The Absent Spoon

by Frazer 👁 5 views

Charges: 5 (regains at dawn)

This delicate teaspoon is fashioned from tarnished moon-silver, its bowl darkened like an old mirror. A slender handle of black walnut twists into the shape of two clasped vines, one of which ends abruptly in a polished, empty socket. Fine engravings along the spoon depict teacups filled with tiny scenes: a burning house, a child's birthday, a battlefield beneath snow, and a pair of spoons lying far apart. When a memory is stirred, the metal briefly warms and the liquid in the nearest cup ripples into images from the past.

Stirred Remembrance As an action, you can touch a creature with the spoon and expend 1 charge to draw forth a memory associated with a person, place, object, or event you name. The target must be willing or succeed on a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw. On a failed save, the target vividly recalls one relevant memory from its own past, including sensory details it had forgotten. The memory is not altered, removed, or shared with you unless the target chooses to describe it. A willing target can instead allow you to witness the memory as a silent, dreamlike vision lasting up to 1 minute. The spoon cannot reveal memories the target never experienced.

Memory's Aftertaste For 1 hour after using Stirred Remembrance, the affected creature has advantage on one Intelligence (History), Intelligence (Investigation), or Wisdom (Insight) check directly related to the recalled memory. Once a creature benefits from this property, it cannot do so again until it finishes a long rest.

Agitate the Recollection As an action, you can expend 2 charges to touch a creature and force it to relive a painful or distracting memory. The target must succeed on a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw or be incapacitated until the end of its next turn and have disadvantage on the next attack roll or ability check it makes before the end of its following turn. A creature that succeeds is immune to this property for 24 hours.

The Missing Half The spoon is one of a matched pair. While its sibling is on the same plane of existence, you know the direction to it and whether it is within 1 mile, 10 miles, or farther away. Once per dawn, the spoon also conveys a fleeting emotional impression from its sibling's current bearer, if it has one. The spoon cannot reveal the sibling's exact location, identity, or thoughts. If the pair is reunited, both spoons glow softly and their charges are restored.

Lore

The Absent Spoon was made to accompany its twin at the memory teas of the celebrated Mnemonist Harpell Vey. Guests drank infusions prepared with both spoons and shared memories they had willingly placed into the tea. Vey claimed that no friendship could survive every secret, but any friendship could survive the truth if it was served gently. The paired spoons became a symbol of reconciliation, though one vanished before Vey's final gathering.

History

During the Night of Unspoken Names, Vey used both spoons to extract the memory of a royal assassination from a dying witness. Before the ritual was complete, one spoon was stolen by an unknown guest and the other was flung into the fire. The surviving spoon was recovered from the ashes, undamaged except for the empty socket in its handle. It has since passed through the hands of archivists, inquisitors, grieving families, and at least one thief who spent years searching for the sibling he could feel but never find.

Created by Frazer 👁 5 views

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