The Book of Tongues

This artifact is a thick tome covered in dull gray leather reinforced with a silver spine and reinforcing bands. Two broad straps of black leather is woven into the front and back covers and can be fastened together with a delicate silver latch to hold the volume shut. A white silk ribbon is bound into the books spine and serves as a page mark. There are no markings of any kind on the spine or cover to hint at the book's contents. A Great test of divination magic will reveal Superb alteration magic at work and a second such test will reveal the workings of the item.

Two dozen sheets of the finest vellum lie between the covers of this magical tome. The pages are enchanted with potent spells of translation. The book can be used in the following ways:

• A page can be attuned to a specific language by having the book's owner hold it while someone speaks the desired language. Full attunement requires three hours of speech be 'heard' by the page, during which time it slowly fills with magical symbols encoding the underlying structure of the tongue. Each attunement is permanent.
• The book's owner can speak and understand any attuned language simply by opening the book to the desired page and placing their hand upon it. This ability lasts so long as they hold the book in this fashion.
• The book's owner can understand speech in an attuned language, but not speak it by marking the appropriate page in the book with the attached place mark. This ability lasts so long as they carry the book.
• These two powers can be combined, allowing the owner to speak and comprehend one language and comprehend another at the same time.

Any spoken language can be attuned with the book, but there must be an audible component. The item does not grant the ability to read and write the attuned language, only to speak or comprehend it when it is spoken.