The treasure room was rather simple, to be honest. Seven pedestals: three by the far wall, two by the left wall, and two by the right. On each pedestal rested an item of some kind, a piece of armor, weapon, or miscellaneous. I for one went straight for the far wall, seeing what I deemed to be the most important items; a sword, a mirror, and a book.

I picked up the item on the far left, the sword, and swung it about in an arc. It practically crackled with power and strength, and I could tell it was a superior sword to the one I’d lost. I examined it more closely, and was impressed with the craftsmanship. The blade was of some sleek, dark metal I’d never seen, pure black and shining. Glowing purple runes were etched along the edge of the blade on both sides, pulsing with power. The hilt itself was of fine quality, though not very ornate.

As I moved the blade around and watched the lights dance, I was struck with an insane thought. Swiveling to face the door, I pointed the sword directly forward, and cast a lightning bolt spell.

Electricity crackled down the length of the blade, and emerged from the tip in a glorious lightning bolt that tore apart the door.

Awesome! This thing is a freaking conduit.

A conduit is an item that can be used to channel energy through, like a wand or staff. Usually, they are items specifically crafted for that purpose, and useless for any other. But a sword that could channel, that was a rare find, and powerful too. Imagine slicing into an opponent, as they desperately block blow after blow, only to find the next blow is accompanied by a wild burst of magic centered on the blade, naturally flowing from it.

It is also of course possible to cast in unison with a normal blade, but a conduit blade like this one would be so much more effective, and efficient.

I grinned and sheathed the sword, turning to the next item, the one in the center pedestal. It was an elegant mirror with runic traceries on the edge of the glass, and framed in a circle of delicate gold. I suspected it to be a scrying mirror, a device specifically made for scrying: the magical art of viewing things in other places.

I tested it by casting a quick scrying spell, and focusing on the Council’s chamber in Raven’s Shade. The mirror quickly blurred, and after a moment showed me the chamber, where a few members of the Council were gathered, most notably Lord Pompous McAnnoying, the douchebag who denied me a role as champion. I nodded, satisfied with the mirror’s capabilities-

-and nearly dropped it when I heard Fitzdonald (the annoying one) talk. “I am repeating myself only because you seem unable to understand this, Korsky. We cannot trust Kiana, we cannot let her be Champion. Yes, she is powerful. Yes, she is dangerous. But think for just a moment how easily she could turn against us, betray us, or endanger our campaigns by misleading the soldiers. She does not know how to lead, or how to cooperate. Surely you have seen what she is like?”

One of the other members of the Council, presumably Korsky, replied, “If Shadow decides to betray this Council in any manner, being Champion will not make it easier for her to do so. She’s already powerful enough to take out at least half this Council if she catches us by surprise. Giving her the role will merely engender trust and cooperation.”

I kind of tuned out their conversation beyond that, because I was too much in shock. See, scrying is useful because you can see troop movements and such, but it has some basic limitations. Notably, because scrying works by projecting an image onto a reflective surface like water or glass, you can’t get sound. Thus, scrying can’t be used for true spying or information gathering, because little information is written down in un-warded areas.

But apparently, this mirror was unique. The revelation of the mirror’s capabilities caused me to reevaluate it, and look closely at it. As I did so, I noticed three runes that were distinct from the traceries. The highest of the three was glowing faintly, while the other two were dim. Curious, I pressed my finger to the glowing rune, and it dimmed. At the same time, the mirror stopped emitting sound. Then, I pressed the second rune, and as it began to glow, so too did the Council members.

I blinked, but sure enough the council members were now glowing with a purple-black energy. Struck by a thought, I changed the mirror’s view to that of Lux, and a random city. The mirror lit up with bright white lights, coming from the elementals walking about. Suspicions confirmed; the rune I’d pressed triggered a sort of aura-reader, or something that could detect energy signatures. It was displaying the basic energy of the beings and items in the chosen area.

I pressed the third rune, and the glow disappeared. In its place came numbers. Each elemental had a set of numbers displayed, and words to match the numbers; Health, Energy, Strength, Magic. It was showing their power levels, their basic abilities. Fascinating.

I dismissed the image from the mirror, and pocketed it as well.

At last I turned to the final item, the book. It was a very simple-looking book, with the outward appearance of nothing more than a leather-bound journal, albeit bound in black with brown traceries around the edge of the cover. I moved it around, and the traceries shimmered a bit, almost golden. There was no text on the outside.

I opened to the first page, and smiled. On the inside, the title was The Book of Power. I quickly skimmed through the first few pages, which introduced the book as being a guide to attaining ultimate power, usable only by beings with already considerable talent, skill, and raw power. I had all three of those, so I kept reading.

I passed by chapters with very interesting titles. To name a few: Ways to Become Unkillable, Advanced Mind Control and Mass Techniques, Portals and Gateways, and Elemental Fusion. I pocketed the book, and turned back to my friends with a giddy smile on my face.

I saw they’d already dispersed the items on the other pedestals; two to Malk and two to Clary. Apparently, none fit Wabbit.

Malk was now equipped with a wicked-looking shield, and a spiked gauntlet. Clary had a twisted and gnarled staff of some black wood, and a circle with lots of little gems.

“What do those do?” I asked.

Malk stepped up and said, “The shield seems to project a magical barrier whenever an attack draws near that won’t hit the physical shield. It’s also very resistant. The gauntlet… it seems to let me cast, weirdly enough.” He demonstrated this by gesturing with his gauntleted hand, and conjuring up a tendril of darkness, which he directed in a spike toward himself, only for it to hit a magical shield.

Clary said, “The circlet seems to boost my power, while the staff lets me focus my magic better, and cast more efficiently.” She pointed the staff at a wall, and a dozen bolts of darkness flew out, each one arcing slightly in a different way, slamming into the wall and cracking it. She swayed a bit, but then the crown flashed, and she was rejuvenated.

“So, what does your stuff do, Shadow?” asked Clary.

I unsheathed the sword, twirled it, and said, “This is Whisperdeath, my new sword. It’s a conduit, meaning I can sent bolts of lightning, blasts of darkness, or whatever else shooting out of it with ease.”

“Whisperdeath?” asked Malk incredulously.

“I can call my sword whatever I want, shut up.”

He snickered, and I glared at him before sheathing Whisperdeath and pulling out the mirror. “This one is less visually impressive, but more impressive from a technical standpoint. It’s a scrying mirror with absolutely no limitations. It can track power level, energy signatures, and it can produce sound too, making eavesdropping a lot easier.”

Clary looked impressed, though Malk less so.

Then I brought out the book.

“This, this is the most unique and interesting item I have ever found. It’s a guide to becoming all-powerful. It has listed in it ways to become invincible, ways to teleport, ways to mass mind control crowds, and much, much more. With this, I can become a goddess.”

They both stared in awe at the simple-looking book, and I smirked. I flipped through the pages, found the right chapter, and muttered an incantation. A second later, black energy tore a rip in reality open right next to me, forming a portal.

They stared in more awe.

“Let’s head to Widow’s Dusk. We have a murder to plan.”