Driftglobe

A driftglobe was a small glass orb that magically floated in the air and emitted light.

Description
A driftglobe was a small sphere of thick glass that weighed about 1 pound (0.45 kilograms).

Powers
The typical driftglobe had three basic magical effects, each activated with a different command word from a distance of up to. First, they glowed with bright light equivalent to a torch, as per the cantrip light, on command. Second, they could glow with the brightness of full daylight as per the spell daylight for an hour at a time. Use of this last ability was limited to 50 charges before being used up or was limited to only once a day.

Lastly, the driftglobe floated in the air and followed the creature that touched it while saying the command word, similar to a Tenser's floating disk. It hovered approximately or  off the ground and no more than  from its owner. It moved quickly, much faster than a human, but would descend safely to the ground if it couldn't keep up. It would also follow the most direct path, and would descend if blocked or impeded. When touched or commanded again, it deactivated and descended safely to the floor. Once descended, it would deactivate.

As an improvised fourth function, a hovering driftglobe could also be used to carry weights by means of a sling or net tied over it. It could carry only up to.

Creation
Driftglobes could be created by someone with skill in crafting magical items and with access to the spells daylight and Tenser's floating disk.

Usage
They were a useful aid to travelers, especially those exploring dark places and those on tight schedules who had to keep moving through the night. Naturally, driftglobes were quite popular with all kinds of adventurers, and the likes of Rand Sharpsword recommended them.

Driftglobes of different colors were often used to provide pleasant, if dim, mobile illumination in inns, taverns, and restaurants, such as the The Wandering Wyvern in Iriaebor. There were colored driftglobes at the Sleepy Slyph in Waterdeep, many-colored ones at Everwyvern House in Triboar, and pale mauve and brown ones at Beldar's Rest in Yartar, while many-colored driftglobes were put out at parties at Hawkwinter House in Waterdeep. Blue was a popular color, with blue-hued driftglobes at the Elfsong Tavern in Baldur's Gate, the The Seven-Stringed Harp in Secomber, and A Pair of Black Antlers in Elturel. They were even employed to supplement the bioluminescent fungi at the druid-run Old Troll's Foot restaurant in Kirinwood. The Bent Helm, a rowdy tavern in Elturel, preferred to keep its driftglobes fixed in place and high above the brawls to avoid breakage; these ones even provided heating. The Running Stag in Berdusk kept its driftglobes above its mock branches, but these had an additional enchantment that caused them to change color from sunlight to moonlight in keeping with time of day.

They were also useful for underground lighting. A driftglobe provided lighting inside the Dawninghunt Vault in Cormyr.

Finally, driftglobes were used to provide external lighting. Caged driftglobes were used for street lighting in Skullport in the Underdark and others were used at the wharf and warehouse of Falconstar Wayshipping in Wheloon.

Availability
They were valued at 7,200 gold pieces. They were too expensive for much personal use.

Driftglobes were sold at stores dealing in navigational aids, such as A Handful of Stars in Silverymoon,

History
The arcanist Congenio Ioun created the first light-emitting ioun stones sometime in the age of Netheril but these were personal items that remained near their owner.

True driftglobes dated back to at least the time of Cormanthyr at its height and were seen lighting up the night in Myth Drannor before its Fall in 714 DR. A still-functioning driftglobe could be found above a card table in the Neirdrecrypt in Myth Drannor by the mid-1300s DR.

A nyth in Skullport posed as a caged driftglobe lamp in the, striking at lone passers-by before moving on. It killed at least nine people in this way.

In Waterdeep circa 1492, hundreds of driftglobes from around the city moved of their accord from dusk and collected in the City of the Dead. They returned to their places at dawn the next day.

In the late 1490s DR, driftglobes hovered in the air over some streets in Neverwinter and were left to glow even in the daylight hours. During that city's High Sun Games, when Simon Aumar used the helmet of disjunction, a wave of the Mordenkainen's disjunction spell swept through Castle Never and into the city streets, causing driftglobes to shut down, drop, and smash on the road.