Delivane's Museum - More Wonders:
by Carl QuaifThis is a Short Bow crafted from yew wood, either dyed or painted golden. The bowstring appears to be made of spun gold, made magically strong and supple; the string glows faintly in the dark, although not enough to see by. Anyone picking it up will find the Bow to be perfectly balanced for firing. A Detect Magic spell reveals a strong enchantment on the Bow.
The Everfire Bow provides no bonuses to hit and damage. When the string is drawn, Its magic Teleports arrows to the Bow, ready for firing. The time thus saved lets the Bow's wielder fire twice per round. The Bow draws its ammunition from the wielder's own quiver; if that is empty or missing, it grabs arrows from the wielder's pack, a friendly source, or an unfriendly (enemy) source, in that order. If there are no unspent arrows within 500' of the Bow, its powers cannot function.
The Bow cannot distinguish between magical and non-magical arrows; if both are available, it will summon them at random, which might cause the wielder to fire a valuable magical missile at the wrong time, or in an unnecessary situation. Many a wielder has found it prudent to keep only one type of arrow - enchanted or otherwise - in his quiver at any one time while using this Bow. If desired, the Everfire Bow can be used to nock and fire arrows normally, of course.
The name of the Everfire Bow's creator is lost to time; it is known that the Elf Herulaer Feadiel brought it with him from the Sylvan Realm during the Feadiels' migration to Alfheim. Herulaer lost it - and his life - battling humanoids in the Broken Lands a century later. Since that time, the Bow has appeared sporadically in various places. Until recently, it was an exhibit in Delivane's Museum of Curiosities; however, the Mage is believed to have lent it to an old friend, Joram of Norwold, to help him hold on to his lands during the recent turmoils. The Bow was lost again when Joram's castle was overrun; its current location is unknown.
These are a pair of wide wristbands made of soft, yellow-dyed leather. Sewn into each is a large, cabochon-cut diamond of flawless quality, worth at least 20,000 gp each for the gem value alone. The Bracers are worn so that the gems are situated on the outside of the wrists.
The wristbands are enchanted to be impervious to damage; they cannot be cut, pierced, burnt, or otherwise damaged by anything short of a Wish. The diamonds charge themselves daily with electrical energies from the atmosphere; each one can release 10d6-worth of Lightning Bolts per day, with the damage split in any way the wearer likes (e.g. one 6d6 and two 2d6 Bolts). In addition, any electrical attack (magical or natural) intercepted by the wearer is absorbed into the Bracers - although these energies must be released again within 2 rounds, or the diamonds automatically expel their stolen power. In this case, the wearer takes half damage from the escaping electricity. (Note: the Bracers need not both be worn by the same person - two individuals could wear one each and enjoy both power and protection.)
The Bracers of Lightning were made by the Alphatian Archmage Gerderain of Arogansa, a member of Alphatia's Grand Council. They were a gift for his daughter, the half-Nuari child of his beloved Pearl Islander bride - a daughter so perfect in grace and feature that her parents called her Beauty; with the dusky skin of her Mother, and her Father's regal bone structure, she certainly lived up to her name. A talented - and wilful - student of magic, she changed her hair colour to burnished silver while still a child, and refused to allow her Father to change it back. Her particular interests were in nature, particularly in the wind and rain - had she been raised in her Mother's homeland, she would no doubt have become a Druid - which caused her to specialise in Air- and Weather-magic, and earned her the sobriquet "Wind-Rider". She loved to fly; for her sixteenth birthday, her father cast the spells Fly and Permanence upon her, letting her ride the winds at will. Her parents gave her the Bracers when she decided, at age 21, to go adventuring.
Beauty made many friends during her years of travel, most notably the mage Delivane Crookback; When she retired to raise a family, she bequeathed her Bracers of Lightning to Delivane for her collection. Beauty finally met her end many years later, while she and her family were visiting her parents in Arogansa...on the day Alphatia sank beneath the waves. Delivane mourns her loss to this day*.
[*Unbeknownst to Delivane, both
Beauty and her entire family were transplanted to the Hollow World
upon Alphatia's destruction; the Wind-Rider, who was of a high
enough level to retain her true memories, now occupies much of her
time exploring this strange, new, inverted world.]