 Cantorian Spring
Source Gods and Magic pg. 62
Aura powerful transmutation CL 20th
Slot none; Price —; Weight 5 lbs.DescriptionThis long, straight staff bears a rough crystal at the top, wrapped in wire extending to the base. When the staff moves, something liquid shifts within the crystal. The staff tends to right itself if left alone, balancing easily on its lower end, easily moved or toppled but quickly returning to its upright position if left undisturbed for a few minutes. Though the creator of this item is uncertain, most believe it has some ties to Canzoriant, a powerful devil whose cult gained some renown by elves before the Age of Darkness (and who was crushed by Asmodeus in a failed coup). Canzoriant had an interest in conquest and breeding stronger slaves, and it is likely he played a role in its most famous work—the hobgoblin.
Ages ago, a group of elven adventurers located a strange colony where powerful mutated goblins were being bred into a great army that would wash over the elven cities. These new goblins were smarter, larger, and stronger than regular goblins, more disciplined, and fearsome, conditioned to hate elves with stories of horror and rumors that the elves reciprocated their hate and wanted the colonies razed. Alert to the hobgoblin threat, the elves located the artifact at the center of the colony and stole it; when the owners caught up to the elves, they battled, and in the confusion the artifact was lost. Since that time the hobgoblins have been their own masters and the names of the being or beings who thought up their creation have been lost. Over the centuries the staff has appeared, usually in the hands of someone wanting to create a new slave race (such as the supposedly-extinct zhug, born of hafling stock) or to inflict a particularly cruel punishment on an enemy (such as when Bandit King Anfax used it to transform his enemy’s army into catfish in the middle of a hot summer battle), and the Three Generations War in the River Kingdoms resulted in it changing hands at least four times between opposing parties.
The staff initially appears to be a fully-charged staff of transmutation. With the proper command word, once per day you can use it to cast a mass polymorph or baleful polymorph, though there reputedly is a very small chance that the staff will transform you as well. You can use it to cast bear’s endurance, bull’s strength, cat’s grace, eagle’s splendor, fox’s cunning, or owl’s wisdom up to 10 times per day in any combination, or use five of the daily “charges” of this power to cast a mass version of any of those spells.
If left to balance itself, you can tap its crystal once and speak a command word to cause it to slowly screw itself into the earth until only the crystal is visible. A few minutes later water begins to bubble up from the earth, forming a pool or spring if the shape of the ground permits it. This water is pure and clean and replenishes itself at a rate of one gallon per minute. Through an attunement process that takes several days of active concentration (similar to crafting a magic item) you can give the spring magical powers so that any who drink from it will be permanently affected, though there are usually slight side effects (for example, if the water enhances Dexterity, a drinker may gain cat-like features).
Many stories of magical fountains or springs crystal rests at the bottom and is obscured by plants or sediment, and it is possible that several variant races or subraces owe their existence to this artifact. The power of the spring tends to drift over time, requiring attention at least one day out of every month. Furthermore, the staff has been known to create a spring without its owner commanding it to do so. If the staff is removed from the spring, the water usually loses its magical powers and eventually drains away, though the Bouldertop Oasis in northern Osirion has no natural explanation and has a faint magical aura reminiscent of the Cantorian Spring.
|