When Bash was digging and then took a break, Vogh picked up the shovel and started digging.  "It is said that the gods above sent a star crashing down to Abeir-Toril as a punishment for the arrogance of the titans. Entire continents were lost in the ensuing earthquakes, fires, and windstorms and the four centrally located seas of Faerûn merged together, forming the "Sea of Fallen Stars"

Allowing for the centuries of dirt and plants that could have covered the area, Vogh and Bash have to dig down nearly 10 feet before the shovel strikes something hard. A couple of small stones were encountered along the way, but nothing large, which both makes sense and seems odd that something wouldn't have been put there anyway.

If it hadn't been for the green star tingle, you probably would never have known this was the place. And who knows how long you would have dug without the tingle or even with the tingle.

The item struck clearly has a metallic sound to it, and it takes a bit more digging to fully uncover a green box, and some effort to haul the heavy (30 lbs.) box up out of the hole. The box is only about 2 feet by 1 foot by 1 foot in size. It's now discernible that the 'green' is the patina of tarnished copper. There's no obvious lid to the box, though.

After a bit of scraping and prodding, you realize that the box seems to have been wrapped in a sheet of copper that was folded and then hammered into place.

The labor of digging in the hot sun, Had Vogh sweating profusely.  When the shovel finally hit something other than ground or rock, but a metallic sound, Vogh looked up to Bash and said, "I think I found it, Finally!"  Together the two pulled the box up and out of the hole and after some inspection, Vogh realized that it was wrapped in copper.  With her blade, she pried out a corner and began to peel back the copper sheet to reveal what was underneath.

Peeling off the copper sheathing was a bit difficult at first because Vogh found that the folded corners had been soldered... apparently to keep any moisture or insects from getting into the inside. Once she broke the soldered seams, however, the remaining copper peeled back relatively easily.

The green patina was only on the outside of the copper--the inside was still bright and shiny and completely intact.

Underneath the copper was a lead box with an inset keyhole. It didn't look like the lock was all that sophisticated, but then what would be the point anyway--the lead could easily be broken through.

A dagger tip wasn't going to open the small lock, but any small piece of wire or similar item could do it. Bash's gun-cleaning kit had such an item, so it wasn't long before the top was unlocked and opened.

You had just enough time to realize that a large fold of cloth lay within the gold lined box before a puff of bluish-green smoke billowed out of the box... and lingered there as the upper torso of a creature became visible within the smoke. It is humanoid, the size of a small giant, with blue-green skin, and has no hair on its head or anywhere else that you can see. The upper torso seems to float there in the smoke, arms crossed on its chest and an angry scowl on its face.

"HOW DARE YOU DISTURB KAZMAKIAS'S SLUMBER!" it bellows out in a voice that's reminiscent of crashing waves.

Vogh had thought how easy it was to get the item, apparently, with the time and just how well it was buried that it didn't have to be protected too well.  That of course was short-lived as the blueish-green smoke began to come out and then a form began to take form.  It was like a genie from the bedtime stories of her youth.

As the form began to speak asking who disturbed its clumber, Vogh answered.  "Oh great Kazmakias, it is I, Vogh Kath.  I am sorry for disturbing your slumber.  There is a great need in the world and the Green Star has beckoned those who bare the mark to come and protect the world.  This is why your slumber has been disturbed.  Please forgive us if it is too early."

"Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!" Bash laughs at the appearance of the genie.

"This is just the best adventure... EVER!"

She lets Vogh do the talking, trying to decide how you make friends with a genie!

"It's a water genie," she whispers to Vogh. "A marid." In case Vogh didn't already know that.

The marid, if that's what it is, seems momentarily take aback by Vogh's reply. In fact, his posture seemed defensive, as if he was expecting to be attacked.

He suddenly leans over and puts his face a few inches from Vogh's and seems to be staring right through her... or possibly into her soul.

"WELL! IF THAT DON'T BEAT ALL! NO LIES, NO DISEMBLING, NO VACILLATING, NO... WHATEVER. THE UNVARNISHED TRUTH! AND YOU REALLY ARE A GREEN STAR WHATCHAMACALLIT. WE ALL THOUGHT ESMERALDA WAS CRAZY AS A LOON. SO, THE TIME HAS COME... THE TIME SHE FORESAW."

"IN THAT CASE, I THANK YOU FOR SETTING ME FREE! AS PER THE AGREEMENT ESMERALDA AND I REACHED, I HEREBY GRANT EACH OF YOU ONE WISH!"

With that, he literally disappears in a puff of smoke!

"We're thinking about it!" Bash says to the genie. "Do we have to make it right now? Or can we wait until we think we need it?"

"We don't want money or gems or riches or magic, so that's kind of why we're thinking about it. I'm thinking we might need to use it if one of our companions gets killed on this... quest."

Like Vogh, she knew to phrase her words carefully lest the genie mistake them for an inadvertent wish.

Vogh was thinking along the same lines as Bash.  She had enough gold and magic to be content.  Adventure and living was her want.  Vogh would wait to see what the genie would say before saying anything.

"WISE INSTEAD OF GREEDY! THE WISHES ARE YOURS NOW. YOU CAN MAKE THEM ANY TIME YOU WANT IN ANY WAY YOU WANT! I NO LONGER HAVE A SAY IN THEM!"

With that, he fades away and the smoke soon follows.

"Ain't that the dangedest thing you ever saw!" Bash says, turning back to the box with the cloth.

"I'm no alchemist, but I know gold doesn't react with anything, so that's why the box was lined with gold... to protect the cloth so it wouldn't come in contact with the lead. And the lead was to prevent detection from magic. And then the copper was around the lead box to prevent the lead from deteriorating over the centuries, I guess, though I didn't realize copper worked that way. Only the exposed surface turned green."

"So, are you going to pull out the cloak... or do you want me to do it? In case there's another trap."

Having a wish for whenever she wanted was something special.  She would use it well indeed.  She was still thinking about things when Bash asked her if she would take the cloak.

It brought her out of her thoughts and of course, Vogh would get the cloak.  "Naturally!!" Vogh said as she pulled out the cloak to get a better look at it.  She cast detect magic so she could see what auras it had and the power of it.

Pulling out the cloak, Vogh realizes that it is very lightweight even though it feels somewhat thick. The cloak is blue, like the color of the sky, but the outside has a cloud pattern woven into it. The edge is trimmed with a silver-gray border.

Once Vogh casts Detect Magic on the cloak, it takes her a few minutes to work through the strangeness of the magic that's also been woven into the cloak. The obvious magic that she finds is that of the spell Dimension Door that the cloak's wearer can cast at will.

Additionally, the cloak has the strength of steel as far as what it takes to damage it. The wearer gains a +5 bonus to her AC and a DR of 10.

Vogh can sense the presence of other magicks within the cloak but can't quite see them... like looking into a pool of dark water and not being able to see things that are deeper in the water.

After casting her detect magic on the cloak which looked quite awesome, to say the least, Vogh smiled and told Bash its properties, but then also said, "For some reason, I can't get the rest of what it is capable of.  Can you?"

Bash takes the cloak and casts her own Detect Magic on it, and after a few minutes, replies to Vogh.

"I found the same things you did, and yet, there were flashes of other things. It was almost like it had to be used for awhile  before it... blossomed? Woke up? Maybe it grows with the wearer? The better you get, the better it gets?"

"I'm sure there's some upper limit. I mean, if one of us became a demi-god, it might not have equivalent power. I'm just guessing, of course. For all I know, it might!"

"As near as we've been able to tell, though, all the Wonders were made by mortals."

Vogh was nodding along with Bash's thoughts.  "That is what I was thinking as well.  I think I will put it on and see if I can discern anything else by wearing it."

Unless Bash disagrees, Vogh will put the cloak on.
This message was last edited by the player at 07:30, Thu 25 Mar 2021.

Putting the cloak on does not reveal any more secrets about it unless she casts Identify on it.

After more than a few moments, Vogh looked to Bash and said, "well I am not getting anything.  I am not able to identify its magical properties with a spell, can you?"

"Alas, no," Bash replies to Vogh.

"True, I'm a bard of sorts... my specialty is juggling, but I don't think the cloak has any legends about it. After it was made, it was hidden away from the world at large. So, it's not like it has a history that can be fathomed."

"I also don't cast spells, so Identify isn't in my repertoire of talents. None of my items let me do that either."

She holds up her guns for emphasis.

"I shoot things. But wouldn't that be great if I could shoot something with a spell that told me what it did! Ha-ha!"

Vogh tried to picture how that would look, shooting something to identify it.  She shook her head then and said, "It would be cool.  I have heard of people being able to heal someone by shooting an arrow at them.  Kind of funny though, if you ask me.  Though if someone were too far away to touch I could see the usefulness of it."

Vogh was done here, they got the cloak and had identified all that they could for now, "shall we head back, see if anyone else had found anything?"

"Yeah, let's head back. The portal is still open," Bash replies. "I suspect it'll only close once we step out of the other end again."

"Hmmm. Makes me wonder if it can be activated again if we already have the Wonder."

Vogh nodded and said, "Well let's go then."  Vogh moved towards the portal and would step through once Bash was ready.

You can both step into the portal/tunnel, walk its relatively short length and then exit the other end, back in the monastery.

Vogh steps into the portal and walks the short distance to find herself back in the monastery once more.  She still had on the cloak as she stepped into the main room once again.

Vogh looked around to see who was still there.

At the time that Vogh and Bash get back, the only one still there is Trickster, who is still studying the various pictures.

Tyrol joins you shortly, stepping out of the tunnel that led to the Armor.