The Watchers Coin

 

We at the Emporium are both excited and…admittedly…a touch nervous bringing you this next item. Whilst on a dig for a different artifact (one that will remain unnamed until we have exhausted all efforts to locate it), our scholars stumbled upon a cache of what we have verified to be coins used by The Watchers.

Remarkably, you...did in fact read that correctly.

If by some chance you are unfamiliar with The Watchers—though I doubt that would be the case—they were (are?) a rather unsavory organization of what can only be called assassins. Some might argue they were merely brigands, or thugs used as killers for hire, but a discerning mind and student of their histories will unfortunately reveal an extremely well-organized, ruthless organization whose skill in their…field…was unmatched.

Their tenets and texts clearly seek to remain in morally ambiguous grey areas, arguing that every living thing is destined for the same fate; that they are merely a tool at its hand. They believed every person possessed within them a light and a dark, and anyone who claimed to hold one virtue without harboring the other was a liar or a fool. While there may be grounds for a discussion here, we believe most reasonable individuals would agree that The Watchers certainly took this moral leniency too far.

While we could write endlessly about stories and references involving The Watchers and their shadowy endeavors, you now certainly know enough to take us back to the item at hand: their coin.

Though obviously incredibly difficult to prove, it is widely believed that these coins were circulated within the ranks of The Watchers as a currency of both goods and services—or rather, favors—within their underground network. It was no small gesture to carry or spend these coins, as each one was—again, supposedly—cast and forged with the inclusion of blood from one of their victims.

Their victims ranged from scorned lovers to diplomats, and perhaps even the occasional target of regicide. So it was not their rank or station which mattered when their blood was used…it was merely the fact that their life was ended by a member of The Watchers.

Ignoring the fact that when added to molten silver, any blood would immediately burn off, The Watchers seemed to truly believe that this was a form of magic—undeniably dark magic, if so—which resulted in a shard of the victim’s soul forever remaining in the coin.

This, then, leads us to the final aspect of their use (and explains our reluctance, superstitious or not, in obtaining a small cache of such coins): in addition to use as currency, a member of The Watchers who carried this coin was said to flip it in the air to resolve a decision needing an outside opinion…in this case, the spirit of their own victim.

This too is likely where the physical design of the coin comes into play: on one side, a faceless hooded figure holding a blade with verbiage in the old Scholar’s Speech which reads, “One Life In Darkness.” Behind the shadowy figure, a full moon casts its glow. On the other side, text reads “One Life In Light,” showing the same(?) Faceless figure with their hood drawn back, and standing in front of what appears to be the sun.

The duality of this design reinforces their belief in the duality within all of us, and lends itself to a decision of Light or of Dark when the coin is flipped.
While we cannot of course verify that the coin was used in this manner, as there are no longer any direct witnesses to this action…it is not difficult to imagine. It also begs the question of why so many of these coins—or trapped souls, if you believe in that sort of thing—would be found in one location like this? Who had amassed such a trove?

We leave that up to you to decide, should you be bold enough to obtain one of these coins yourself. And should you use it to help make decisions in your life…please know that if the legends are true, the result may not be as random as it otherwise appears.

Best of luck, dear patron. Truly.