BlueRaja

There's a trivial way to beat the Test of Speed that I haven't seen mentioned anywhere else:  do the entire thing in combat mode.  The fire will only move forward once for every 8-16 steps you take, rather than once for every 1-2.

Everywhere else recommends having someone with boots/potions of speed, who can take out multiple enemies per turn and has piercing crystal, but I was able to grab all the goodies and beat it easily with none of those things.

You don't need to complete any quest.  The tome is just east of the pool, behind some hidden walls.