Artus Cimber (pronounced: AR-tus SIM-ber[14]) was an adventurer and a former Harper, who became the keeper of the Ring of Winter after stealing it from their vaults of Candlekeep over 100 years ago, and was the youngest son of the highwayman known as Shadowhawk. Unlike his brother Oric, Artus was intelligent and observant.[13]   Artus was passionate about the preservation of knowledge and history, especially if it pertained to Chult, where he'd spent most of his life with Alisanda. Since the disappearance of Mezro and his wife, Artus longed to be reunited with her again. He sought the oracle of Orolunga, Saja N'baza, and scoured through ruins trying to finally find the answer on how to bring about their return.   Throughout his years of being hunted for the Ring of Winter, Artus learned to be slow to trust strangers, adventurers in particular. He tended to keep quiet, and disliked when his presence drew negative or unnecessary attention to him and his traveling companions. Artus was the keeper of the Ring of Winter, an ancient sentient artifact of Auril, the evil goddess of ice.[20] The Ring craved destruction and tried to take control of anyone who wore it. The Ring granted its keeper immortality, protection from any kind of scrying or detection magic, cold immunity, and control over ice and snow, including dropping temperatures to around −30 degrees Fahrenheit, casting icy versions of powerful spells like a Bigby's hand, wall of ice, spike growth, ice storm, sleet storm, flesh to ice, cone of cold, Otiluke's freezing sphere, and even creating weapons and living creatures made from ice.   Artus also wielded his trusty +3 dagger, Bookmark. Artus could use Bookmark like a torch (by shedding bright light from the sapphire set into its pommel) or a compass (by floating the dagger in his palm with the tip always pointing north). Bookmark could also be used to cast dimension door and a compulsion spell to control spiders.   Upon his arrival to Chult, Artus was gifted a masterfully crafted longbow from the Evereska. The bow was sturdy enough to be used as a bludgeoning weapon if a need arose. Another gifted magical item was a woven light-weight green tunic that kept Artus cool in the sweltering jungles and was not soiled by his sweat.   Among more mundane items in his possession, Artus owned a copper dagger, an elegant dark blade, perfect for stealthy use, a hunting knife of Chultan wild dwarves making, and a luck blade, enchanted with good fortune. He also owned several enchanted and regular quivers, one made out of hard leather, a Quiver of Ehlonna with the goddess' crest, a fanciful quiver trimmed in gold, a magical sapphire-studded one, and the Bag of Nails magical quiver named after its mad owner, Bag of Nails.[20] Apart from the Evereskan longbow, Artus also owned a bow crafted out of driftwood, flexible weapon that lacked power, a Tabaxi tribal savage bow of dark wood and decorated with tribal leathers and feathers, a yuan-ti malison longbow lifted from the snake-people, an enchanted Oathbow, and a powerful dragon bow, imbued with Chultan dragons' spirits.   Underneath his green magical tunic, Artus wore one of the following armors: a simple leather armor, a studded leather of Chultan make, a velociraptor hide armor, a masterfully-forged mithral shirt, or his powerfully enchanted efreeti chain. Soon after, the Narwhal reached the Refuge Bay and Port Castigliar. Artus and Pontifax met with a fellow Harper agent and the local general goods store's proprietor, Ibn Engaruka. The local Harper passed long a gift from Theron Silvermace, left for Artus, who was sure to follow his footsteps into Chult. Ibn informed the adventurers that the only guide in Port Castigliar just left for the jungle with two passengers from the Narwhal, a man with stone hands and a female wizard. Unable to proceed without a guide, Artus and Pontifax accepted another of Theron Silvermace's gifts, a feast, before heading out into the jungle. The following night, Artus and Pontifax were attacked by three ice golems of Kaverin Ebonhand. one of the cold assassins murdered Pontifax, Artus's oldest friend and father figure.[38] Drowning in grief and palm wine, Cimber plummeted into depression, unable to continue for the next five days.[39]   Coming to terms with his grief, Artus ventured into the jungles of Chult with several bearers and a Tabaxi guide Judar Zanj. The expedition reached Kitcher's Folly seven days into the grueling journey but eventually found themselves in the perilous Altispinax Swamp where they lost last standing bearers and had to flee the hungry altispinax dinosaurs. Lost and alone, Artus and Jundar found themselves ambushed and captured by Queen M'bobo's Batiri goblins. Unbeknownst to Artus, the passengers from the Narwhal who left for the jungle ahead of Artus and Pontifax were Kaverin Ebonhand and Phyrra al-Quim. They stumbled into an alliance with the Batiri and, with Phyrra's help (as she took the identity of Judar Zanj), lured Artus into the goblins' trap. Phyrra, with her arcane Mulhoradi magic knowledge, passed the amulet to Ebonhand, giving him mastery over Skuld, and Artus was tossed as into the lair of the Batiri "god" Grumog as a sacrifice. Fortuitously, in the hole, the ex-Harper came across a duo of sassy, intelligent talking wombats Byrt and Lugg. Together, the trio manages to fight Grumog off, a monstrosity with a chameleon-like head, mouth tentacles, and a long snake-like scaled centipede body. The "god's" demise came by accident when the creature bit into Artus Cimber's journal magical journal that was tossed into the hole along with other items of the adventurer. As Grumog bit into the wyvern-skin journal, its enchantments broke, and the book exploded with countless pages of parchment in the monster's mouth, breaking its jaw and choking it to death. With the horror dead, the wombats help Artus dig out of the Grumog's lair and into a cave system that led away from the Batiri camp.[40]   Hidden City of Mezro Eventually, the adventurer and two furry companions stumbled upon a shimmering magical field of confusion and, by sheer luck, breached it. The shimmer was the weakened underground extension of the grand magical wall erected around the city of Mezro centuries prior, separating the city from outsiders. Through a broken wall decorated with images of saurial-like humanoids, Artus found a way into the Great Library of Mezro. By happenstance, the Harper came across Dhalmass Rayburton, the founder of the Society of Stalwart Adventurers, thought to be dead since 172 DR. Rayburton was a bara an immortal paladin of Ubtao and one of the defenders of Mezro. To Cimber's disappointment, Dhalmass claimed he did not have the Ring of Winter and the ice storm that brought Artus to Chult had been summoned by another bara of Ubtao, Ras T'fima. Artus befriended the legendary explorer and was introduced to the thriving culture of Mezro, its social equality, and education available to all classes. He met Alisanda Rayburton, Dhalmass's bara daughter, and Negus Kwalu, the prince of Mezro and a bara as well. Finding a short-lived peace, Artus came to know Alisanda, and the couple started to feel infatuated with each other, despite centuries of age difference. Unfortunately, soon after, Dhalmass Rayburton and Byrt were ambushed and captured by the Batiri, leaving Artus, Alisanda, and Kwalu to helm the rescue. The rescue attempt subsequently failed. The heroes were overpowered by Skuld and had to retreat, wary of the impending Batiri war.[43] Via torture, Kaverin Ebonhand found out that Dhalmass Rayburton gained immortality from the Temple of Ubtao, making the building Kaverin's goal. Immortality was the driving force for the leader of the Cult of Frost. Along with Rayburton, Batiri seized his enchanted earring, which allowed the bara to pass through the wall of confusion. Skuld used his arcane powers to mass-copy the earring for the invading Batiri forces. Artus and the barae were tasked with preparing for war. Artus communed with Mainu, the ancient bara with the power to control River Olung, and secured the reluctant aid of Ras T'fima, the gem mage bara who controlled the weather. However, one bara, Ras Nsi, one of the original seven barae with powers to control the dead, was forbidden from getting involved with the upcoming battle. In defiance of King Osaw I, Artus teleported himself and Lugg to Ras Nsi's lair.[44]   Cimber quickly realized that Mezro did not want Ras Nsi's help. The bara served Ubtao and protected Mezro but by plundering the jungles of its natural resources, slavery, trading, and committing genocide against the Eshowe tribe. Ras Nsi revealed to Artus that Rayburton had indeed brought the Ring of Winter to Chult and entrusted it to Ras T'fima, who, in turn, used it to create the snowstorm that led Artus Cimber to the jungle. The ring was safely hidden within the Temple of Ubtao's barado, the room where the god picked the next bara or took intruders' souls to the afterlife.[45] As the invasion of Mezro raged, Artus found a way into the barado where Ubtao himself greeted the adventurer. Artus refused to take the bara test initially, not willing to become Mezro's defender. Eventually, Artus followed the directions of the deity and drew the maze that represented his life correctly. The center of the image was the incomplete Harpers' symbol, surrounded by the image of the Ring of Winter. Artus had an epiphany about the final layers of the maze that represented his future and passed the deity's test, receiving the powers to harness the evil Ring of Winter.[46]   Armed with the treasure he'd sought for much of his life, Artus turned the tide of war by challenging Skuld. With the aid of Alisanda Rayburton's bara powers to control massive dinosaurs, Cimber used the ring's power to freeze the evil guardian spirit, shattering him to silver splinters. Artus confronted his nemesis Kaverin and executed the Cult of Frost's leader, avenging Pontifax's death. With the Batiri powers dispersing, Artus and Lugg rescued Byrt from becoming goblin chow.[47]   Following the war, Artus and other surviving barae aided the city's rebuilding. Ras Nsi aided the city from outside of the walls, by using the dead goblins to grow his undead army. Dead Mezroans were interred in the Temple of Ubtao. With the city safe from the Batiri, King Osaw decided to lower the walls of magical confusion, returning the Hidden City to Chult and abolishing its isolationism. Artus, now immortal, and his new partner and lover Alisanda Rayburton used the Ring of Winter and its magical ability to drastically boost other enchanted items' powers, transporting themselves to Artus's apartment in Suzail. The wombat duo accompanied the couple there as well. Alisanda had all of Faerûn to see while Byrt and Lugg happily left the wild and dangerous jungles and welcomed the safety of civilization. Post–14th Century In the years that followed, Artus Cimber authored several papers about Chult, topics of which included the albino dwarves[49] and customs of various Chultan tribes. One such paper described the obscure Tabaxi coming of age ritual that included jumping off a cliff with an umbrella-shaped blanket, riding the air current to safety. The custom was honoring Gherri, Aahnnie, and Modesti, three Tabaxi warriors that helped King Osaw I to escape the Batiri threat at some point in the past.[50]   Sometime after the Spellplague of 1385 DR and the disappearance of Mezro, Artus was made a Chosen by Auril. Much of Artus's later life was spent in just trying to prevent the Ring of Winter falling into the clutches of evil. However, he returned to Chult with the aim of reuniting with Alisanda, following her disappearance and that of the city of Mezro. Unwilling to wait, he looked for a way of restoring them. To that end, he searched for Saja N'baza, the ancient oracle of Orolunga. After meeting Dragonbait, a saurial warrior dedicated to good, in Port Nyanzaru, the pair made it their quest to travel to the ruins of Orolunga in hopes of finding a way to reunite Artus with Alisanda.