Candy Swordcane

A type of weapon crafted by the Boreal Elves as part of their war effort against the Mouse Emperor of Babylon, this walking stick smells strongly of peppermint and bears a striped pattern reminiscent of the heraldic flag of the legendary 7th Automated Regiment, the "Nutcrackers." In its "cane" state, it functions as a standard quarterstaff.

If someone spends an hour licking the end of the cane, it will gradually sharpen into a thin, sharp, sticky blade. Each additional person who helps lick the cane subtracts ten minutes from the time required to sharpen it, down to a minimum of ten minutes to complete the process. Anyone who participates in this licking process will be unable to smell or taste anything but the peppermint and sugar coating their mouth for the next hour.

Once sharpened, the Candy Swordcane becomes a magic weapon, granting +2 to hit and damage against most targets, and +4 to hit and damage against vermin, children, and creatures with huge open mouths.

When the first successful, damage-dealing hit is made using the sharpened Candy Swordcane, there is a 1-in-12 chance that it shatters, losing its magical properties and becoming nearly useless as a weapon - at best, one could use a fragment of the broken weapon as a brittle makeshift dagger. If the Candy Swordcane does not shatter on the first successful hit, the next such hit results in a 2-in-12 chance of it breaking, then a 3-in-12 chance on the third such hit, and so on, giving the weapon a maximum of 12 damage-dealing attacks before breaking.

Rumour has it that the Boreal Elves have begun designing Candy Lance-Canes for the Turtledove Cavalry of the 2nd Gingerbread Regiment.