Idalia's flute

Idalia's flute was a magical flute that affected a person's emotions.

Description
Idalia's flute was a small and rather ordinary-looking flute carved from a piece of gray driftwood. It played beautiful, clear music. It was said that Idalia put a key inside this flute to unlock any heart.

History
The flute was carved by the monk Idalia of the Yellow Rose. The carving became the focus of his existence and he nearly starved to death completing it.

The flute was lost and centuries after Idalia's death it fell into the hands of Ilnezhara, a dragon disguised as a human in Heliogabalus. In 1368 DR, Ilnezhara's sister, Tazmikella, hired Artemis Entreri and Jarlaxle to retrieve the flute. The task was in fact a ploy for the two dragon sisters to judge the abilities of the pair. They proved themselves worthy and Ilnezhara gave the flute to Artemis, telling him, "Perhaps you will come to better appreciate beauty you cannot yet understand."

For Artemis, playing the flute helped to clear his thoughts. Jarlaxle persuaded him to do so often, believing it would help Artemis free himself of his emotional burdens. However, the flute brought up old, unwelcome memories and placed Artemis in a state of emotional turmoil. He eventually broke the flute into two pieces and threw them to the ground at Jarlaxle's feet, wanting no more to do with it (or Jarlaxle). He viewed that flute as part of Jarlaxle's attempt to manipulate him.

A century later, when Artemis was enslaved by Charon's Claw, he believed that Idalia's flute would have kept the sword's powers at bay, but as far as he knew the flute was in the possession of Jarlaxle.

Short stories

 * "Wickless in the Nether" (in Realms of the Dragons and The Collected Stories: The Legend Of Drizzt)

Novels and short stories

 * Promise of the Witch-King
 * Road of the Patriarch
 * Charon's Claw (mentioned)
 * The Last Threshold (mentioned)