MelWong/PigSticker

Pigsticker

By MelWong

Pigsticker</i>
Artifact 2
Moonsilver dagger.
Melee Statistics
Speed +2, Accuracy +2*, Damage +4L, Defense +1, Rate 7
(Moonsilver bonus not included.)

Requires: Dex 2, 4 motes commitment (Moonsilver)

The dagger named Pigsticker is a subtle piece of work, not more than a foot in length. Her handle accounts for half of that and appears to have been carved from a single piece of marbled petrified ivory chased with moonsilver scrollwork. Her simple crossguard is of cast moonsilver, set with a smooth finger groove. Her blade, however, never appears to be the same blade twice. Most agree that it is curved, pointed, and very sharp, but the very shape of it seems to shift from time to time like tide-lines in the sand. That fluidity is a natural property of the moonsilver Pigsticker is made from, and the reason why the blade is so deadly especially against poorly-armored foes.

When used in combat, the Exalt wielding Pigsticker may spend 1 mote before he makes his attack roll. If the attack roll is successful, the extra successes are counted twice for damage as the moonsilver blade deforms, widening and sprouting barbs to gouge a deeper wound in its target. Moreover, Pigsticker can attune itself to any person whose blood she has tasted. On wounding a target the Exalt wielding Pigsticker may expend 3 motes of essence. The silvery moonsilver blade stains a deep crimson as it drinks the blood on its surface. The ruddy tint fades as soon as the motes have been decommitted, and the blade sometimes weeps drops of blood still-fresh from the moment they were tasted. As long as the 3 motes remain committed, the wielder of Pigsticker may make a Perception + Survival roll to determine the location of the person whose blood the knife has tasted. This ability does not work against the undead, or creatures without vital fluids. It will, however, work on Abyssals and the Fair Folk. This ability will not work if the target has died of his injuries or unrelated causes.

There is a single hearthstone setting on the pommel cap, shaped like a moonburst. Luna's androgynous face looks upward from the end of the finial, her expression undefineable, or perhaps subtly changing every time it is looked at. Close examination will reveal that the engraving of the finial is in fact an optical illusion. Someone with a keen enough eye will see Luna's face in profile, set against a thin crescent moon. When a Hearthstone is set in place the gem obscures Luna's face in the full moon and is instead framed by the goddess' sharp profile against the razor-thin crescent moon.