Spectacles of All Seeing

Description
These silver rimmed glasses appear scratched and old, their precious metal flaking off showing tarnished and brass metal underneath the false exterior. The lenses have been scratched in multiple places making it impossible to read any text from their damaged surface. The purpose of the spectacles is not for reading text however, but for reading energies.

History
The King of Cerab, having a fear of magically hidden assassins, originally commissioned these glasses for his personal protection. An apothecary was found who had the desired skill to create the very thing to penetrate the Kings worst fear. Eventually however, the King had his entire guard looking for assassins only he could see.

The apothecary commissioned to create these items was of quite renown in his time, having been sought by many of the rich and noble for special items for personal use.

Thinking of his latest commission for the King he set out to create what he could. He chose to create spectacles as they could be worn and be inconspicuous. He set out and achieved the creation of his best item to date. He made ten for the King and his guards, and one pair for himself.

They were exquisite in their design, looking regal yet functional at the same time. When the first was complete he put them on to se his work. His vision was taken from him from the bright glow he saw from his lab. Having items of the arcane nearby was common for him, yet they shown up as brightly as if daylight was horded in the core of the items. He saw his lab and knew pleasure, because it was his and no one else’s. He removed the glasses and worked on the others.

Two months he toiled on the spectacles, each one perfect in its design. He tried everyone to be sure of their use and was pleased. He knew that he could determine items of magic and the arcane with ease. It was in his nature to covet these but he knew the King would punish him if he failed in his commission. He finished the spectacles and placed them in velvet lined boxes of cedar, to add a touch of personality and class and sent for a soldier to tell the King of his completion.

He put forth all of his effort, all of his energy into creating the perfect pair, for himself of course. And perfect they were. Not only did they pick up the energies of creation magic as well as divine magic, they also could tell when another pair of the spectacles were near.

He was taken to the King with his gifts, reluctant to give them to the King but knowing his were superior to any others he made. The King was pleased and granted the apothecary anything he desired which he asked for one item from the King’s personal horde, which he was granted. He was led to the chamber but stopped in the King’s study. Through the glasses that he wore himself, which looked as his old glasses had, he noticed a piece of crystal on the King’s desk. It was palm sized and being used to hold down one edge of a parchment scroll. The lightning-like glow he saw from the corner of his spectacles told him all he needed to know. That was his choice, which the King just shrugged and sent him on his way.

The King was never seen without his new spectacles looking at everyone, scrutinizing the smallest of details. He would jump in startlement every time he saw something arch with the telltale lightning-like glow. His guards would confiscate items from people when they entered the castle, “For the protection of the King.” Soon however, these items he saw as tools of his assassination, he began to covet. The items that the guards confiscated were failing to be returned to their owners, must to the complaint of the visitors. Within months however, in fear of his life and fear of his coveted items being taken from him, he secluded himself in his study with his most prized possessions admitting only a single guard he trusted and his wife on occasion. His most trusted guard however had a pair of these spectacles as well and when he viewed the King’s possessions he began to covet them for himself.

It is said that the guard killed his King over a crystal doll, but those are just rumors. It is said however that when he was hung publicly he claimed the King took his most prized possessions for himself and he was trying to reclaim them.

The apothecary however was no so fortunate. The crystal that he had taken glowed brightly in his spectacles as he gazed at it nightly. Lightning seemed to arch from it’s very core to his surroundings. He wanted to know its powers, needed to know them. He would stop at nothing to have it unlocked. Removing his spectacles one evening of study he noticed something happen within the crystal. A reflection of a man, a selfish man, a greedy man. He peered deeper into the crystal, farther than he had before. He looked close and saw his spectacles on the far side and that was his mistake. For in the glass lens of the spectacles he saw himself looking through the crystal.

They found his body a week later slumped over the desk, the crystal and his spectacles in hand, his body rotting. No one took notice of the smoky grey crystal or the spectacles. Instead they boxed them up and sold them to a merchant. His death was a mystery as were the other events of the recent past. All because of greed and fear.

Magical Properties
When worn, the spectacles impart knowledge unto the wearer of any magical objects within a 10’ radius. A distinct bluish colored aura will surround any item or object that has any form of mystical properties. No one but the wearer will notice this. This does not work on living creatures that are magical, only inanimate objects. So if a person has an item to make them invisible, that item will be revealed but not the person.

If the item is held while looking through the spectacles, then it is possible to discern the type of enchantment the object holds. Closer inspection may reveal specific forms of activation that the item may have as well. Each attempt to analyze the item will give a possibility to find out any information.

There is a side effect to the spectacles that few ever realize. Those who wear the spectacles to often will begin to see the magical items as personal property and desire to possess everything that is magical in their field of vision. This can be an embarrassing incident when a soldier of the King’s guard refuses to give up an item that they confiscated from a guest, stating it was now property of the King, as it had to be taken for examination for his protection.