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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Jeremy E Grenemyer" data-source="post: 7510010" data-attributes="member: 12388">XGtE Magic Item Backstories set in Cormyr. Item the Fourth: Boots of False TracksContinuing along with the idea of Inherited Traits and Accidental Enchantments for magic items, we have next on our list Boots of False Tracks, from Xanathar’s Guide to Everything, p.136.• In Eveningstar, there live a handful of war wizards keep watch over the Blueleaf Gate.• This magical portal links to the Royal Gardens in Suzail. • The Blueleaf Gate is not unguarded. War Wizards watch over the gate in pairs, on both sides.  • These wizards—called Blueleaf Sentinels—report to a senior war wizard, one Jorbril Rammastar, who lives in a small cottage south of Eveningstar. • As the Blueleaf Warden, Jorbril collects reports on any arrivals or departures via the gate from his subordinates. • The Sentinels cover their tracks by means of a simple spell—one that transforms their footprints into that of animals native to the King’s Forest. This is because of the nature of the gate’s creation, and the fact that it draws animals to the vicinity. • Save your spells, is a maxim among the Wizards of War. Learning to not waste spells isn’t easy for junior wizards, who prefer to cast at the drop of a hat. But the skill must be learned. • Minor magic items that duplicate simple spells help in this regard. Jorbril hoped to craft magical boots that left behind animal tracks in the wearer’s wake, that his subordinates might have one less spell to memorize and so room to keep another useful spell handy.• He succeeded, four times over. The boots went to his subordinates. Jorbril traveled through the gate to Suzail, there to meet his counterpart on the other side and deliver his report of the items’ creation. • Upon his return through the Blueleaf Gate, he found two of his subordinates naked and dead, their blood pooled at the base of the tree from which they kept watch over the gate, their bodies hanging from branches of the tree, their belongings all taken. • No humanoid tracks. No trace of the killers. They were wearing the magical boots. • Few Wizards of War know that it’s possible to attune to the Blueleaf Gate. The duty of the Blueleaf Warden requires it, however, despite the danger to one’s sanity. • Jorbril called on the raw power of the gate, saw in his mind’s eye the magical boots he’d made by means of his own magic, and willed the enchantment laid over the boots to change. • The gate spit crimson fire that settled over its edges, leaving a clear pool of magic in which Jorbril saw the mage killers. As well their footprints, one after the other lined in fire that only he could see. • He turned from the gate, his own eyes lit by magical fire, and tracked the killers down. • The two pairs of boots Jorbril recovered no longer function the same. The magical boots are still classified as Boots of False Tracks in the archives of the war wizards. These, however, leave behind humanoid tracks and not animal tracks. • Jorbril gave the boots over for storage in the Royal Palace, even though he could now track anyone wearing them by a simple act of will, for the remainder of his days. • His debt to Meilikki had grown. He could feel her presence in his dreams. Sometimes he saw a giant stag in the corner of eye, but observed nothing when he turned to look for it. Soon the goddess would call on him to repay her favor. He hoped she required something less than his life in payment.</blockquote>

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