The Veridian Scepter is the central artifact of the original Oz adventure.

The Veridian Scepter is the central artifact of the original Oz adventure. Dorothy, Glinda and Thorne's journey is organized around recovering its separated pieces. It offers a way to challenge the Wicked Witch and a way for Dorothy to get home. Its value brings those goals together, even though getting back to Kansas and deciding Oz's future are very different concerns. An incomplete artifact creates practical limitations. Finding one piece doesn't finish the job. The group has to keep travelling, protect what it has found and survive the dangers around the remaining pieces. The last piece's location in the Emerald City makes the city part of the quest as well as a place threatened by the approaching enemy. This entry stays with that first Oz series. Later Oz stories shouldn't be used to fill in powers or history that haven't been established at that point. And although Dorothy's name makes the familiar slippers an obvious association, the artifact driving this particular adventure is the Scepter.