Reacher sat at the end of the little cot the room was furnished with. It had been over a week since his bout with the giant. The ride into the heart of the country was dull and uneventful. The ring still burned hot in the forefront of his mind,but he didn't know what to do with it. Selling it seemed like a viable option,but what if it fell into the hands of someone who would abuse it? "Abuse what" he said aloud to himself. He didn't even know what it was suppose to do. What if it was some sort of weapon? Something that was powerful enough kill. The giant didn't seem to have know what it did either. If it had, wouldn't it have used the ring against Reacher? Before he could decide what to do with it, there was a loud banging on the door to his little room. Opening the door he was met with the portly inn-keep. "Your stay is coming to an end. A baron,one I couldn't refuse to attend to,requested a room. You're going to have to leave. I can give you half of your payment back,but no more. I'm sorry." Reacher simply sighed,and in an unconscious,almost trance like way,slipped the ring into his thin finger. "What is the name of this baron? Why my room?" He spouted out angrily. He was beginning to grow weary of these self righteous and pompous barons. "Don't answer those questions. I'll be gone within the hour. Just get out of my sight." Reacher knew that he wasn't being fair, but that hadn't stopped him from losing composure.
After packing up and saddling his horse, Reacher went inside intending to retrieve his money. What he was met with made him think twice about entering as he had planned. A large retinue of heavily armored individuals followed closely behind a large slab of a man. The baron, Reacher surmised. His clothes definitely fit the bill of all the other nobles he had ever seen. Fat, dumb, and rich. The way his jowls jiggled when he walked and the ornately jeweled dagger, which Reacher guessed had never seen any use past the makers sorry excuse for testing, showed enough evidence for the Tokarie. He wattled through the crowd of people out side of the inn who were mingling among each other and sharing the days latest gossip. Reacher ducked quickly into a side passage between two buildings. He donned his cowl and let he shadows embrace him. He always felt an odd sensation when he knew his guild armor was working to its full effect. Sometimes he joked with the guild that they were a living thing, something that was sentient. Of course he was joking, but now he felt that odd sensation once again. Leaning against a wall and letting his eyes go to slits, as his race allowed, he saw more details. The men following the baron wore no common insignia, meaning they were words for hire and not soldiers. So the baron must not be from a prevailing kingdom, thus meaning he was but a lesser noble. Lesser nobility wasn't afforded soldiers, only the highly ranked nobles got such privileges. It was law in the northern countries that any upper nobility was given a small group of trained soldiers, but not so for the lower nobility. What they all did share, however, was particularly interesting looking weapon. It looked as if it would be terribly ineffective. The weapon resembled a staff, but was only a foot long. A rather large emerald sat at the head of all the little batons, but they were otherwise nothing too special. The ruffians crowded into the inn,all moving inside and leaving no room for anymore patrons. Reacher could see that it wasn't only him that had been evicted prematurely. The whole of the inns patrons were put out into the street like dogs. Clothes strewn about haphazardly. One man tried to resist. Tried to fight back. He was the one who revealed the purpose of the strange batons. The of the thugs descended on him. Not swinging he clubs,but jabbing with them. Reacher thought it was at best, a terrible manor of attack. Them his north dried up as sinister popping noises accented the jabs at the man. Sparks flew from the man's skin as the batons made contact. Singe marks appeared on his skin wherever a blow would land. The walls of pain faded to moans,then to incomprehensible whispers,then finally to silence. Only when the man resembled a freshly burned log, did the men stop their assault.
Not one man or woman moved. None but Reacher. Scaling the side of the building he was leaned against, he made for higher ground. He wanted a good vantage point. The same tug that he always felt when faced with evil began to act up again,however this time it was accompanied by another feeling. It felt like a pressure on the back of his mind. Not painful, But just there. He decided that wasn't a good feeling and contended himself not to act too hastily and sit in the roof of the large shop owned and ran by the local herbalist. From the vantage point in the roof, he could see that the men at arms were set up in a small clearing behind the inn. Small campfires had already begun to spring up,because it looked as though the men had deigned it a good idea to slaughter the inn keepers farm animals and eat them. All counted,it looked as if three pigs had fallen to the barons men. Again the tug,and again pressure in his head. What were these conflicting feelings? He brought his hand to his face to shield his eyes from the waning sun,but stopped mid way to his head as he looked at his hand. He noticed for the first time that the ring was actually on his hand. Pure horror spread through his body for a moment, then it was replaced with embarrassment. He had been wearing it and nothing went wrong,nothing was going to go wrong. He mentally kicked himself for getting so scared without thinking,then went to remove the ring. He pulled lightly but it was stuck fast. His skin seemed almost part of the metal. The fear came back,however this time it was very well founded. The ring was cursed. Normally enchanted rings would come off as the wearer chose. Again he tried,but to no avail. Muttering incoherent curses he nearly tore his finger off before he realized it was stuck fast, and with a sigh he looked back to the scene before him. The matter of removing the ring would have to wait until another time,right now there was something much more sinister unfolding. These weren't any ordinary men. They were bandits. The way they moved and interacted with each other made that apparent. They fought over the biggest piece of meat, or over other small things that really held no consequence. Brutish, dumb, and violent. All characteristics of bandits. The odd luminescence that the ring lost after its previous owner had unwillingly relinquished his ownership,flared back to life on Reachers hand. Again he jumped in surprise. 'what in the name of all the Gods is this ring up to?' he whispered to himself.
