Wizard's Bookshelf 5
The Guiltless Iteration, by Sunique The Foul
An expertly-crafted codex bound in gold leaf with pages of human skin. A human skull is stamped on the cover. It is written in an enigmatic Common dialect and concerns herbalism, bloodletting and midwifery. Portions of its pages are translucent, which the author has used to make a layered three-dimensional painting of her workroom, with her peeling open a patient's skull.
Value: 500sp, Weight: 20cn
Diary of a 1000 year-old Mead Addict by Yoraelbrose the Dreary
A copper-covered codex embellished with a waterproof oilpaper wrap and three book ribbons of golden silk. Its pages are made of cotton paper in excellent condition and decorated in the margins with elaborate knotwork. Its Dwarf runes describe the account of an immortal noble's travels, and include the tasting notes and properties of hundreds of varieties of mead.
Value: 230gp, Weight: 50cn
Teaching For Queen Lina, by Adestan Correja
A damp, mildewed stack of pages woven from fine moss. Its archaic Caveman hieroglyphs discuss dangers to avoid while spelunking and common subterranean plants that are either edible or medicinal.
Value: 25sp (250sp to Caveman nobles), Weight: 10cn
Unknown Elfin Concoction
A pine rack of five test tubes, two are stoppered and full of a cherry red fluid, three are empty. Elf runes stamped on the rack read "Speak when wet, Listen when dry". If the fluid is splashed on a surface, it partially dissolves the material, forming the rough shape of an ear. Ten minutes later, it dries and the ear disappears. Any time someone approaches the location where the liquid was spilt, a magic mouth forms which repeats the words spoken while it was wet. If the fluid is drunk, it dissolves the back of the drinkers' throat, making them permanently unable to eat. The magic mouth functions as normal, just inside their throat.
Value: 1600gp (800gp per use), Weight: 20cn
Building Of Dodo's Liberation, by Agenor Giordodo
A dusty, granite-covered tome, whose cover is painted with a gold pair of tailor's shears. A hidden button in the hinge of the shears must be pressed when the book is opened or it releases a puff of amnesiac powder - anyone within 10' must save against poison or be unable to remember the next 1d6 hours. Its mildewed papyrus pages are covered in rambling Common script and describes the creation of one of the finest jackets in history. Recreating the garment would require 5000sp, and at least 3 weeks of work. At the end of the first week, an Intelligence test must be made, at the end of the second, a Wisdom test and at the end of the third a Dexterity test, if any of these tests are failed, the whole process must be started again from scratch. The completed garment grants +3 Charisma to whoever wears it.
Value: 600sp, Weight: 20cn
The Tongahn List Of Proximities, by Unknown Author
A codex with a pristine jade cover embellished with a mirror in the shape of the sun. Its parchment pages have been lightly kissed by flame. Its Dervish text is part travellogue, part religious affirmation, which discusses shrines, oases and sites of great deeds that pilgrims should seek to visit. It includes a helpful calendar of religious festivals.
Value: 100sp, Weight: 30cn
Goblets, Lovers and Alligators by Susael "Bumwart" Van Der Bilt
A concertina-stitched stack of palm leaves inexpertly scribed with golden ink in Goblin. The text is a meandering and nonsensical socratic dialogue between wealthy goblins who have achieved everything they have ever wanted and are uncomfortable with their lack of ambition. The assumptions of the text reveal much about the social structures and values of goblin society.
Value: 60gp. Weight: 10cn
Dialogue of Confiscations and Eyewitnesses, by Barret the Cruel
A sheaf of good quality cotton pages bound in silk ribbon. It is written in Buccaneer and discusses a byzantine set of laws on ownership and acquisition in that culture. All of its claims are false, as it was written by an unknown outsider to discredit Buccaneer society.
Value: 30sp, (Appears to be worth 150sp), Weight: 10cn
Mothwing Prophecies
A meticulous collection of large moth wings pressed between sheets of vellum, one collected each week for a decade. Scrawled in a barely legible Pirate script is a prophetic interpretation of the wing's patterns. Based on what has already come to pass, the predictions seem to be about 30% accurate. To consult the book, ask a yes or no question. There is a 4-in-6 chance that a relevant prophesy exists, and a 2-in-6 chance that this prophesy is true. This work is legendary, and long thought to be lost.
Value: 1000sp, Weight: 40cn
Zermusnes, by Ethsil The Short
A hammered silver scroll, melted beyond readability. It has some value as it is clearly marked with its author's sigil.
Value: 80sp, Weight: 10cn
...
Reading: Werebeasts of Hel by Asa Drake
Listening: Featherfey by Unsheathed Glory