The Minish Cap: A small needle with a big story.

 A small needle with a big story.

Picori Blade: The blade that seals the bound chest was given to a legendary hero of men by the Picori in ages past. It was used to banish a great evil and seal its monsters and demons into the bound chest, ushering in an age of peace. The blade remained in the bound chest until Vaati destroyed it to open the bound chest in his search for ultimate power. Link only ever sees the intact Picori blade during his adventures in the Minish Cap.

Paw Thorn is the name given to this needle, famously wielded by the equally brave and foolish Marai Spicerack. The Spicerack family had always been menaced by Buterscotch, the mouser and resident cat of the house. Instead of stealth and subtlety, as is the way of the Borrower, Marai chose speed and pain, undertaking a campaign of terror that eventually saw Butterscotch bring dead mice to the spicerack as an offering of surrender.

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The Picori are a great reminder that your fantasy world can have a nearly invisible race of Borrower-inspired little folk that can be dropped in whenever you need them to be.

Need some seeds stolen out of a pouch? The little folk.

Need an object to have moved since you put it down? The little folk.

Need an entire temple complex to be hidden neatly within a local fountain? The little folk.

Take this as your sign to add Borrowers or Picori or Little Folk or whatever to your world today.

How to support me:

Ko-fi: Donations and Digital shop

Patreon: Sustaining support and Digital shop 

Red Bubble: Buy a sticker or magnet

Thank you for your support.

Be excellent to everyone.

-Ceph

Drewly: Mehrunes Razor

 Mehrune's Razor

Mehrune’s Razor: Mehrune’s slaying dagger that is sent into the hands of mortals again and again to sow discord and wreak havoc. The most recent rumors of this dagger say the Dragonborn gathered up its pieces after it was ritualistically shattered and hidden across Skyrim.

I drew this when the Oblivion Remaster was released, but I didn’t yet have a way to play it. That has been rectified, and I have been playing way too much Oblivion than I probably should have.

Drewly day 5 is the last item from The Elder Scrolls. Check in tomorrow for something new.

What is Drewly?

#Drewly is the month-long art challenge for July, where you don’t have to make any new art. Just post art you’ve already made and celebrate all you’ve accomplished.

Rules:

Share art you have already made.

Share as often as you want.

When you share, tag your art with #Drewly and #Drewly2025

I will be posting art every day of Drewly, so check back in tomorrow for something new.

Check out everything I’ve shared for past Drewly’s here: #Drewly #Drewly2022 #Drewly2023 #Drewly2024

Since you’re here, please consider supporting:

Make a one-time donation with Ko-Fi:  https://ko-fi.com/theeasyspeaker

Become a sustaining supporter on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ItemCardswithTheSpeakingSquid 

Buy a sticker: SpeakingSquid.redbubble.com

Thank you for your support.

Be excellent to everyone.

-Ceph

Drewly: Keening

 Keening

Keening: A crystal knife that can be used, in conjunction with the rest of Kagrenac's Tools, to steal the power of a god.

Drewly day 1 starts with an important moment in my history. I was exploring the depths of a dwemer ruin deep in the Ashlands when I came upon a crystal knife floating in the center of a room. Knowing this was important, I instantly picked it up and equipped it. I then suffered a mortal wound and quickly died. Keening is too powerful to handle without the protection of the Wraithguard, and I had no idea. Morrowing had quite the learning curve.

What is Drewly, you ask?

Drewly is an art challenge for all the people who look at daily art challenges like Inktober or Swordtember and think, “I can’t finish a new piece of art every day for a month. I have responsibilities."

Rules:

Share art you have already made.

Share as often as you want.

When you share, tag your art with #Drewly and #Drewly2025

I will be posting art every day of Drewly, so check back in tomorrow for something new.

Check out everything I’ve shared for past Drewly’s here: #Drewly #Drewly2022 #Drewly2023 #Drewly2024

Since you’re here, please consider supporting:

Make a one-time donation with Ko-Fi:  https://ko-fi.com/theeasyspeaker

Become a sustaining supporter on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ItemCardswithTheSpeakingSquid 

Buy a sticker: SpeakingSquid.redbubble.com

Thank you for your support.

Be excellent to everyone.

-Ceph

Wind Waker: A belay pin for tying off life lines, or severing them.

 Wind Waker: A belay pin for tying off lifelines, or severing them.

Heart: Hearts are Link’s measure of health. Picking up a heart restores up to one complete heart in his health bar. Found in freshly cut grass, broken pots, or defeated enemies Link must quickly pick up a heart or it will fade away to nothingness.

In the roil of the stormy sea, every sailor must have their lifelines tied to the mast or risk being lost at sea. When the overbearing first officer orders the fool cabin boy to check the lifelines, you see your opportunity. What a shame it would be if that very officer’s lifeline somehow came untied during the storm and sent the officer to their watery grave.

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Belay pins are the wooden rods that sailors used to tie down lines to the mast and other secure attachment points throughout a ship. Lifelines were literal ropes tied around a sailor’s waist and secured to the ship with a knot around a belay pin.

If you haven’t experienced Treasure Island in some form go read the book or watch one of the many movie adaptations. I am particularly partial to Muppet Treasure Island or Treasure Planet, but there are many wonderful adaptations to enjoy.

Make a one-time donation with Ko-Fi:  https://ko-fi.com/theeasyspeaker

Become a sustaining supporter on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ItemCardswithTheSpeakingSquid 

Thank you for your support.

Be excellent to everyone.

-Ceph

Wind Waker: A knife to flay body and soul.

 A knife to flay body and soul.

Big Key: The big key is the last of the set of dungeon items. Big keys open the boss room and are generally the final item earned by solving the most complex or thematically involved puzzle of the dungeon. With big key in hand, Link generally backtracks to the imposing boss door for the final confrontation of the dungeon.

Occult texts refer to a specific bronze dagger as the key to unlocking the prison of the flesh. Apparently, the blade can cut the bonds between the spirit and the body. This allows a spirit to enter a new body, freshly emptied of its previous inhabitant.

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Went for a menacing ritual dagger from a pulp fantasy movie vibe with this one. I wish I had spent more time coloring the dagger so that it looked like it wasn’t just cast from a single material. Maybe this is just a copy of the original and more powerful instrument used by the founder of the cult.

Be excellent to everyone.

-Ceph

Wind Waker: A sword breaker dagger.

A sword breaker dagger. 

Small Key: Small keys are intrinsically tied to the dungeon they are found in. They cannot be used anywhere else, even if they look entirely self-similar to all other small keys found. As they are part of the set of dungeon items, they are generally found in treasure chests or as rewards for solving puzzles in the dungeons of Wind Waker and are used to progress deeper into the dungeons.

Sword breakers are standard equipment for the bodyguards of the Crossed Key Society. These mercenary bodyguards are expertly trained in keeping their charges alive and well. Disarming would-be assassins is often the key to ensuring the continued survival of their clients' long term as allows an assassin to be captured and interrogated.

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My first exposure to sword breakers was in Final Fantasy Tactics Advanced. I remember equipping that to my thieves and working to endlessly steal every possible weapon from every enemy I came across. 

Be excellent to everyone.

-Ceph