Quenching Towel

From Valwiki

Powers

The Quenching Towel is a magical, white towel that can, on command, become either wringing wet with clean, cool water or as dry as a bone. Its magical fibers never become dirty, and it is resilient to an extraordinary level. (Even after years of being in the posession of a filthy hermit, it appears as white as new.)

While these properties may seem useless to the untrained eye, they can prove quite helpful. For example, if you became lost in the desert, you could wet it and wear it to cool yourself down. You'd never need a canteen, as it can provide you with water. And dry, it would make a fairly decent blanket, albeit a tad small. It is truly a multipurpose relic.

Backstory

Not much is known of the full backstory of the Quenching Towel. What is known is that it was created a long time ago by a clever wizard who decided the concept was rather keen. The reason behind his decision has long since been forgotten, and so has what became of the towel for quite some time.

What is known of its past begins before the flood. A young fellow, whose name has been lost to history, happened upon the towel while wandering through the woods near Valikorlia. It was sticking halfway out of the ground, but it was still clean and fresh. Knowing that this shouldn't be the case, he picked it up. A fleeting thought of perhaps rinsing it out came to mind, and it became wet, thus learning of its magical properties.

In the time directly following the flood and its recession, the towel gained minimal renown in a settlement near what is now Port Lucca. This attracted the attention of a poor, out-of-work fellow by the name of Sherman. Thinking that an artifact with magical properties could fetch him a fair amount of money, he decided to lift the towel from its owner. Unfortunately, he was caught in the act, and ended up getting wounded in his left leg, leaving him with a permanent limp for the rest of his life.

Knowing that he couldn't sell the towel, having been seen stealing it, he decided that the only way to avoid being brought to justice would be to go into hiding. He went on the lam, and made his way to what is now Port Thataway, in Hylund. Seeing no alternative, he built a crude raft and set out to an island, far from the shore, where he had planned to live out the rest of his days.

Sherman's plans worked fairly well, until one day, many years later, when an angry Syrillia grabbed the towel and swam away with it. By sheer luck, that same day, a random wiseman learned of the towel's fate and passed the information on to a group of adventurers. That group soon ballooned out into a rather large one, and with the help of Tindertot Rastleknot, they set sail to the hermit's island. After some angry exchanges, he explained what had happened to it, and the adventurers set off towards the cavernous island to the west.

Once inside, they discovered a mother Syrillia and her child. A few of the adventurers suggested violence, but it was overridden by the suggestion that they could reason with it. Artius Somantio was able to communicate effectively with the sea dragon, and she stood aside, only letting him enter the cave. The towel sat by itself on a pedestal, and it seemed that the mission had been completed.

But in an instant, the cursed merchant Shylock burst forth from the ocean leading into the cave and landed upon the pillar it sat upon. In an attempt to win over the elder mage, Shylock exposed Sherman's thieving past, and told him that if he was given the towel, he would make sure it got back to its rightful owner. After several minutes of prying, Artius assured Shylock he would do with the towel what he felt was best. Deterred, but hardly broken, Shylock dove back into the ocean and wandered back off into the shadows.

Artius returned the towel, but spoke harshly to the thieving old man. This jarred loose the hermit's true feelings. He broke down, and spoke of his misery over what he had done. As a result of his past ways, he was forced into exile on an island, alone and with a permanent leg injury, his only food fish and his only water coming from the towel. He'd come to terms with his ways, and just to show that he was sincere, he rewarded the adventurers who came to return it.

Current Posessor

The Quenching Towel is currently in the hands of Christopher Darden.

In the time following the loss and return of the towel, Sherman grew older still. He knew that his time was coming soon, so he returned to the mainland to pass the towel on to somebody trustworthy enough to handle the stewardship. After landing, he entered the Seanchanni Fort and began asking around. Taungar was at first too busy with a bounty he was out to collect to indulge Sherman on his offer, but later approached him and proved himself worthy of the task. Sherman shook his hand, passed on the towel, and wandered off, never to be seen alive again.