09/19/2025 Snippet, IRONGHOSTS.

Temptation!

…

Oxman contemplated the pull-axe anyway. Long exposure to First Age magic changed items, often in ways compatible with their original purpose. The prospect of acquiring a magical weapon, even one made with wild magic, could make fighting-men a good deal less sensible. “You feeling any evil coming off that, Nat?” he asked. “Also: that pull-axe looks like it’d fit real nice in my hand. You think that’s greed, or a spell?”

“‘No’ to the first, and probably ‘greed’ to the second,” Nat told him while stepping back further. “I don’t want to go stick my hand in there and grab it. So if it’s a spell, it’s just going after you. You into taking the risk?”

“Yeah, Nat.” Oxman reached for the pull-axe with smooth inevitability. “‘No guts, no glory.’ If I go all black-eyed or something, go for the hamstrings and then get the Hell out of here.”