Ring of Revenge

The merchant I met had a peculiar ring for sale. She claimed that it was a ring of regeneration. While wearing the ring, the wearer could regrow limbs, like how a cut will heal over time. I did not buy the item as I am skeptical about such a claim, and I also lack the funds for such a legendary item if the claims were true. However, the ring came with a story that was free to hear.

"In the not-too-distant past, a dwarven bounty hunter had made a terrible mistake. While pursuing a fleeing foe, he came upon a hamlet and wrongly assumed it to be the home of the culprit he was tracking down. Nothing would satisfy his greed, and he grew ever more enraged that the elves of the hamlet were 'hiding' his rightful prey from him.

     In the dwarf's anger and his lust for the reward money, he cruelly slew a woodself using the elf's own axe. The elf's four children, who had been playing nearby, froze in fear. Ignoring the grief-stricken children, the ruthless dwarf turned once more to the woods. There he found old tracks made by the fleeing elf, and the dwarf set off after his foe again.

     The children were taken in and nurtured as best the hamlet could. Most were eventually fostered away to other villages, for the hamlet couldn't support children whose provider had passed on. Despite being separated, the four children nursed a private longing for vengeance in their hearts. Each trained diligently to understand the ways of the forest and of tracking, learning its subtle nuances that they might avenge their father.

     Fifty years passed after the death of their father before the young elves deemed they were ready. They reunited and swore a solemn oath not to rest until they found the slayer of their father. The four then split off, each heading in a direction of the compass. Burned in their minds was the image of the dwarf. They questioned all they came across, and some sought items to aid them on their quest. Finally, one of them found a lead and left a word for her siblings to follow as soon as possible. While another found the ring of regeneration.

     The old dwarf had retired from bounty hunting to live alone in the mountains. The four elves swooped into his house and stole him from his doze by the fire. None ever saw the dwarf again, but his house still stands. Hacked limbs are left on the doorstep every few years-the hacked limbs of an old dwarf."