"That depends... on what is being enchanted. But no, you cannot... enchant yourself. Your magic--cellular growth... It can be used to make weapons that sicken... or armor that protects from sickness. Items that see, the way you can." This last was addressed to Aran, and that was all the Blacksmith said, for now.

Then he waited, patiently, for a final decision to be made.

This was not his choice to make--but theirs, and for now, he remained completely silent.

@Tahi-shei @Aran @Comet @Oka @Himmel @James @Kaimana @Leviathan @Haven @Electrum

With her magic expanded (and severely weakened, not that she'd tell a soul--) Ashtoreth was feeling restless. Adventure called to her, and she had discovered the group of gembound as they found their way to the blacksmith. She followed on quiet wings, landing and sneaking up. It seemed like there were always a million dozen gembound gathered when something important was happening...

It was so toasty here. She wished her pelt wasn't so thick-- even if moments prior, she had been glad to have the bristly fur through the colder tunnels. Ashtoreth kept quiet as she crept up on the group, ears pricking to listen to the Blacksmith explain the task set for them.

She had missed the fable that held a heavy warning, but she did get most of the explanation about enchanting. She knew about baubling; one of her first gifts had been a glowing feather from Eve. There was talk of making a weapon... but the potentials were limitless. For now, Ashtoreth was quiet, eyeing the rest of the group from the outskirts... curious as to what they would do.

Haven's head reared at the suggestion of melting her precious sword hilt. How dare the deer suggest such a thing?! That was her hilt and she got it all by herself!

She snuggled into Electrum's side and glared (though she had no eyes to really glare with), grumbling softly. She snuggled into him as he snuggled into her, and mumbled softly.

"A hilt could be transformed into many things," she sighed, "Like... nevermind, I don't know what it could be turned into."

Perhaps Electrum had a point. One of the crystals could be wrapped in twine and easily turned into a necklace. Perhaps one to boost strength or magic. She didn't know.

"We still have some, right?", she asked, referring to her gathering up as many as her paws could carry, "I think I do."

@Electrum

He considered for a moment, and then glanced around the group. "Master Astraea used a certain type of magic to remove the Mother fungus from those who had been infected at the raid. This is a spell I also know. Perhaps we could use a crystal bound into some sort of necklace, and enchant it to protect someone against the infection." He paused, and considered. "Maybe that four-armed creature from the Raid -- he seemed especially upset to have been infected, and even though he isn't here, I'd rather he not have to go through that sort of suffering again if it could be avoided."

Tahi-shei then returned his gaze to the Blacksmith, curious and waiting. "But I suppose that depends on whether or not such a thing is even possible -- all magic has rules, and I am no Master -- I cannot create them of my own accord."

James looked at the two dragons and then at Tahi, before looking away with a flush, shifting nervously, "A crystal could be used to make a great many things... I agree."

He exhaled and shifted some more, from foot to foot, humming gently. He trotted over to Comet and nudged her.

"Hey... this could be a craft you could learn," he said, laughing gently, "I'm certain you'd love to keep your paws busy in some way."

If she didn't want to, that was perfectly okay. It was a suggestion, not a demand.

@Comet

Having figured his voice was either too quiet or too unimportant for others to listen to, he was resigned to the fact that other more vociferous beasts were taking control of the situation. Nobody cared what he had to offer, nobody paid him any mind at all - except to be annoyed at him, in one case. The serpentine creature looked offended by his suggestion and it was quickly put to rest, no longer a viable option.

It was all he really had to contribute, though. Himmel didn't have any other magic beyond his fire, and he didn't know the world enough to know of other options. He snorts to himself and backs out of the conversation entirely, back to his spot by the warm work area, behind the Blacksmith. He tucked himself in to a wedge and while he could still hear them discussing things that he didn't entirely understand, he kept well away from it.

Comet was deep in thought, the type of magic that would be used for the item must depend on the effect of the enchantment. "A necklace would be very nice as the item, since anyone would be able to wear it." Unlike swords, which she doubted half the animals here would be able to use. And having a weapon as the item might encourage whoever got it to be like that evil guy who chrysalized a blacksmith over and over again. A necklace would not be able to do that much harm.

A nudge from James. "This would be nice to learn... then I can enchant a lot of things!" and it would also keep her busy for some time instead of doing more crazy stuff. "You could learn it too? Then we can enchant things together!" Just an idea.

Then her mind wandered to the last part of the blacksmith's statement. Everyone had been talking about the first part, what to enchant and the magic needed to enchant it. "Wait... who will be getting the enchanted item?" asked Comet, because depending on who received it, different enchantments would be useful.

He waited, as they discussed; and then he offered another quiet prompt. "Have you... decided?" he asked, at last.

Gembound have one more posting round to decide which item is offered up for enchantment, and to offer magic for its enchanting. Should they fail to decide, the Blacksmith will exit.

@Tahi-shei @Aran @Comet @Oka @Himmel @James @Kaimana @Leviathan @Haven @Electrum

Haven leapt forward and set down one of the crystal's she'd gotten from the pile of them when she was looking (or rather, feeling around) for mural pieces. It was decently sized, a few inches in length. It tinkled as she dropped it on the ground, like a chime.

"Here," she said, "We can enchant this and just put string on it and make it a necklace!"

She stepped back and shifted from side to side, humming gently, "Now we just need a spell!!"

Haven backed up and sat down next to Electrum, ears perked up and head bobbing up and down. Someone would probably step forward. Probably.

@Electrum

"We can make it into a necklace later, but for now we can just enchant the rock. No need to keep the Blacksmith waiting." He nodded towards the masked creature, still watching Haven and Electrum.

"As for the enchantment in question, it might be best to not use my magic, but some kind of warding charm in general would be nice. Aran's magic can be used to protect someone from disease, like the Blacksmith said? We could also enchant it to just do something nice, like storing a spell inside. I could probably make something which makes harmless mushrooms spring up as someone walks." He paused. "I can also make something that protects the user to some degree, from physical harm. The main issue is that I've been told my magic requires substrate, and it might end up feeding off of the holder."

Then, he looked to Comet. "I suppose whoever wants it," he shrugged. "Maybe if we can't decide, we can do some kind of guessing game. Like, if you and James wanted it, I could think of a number, and whichever one of you guessed closer could have it?"

@comet specifically but also the dragon couple