Dicostus, the Fourth Juror (Die-Cost-us)

The Staff of Dread

  Mentioned in both the Tales of the Knife Brigade and the Adenshur Scrolls, the mysterious and powerful magic staff of Adenshur Kenghym, Dicostus is clearly an artifact with deep roots in ancient magical secrets. In the Tales of the Knife Brigade, Dicostus is referred to with the title "The Staff of Dread" and was used by the ancient mage to shape his wizardly magics whenever circles of power were needed. Though the origins of the name were never explained in Clover's work, the powers of the staff to wreak destruction on opposing armies made the title obvious.
 
  In the Adenshur Scrolls, Dicostus is titled "The Fourth Juror". It is presented as a creation of devils, a source of ancient arcane information, dark and terrible power, and dread for the distrustful druid. It is capable of holding and weaving spells as though the staff is a familiar and sentient being, and is used on multiple occasions outside the battelfield. In this work, Dicostus is taken by Adenshur after it's previous holder a Halphus Devil named Apollionus is killed in a battle with the Knife Brigade. Adenshur enters into a precise and binding contract with the sentient entity in exchange for its help, which for certain spells, requires additional riders, materials and prices which even the pragmatic and morally ambivalent dark elf is reluctant to pay.
  Very little information about Dicostus itself is provided in the Tales of the Knife Brigade, but the Adenshur Scrolls contains extensive information about it. According to this work, the staff is a device of souls who have been bound by contract with the devils to become devils themselves. Service as part of Dicostus is part of their contract obligations and they work together to provide the powers and actions that Dicostus takes. Outsiders, including candidates for the position of holder are interacted with in "the Hall of Decision".
  The jury is subject to the discipline of Judge Valita (referred to as "your honor") who stands upon the podium.  It is not known if Judge Valita has any other name, or a life as a mortal prior to Dicostus. The other component entities of Dicostus were once living mortals, and are of different races and occupations.  
  There are currently 12 jurors, but only three are identified by name and have traceable histories:

• General Pyrrhos Gol, the only recorded orcish general officer of a non-orcish army.
• Chaplain Miranda Blackwell, human follower of Sinhala godess of water, healing & renewal.
• Professor Emeritus Linus Dalton, DWz, HMTr of the University of the Arcane, Magetown, NK.

 
  Others souls who are identified by Adenshur by profession but are not named in the conglomerate that is Dicostus include: a Merchant, a Seamstress, a Courtier, a Smith, a Farmer, a Jeweler, a Thief, member of the Fair Dealers, a Courtesan, and a Wagoneer.
  Outside of the literary constructs of the Tales of the Knife Brigade and the Adenshur Scrolls, there is little hard objective evidence of the Staff of Dread. It is known that Dicostus, like the Tome of Ghym was considered a dark magic item and targeted for destruction as an "target of opportunity" by the celestial forces during the War of the Eternals