forgotten. “What do they all do?”
“Oh , lots of things,” Hephistole answered. “It’s all detailed in there,” he added, gesturing towards a small stack of parchment on the top shelf, the individual leaves bound together by a length of string. “There’s a drawing of each item, with a description of what it does.” Gaspi reached up for the parchment.
“Hold on,” Hephistole said. “ Try the ring on. You’ll find its effect much more impressive if you don’t know what to expect.”
“Sure,” Gaspi sai d, and slid it over his index finger. The moment it settled he looked up in surprise. He could see everything in incredible detail. It wasn’t that everything was brighter, exactly, but he could see clearly into even the darkest corners of the cellar. When he looked at a chain mail vest hanging on the rack, he could see the forge-marks on every single ring. He looked at Hephistole in wonder, and with his enhanced vision he could see the intricate lines of grief and weariness around his eyes.
“Take it off now Gaspi,” Hephistole said softly, as if reading his mind. Gaspi slid the ring off his finger, and his vision returned to normal.
“That’s amazing,” Gaspi said, looking at the ring resting in his palm.
“Yes, that’s a particularly adept bit of spell-work,” Hephistole responded. “It’s easy to imagine such a device coming of use on a stealthy quest into dark and dangerous places eh?”
“Definitely, ” Gaspi said. “Who enchanted it?”
“You have Professor Worrick to thank for that,” Hephistole answered. “Take a look at the drawings and see what else may come in handy.” With that, the chancellor touched Gaspi briefly on the shoulder and walked over to talk to Voltan. Gaspi opened his mouth to call him back, wanting to talk to him about Jonn, but then he glanced around at all the people who might overhear and decided there would be a better time. He turned back to the shelves and picked up the parchment.
Despite his reservations about the quest, Gaspi’s heart started beating with excitement as his eyes skipped from description to description. Several items stood out to him. There was a belt that was imbued with a complex neuromantic enchantment. It only worked when power was channelled into it, but when active, the enchantment would beam out the suggestion that the wearer was entirely trustworthy. Gaspi figured that would be useful for a magician who struggled with neuromancy – someone like him in fact!
The slender rope was enchanted to bear any amount of strain without snapping. There was a pair of gloves that gave the wearer the grip of a giant, and a necklace that made you invisible. There were a variety of objects that shielded the wearer from the rain, and two more objects that kept the wearer invisible. Looking at the array of goodies, Gaspi pondered which would be of most use to him should the quest go ahead. After a moment’s pondering, he decided on the belt, one of the objects enchanted to grant invisibility, and the ring. The first two because he couldn’t duplicate their enchantments with his own powers, and the ring because it was easy to imagine wanting to see perfectly in the dark without creating a light that would draw a thousand ogres down on you. Especially when you were planning on going deep behind enemy lines.
Gaspi looked at the coil of rope again, trying to imagine a time when it might come in handy. He reached out and picked it up, feeling its slippery fibres slide against his fingers, but as soon as he ’d picked it up he discarded it again and drew an excited breath. Hiding behind the rope was a sphere of transparent glass, swirling with wisps of pale smoke. It was about the size of his palm, and when he picked it up it felt warm to the touch. He looked through the diagrams until he found the one he wanted, and read the description with growing interest. It was called “The Wizard’s Eye,” and it worked like the scryer in the
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