The Vault and Archive

Over the course of our adventures, the Order of Ashfall has come across some treasures, and precious knowledge. Though some of them are relinquished to other and higher authorities, or more capable hands (see, for instance, the Heart of Dreams), many are put into the Archive, a secure and carefully maintained building within the city of Bel Lonn in Redgold County.

This Archive is maintained primarily by George Hallowell.

## The Archive

The Archive is arranged as a series of rooms, each one with an increasing level of security. In order to pass into any, the visitor must have gained access to all previous rooms.

As a result, the least valuable--or at least, least critical and/or destructive--are arranged in the first room. Items placed in the rooms of highest security are, understandably, not public knowledge and seldom accessed.

### Room 1: Library

The first room contains books. They are not magical books, nor do they contain classified information; they are composed mostly of public knowledge. What distinguishes them from books that would *not* be archived here is that these were written or compiled by members of the Order of Ashfall, or otherwise have significance to the duchy.

* The Enemy Next Door: Hostile Races of Stormwind
* Jungle Trolls of Stranglethorn
* Races of the Burning Legion
* Jewelcrafting: Basic Gemology and Lapidary
* Maps and charts of the Duchy of Ashfall
* Other maps and charts

Anything stolen from this room is a massive waste of time to the thief.

### Room 2: Items of Modest Value

The second room contains fungible goods that nonetheless merit secure storage because of their monetary value. These typically have no magical properties and are of low strategic value.

* Antique alchemy vials, made of crystal, leaded glass, and other materials, some of them imbued with traces of arcane magic
* Chunks of ore, sampled from an unknown location. They appear laced with truesilver
* A box of ten exotic spices, each sealed in a paper packet with wax stamped with a stylized sailboat
* A locked coffer of gold coins. On the lid is the label "Candlemar Education Fund"

### Room 3: Items of Significant Value

The third room is carefully organized. Many of its contents are of high monetary value, and most have some magical properties--though not enough magic to require any containment protocols.

* A sample of a black diamond. This diamond resulted in a search for its origins, which led to the discovery of the Ashenlode Mine, where mithril and these diamonds are had in plenty.
* A gnollish shaman's staff, recovered from the defunct Flintfang Tribe. It is decorated with feathers, beads, dried leaves that will crumble at the lightest touch, and a trio of tiny skulls--probably mouse skulls.
* A defunct--or, not-so-defunct goblin lumber shredder. It is being retrofitted for what use can be made of it.

#### Former contents of Room 3

* A fire-elemental core. A smooth, spherical stone within a leather case; the interior of the case had been inscribed with various runes in blue ink. The stone was warmer to the touch than room temperature. This core was used to rekindle the fire of Gerfuron, Sir Ghanan Steelbeard's sword.

### Room 4: Unique Items

These are the items of significant value. They may be valuable because they are difficult to find, or valuable because of significant magical properties. There are generally containment protocols for these.

* Peryn's Holy Hand Grenades. Three disarmed grenades of Legion make, emptied of explosive charges. Though they were once corrupt, they shimmer with the blessing of the Light.
* A gnollish seer's orb. A spherical crystal the size of a fist; within its depths, one may occasionally think he sees a swirl of darkness. The velvet-lined box in which it rests is embroidered with suppression runes in gold.
* A Singing Blue Crystal. Extracted from the corpse of a basilisk in Stranglethorn Vale, this crystal is under study to determine its role in the petrification magics of those deadly reptiles. The crystal is kept in a small, sealed box and relatively safe from pressure or percussion.

### Room 5: Hazardous Items

Very few items that the Order keeps require maximum security; generally, things that hazardous are passed on to the appropriate authorities for safekeeping and research. Knowledge of items within this room is generally OOC.

* Physics-defying rubber balls. Several innocuous-looking rubber balls of different colors, kept in a drawstring bag that is sealed shut with wax; the tag on the bag reads: "Do not open!" If released, the rubber balls will bounce around any space, increasing in speed and force with each bounce.
* A Devouring Blade. This relic cannot be accessed without three persons' assistance: Jeremaias Auromere, George Hallowell, and Dame Raaxi.
* The Black Heart, a black gem that works as a capacitor for magical energies. This was acquired during the struggle against Mardos Blackhand.