Lost Treasures of House Silverston

These fanciful dancing shoes were once popular among the Alphatian aristocrats who frequented the balls at Blackhill. Exquisitely crafted and lined with the finest spider-silk, these elaborately colored shoes are also enchanted to allow the wearers to dance those spectacular Alphatian air dances, where their feet never touch the ground.

The particular enchantments vary from slipper to slipper, those belonging to wealthier patrons having more complex magic. Most have a simple levitation or fly spell on them. Others hold enchantments similar to the horseshoes of a zephyr, or even cursed as boots of dancing. Some slippers affect not only the wearer, but also the wearer's partner as well (although because of Alphatian snobbishness, it is considered bad form to dance with someone who cannot afford his own magic slippers).

Prince Volospin Aendyr of Blackhill crafted this pretty wand of intertwined black and white crystal for his daughter Thylera on her fifth birthday. It was one of the first magical devices that introduced the "Little Princess of Blackhill" to the ancient Alphatian sorceries over life essences that the Aendyr family traditionally practiced.

The wand has two distinct functions. First, it can drain the life essence of any living creature within a 60-foot radius. This reflects as a loss of 1 point of a physical ability score (Strength, Dexterity, or Constitution), together with a loss of 1 point of Charisma. (Consequent penalties for low ability scores will apply.) These points can only be restored with one full day of rest. Once charged with the stolen essence, the wand can then bestow the life essence on another living creature as a 1-point bonus on a physical ability score for a day, or the wand can transfer these energies to a magical item for one full charge. The wand can be used for each function once per day for every experience level of the wizard. Though the magic of the wand does not provide the most efficient exchange of soul essence, it is clearly quite powerful and dangerous is the hands of a little girl as Thylera.

It is rumored that the since the destruction of Blackhill by the Great Meteor Crash, this wand has been recovered by some orcish wokani of Prince Kol's court in Blackstone.

This magical full-length looking glass, bordered by an exquisite silver frame, came from Alphatia, a wedding gift to Lady Serena Aendyr given by Lady Thendara Aendyr, wife of Prince Cadwallon Aendyr of Blackhill. This treasure in an enviable work of art and magic, but curiously, Lady Serena Aendyr has been known to lend her famed mirror to the occasional maiden in whom she found favor. If only they knew that it reeked with enchantment magic and necromancy, these foolish girls may not be so eager to partake of Lady Serena's generosity. On the night of a full moon, a person who stands before the Mirror and calls on its powers will be enchanted with the same magic as a rod of splendor. The person will be magically clothed in expensive and fashionable garments, and the person's Charisma score will be raised to 18. This wondrous effect lasts until dawn the next day, but can be called upon on successive nights of the full moon.

But like most magical treasures from Blackhill, there is a sinister side to the magic. On the morning after the beautifying effect of the Mirror was used, the Mirror can be used to drain the beauty and life essence of its last user and transfer them to the owner of the Mirror. The number of points needed to raise her Charisma to 18 is removed from her original Charisma score, as well as from her Constitution score. Half of this number (rounded down) will then be transferred to the new user as Charisma points. The Charisma bonus lasts until the next full moon, but the loss of Charisma and Constitution can only be regained by rest, one point each for every day of rest. It is perhaps no wonder why Lady Serena has monthly balls and festivals at Castle Silverston on the nights of the full moon.

Ostensibly nothing more than a fancy cooking pot, this black iron cauldron reeks of the sinister life-stealing sorceries that the Alphatian rulers of Blackhill were notorious for. The Cauldron can be used to prepare up to 24 servings of any soup, stew, or liquid decoction, which becomes remarkably delicious but totally devoid of nutrition. Consuming one serving will not nourish, but instead drain the life essence of a victim, reflecting as a loss of 1 point of a random ability score. The victim will be left hungry, and would likely ask for another serving, unless a successful Wisdom check is made.

Though the Cauldron of Continual Craving was created long before the time of Prince Cadwallon Aendyr, but it was much publicized recently due to an unforgettable social scandal. At a royal banquet in Castle Silverston, seven of Prince Cadwallon's distinguished guests ended up as withered soulless husks at his dinner table, because of an exquisite consommé cooked in the Cauldron. Though Prince Cadwallon's complicity in the tragic accident was never clear, history has shown judgment by attributing his name to the baleful Cauldron.

These religious amulets are sacred to the Alphatian Immortal Palartarkan, Patron of Magic and Wizardry. They are usually given to followers of Palartarkan with little or no magical abilities as a reward for devotion to the Immortal.

Once a day, the devotee can call upon the powers of the amulet to cast a one common 1st-level cleric or wizard spell, one that will be particularly beneficial to the devotee. The daily spell can be saved until the second day to cast a 2nd-level spell, or until the third day for a 3rd-level spell. At the end of the third day that its powers are not called upon, the amulet automatically discharges a random 3rd-level spell on the devotee with generally interesting but not harmful results. The amulet casts spells at the same level as the cleric who crafted it.

Several of these amulets were believed to have been lost in the destruction of Blackhill, as a small sect of clerics of Palartarkan were hidden in the Alphatian principality at that time. One particular amulet, that belonging to Sir Uthar Aendyr, is believed to have been cursed for his evil misdeeds, casting only harmful spells at the worst possible time on its owner.

This powerful wand is said to have belonged to the legendary Alphatian sorceress Kersy, who was fond of turning her ungentlemanly callers into animals. It is a wand of polymorphing that can transform a person into an animal or an animal to a person. The victim must make a successful save vs. wands at a –2 penalty to resist the transformation, but males must make a second save vs. polymorph also at a –2 penalty or still undergo transformation. The wand has a little-known quirk to its magic. If the transformation is done under a full moon, there is a 50% chance that a polymorphed person becomes a lycanthrope and a polymorphed animal becomes a beast-were, by the next full moon.

The wand is presently in the possession of Herr Rolf Löwenroth of Adlerturm, a savage werelion who likes to polymorph his prey into helpless animals to hunt them down.

Many Glantrians whisper abominable tales of this horrible torture rack hidden in the dungeons beneath Castle Silverston, its cold ironwood frame blackened by the blood of its countless victims. A sinister enchantment on the rack prevents its captives from dying, but instead continuously drains their life essences to drive them into a painful maddening existence between death and life. When a victim manacled to the Black Bed reaches 1 hp (usually through torture), rather than perishing, every succeeding blow or injury will drain 3 points from an ability score permanently. When that ability has reached its minimum, the victim will suffer from terrible states of illness and madness, brought about by the torture. There is no known cure for the sufferings of the torture victims of the Black Bed, save perhaps death itself.

Ability Score	Effect
Strength	Weakness of limbs and other body parts, total paralysis of the body
Dexterity	Involuntary tics and spasms, loss of bladder and bowel control, seizures and epilepsy
Constitution	Unbearable pain throughout the body, aggravated by movement or any form of stimulation
Intelligence	Suggestibility, lack of willpower, mental confusion, stupidity, feeblemindedness
Wisdom	Emotionality, hysteria, delusions and hallucinations, waking nightmares
Charisma	Neurosis, antisocial and deviant behavior, actions reprehensible to the self

Although the Black Bed bears the name of the traitorous Alphatian general Halzunthram, it is quite certain that he did not possess it, and it is unlikely that he ever used it. Instead, its creation is credited to the early rulers of Silverston, namely Vortram or his sadistic son Ambrosion.

An accursed relic of the Emperor Alphaks I, before he became the Destroyer of Alphatia and an Immortal of Entropy, this reversible two-sided cloak has a history steeped in duplicity and betrayal. The azure side of the Cloak appears as a flowing Alphatian kihara of the finest spider-silk, decorated with bright hues of sky blue and intricate curlicues of silvery-white clouds and winds. The opposite side of the Cloak is of fiery red velvet, emblazoned with golden flames, with the traditional stiff high collar of the Flaemish Fire Wizards.

When the Cloak is worn with the azure side exposed, its wearer becomes purebred Alphatian in visage and outward demeanor. His hair becomes jet black, his skin grows pale with bluish tints, his eyes takes a rare indigo coloration, and his features takes on other subtleties suggesting Alphatian descent (The physical change is not drastic enough that the wearer cannot be recognized for who he is.). As an Alphatian, the wearer is able to perfectly comprehend the Alphatian language, both written and verbal, and will speak with a distinctive Alphatian accent (even if he previously could speak without one). When the crimson side of the Cloak is at work, its wearer appears as a pureblooded Flaem, with coppery skin, fiery red hair, and ruby-red eyes with flecks of gold. He will become fluent in Flaemish and speak with a conspicuous Flaemish accent.

The Treacherous Cloak does however have detrimental effects to the wearer and elemental magic. Donning the Alphatian side of the Cloak dispels any fire magic in effect on the wearer, and prevents the wearer from casting fire magic or using fire-based magical items. The wearer also suffers double damage from and a –2 penalty against fire magic. With the Flaemish side of the Cloak, the wearer suffers the same handicaps against air magic. (This handicap applies only to spells and magical effects, and not to non-magical fire- or air-based attacks.) Finally, there is a 10% cumulative chance that the racial transformation brought on by the Cloak of Alphaks becomes permanent. It cannot even be affected by the reverse side of the Cloak, and short of a wish, can only be dispelled by a high level cleric of Alphaks.

The Crown of Halzunthram is an artifact which once belonged to the great Alphatian villain who tried to conquer the Highlands, until he was defeated by Lord Alexander Glantri. It was found by Lady Sinaria Verlien, Countess of High Sonden, during one of her planar travels, and is currently being studied by her.

The Crown is far more important than its historical value. Halzunthram had enchanted it with many powers. The powers known to Lady Sinaria are as follows:

With Lady Sinaria's descent into madness and subsequent confinement in a mental asylum in Boldavia, many of her personal treasures, including the Crown, has been passed down to her successor, Lord Pieter Verlien. Whether Lord Pieter will learn of the Crown's magic, or succumb to its powers, is yet unknown.