Testament Orb

Intended to provide a quick and convenient way to store and recall information that could be carried on an individual's person, Testament Orbs are a common sight in places of learning (arcane or otherwise), courier's offices, and the establishments of any clerical or administrative profession where they may come in handy.
When activated, the Testament Orb floats in the spot where it was placed. It creates either a recording of a spoken message or records video footage of it's immediate surroundings similar to a Scrying Orb, which can then be played back on command. The average small Testament Orb has the capacity to simultaneously store three spoken messages of any length and/or three recordings of up to seven minutes, with larger Orbs able to store more. Most commonly the Orbs are used as an easy alternative to letters, to capture and review witness testimony or important information, or to take recordings of important historical events for posterity. 
Scrying on a Testament Orb itself allows remote-viewing of the recordings contained within it, if reviewing the contents of it has not been locked behind a command phrase or similar password. Doing so will initiate the same physical reaction as in-person use, though, so it is difficult to review the contents of a Testament Orb stealthily if said Orb is on display somewhere, as others in the area will be able to see it playing it's contents back.

The Student's Friend: It is fairly common for students of the arcane with the financial means to record their tutors performing a spell with a Testament Orb, in order to take the Orb home for repeated viewing as they learn the spell themselves alongside memorising the relevant runes, sigils, or magical circles from provided textbooks and spell scrolls.

Testament Orbs can also be associated to a Quill of Writing, and are normally supplied alongside one. A Testament Orb combined with one of these Quills can allow those who have not learned their letters to create written documents simply by speaking to the Orb - upon the related command word, the associated Quill will then write out what was said (in batches of up to 25 words) which will appear in the handwriting of the speaker. How messy or legible the resultant handwriting is will depend on the dexterity (i.e. the fine motor skills) of the speaker. It is not possible to forge documents in the handwriting of another person in this manner, unless you can physically mimic their voice, as the speaker must be present and attuned to either the Orb or Quill for the transcription process to function as intended.

Manufacturing process

After having the necessary arcane intent for the 'sending' spell channelled through an in-production orb for thirty consecutive days, via a seperate focusing crystal appropriate for the task (without actually speaking a message during the casting, and with the intended recipient in mind being the crystal itself) the sphere of inert crystal becomes a blank Testament Orb. The same focusing crystal can then be used to link or sever a Quill of Writing to the completed Orb, as desired.
Any type of rock crystal can be used, but clear/white/rose quartz is usually favoured.

Significance

Minor - these are very common writing tools found across the world, with the technology behind their creation relatively widespread and not overly complex.

Rarity

Wondrous item(s), common.

Dimensions

Orb: variable 50-110mm, dependent on carrying capacity. Quills usually around 30cm in length.

Base Price

180gp (plus quill)