(OOC: An Appraise check can give you the general value of the pieces as if they were non-magical. As a rule of thumb, it's a decent lower bound, but sometimes items are more valuable than they would appear by an appraisal. Still, appraisals probably won't be too expensive--I wonder if DiSenzio's shop does it for cheap?
I just realised that it is non-trivial to find someone who can cast Legend Lore since it requires at minimum a level 10 Bard. Let's pretend there was one touring and visiting Orussus today)
*After paying the Bard for his time, the group sits and waits as the Bard inspects the stockings. Then suddenly, as if possessed, he begins to recite an epic ballad about an ancient battle, along with several texts that sound like mixes of manuscripts and poems. Apparently, these stockings have many names, but the most famous is the 'Invulnerable Socks of Rand'. According to legend, the socks were sewn by villagers grateful for a hero who saved them from a tyrant. A strange Enchanter somehow blessed the socks with the ability to absorb all the well-wishes and love from the villagers who thought of the hero and convert the wishes into actual good fortune, staving off harm. The stockings never reveal their true powers unless they judge their wearer to be a true hero, and they take a long time to make a decision. But even before then, if there are any others in the world who cheer on the wearer for good deeds and hope for her safety, the lesser powers of the socks will still activate, protecting the wearer from harm and bringing her good luck. It is said that while an unworthy wearer may still gain some benefits, she should beware, as the stockings, perhaps possessed of a spark of the original hero's courage and goodwill towards all, believe that anyone can be made a hero eventually with the right prodding, and so they have a tendency to use their ability to bend luck in order to thrust a cowardly wearer into conflict for the cause of good in hopes that her heart will open and her true hero will awaken. In one humorous tale from the Legend Lore, it was just the opposite, and the greedy selfish wearer of the socks met disaster after disaster instead.*