Fool's Girdle
| Type | Ring |
|---|---|
| Discovered By | Escent |
| Discovery Date | Feb 20 2008 |
| Discovery Location | Lugagun, Dwilight |
| Abilities | Prestige +2 |
| Current Owner | (unknown) |
Escent, of the house of Noble, discovered the Fool’s Girdle on 2008-02-17 after finding and defeating a Monster champion in Lugagun on Dwilight. On 2008-02-20 Kolya Ishimu, Knight of Madina, of the Kingdom of Madina, purchased the Fool's Girdle for an unknown sum of gold, a letter of recommendation and the promise of an introduction to the Governor (Duke) of Madina if further items are found.
On 2008-04-15, after having putting up notices seeking craftsman and so forth who can repair it themselves or have it repaired, Cyrus, an outlaw reported to Sir Nicolo, the Secretary to Koyla, now Governor of Madina. Cyrus was expected to return with the repaired ring within two weeks but never did so. As the peasant was last seen in Ashrak, Morek, the Governor asked the High Inquisitor of Morek to have the peasant arrested, through the Lord Court Master of Madina as well as the Lord Grandmaster of Morek. Which she promptly and rather helpfully obliged.
(The accounting of the battle for the Fool’s Girdle as penned by a local bard and given by oral account by Escent, of the house of Noble)
Escent’s friend, Cronkor had been out the night before hunting for the monsters but had been forced to end his search after a hard battle and the deepening dark and so it was that Escent had found himself following a trail along side of a stream and as it curved west and up a subtle rise Escent’s thoughts wandered.
For almost two weeks now Escent and Cronkor had been chasing after the monsters in Lugagun in pursuit of the champion of the horde. And several times the pair had come within a few yards of the leader, only to be turned aside and pushed back by the seemingly endless minions the champion had has this beck and call.
Despite the outcomes of the first few battles, Escent had begun to notice that the monsters were less interested in joining battle and had begun to fall back rather then charge the adventurers. Sensing the subtle shift the pair had renewed their efforts to find the treasure that the town’s folk had spoken of in hushed tones in the tavern some weeks back.
The sun light was streaming through the branches in wide shafts and Escent was enjoying the sounds of the forest when the trail he had been following disappeared. Suddenly the broken branches and crushed flowers were no where to be found and Escent found himself standing in a small clearing in a suddenly all too quiet glade.
He smelled them before he saw them. He heard them next… a soft shuffling sound, as if a piece of metal was being drug across the sand. Escent continued to look up at the sky as if oblivious to the goings on around him but had let his left hand drop down towards the small crossbow hanging from his left hip and pulled the string back. The familiar sense of fear brought the air on his neck standing and the palms of his hands suddenly felt cold. Not clammy with sweat like some untrained farm hand and the scars criss crossing his forearms bore silent witness to the many fights Escent had won in the past.
The shuffling had stopped just before a strange whistling sound, soft at but unmistakable, came from Escent's left side. Crouching down and spinning on his right heel Escent unhooked his crossbow brought his left hand up and fired at the nearest shape crashing out of the edge of the forest. Dropping the crossbow Escent reached over his right shoulder and yanked a bastard sword from its sheath and a long knife, kept horizontally, from the small of his back. Escent preferred to fight with sword and shield but the daimons on Beluaterra had stolen his possessions while he was their dungeons and when he fled to the boat that took him to Dwilight he had not found an armor smith to replace what was left behind.
Each time before when Escent had found the monsters it had been nighttime and the advantage had been theirs. But here, this time, in the late afternoon the setting sun would hurt their eyes and had there been a minstrel nearby playing his lute someone watching would have thought Escent was merely dancing to the music, so fluid and smooth compared to the monsters slow lumbering attacks. Spinning Escent brought his sword down in a high arch and rather then the thud of wood meeting steel the song of two blades skittering across each other. A roar was greeted with a devious smile and Escent deftly leapt aside as the champion aimed a kick at his left knee. Unexpectedly Escent dropped down to one knee and drove his long knife into the top of the champion’s foot. As the monster yowled in pain he raised his arms to bring a crushing blow to the top of Escent's head, but to slowly.
In one graceful move Escent drove his sword deep into the champion’s chest and pivoted to his right and the champion’s sword’s last swing met the ground with a loud thud. Escent rolled the champion over to retrieve his sword but it had broken under the weight of the creature. But the frustration passed quickly as Escent noticed a ring on the champion’s finger which he slipped off. Holding it up to the light Escent was stunned by the beautiful etching and pondered the meaning of the words inscribed on the inside, Fool's Girdle. Escent picked up his crossbow and headed towards the town, perhaps a sage or a noble would have some answers.
Kolya is convinced that the label of Fool's Girdle is nothing more than a trick. It has no special meaning and the Fool is the one who looks for meanings that aren't there.
(A description of the ring as retold by Escent)
Kolya shook the ring out of the bag into his hand and held it up. What was surprising about the is that the gold was polished so fine that it almost looked iridescent and even in the dim filtered light streaming through the tent fabric a glimmer could be seen casting around the room off the ring as Kolya twirled it in his fingers.