Candlekeep Chandlery

On the signboard hanging above its door, the Candlekeep Chandlery proudly advertises the “Longest Lasting Lamps and Magically Made Missives in the Lower City.” Marcela Idhra, the proprietor of the place and a wizard of some talent, came to Baldur’s Gate from Candlekeep when her magical research and experiments became too disruptive for the other scholars there.

Her shop sells candles, soaps, and cosmetics to wellheeled customers in the Upper City. Her claim to fame is her whispering candle. Each such item has a fire mephit magically trapped in its tallow. As the candle burns, the mephit continually voices back whatever sounds it heard while the tallow was being prepared, in the voice of the speaker. Different voices can be recorded in different candles, so that when they are all burned they can make the sound of a conversation or musicians playing together.

Many people find this feature both charming and useful. Whispering candles are popular at patriars’ galas; one candle burning at the entrance can welcome guests as they arrive, and many can be placed around the wings of a ballroom to whisper pleasant reassurances or create an air of mystery. The Watch uses whispering candles with imbedded commands to time its shift changes. It has long been a fashion among patriars to record their wills in whispering candles.

The candles are also appreciated by those who need to communicate discreetly. The Guild, the Flaming Fist, and the patriars use whispering candles to communicate with agents, spies, and secret lovers. The chandlery has a secure room where messages can be whispered through a speaking tube into the boiling tallow. Once a candle is formed, the only way to release the message (and return the mephit to its home plane) is by burning the candle normally. If the candle is destroyed—smashed underfoot, for example, or tossed into a fire—the message can’t be recovered, even if the tallow is re-formed into a new candle.

Candles that contain vocal performances by noted bards or readings of epic poems are popular items in the shop. Idhra also carries a small line of novelty candles that unexpectedly utter the roar of an owlbear, for example, or some embarrassing sound. The price of a whispering candle depends on its size, the circumstances of its recording, and the beauty of the candle itself. The smallest and plainest whispering candles, which burn for only a minute, cost 25 gp. Grand and complex arrangements of candles, such as the operatic chandelier employed at the cotillion ball of Duke Silvershield’s daughter, cost several thousand gold pieces.

Type

Shop, Generic

Parent Location

Lower City