B12 Tower of Sir Ingish Blackhand

A Legacy in Verbobonc

The Tower of Sir Ingish Blackhand is a prominent landmark on the cobbled streets of the Business Quarter, rising above neighboring shops with its tall, peaked roof and narrow, many-windowed façade. Once merely the house of a wealthy merchant, it has become a hub of magical commerce and arcane lore since its owner turned his talents fully toward wizardry.

Ingish now lives in semi-retirement, serving the city as senator, arcane expert, and appraiser of relics, while his tower doubles as shop, vault, and home. Adventurers, scholars, and collectors alike pass through his doors seeking rare spell components, curated magic items, and the insight of a man who has walked both trade roads and mystic paths.

Exterior & First Impressions

The tower is a four-story stone edifice with a steep slate roof and small turret, its ground floor fronted by broad glass windows that look directly into the shop. Intricate carvings climb the weathered stone—sigils, owls, stars, and merchant scales—hinting at the union of commerce and magic within.

Through the windows, passersby glimpse shelf upon shelf of oddities: bottled lights, bone-handled wands, coiled roots, and the soft radiance of enchanted trinkets. The building stands flush to the street amid other busy businesses, but its vertical height and arcane motifs make it impossible to miss.

Approaching the Tower

The market chatter thins as your gaze hooks upward, drawn to a tall stone tower that shoulders above the surrounding shops. Four stories of grey block and narrow windows climb to a steep, slate roof; carved along the corners are owls, stars, and tiny scales, worn smooth by rain and years.

At street level, wide glass panes reveal a dimly lit shop of crowded shelves and dangling curios—bottles that glow softly, bundles of dried roots, cages, and the pale gleam of metal and crystal. Over the door, a discreet brass plaque reads:

“Tower of Sir Ingish Blackhand – Arcane Wares & Consultation.”

The door itself stands invitingly ajar, a faint smell of parchment, incense, and something sharp and metallic drifting out into the bustling street.

Tower Layout

Ground Floor – The Arcane Bazaar

The entire street level is given over to Ingish’s shop: a cramped, high-ceilinged emporium of magical odds and ends.

• Spell Components: From everyday reagents to rare pieces: phoenix feathers, frost wyrm scales, basilisk eyes, mandrake root, glowing mushroom spores, ethereal essences, vampire bat wings, and griffon talons, among many others.
• Owlbear Corner: A huge stuffed owlbear dominates one corner, a silent mascot and reminder that not all “rare specimens” arrive alive.
• Counters & Cases: Glass-fronted cases display a small but impressive selection of curated magic items—cloaks, wands, rings, and amulets—each tagged only with a cryptic mark; prices and properties are discussed privately.

Citheranal, his half-elven wife, typically manages this floor—greeting customers, vetting serious buyers, and quietly filtering out gawkers and would-be thieves.

Second Floor – The Vault of Mysteries

The second story is part office, part high-security vault.

• A large iron vault with an intricate lock and etched sigils stands against the inner wall. All of Ingish’s most valuable magic items eventually pass through here.
• The vault is warded by a powerful magical glyph: if an item is removed without the correct command words and symbols, the vault obligingly opens—but instantly teleports both item and thief to a secret chamber sixty feet below the shop.
• Ingish is the only one who knows the precise coordinates for safe teleportation in and out of this cell.

DM note: Treat the vault’s mundane lock and arcane ward as very high-DC challenges; this is not a place low-level burglars walk away from.

Secret Chamber – The Teleport Cell

Far beneath the tower lies a bare stone room with no doors or stairs:

• Enchanted lanterns and a simple cot suggest Ingish has had to retrieve more than one foolish intruder in the past.
• The chamber can only be accessed via teleportation; even the Vigil Wardens have no key to it.

This makes an excellent “soft prison” or interrogation site if Ingish chooses to work with the city authorities—or with the PCs.

Third Floor – Storage & Overflow

Cramped aisles of crates, barrels, and marked chests fill this level:

• Unsold stock, mundane supplies, and unsorted magical finds from expeditions clutter the shelves.
• Apprentices (if you add them) are often found here, cataloguing items under Citheranal’s or Ingish’s guidance.

Treasure-hungry players may suspect hidden gems here—and they would be right, though anything truly dangerous is moved to the vault above.

Fourth Floor – Private Quarters

The top floor houses the living quarters of Sir Ingish and Citheranal:

• A well-appointed sitting room lined with bookcases, curios from past ventures, and a hearth.
• Two bedrooms, modest by noble standards but rich in artifacts and mementos of both merchant and wizardly careers.

This level is strictly off-limits to customers unless the couple choose to extend personal hospitality.

Goods and Services

• Spell Components: The shop boasts an extensive collection of spell components, excluding only the most expensive gems and metals.
• Magic Items: Specializing in rare and magical finds, the shop has a selective but impressive inventory of artifacts and magic items.

Pricing and Quality

• Cost: Prices are kept at average rates, with a free spell component pouch offered with every purchase over 30gp.
• Rare Finds: Sir Blackhand’s interest in unique magical items means the shop offers top dollar for live magical creatures and trades in high-value artifacts and magic items.

Special Features

The Vault's Security

• Magical Protection: The vault on the second floor features a magical glyph that teleports unauthorized individuals to a secret chamber, demonstrating the ingenious security measures protecting the tower's treasures.

Using B12 in Play

Why PCs Visit

• To buy unusual components or pick up a single, carefully chosen magic item.
• To have strange relics identified and valued by one of the best minds in the city.
• To consult a senator-wizard about history, ruins, or Temple-related lore.

Adventure Hooks

• The Teleport Thief: A would-be burglar—or a naïve hireling working for the PCs— trips the vault glyph and vanishes. Ingish offers to retrieve them… if the party will first perform a service, or track down who hired the thief.
• Artifact of Questionable Origin: The party brings in a powerful item; Ingish recognizes it as tied to the Temple of Elemental Evil or forbidden Suel relics. He insists on keeping it “for the city’s safety,” unless the PCs agree to investigate its origin on his behalf.
• Senate Consultation: The Viscount’s council convenes over a disputed ruin, mine, or relic find. Ingish asks the PCs to accompany him as bodyguards and field experts—drawing them into civic politics and rival merchant factions.
• Creatures for the Collection: Rumor reaches the party that Ingish will pay handsomely for certain live magical beasts or rare components from the Kron Hills, Nulb marshes, or Temple environs. What begins as a hunting job may lead them straight into cult territory.

Drop B12 Tower of Sir Ingish Blackhand into your Business Quarter chapter as the go-to magic shop, arcane expert, and political contact, a place where every visit has the potential to turn a simple sale into a far-reaching quest.

“Good eve, travelers. You stand in the tower of Sir Ingish Blackhand, and I am Citheranal, who keeps his shop in order.

We do not trade in trinkets for the curious, nor baubles for idle fingers. If you seek lamp-oil and nails, the market lies behind you. If you seek components, relics properly warded, or the wisdom of a man who has buried more fools than most have met… then perhaps you are in the right place.

Tell me, then—what is it you would have of this tower? A thing to buy, a thing to sell, or a truth you hope Sir Ingish will name for you? Speak plain, if you please. I value candor, and my memory for faces and bargains is long.”