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Part Three, Chapter One:

Astral slept silently.  All of the sudden the clang of iron meeting iron was heard.  Astral jumped to his feet and grabbed his sword.  He ran to the room that the sound was coming from.  He found Korwin fending off against a figure dressed entirely in black.  He rushed at the strange figure.

"Why do you disturb us?" demanded Astral when the fighting had temporarily ceased.

"I wasss in thosse woodss yessterday.  I knowss of the ring.  I sseek it.  Give itss to me nowss." said the figure in a whispery voice.

"We will not surrender the ring to you!  You will have to take it from us by force!" said Korwin angrily.  He pointed his sword at the intruder.

The fighting resumed again.  The figure was able to hold off Korwin and Astral together.  He fought with the strength of many men.  

Then with a turn of good luck, Astral pinned him against the wall.  Korwin pulled out a wand, pointed it at the strange figure, and a large ice bolt hit the it.

The figure cringed as it hit.  Astral stepped back and it backed away.

"Iss will be backss.  Do not thinkss that you are ssafe here."  the figure said.

"Begone!" shouted Korwin.

The figure turned around and vanished into the night.

"He will return."  said Korwin wearily.  "Thankfully we will be ready.  You get some rest.  I will keep watch, and in the morning we will go speak with the others about this."

Astral nodded and went to bed.  The ring seemed suddenly to ease, although in his haste, Astral did not notice it tense up.




(Edited by Astral at 1:38 am on Feb. 2, 2002)

Chapter Two:

After an uneasy rest, Astral and Korwin arose from their 'sleep'.  They had a quick meal and set off to the town hall.  They reported the incident to the people who were gathered there.  The town guards were informed to keep watch.  

After they returned to Korwin's house, Inioch was soon there.  

"Good." said Korwin as Inioch entered.  "You have arrived.  We must prepare for the problem at hand.  Come with me now."

Korwin lead Inioch and Astral to a small room in the corner of his house.

"This was something that i aquired with great difficulty." Korwin said as he opened a closet and pointed inside. "Sharpen your blades, for we will need them soon."  Then he turned to Astral.

"Here is something that i aquired for you." he said pulling an object that appeared to be a tree branch from the same closet.  "It is a Magic Wand.  It will be useful to you now that you are learning the ways of magic.  Use it wisely."

"Thank you" said Astral, staring at the object.

The company sharpened their swords on the grinder and soon grew weary.  When they finally finished they were exhausted.  Their swords lay glimmering on the table in front of them, sharp cutting knives.

"Come now, for it grows near to the hour of lunch." said Korwin pleasantly.  "I have prepared much for us to feast upon."

They followed Korwin back to the kitchen and soon found that plates upon plates of food had been placed in front of them.  They ate long.  When they finished, they relaxed in the den.  

Just then there came a knock on the door.  Korwin went to answer it.

"I bring news to one named Astral.  Might i find him here?" said the man.

"Indeed you will.  He is in fact right here." replied Korwin.

The man turned to Astral.  "I have come to inform you that your house is ready.  Number 9965.  I will lead you to it if you will follow me now."

So the three of them put on their shoes and followed the man.  It was not a very long walk to the new house.  It was nicely adorned already.  They thanked the man and set out back to the house of Korwin to move Astral's belongings.  When this was all over and Astral had settled in, Korwin and Inioch prepared to leave, for it was already late.

"Alas, the day already draws to a close." said Korwin.  "I have gotten some guards to watch the house in case our uninvited guest shows up again.  Sleep well!"

"Farwell" said Inioch.

"Bye" replied Astral.

And with that, Korwin and Inioch departed.  Astral felt safe knowing that the house was being guarded.  He settled into his new bed and soon was in a deep sleep.

Three rings for the elven kings standing tall
Seven for the dwarf lords in their halls of stone
Nine for mortal men doomed to die
and
One for the dark lord on his dark throne
in the land of Mordor were the 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 were the shadows lie

a poem on a ring of power

Chapter Three:

Astral slept well into the morning.  When he awoke, he made his way to the kitchen to find that his cupboards were already filled with supplies.  He took out some bread that he had purchased from a bakery nearby and an apple.  He sat down on the table and began to eat.

"Mmmmm, this is good bread!" he said to himself.

After his breakfast, he made his way into the town.  Before he had gotten there, he met Korwin.

"Hello again!" said Korwin.  "Did you sleep well?"

"Indeed I did. " replied Astral.

"Nothing unusual happened during the night?" inquired Korwin.

"Nothing that I noticed anyway.  But I slept so well, the only thing that could have disturbed me was the collapse of my roof!" exclaimed Astral.

So they talked for a while and met some others in the market.  They did not get much done that day, and no attention was paid to the ring in Astral's pocket.

By night, they were all weary.  They ventured back to their own houses.

When Astral got back, he prepared to go to bed.  Just as he was climbing into the nice bed, he heard shouts and the sound of swords meeting swords outside.  Alarmed, he jumped out of bed and grabbed his sword.  Quickly he put on his outdoor wear and rushed down the hallway.  

When he got to the main room, the door burst open and the black figure stood in the door.

"Now I ssshall have my wisssh!" said the figure.

The voice seemed not to come from the figure, but rather it echoed across the room so the source could not be pinpointed.

Knowing that he was outpowered, Astral slipped the ring on his finger.  The figure seemed to let out a wail of distress, but held its ground.  Astral saw the wand sitting on a table and grabbed it.  He pointed it at the figure and summoned ra pen.  It hit the figure, but appeared to be of no avail.  The figure seemed to laugh insanely, though still with distress in it's voice.

"Give it to me now, and you ssshall not be harmed." said the figure.

"Never shall I surrender to one such as you!" answered Astral angily.

"Ssso be it!" said the figure.  "We ssshall fight."

With the power of the ring, Astral pinned the figure to the ground.  The figure's hood slipped off his face, but only to reveal the absence of a face.  The air seemed dark where the head was to be, but no actual outline could be seen.

Just then Korwin and Inioch ran through the door.  Astral looked up at them as they ran towards him.  But the figure seized the opportunity and grabbed the ring from Astral's finger.  He then quickly put it on his own dark finger.  With a snap of his finger, Astral was thrown off towards the wall and the figure climbed to it's feet.

"At lassst!!!  The ring isss mine!!!" cried the figure.

Korwin, Inioch and Astral stood back in fear.  The figure cackled wildly.

"Mwahahaha!" it shouted then glanced back at the company.  He looked up at the ceiling and the next second it was on fire.  The figure raised his arms and disappeared.

"Run!" yelled Inioch.  The three scrambled to the door as the roof collapsed.

They had just barely made it out before the house was in flaming ruins.  They travelled a short distance away, then turned and looked back upon the ruins.

The ring had been lost.

Chapter Four

"What have we to do now?!" asked Astral in fear.  "The Ring has been taken from us!"

"The answer is obvious then," replied Korwin.  "We take it back."

"How shall we go about that?  He clearly posesses higher power than us!" said Inioch in disbelief of Korwin's words.

"We shall think of a way, do not doubt us Inioch.  With hope, all may suceed." answered Korwin sharply.

Knowing of nothing else to do, they wandered back to the market, for the sun was rising.  When they arrived at the market, the smell of fresh produce was already in the air.  Walking ahead of the other two, Korwin went up a bakery.  Inioch stopped with Astral by the centre square which had a fountain containing the dazzling water under the rising sun.  Suddenly Inioch turned to a man passing near.

"Roke!" he exclaimed to the man, with Astral wondering who he was.

"It is a pleasure meeting you here, Inioch Hope!" replied the man.

"I would like to introduce you to a friend of mine, Astral," said Inioch politely.

"Nice to meet you, sir!" said Astral.

"Same to you Astral.  I am Roke.  I recently came to this land as well, and am just settling in.  I see we have something in common." replied the man.

"Indeed you are correct, I am also new here.  There have been many queer events taking place here though.  I am beginning to wonder if I really should be here." said Astral with thought.

"I am sure these problems will be resolved and you shall settle in, just give it time," said Inioch.  "Korwin is a master of these arts, he has great knowledge of many things.  Trust him if you have nobody better to trust!" exclaimed Inioch.

"Ahh, Korwin!  I need to speak with him as well.  There he is over there in the crowd!" proclaimed Roke.  "It has been a pleasure to meet you Astral, I am sure that we shall meet again soon.  Farewell!"

"I share your thoughts, and I do hope we meet soon.  I bid you good-bye for now!" said Astral.

With that Roke turned and went out in pursuit of Korwin.  

"I have a feeling that Roke will have a part to play in our upcoming battle, but only time will reveal which part." said Inioch.

Chapter Five:

So Inioch and Astral went off again to the library in search of legends.  They studied long and hard, and the warm sun moved silently across the sky.  Dull became bright and bright became dark.  Yet still nothing had been uncovered.  Just as they were about to leave, something caught Inioch's eye.

"Wait up a second Astral!" cried Inioch.  "I think I have found something!"

Astral hurried over to where Inioch stood hovered over the newfound book.  "This is useful indeed!" said Astral.  "I think that we may be able to make use of this."

And the two went over to the librarian, who handed them a scroll.  He gestured to a point where the current writing seemed to end.  "And would you please sign out the book here." he said.

Inioch jotted down his name and the title of the book underneath the previous entry.  The librarian took the scroll back and quickly initialed beside where Inioch had written.

"There you are, sirs," said the librarian.  "You came here in the very nick of time, for I was about to close up for the night.  May the book benefit you!" he called as they left the library.

"Farewell!" said the two as they turned around before stepping out of the large building.  Neither them or the librarian knew about the dark figure that had just entered silently through a window on the shadowed side of the library.  The figure hid behind the shelf as the librarian walked to the door and locked it, humming.

*******

In the morning, Inioch and Astral were well rested, for they slept as though as the ring had never troubled them.  Astral had stayed at Inioch's house while the repairs took place.  

Just then Korwin was once again at the door, but this time he was accompanied by another man, tall and slim.  It was Roke.

"Good Morning!" exclaimed Roke as Inioch invited them inside.

"Indeed it is," replied Astral while studying Roke.

"I have been informed of some article you have found detailing the ring.  May I look upon this item?" asked Korwin hastily.

"Yes, you may," answered Inioch handing the book to Korwin.

"The History of Elven Wizard Rings!" exclaimed Korwin as he set his eyes upon the title.  He slowly opened the front cover as though he was undecided.  He turned to the table of contents, read it quickly, then flipped to a page about half way through the book.

By this time, Astral, Roke, and Inioch were already seated in the gathering room.  Korwin sat down to join them, but did not take his eyes off the paper.

The brilliant ring, forged many years ago by the elves in a land called Azaryth.  To its bearer it grants keen magical ability and is said to carry good luck.  The ring remained in the hands of the elves for hundreds of years, passed down through the line of rulers.  But then one day, the ring fell from the cliffs from the hand of the bearer into the sea.  It was forgotten for thousands of years, as it drifted in the sea.  It seemed to have a will of it's own, guiding it and protecting it from danger.  The ring has been lost all these years...
 
Copied here is the inscription on the ring:




"I believe that we have all seen this sketch before," said Korwin.

But Roke was puzzled.  "What is all this talk about a ring, if I may ask?" he said inquisitively.

Astral and Inioch explained in great detail the story of the ring as Korwin continued to read.  It was mid-day before all four of them had finished their discussions.  Korwin had sat in thought for many long minutes after he had finished the portion of the book.  

Suddenly he stood above his chair, and set the book gently on the table before him. "I believe that it is time for mid-day meal!" he said with a sudden but full smile.  The other three nodded in agreement.  This sent Inioch unwillingly into the kitchen to prepare a meal.

A nice feast it was, but it was a shame to pack such a great meal into such a short time.  Back off to the library they were, all four of them, hoping to discover more secrets in the expansive building.

They all split up into certain sections of the library.  After many long hours, much like the night before, they had not uncovered anything.  They grew weary and sat down for a short snack that Inioch had packed.

After only a couple minutes after the snack, Roke came across a strange looking book in his section.  He called out to the rest of them and was soon surrounded by the company.

"The servants of Glendeur," he read softly as if he was chilled down under.  Roke passed the book to Korwin, who soon had the important parts sighted.  He than looked up as if frightened by what he read.

"The night of darkness, the 23rd day!" cried Korwin.  "And today is the 23rd! Let us go now and warn the others, for tonight is the night of the servants of Glendeur!"

"Where must you go in such haste, Korwin the Wise?" asked the librarian as they rushed by.

"No time to explain now!" spoke Korwin.  "Come with us, it be in your best interests.  And be sure to lock this place up!" he said in a hurry.

The librarian ran after them and locked the door behind them.  He then ran to keep up.  Korwin looked at the sky and the company noted that the sun was not far above the horizon.  

After a short pause, Korwin beckoned "Haste, my friends!  Not much time we have left to prepare!"

And they were off, following Korwin's lead, knowing that he knew best of the events to come.

Chapter Six:

With haste, all five of the men went off to the market and town hall.  They spoke quickly with the people who were present.

“We are all in great danger!” shouted Korwin to get the crowd’s attention.  “I am sad to announce that I have been led to believe that tonight there shall be an attack on Troll’s Bane of massive proportions.  Let us come together now and prevent this threat!  All who are skilled in combat and those who wish to defend the town, come to the clearing just outside of town!  All who are able to help out, please do, for we shall need all the help we can get.”

As Korwin ended, a great dread was evident on the crowd.  They knew too well of these attacks, for one Drakhen Vorkalion had been present many times before.

As the crowd dispersed, the four headed back to their houses, Astral to Inioch’s.  They put their armor on and clipped their sheathes of their swords to their belts.  They drew their shields and carried their helmets.

When they arrived at the clearing, they were amazed to find so many people.  Korwin was now absolutely sure that they would victor.  He rose to the front of the crowd and they fell silent.

“I am glad to see that so many of you have deep concern for this town!” he said, and there was a cheer from the crowd.  “I am sorry that this is the grim occasion on which we come together.  The plan shall be: guards posted at the street junctions, many guards present at the town gates, and some patrols.  The attackers will come as one large force, so we need not worry much about attacks from two sides.  Once the foe is spotted, the war horns shall be rung, and we will all converge on them.  The shall not stand a chance against us, fine people, if I may say so!”

And the crowd applauded for Korwin and his plan.  They began to split up the duties between themselves, and there were no quarrels, for all realized the severity of the situation.  Soon groups had been made, and they were ready to take their posts.

“In the name of Troll’s Bane!” shouted Korwin, and the army began to move into the town and take their posts.

He then turned to the other three.  “The Ring shall be present Astral, if I have interpreted correctly, so this shall be our chance to take it back.  We will have to be the ones battling against the figure which holds the ring.  I hope that we are more than a match for it.”

Korwin smiled grimly, and so did the others.  They reluctantly gathered their strength and marched toward the town once again.

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Thus ends Part Three of the tale, Part Four soon to come!

(Edited by Astral at 9:53 pm on Feb. 26, 2002)