Broom of Flying

A Broom of Flying is a magical object that is enchanted to fly but otherwise appears to be an ordinary broom. One was owned by Vex'ahlia, who stole it from Gern Blanston. Percival de Rolo modified this broom to stabilize it so that Vex'ahlia could better use her bow while flying and to make it more difficult to lose the broom when falling; he also made it easier to ride by adding a seat. Inspired by Vex'ahlia and her broom, Taryon Darrington created a broom of flying for himself.

Description
The broom is made of wood and weighs 3 pounds. It flies when a rider speaks its command word. The broom has a flying speed of 50 feet and can carry up to 400 pounds, though its speed is reduced to 30 feet when carrying more than 200 pounds. The broom can be sent without a rider to a location familiar to someone who speaks its command word, so long as that location is within 1 mile. If this person is still within 1 mile, they can command the broom to return to them.

Vex'ahlia's broom of flying has intricately carved runes written along its handle to form its enchantment. Its command word, the word for "candle" in Draconic (pronounced as if hacking spit, as invented ad hoc by Laura Bailey), is also spelled out phonetically in an archaic Draconic script in a "very cleverly hidden" place. Percival de Rolo modified this broom to improve stability while flying so that Vex'ahlia could better aim. He also created a magical tether between the broom and its rider to make it less likely that she would lose or become separated it if she fell. He later added a seat and stirrups for the primary rider, but passengers still had to ride astride the handle; Vax'ildan found doing so uncomfortable. Percy also engraved the phrase "Death from Above" in Elvish in delicate letters onto its handle.

History
Gern Blanston, who described the broom as "very difficult" to obtain, brought it with him to the Cindergrove. There, he met and tentatively allied with Vox Machina. Vex'ahlia, who wanted to fly, offered to hold the broom as they battled an efreeti. Afterward, she slipped it into Grog Strongjaw's Bag of Holding and lied to Gern, telling him that it fell into the lava. He believed her, but he searched for the broom in the area and asked Coral and Korrin if they had seen it. Vex'ahlia intended to give him a bag of dragon scales in exchange for the broom, but he walked away before she could do so.

Vex'ahlia retrieved the broom by convincing Grog that she wanted to train with him and, distracting him with Trinket, attempted to guess the broom's command word. After failing to do so, she took it to Scanlan Shorthalt, who found the written command word. She successfully read the command word and flew the broom for the first time around Scanlan's bedroom. Scanlan admonished her for stealing the broom and said she needed to repay the debt somehow. He had her promise to help someone of his choosing to repay Gern for the theft and himself for the help. She later admitted that she stole the broom to the remainder of Vox Machina; their reaction was mixed. They asked her to demonstrate using her bow while on the broom. She was unsteady on the broom and struggled, and Percy determined that it needed stabilizing and other adjustments.

She used the broom to scout for a tree suitable for Transport Via Plants around Westruun. She tried to perform some tricks for children who spotted her but fell off. The broom itself briefly continued moving forward with its momentum while she fell downward. She tumbled into the landing and successfully convinced onlookers that falling was part of the trick. She continued to practice flying with it, and Percy later began tinkering with the broom. After a couple of days, he successfully created its magical tether, and he began work on its seat and stirrups.

During Vox Machina's fight against Kevdak and the Herd of Storms, Vex'ahlia saved Grog Strongjaw's life by swooping down on Death from Above and placing Grog in Raven's Slumber. She later released him from the necklace directly above Kevdak, helping him land the killing blow against his uncle. Vax'ildan, who had been since questioning why Vex'ahlia ever stole the broom, told the Raven Queen that this saved the party's lives. He now considered the theft to be fate, especially as he could not figure out another reason why she stole it, and resolved himself to his service to the Raven Queen.

Vex'ahlia used the broom to rescue Allura Vysoren and Kima from drowning in the open sea off the Island of Viscan.

During Vox Machina's year of rest after the defeat of the Chroma Conclave, Taryon Darrington inspected Vex'ahlia's broom while she was asleep and decided to make one for himself.

The Legend of Vox Machina
In The Legend of Vox Machina, which has its own continuity, the broom of flying was displayed in a case in Gilmore's Glorious Goods near the main counter. It was found by Scanlan in the shop's ruins during the Chroma Conclave attack on Emon, and he took it with him as Vox Machina fled the city.

Not realizing its properties, he flippantly gave it to Vex'ahlia, who discovered an arcane word on its handle. She asked Scanlan for help reading it, causing him to discover that it can fly using the command word "Volantire". He refused to tell her the command word unless she agreed to provide an unstated favor. He eventually relented as Vox Machina struggled to fight creatures massing through a portal to the Plane of Fire at Pyrah, allowing her to use the broom to gain a high ground to effectively use her bow. Afterward, she agreed to provide the favor.

She later used the broom to successfully search for the hidden entrance to Kamaljiori's lair.

Behind the scenes
Laura explained that her logic was that Gern was unlikely to appear in the game again, so someone else should have his broom. Laura had told Matthew Mercer of her intent to give Gern the dragon scales after the session.

Segments of the fandom reacted extremely negatively to Laura stealing from another player, prompting Matt to respond on Reddit to the backlash. He asserted that stealing from another player is not necessarily wrong if it suits the story and part of roleplaying one's character. He felt the theft made sense within the context that Vex'ahlia (newly a rogue multiclass) had been searching for a new method of flight after the destruction of the flying carpet in. He further defended Vex'ahlia and Laura: "Perhaps characters aren't static and can make choices outside of their 'assumed personality boundaries' because people do all the time. [...] I think the amount of rage that's being directed at Laura is both unwarranted and unearned."

Stealing the broom officially changed Vex'ahlia's alignment from neutral good to chaotic neutral. Matt long considered changing her alignment before this, including for what he felt was "needlessly aggressive intimidation" of Cidrick Gillsman where she threatened his family in. He felt that the theft was a big moment to do so, particularly as he considered alignment as a reaction to roleplay (as opposed to something that guides it). He and Laura long disagreed on this alignment shift, even into the Campaign 1 Wrap Up; Liam O'Brien also disagreed with the alignment change, comparing it to how Percy's alignment did not change even after shooting Desmond Otham through the hand and giving Craven Edge to Grog Strongjaw. When Laura expressed that she felt Matt misunderstood her motivations, Matt explained that his thought process was that the theft and her other actions were done out of selfishness and were not intended for the betterment of others. Laura conceded that this was a good point and agreed that the theft was motivated by a desire to fly, not by a greater good.

Laura named the broom her favorite magical item in.

Trivia

 * When Percy engraved "Death from Above" onto its handle, Marisha Ray commented that he had named the broom: "You and the names." However, the broom is never called "Death from Above" afterward.
 * "Volantire", the command word in The Legend of Vox Machina, is probably related to the Latin volans, meaning "flying". There are similar words for "flying" in some other languages that descended from the Latin.