Full Item Description
The Anodyne sword is an odd blade that is too long to be a short sword, but not quite large enough to be a longsword or a broadsword. It has a gold crossguard shaped like the heads of two serpents, their bodies twining together above the haft of the sword. It can be used in the off hand with relative ease, and lends itself well to two bladed fighting styles.

History
Anodyne blades were first manufactured in the city of Dreifach for use in vivisectionist schools. Some of these painless knives found their way into thieve’s hands and quickly were removed from production. Yet this action came entirely too late as one of the artificer smiths who made the blades had already been compromised by disreputable elements. The artificer made several of the off-hand style Anodyne swords before his forge was shut down by the authorities of the city.

Of the blades he made, most found their way into the arsenals of well to do thieves, devious nobles, and professional duelists. It was in this arena that the Anodyne Sword made a fearsome reputation for itself, as well as wrapping itself in an aura of preternatural fear.

Tales of the Sword
The first blows struck with the blades were dealt by Gnoccio of Lusankya, a well to do dandy, murderer, and assassin. He encountered Duke Bollosimond near the Fountain of Wyrms and the Duke though the man to have given him a playful jab to the midsection before he moved on the market. Gnoccio was such a boisterous, and often touching of others type of person. The Duke staggered, and was shocked to find his silk doublet soaked with blood, and a 14 inch gash starting just above his groin and stopping just short of his ribs. The duke died, but not before he was able to name his assailant. Gnoccio was hanged a week later, though the sword was looted from his possessions before it could be seized by authorities.

The second and probably more circulated tale involved a braggart duelist from Tekne who incited others to anger just to duel with them. He used a quick technique that would nick and bleed a foe until their guard was down enough he could strike a killing blow, or they surrendered. so sure was he of his own style, he though his foe incompetent until he himself stumbled. The duelist had been cut and bleed like a cheurigon’s patient. The unnamed folk hero/duelist killed the braggart with a decapitating strike and vanished from sight.

Prince Yane of Feldspar held one of these blades as a personal prize, having survived an assassination attempt by the selfsame blade. He had since fallen in love with a foreign Dancing Girl whose stage name was Black Oleander. She painted her face white and her hair black and was a seductive dancer and singer of haunting songs. When she was executed by his father to remove the distraction to his son getting a suitable noble wife, Prince Yane used the blade to commit a ritualized suicide, leaving a note tearful for his lost love, and condemning his father to a cold and bitter hell.

The final tale involves a merciful assassin who went by the simple moniker of the Knife. The Knife was in the daytime a jester and street performer who juggled and pantomimed for coins, being a mute. At night he would down ale and listen in bars, using his skills of dexterity, balance, and silence to move unnoticed into the homes of people. He would then dispatch those he had contract to kill with a quick thrust into the heart, leaving the to simply die whilst still dreaming.

Magic/Cursed Properties
Any wound caused by the Anodyne Sword causes no pain, enemies hit by the blade feel nothing more than the hand of the wielder. This much resembles the pain numbing ability of some berzerkers, and like that ability, PCs should not be told how many HP of damage is inflicted upon them by this type of weapon.

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