The Last Pour

by Frazer 👁 68 views

The Last Pour is a heavy pewter tankard banded in tarnished electrum. Its rounded sides bear engraved scenes of empty taverns, overturned cups, and a solitary figure raising a drink beneath a crescent moon. A thumb-sized piece of amber is set into the handle, within which a single dark bubble slowly drifts. No matter how often it is polished, a faint ring of condensation clings to its rim.

The Previous Owner's Drink The tankard is linked to the creature that most recently owned it before its current bearer. While that creature is actively drinking a liquid, the tankard fills with an identical liquid whenever it is empty. The tankard can refill once per round, and the liquid appears in an amount sufficient to fill the tankard. If the previous owner stops drinking, the tankard retains the last liquid produced until emptied. The tankard cannot produce a liquid the previous owner has not tasted, and it produces no liquid if the previous owner is dead or is not currently drinking.

Faithful Flavor The liquid produced has the same taste, temperature, alcohol content, and mundane qualities as the previous owner's drink. If the original liquid is poisonous, diseased, or otherwise harmful, the duplicated liquid is equally harmful. Magical effects that depend on the original liquid being consumed, such as a potion's magic, do not transfer; the duplicated liquid is mundane unless the Dungeon Master determines that its danger is an inherent physical property.

Unspillable Cask The tankard cannot be tipped, pierced, or shattered by mundane means. Its contents evaporate or vanish harmlessly if removed from the tankard and left unattended for 1 minute. A creature can pour from it normally, and the tankard can hold up to 1 pint.

The Collector's Certainty A collector named Ysabet Quill has a supernatural claim upon the tankard. Ysabet always knows the tankard's exact location, provided it is on the same plane of existence as she is, and knows whether it is currently being carried, hidden, or unattended. She cannot perceive through the tankard or determine its contents. This knowledge is not blocked by distance, darkness, or mundane barriers.

Lore

The tankard is said to remember not the hand that holds it, but the hand that let it go. Tavern songs claim that every drink poured from it carries a faint echo of its former owner's mood: bitter spirits taste sharper, celebratory wine seems brighter, and water drunk by a grieving soul leaves a lingering chill. Collectors and smugglers prize it because a drink can reveal where the tankard's last owner is, while assassins fear that it can faithfully reproduce a poison being consumed elsewhere.

History

The Last Pour was fashioned by the halfling silversmith Ollo Bramblecup for a retired adventurer who wished to share one final toast with companions scattered across the world. The first owner eventually sold it to Ysabet Quill, an obsessive collector of impossible curiosities. When the tankard vanished during a failed burglary at Quill's gallery, the collector bound it with a divination ritual before the thief escaped. The thief was never identified, but Quill has followed the tankard's movements ever since and has never lost track of it for more than a few minutes.

Created by Frazer 👁 68 views