The Seventh Ring

Prolog

Soundtrack: Axe Or Sword from "The Hobbit"

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"Three rings for elven kings under the stars,
Seven for dwarf lords in halls of stone,
Nine for mortal men doomed to die,
One for the dark lord on his dark throne
In the land of Mordor where shadows lie.
One ring to rule them all, one ring to find them,
One ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them.
In the land of Mordor where the shadows lie."

~J.R.R. Tolkien, Lord of the Rings
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The two dwarfish brothers made their way through the dark streets of Bree. Rain poured down on them hard, drenching their cloaks and pouring down their faces. Finally a green sign came into view, The Prancing Pony, the tavern where they had come to meet the wizard.

The two brothers found an empty table in the corner and watched the other customers. The tavern was crowded, being two dwarves in a human village made them stick out and several men in the tavern were looking at them suspiciously or glaring. But the glares of the two brothers matched them.

After a while, a grey bearded man approached them. He wore a long grey robe and had a grey pointy hat. In his hand, he held a staff. The old man approached the two brothers and sat down at the table with them, uninvited.

The youngest brother's eyes narrowed and he reached for his sword. There were many dangerous characters about and one could never be too cautious.

The old man chuckled quietly. "You are in no danger from me, young dwarf. I am Gandalf, The Grey."

"Gandalf?" the young dwarf asked, surprised. He quickly removed his hand from the hilt of his sword.

"I thought you'd be taller," the older dwarf said.

The wizard looked at him for a moment before he laughed. "Dwarves," he muttered under his breath. "Balin sent word for me to meet you here."

The youngest brother nodded. "Balin discovered that one of the seven dwarfish rings of power has disappeared. If it falls into the wrong hands..."

Gandalf nodded gravely, knowing the consequence of a ring of power falling into the hands of a servant of evil.

"The whole of middle earth will be in grave danger," the oldest finished in lighting the horrors they had all feared.

"Indeed," Gandalf agreed, in a grave tone.

"Balin said that you would be able to help us find it," said the youngest brother.

"Yes...but it will not be easy," Gandalf replied. "The ring was last seen in Moria."

"Moria" they both echoed.

Gandalf nodded.

"We'll never make it out of Moria alive...it's overrun with orcs and goblins," said the youngest brother.

"You'll need Balin's help..." a warm smile appeared on the old man's face. "...and you'll need a burglar."