Magical Chessmen of Ultham-Urre

The Magical Chessmen of Ultham-Urre were a set of chess pieces and magical artifacts created by the archmage Ultham, son of Urrekanam, of Chessenta in the 10 or early 11 centuries DR.

Description
The Magical Chessmen of Ultham-Urre comprised a full set of thirty-two chess pieces. They were made from luspeel (magnetite), so they would have a slight magnetic attraction to a steel chessboard. Each piece was carved to resemble a Chessentan citizen, with lifelike appearance and every one unique. Their heights varied according to their strength, from for pawns to  for kings and queens. The red set was inlaid with small jacinths and the green set with small beljurils.

History
Although the facts are lost to history, sages theorized that, sometime during the reign of King Tchazzar (929–1018 DR), Ultham predicted Chessenta's swift collapse and subsequent incessant warring. Thus, using rare minerals and gems found in the Hills of Maerth where he dwelled, he created the Magical Chessmen of Ultham-Urre to defend the nearby village of Oslin he was so fond of and to protect his friends there whom he'd spent many hours playing chess with. He even included inside the pieces with supplies: water, non-perishable food, armor, weapons, equipment, spell components. Before he journeyed into the planes, he left the Chessmen in Oslin, where for several years they were just used as simple chess pieces.

Then, several years later, the lord of Maerduuth (at the time a large city) desired to annex Oslin and sent an expeditionary force, thinking it defenseless. But the farmers, fishers, and traders of Oslin used the Chessmen to transform themselves into a company of strong soldiers, supported by potent mages and priests, that routed the Maerduuth force. A second expeditionary force didn't come back at all. Thereafter, the lord of Maerduuth and the neighboring powers elected to just ignore Oslin altogether.

Curiously, several decades later, a well-defended caravan transporting a fortune in gems from Unthalass to Akanax disappeared between Oslin and Maerduuth. The lone survivor reported they'd been ambushed by a company of glittering, armored knights—most likely the Chessmen again—and investigators found Oslin emptied of half its population overnight. They, the gems, and the Magical Chessmen of Ultham-Urre were not seen again. Thereafter, Oslin relied on mercenaries for protection.

While there were no reports of any of the Chessmen being found or identified since then, several rumors had them appearing all around Faerûn. The adventurer Wilund tried to find them, and gave The Alcaister, an antique spellbook, to the sage Ardagundus of Baldur's Gate in exchange for information on their functions and whereabouts; it is unknown if Wilund succeeded or not. One tale held that a lady member of the Company of Crazed Venturers boldly escaped from a noble's mansion with the aid of the Chessmen; however, this lacked evidence and was likely false.