A Strange Ring

A Strange ring is a rare book that drops from pirates. It contains some interesting Lore.

Source

 * Pirates

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A Strange Ring

Years back I was part of a crew that sailed around the seas in search of ancient relics. We called ourselves, "The Finders." There were six of us in all and we spent years searching every island we could find for the next mysterious artifact. One day we found this island that was enormous. It was bigger than any island we had seen before. We couldn't wait to explore it and we just knew that it had to have something of value on it. So we docked our ship and headed into the island.

After searching for most of the day, night began to fall and we decided to build a fire and set up camp. In the dead of night we all awoke to a strange sound coming from deep within the jungle. It sounded like a woman crying yet it had a deep grunting sound to it. We all lay there wide eyed and in silence, afraid that whatever lurked out there might come our way. Eventually the sound subsided and we hesitantly fell back to sleep.

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When morning came we decided to search for traces of the occurrence we heard the night before. To our luck, we found something not far from our camp. Deep within the woods there lay a strange box. The outside of the box was dark like coal and etched with strange runic symbols and hieroglyphics. I knew we shouldn't open it but Barlo, one of the other crew members couldn't resist and freed the chest from its bindings against my better judgement.

Inside the box there lay a single ring. The ring was a glossy black color with some sort of red gem embedded in the center. Barlo quickly claimed the ring as his and to my surprise, no one objected. I think we were all a bit afraid of the ring and figured we'd just leave Barlo to it. I know I sure didn't want that cursed artifact on my finger. No thank you.

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We eventually made our way back to the boat and began our trek home. During the trip back, Barlo began to act strange. He was becoming more irritated than normal and sometimes even violent. I remember one day we caught Barlo slouched in the corner of his room in the complete dark, whispering something to himself in some strange language. We couldn't understand what he was saying and he wasn't responding to our attempts to get his attention

As the days went on, these sort of occurrences became commonplace with Barlo. He seemed to withdraw to himself most of the time and would have nothing to do with any of the other crew members. Finally, he snapped.

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One night we all awoke to loud cries and screams coming from above deck. I quickly ran up the stairs and onto the deck to see what was the matter. When I reached the deck I saw Barlo standing on top of the crows nest screaming and crying in the same language he had spoke before. He seemed extremely distressed and our attempts to calm him were in vain. After a few minutes of wailing he finally went silent. His body locked up, he looked to the sky, and he jumped. We all gasped as we saw his body fall to the deck and land with a sickening thud that I will never forget. Barlo died at that moment.

When we approached his body I noticed the ring. I had forgotten about it until now. When I saw the ring this time appeared the different.

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The gem that was previously red was now black. I felt fear surge through my body as I realized this ring must have played some role in Barlo's demise. I'm not sure how but I was certain there as an evil to this ring that was at work. He had been perfectly fine for years before he came across this ring. I had to take the ring and protect others from it, even if it meant endangering myself.

I quickly snatched it off without the others noticing and stowed it away in my quarters. I put it in a small container I had and locked it away. I've been carrying this burden for years now and I can feel it's curse calling to me. I hear whispers when I lay in bed coming from the locked chest containing the ring.

I would like to rid myself of this burden, but I can't bring myself to destroy it. I cannot let the ring go.

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I'm beginning to hear whispers. They are telling me to do things I shouldn't. I don't know how much longer I can handle this...

Trivia

 * It is speculated that this book is talking about the Ring of Night.
 * This book is potentially a reference to The Lord of The Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien, in which the character Gollum is obsessed with 'the Ring.'