Micah's Stash (Objects and treasures)

[Agita]

(Credit some kind of stock photo)

Miriana's black book

A small, but thick book bound in fine leather. Its yellowed pages record the dreams of Miriana Nemetz since her first communion with the peony star in disjoint handwriting, drawings, and ink blots.

Though elves practice astronomy as humans do, their study is a secular one. For thousands of years, they have preferred to deal with the earth over the heavens. Some theologians claim this is because elves are angels that turned their back on the light and descended to earth, failing to grasp that the long-lived are still in mourning.


(Credit http://artofremembering.com/cremation-urns/)

Aunt Ondine's ashes

Sealed urn holding the mortal remains of Ondine Whiterune, who could not be consigned to the earth's fires.

Where the light of Heaven does not reach, ill forces are quick to lay claim to the dead, so dwarves defend the mausoleums of those who join Moradin's guard after death carefully, and return the rest to Mya's care in her magma chambers. Ascension and salvation are foolish hopes that only distract from the now. Yet conversion is common among dwarves who have chosen to live among humans permanently and become bewitched by their idealism.

[Agita]

Weeping Bride

A rare, night-blooming flower native to elven lands. Its petals can be processed into a deeply bitter poison, but mixed with its nectar they may instead gain healing properties. The secret of either procedure is closely guarded, for fear that shorter-lived races may lack the wisdom to apply it.

Throughout many lands, red flowers are thought to symbolize love. This one stands for a young, passionate, and abiding love, which may easily turn into jealousy or overprotectiveness. The peony, incidentally, represents bashfulness or shame.

[Agita]

Gulthias staff

A staff made from the branches of a Gulthias tree and as evil and alive as its parent. When struck, it oozes blood. When it strikes, it sucks blood.

The druids say that like repels like. As the staff is also a portion of Gulthias, blights will not attack its bearer. Moreover, with a hand on their parent's pulse, they will have a powerful bargaining chip.

Potion of vitality

A shining purple liquid that smells of cherries and rum, favorite recipe of Alter Blumstein of the druids. Drink to gain advantage on Constitution checks and saves for one hour.

Many old secrets are passed down among the druidic circles, and though they tend to share their fruits generously, the secrets themselves are carefully guarded. For the best, of course.

Love-lies-bleeding

A dried flower found among the pages of Miriana's diary where none was before. Not native to any region she knows of, it appears on paper not unlike a stain of blood.

Wilting is part of a flower's life. Yet by drying and killing it, one can preserve its beauty.

[Agita]

Keoghtom's ointment

A darkly shimmering, honey-like panacea, to be applied topically or swallowed. It is a theriac, a poison that kills other poisons, being composed of a myriad dangerous substances in minute amounts bound together by the nectar of a weeping bride. For this reason and because if its scarcity, elven herbalists guard its secret recipe closely. If not everyone in need can receive, after all, it must be carefully considered who will.

As there is no poison that causes aging, this tonic is incapable of helping Camelia. But perhaps its purpose can be adapted; after all, to rage against age and death is in the human nature. All one need do is distill the ravages of time itself.

[Agita]

Fire Gem

A large, tetrahedral ruby with a spark of elemental chaos glimmering within. When the gem is shattered, the spark blossoms into a raging bonfire bound to the summoner's will. He or she had better have nerves of steel or their affairs in order.

Because of the inherent risk in this type of summoning, church and authorities frown on it as a matter of principle. Thus, these gems tend to belong to those who lack scruples or already have secrets to keep. What's one more?

Lantern of Revelation

Lantern of a golden alloy emblazoned with the symbol of Sight-Fire Ain: A stylized eye with a flame in place of its pupil. Reveals otherwise invisible things within its light. It is broken, but needs only new glass and new oil to function again.

The Sight-Fire is the eye that cast its own light and pierces all darkness. In life, Ain is said to have been so astute they could recognize a foe's smallest weakness, shoot an arrow accurately as far as the wind could carry it, and notice the entirely unseen. Most mortal eyes remain clouded, but Ain's blessing grants them light to see by.

Lord Baehr's Wedding Ring

A wedding band found in the sewers of Livest, engraved with the date of Micah and Miriana's arrival in the city. Its owner seemed haggard, and his maid Maja claims the fault lies with his wife, who is called a witch.

Ara's Cameo

Cameo of a red rose on white background, found in the basilisk's lair. Its border is engraved with a quote from an epic poem relating in allegory the tale of Lolth, whose betrayal led to the exile of the drow, and Corellon Larethian, first and last god-hero of the elves. Even today, particularly conservative elves irritated by the young human church claim the only god worth honoring is dead.

Man-and-Ox Dice

A pair of bone dice, one sporting pictograms of a person in different postures in place of numbers and the other of an ox. The sixth face of each is blank, and arranged together the pictograms seem to imply scenes and perhaps a narrative, if only the right order were known. As games are valuable tools of teaching, it is not uncommon for morals or parables to be encoded into them - but gambling is a vice of the lower classes, so what value could this message possibly have?

Primordial Coin

Golden coin showing the counterfeit of an ancient, unknown ruler. The lettering has long been worn away, and the ruler's features are unrecognizable. Though its place and time of origin are unclear, shrouded by the scarcity of historical records prior to the age of the celestial gods, anyone who touches it understands with unshakable certainty that this is the very first coin ever minted by humanity.

Ringing One

A war hammer of black iron and light wood, long enough to be wielded in one hand or both. The head is slender but heavy, a spike on one end and a striking surface tapered to five sturdy points on the other. A band of brass around either end of the head is the only decoration save an inscription in the haft, which reads "The Ringing One".

It is impeccably balanced, and will sometimes ring like a giant bell and rock in the wielder's hands as it strikes with massive force.
-+1 warhammer; increases to +3 against constructs
-On a natural 20, deals 7 extra damage, or 14 against constructs

[Agita]

Companion Stones

A pair of stones engraved with matching friendly faces, large enough to fit comfortably in one hand. When separated, their holders may learn about each other's whereabouts and well-being and briefly converse with one another through them. These stones are especially prized by the paladin orders, for who uncertainty and isolation are foes as real as monsters and heretics.

An attuned holder can take an action to learn the approximate whereabouts and condition of the other stone's holder. Accuracy depends on distance and the holder's own familiarity with the other's surroundings. Once between sunrises, the holders can hold a short exchange by speaking through the stones.

[Agita]

Three Fallen Flowers

A thin, paper-bound poetry anthology long ago found in the possession of a deceased wizard and added to the University's special archive. Its author is unknown, but its last owner was said to have repeatedly seen a dark forest and a single red star in an otherwise empty sky in their dreams. Although it seems made just for them, it must have been written long before Miriana's or Camelia's birth.

Its labyrinthine cross-references and hidden meanings seem to allude to specific times, places, and entities:
Mountains far to the northeast, genesis of the ancient elves of prehistory
The blood-sorcery of antiquity, now diluted throughout the continent
A heretic monastery to the west, once home to immortals with brass hearts