Grave Trodders (Patreon)

Wondrous item, rare (requires attunement)

While wearing these boots, you have resistance to necrotic damage. In addition, the boots have 5 charges and regain 1d4 + 1 expended charges daily at dawn. You can use an action while touching a corpse with your foot or standing no more than 10 feet above its grave to cast the speak with dead spell on it. If more than one corpse is directly below you, the closest one is affected by the spell.

This version of the speak with dead spell has the following changes:

• Instead of asking a corpse five questions, you instead expend 1 charge whenever you ask it a question. When the boots are reduced to 0 charges and the corpse has finished answering the last question it was asked, the spell ends. The spell ends early if you use the boots to ask a different corpse a question.
• This version of the spell doesn't fail if the target has been affected by this spell within the last 10 days.
• If you can't hear the corpse (such as if you're standing above its grave), you still know how the corpse responded to your question.
• If the boots have 0 charges, they can't be used to cast the spell. If you cast the spell from the boots and don't ask the affected corpse any questions, it still expends 1 charge from the boots.

Soles set on overgrown soil, the investigator sat on the gravestone, staring into the empty sockets of the helm in his hands before saying.

"What's your name?"

From the earth rose a rattling voice, Wilhand Press.

Right answer. He continued, "What killed you?"

Silvered wolfsbane. I'd bet my herb shop on it…if it's still mine.

"And who'd've done that?"

Can't be sure. My assistants might be a start; they knew what I was, and might've done it… or told.

In spite of the grim confirmation, the investigator smiled. Answers had come quickly, leaving him room for invaluable questions.

Now, whose graves could he walk on to learn the town's best tavern?