched himself up on one of Jazz's shoulders. "Yeah, that spear's for you," Mack rumbled, forking the Crimson Lance over to Necryptonix. Next, he considered the requests of @Shizua and @Shield as he moved along behind the various stacks of weapons and considered all of the spears before selecting a rather odd spear made of cherry wood with a weapon head that also appeared to be in the shape of a cherry leaf. "Here," he said in a deep tone, passing Cherry Blossom to Shizua. The burly blacksmith the moved to a different table with weapons of the type that Shield was interested in. "Try this, Shield."

As Shield raised his fists to box with Chewie the bear decided he had had enough. With a rumbling growl of challenge, the cub propelled himself off of Jazz's shoulder and right at Shield's face. There was a lot of snarling and waving of claws and baring of teeth.

-Cherry Blossom
-Bleeder

[Shield 0]

With a small wall of claws and teeth barreling down on him, Shield was more than a little preoccupied when the weapon was offered to him. The muscle memory from all of the most brutal top-bunk-leaping-attacks by his little ones came flooding back to him. He spluttered, a mouthful of fur assailing his tongue as he had to suppress fits of laughter. With one hand on Chewie's chest to hold the bearling back, he used the other to wrap around the furry body, wrestling it under his arm with the fuzzy face pointing behind Shield. This freed up his main hand to target the weak spot of all animals, feline, canine, and all others alike: the lower back, just above the tail. With his now free right hand, he used his nails to scratch at the hard-to-reach spot in an attempt to quell the hungry cub's anger long enough to address the smith.

He nodded, taking the axe quickly and squirreling it away into his inventory before returning his fingers to the task of scratch-sedating the bear.

"Thank you," Shield finally managed with a smile. "I appreciate your generosity. If there's ever a time you need me to return it or even just pay it forward to other players, let me know."

With that, he set the cub down and backed his way out of the tent, knowing better now than to expect the little beast to not retaliate if he turned his back.

[Shizua 0]

As Mack handed Cherry Blossom towards Shizua, a look of surprise bloomed on her face, taking in the unique appearance of the weapon. "Wow.." She said, her hands reaching out to take hold of the weapon. Something that many didn't know about the young girl, who was notable for her very average appearance as a Japanese teen, was her affinity for unique and odd looking weapons and other trinkets, which originally stemmed from her collection of old video game accessories when she was younger.

"..I like it." She said with a grin, her gaze turning back from her new Naginata, to the giver of such a gift. "Thank you, sir." She said, taking a step back to offer a bow to show her thanks to the smith. When she came back up, seeing that she now had a little bit of space between her and everybody else, she gave Cherry Blossom a short twirl. An excited grin followed when she found it to her liking.

[Mack 0]

OOC: Wrapping up and closing this thread. If I missed anyone for weapons and gear, PM me and we'll figure it out.

"You're all welcome," Mack rumbled to the various players still assembled in the tent as many of them offered their thanks for the new weapons and gear. "Make sure you use them well, gain honor for yourselves, and know that the Knights of the Blood Oath are always looking for new players to join our guild," the burly man continued as Shield quelled his familiar and backed out of the tent. As Shield beat a retreat Chewie scampered to the closing tent flap and popped up on his hind paws. He roared a departing challenge at the devious and tricky non-food giving Shield. Then the bear held up just the middle claw on his right front paw at the departing Shield's back. Where the grizzly had learned such a crude gesture was anyone's guess, but he had probably picked it up from his occasionally crude and coarse master.

REWARDS:
+800 Col - Mack
+Various Weapons & Armor from the Smithy (Involved Players)

@Aereth - +2 SP (5 Posts)
@Alice - +1 SP (3 Posts)
@Bhairyuu - +1 SP (1 Post)
@Dominion - +2 SP (5 Posts)
@DrinkingGlass - +1 SP (1 Post)
@Ignavus_veneficus - +2 SP (4 Posts)
@Jazz - +1 SP (1 Post)
@Khrysaor - +1 SP (1 Post)
@Mack - +2 SP (12 Posts)
@Necryptonix - +2 SP (4 Posts)
@Row - +2 SP (6 Posts)
@Shield - +2 SP (5 Posts)
@Shizua - +2 SP (4 Posts)