The Argyr

The Argyr, also known as The Cube of Gond, was a tome sacred to the Gondish faith.

The Argyr had the form of a cube, about a foot length on a side, crafted of adamantium and plated with electrum. Four of the cube’s sides each bore six pull rings, each of those attached to a thin coiled sheet of metal that unrolled from within the cube when pulled. All of these sheets, twenty-four in total, were engraved with different spells, some of which were known nowhere else outside the island-nation of Lantan, where The Argyr was originally crafted.

The pull rings could only be pulled successfully by one who first spoke the six secret names of Gond in the correct order. Any other attempt to tamper with the cube or access the cube’s contents caused The Argyr to emit a chain lightning spell and teleport away in a random direction.

History
Word of The Argyr’s existence first emerged sometime in the 10th century DR. Shortly thereafter, it was captured from a Gondish temple in Calimport by cultists of Bhaal, led by the Tashalar cleric Othorgor. The cultists, having been previously unable to find a way to infiltrate the islands of Lantan and spread murder in that nation, decided to use The Argyr as bait. The Argyr was taken to an unused temple outside Tashluta, and there, successfully used to lure a number of Gondsmen to their deaths.

A Baldurian adventuring party eventually managed to slay Orthorgor, recover The Argyr, and return the artifact to their citadel, but they too were eventually murdered by revenge-seeking Bhaalists. Their citadel was thoroughly looted and the Argyr lost for a time. Since then, the Cube of Gond resurfaced at least once, reportedly in the possession of the sage Maerltyl of Murann, shortly before both he and his home were torn apart by gargoyles who fled into the Forest of Tethir.

In the 14th century DR, followers of Gond reported seeing visions of the cube appear above their altars during temple rituals, and at least one adventurer, Hadrar "Hawkblade" Bruynnis, reported having briefly had possession of the cube in an underground complex beneath the Forest of Tethir, before he was chased away by wights and other fell creatures.