Elric's Silver Hammer

Full Item Description
Elric's Silver Hammer is three feet of steel coated in a thin layer of silver, with a calfskin handle and a thong which wraps itself around it's user in battle.

History

Eight centuries ago, what later become the mighty country of Vallermoore was just another tiny city state fighting for it's life. King Elric was secretly very scared of fighting, which was not good at a time when Vallermoore badly needed a warrior king to avoid being swallowed up.
So his court mages had a mighty Warhammer forged of steel coated with silver and enchanted with powerful magics.

They made it grip around the hand in battle so it could not be dropped or knocked out of the hand. They made it brave so it would pull the owner into battle, and they gave it the power to speak so that it could warn it's user of danger or offer advice, and so that if it was stolen it could scream for help. To shut it up should the need ever arise, they arranged that silk could be used to *gag* it-no other material could silence it.They gave it powers of sight to see when a blow was coming, and let it move slightly to block blows.

After several battles in which the weapon proved it's worth, more then once saving Elric's life, it tragicly dragged him too far into his opponent's lines during a battle with Karnivhal and would not let him retreat properly. The king was slain and his Queen, Brigid, took power.Blaming the warhammer for her husband's demise, she announched to it that from now on it would be placed in her husband's dead hands to guard him for all eternity in the afterlife.

The warhammer begged and pleaded even to be melted down rather then suffer that fate, but the furious queen had it wrapped in red silk and placed in her husband's dead hands, and it was buried with him. A few months later an earthquake caused several feet of earth to bury the barrow, hiding it from tomb robbers who tended to move in after a few years, when the honor guard on the tomb had been moved to other duties.

The years and the centuries rolled by and the hammer grew almost insane shut away in the dark with nothing to see or do...

Magic/Cursed Properties
If the PCs break into the tomb and steal the hammer, the silk will rot away in seconds (and the preserved body of King Elric will turn to bone & dust)and the hammer will beg them to take them with it.

In battle it will be superb, jerking in the user's hands to block blows, but it's long period of time underground have left it with several problems.

It cannot bear to be put into a scabbard or box of any sort and unless the PCs wrap it in silk it will scream and beg to be taken out again.

It loves battle and will do anything within it's power to get it, such as shouting insults in it's owner's voice, or twisting slightly on a tavern table just enough to knock over somebody's mug of beer.

It's strict honor code will not let it hit someone who is too young, old, sick, drunk, or tied up, to fight back-it will jerk away from hiting such people. It also swears at it's user if he or she tries to use it for manual labour like hittng nails into wood, and spoils ambushes deliberately.

Most of the time it will not shut up (think of Donkey in Shrek and you get the idea of how talkative it is.)After 800 years wearing a silken gag it loves the sound of it's own voice. Should the PC's find out that silk gags it then they will be able to shut it up forcibly, after which it will sulk for hours.

It's biggest fear is of being buried again, so it will not like being taken to tombs or barrows, fearing that it might be left behind.