Hogg's Ghostly Little Mission, Part Two
The thermal sword Murphy had gotten was part of the Wanderer's personal-protection gear. Since the manual for the set said it wasn't high-end equipment, it didn't even have a proper name.
That wouldn't do.
So the vampire lord put the cleverness bestowed on him by the Mother of Midnight to good use and named his new sword "Firefang." Lady Triss, naturally, looked down on him for it.
In a sense, this thing was firmly in the realm of "black technology." It was a mass-produced wonder, and its stats and special effects were nowhere near as impressive as something like Necessary Evil, which Data Deletion had handcrafted. But even the shoddiest wonder was something this era couldn't analyze or manufacture.
The thermal sword might not be more powerful than the various psionic weapons made by the continent's smiths, let alone a true divine weapon like Kudel's Griffin. Still, the label "wonder" had clearly boosted its value as a collectible.
Maxim knew just how valuable this batch of weapons and armor was.
The loyal general hadn't even called on his subordinates. He'd flown between the swamp and Scarlet Castle three times himself, bringing Adele along, and managed to return all the weapons and armor from the armory to the Blood Vulture treasury before dawn.
When Adele asked where Murphy had gone, Maxim answered solemnly that their master was studying the mysteries left behind by the Creator. Lady Adele, who'd had a few thoughts of her own, immediately grew reverent and asked no more.
In reality, Murphy spent the rest of the night taking a wonderful bath in the exhibition hall curator's private bathroom. Then he changed into pajamas and drifted off undisturbed in the comfortable bed.
The just-right firmness of the mattress and the automatically flushing