A discarded firearm, of the type used in the initial conquest of the Archmagus. What foes was this weapon meant to counter and how well did it perform in that role?
The Archmagus, in his early wars of expansion, had to focus most his attention and creativity in confronting rival magical entities, spellcasters, eldritch forces of nature, and demons both free-range and summoned.
For more physical combatants and beasts, the Archmagus was eventually able to recruit sufficient mundane armed fighters, and set up assembly lines of clanks and magitech weaponry. But early days, he crafted a more primitive reproduceable eldritch weapon for his sorcerous lieutenants, which used their magical energies to brute-force enchant mundane ammunition, producing very physical results. Such weapons could be wielded even by those without sorcerous training, if they had the potential.
These spellshot weapons were quite effective against mundane troops, especially the field artillery pieces, but once the Archmagus had his empire rolling, their more time-consuming and resource-intensive crafting became an uneconomical drain, and the weaponry was retired.
Sorcerer’s Ring question: What rituals might the Lamenters have used to create something like this?
Such rings are created through casting (in the metalworking sense) and the metal is diluted with the alchemically treated blood of magical creatures or people with strong talents. The closer to the casting process, the more potent the blood, so some donors are literally strapped to tables next to the mold as the casting happens for maximum freshness.
Virdant Tears question: A rare flower that only grows near wellsprings of the Stream of Souls. What medicinal properties does this flower that make it sought after by alchemists?
The flower is an ingredient in a powerful anesthetic, permitting healers to perform surgery, remove arrows, or perform other invasive medical procedures without causing suffering or distress to the patient.
It’s too powerful to work as a sleep aid, but there’s a crossbred flower with a weaker potency that can serve this function.
A pendant whose elemental affinity protects against electrical dangers. What purpose does it commonly serve among the people of Dolremy?
Go back a few generations, and the Topaz Pendant was standard equipment for Senior Power Techs managing the Archmagus mana grid at local relay stations. De rigueur for the technicians who crawled into conduits and junction boxen.
Of course, the grid’s been down for a lot of years now. Pee-paw’s pendant? Well, he doesn’t need it any more, and maybe some merchant will swing past the consignment store and nab it as something purty for the spouse back home …
