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Hearsay

Wondrous Item (instrument, unique), very rare, requires attunement by a bard

Hearsay: Miss Terry's battered cherry-wood lute with its brass tap and carved horns, whispers rising from its strings on a tavern table

Hearsay is a short-necked, battered tavern lute with a soundboard of dark cherry wood, ringed with old tankard stains that no polish will lift. A brass tap is set into its side, just below the bridge, and nobody, Miss Terry included, will say why. Two small horns are carved into the head. The regulars of the Brazen Burp swear it is the same cursed lute that played itself, the one Miss Terry claims she emerged from. She neither confirms nor denies this. She only tunes it, loudly.

Where Tallis Thorne's Gloriana shines with sincerity, Hearsay deals in rumour. It listens to everything said in the room. It forgets nothing. And it cannot keep a secret from the one who plays it.

Properties

  • Whisperstrings While Miss Terry plays, every whisper spoken within 60 feet is caught in the strings and woven into the melody. To everyone else it is just a pretty tune; Miss Terry hears the words. This is why her songs so often hide a warning, and why so many schemers find themselves the butt of her next performance.

  • Karmic Slap (1/day) When a creature that can hear Hearsay laughs at someone else's misfortune, or has just told a lie, Miss Terry can end her verse on a sharp note. The creature must succeed on a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw or be struck by an invisible, open-handed blow: it takes 2d6 force damage and is knocked prone. Witnesses always agree the target had it coming. This ability resets at dawn.

  • The Tankard Trick A tankard thrown while Hearsay is still ringing always finds its mark, and then always finds its way back to Miss Terry's hand, refilled. Where the ale comes from is another of the tavern's unsolved mysteries; the Brazen Burp's books have never balanced.

  • A Tale for Every Asking The inlay on the soundboard changes to match whatever origin story Miss Terry is telling that night: a weeping deity, a cursed lute, a sphinx in a rumour duel. Anyone who studies it closely finds an inlay that is old, worn and clearly original, no matter which story was told.

  • Taproom Bound In anyone else's hands, Hearsay plays slightly out of tune, and the tap pours only water.

Since the Mirrorstep

Since the night of the Mirrorstep, when the Shard of the Fracture Keep settled into Miss Terry's chest, Hearsay sometimes plays a harmony nobody is playing. It is a second voice a third above her own, bright and violet-tinged. Those who heard Tyrra in their dreams say it sounds like her. Miss Terry has started leaving a pause in her songs for it. She has not said why.