Of Arcanum Caches
Of Arcanum Caches
We of the Arcanum leave this Vault and this Book as gifts to whatever future generation may find them.
Seeing the horror that was upon us, with the Hopeslayer once more set loose, we of the Arcanum have scattered our vast stores of knowledge and artifacts in secret caches throughout Dereth. It is our hope that this will preserve some fragment of our wisdom -- wisdom that you can use to restore this world.
Contained in this, the only book we left behind in the Vault, are the secrets of these caches and the means of revealing them. Each cache contains arms, armor, and other artifacts from our treasuries. Each cache also contains a work from our libraries, as knowledge is more important than any artifact. These caches have been scattered near towns and other sites throughout Dereth. The location of each cache has been recorded in a reckoning gem, hundreds of which lie within this Vault.
To uncover a cache, you will need to use the correct gem in close proximity to its hidden location. The gem will reveal the dig point for the cache and dissolve, having served its purpose. If you are not at the proper location, the gem will indicate the direction you need to travel.
Although the reckoning gem will lead you to a dig point, you cannot simply dig up the cache. Wards have been set around each cache to prevent its contents from falling into the wrong hands. In addition, our Lugian members have constructed hundreds of Minions, creatures of rock and stone based on the ancient Empyrean golems, to protect each cache. To defeat these defenders, you will need to use a Recondite Machine to disable the alarm wards.
A Recondite Machine is a complex mechanism that disables the wards disguising a cache and neutralizes the hidden Minions protecting it. It is imperative that the machine be of the highest quality, or it may fail to reveal the cache. Worse, a faulty machine may activate all of a cache's Minion protectors.To construct a Recondite Machine, you will need th...
(This and the remaining pages have been torn from the book.)
