Ring of Eldritch Ire (Patreon)

The man put down his shadowy book and wiped the smog from his hands. He was dressed in a plain gray robe with simple shoes. A single ring with three gemstones adorned his finger. "There we go, that should do it," said the man. "That's one dead beasty. Glad I was here when it showed up!"

The farmer looked back and forth from the now smoldering monster to the plain man. He quickly reached into his pocket and held out a few coins with an old and shaky hand.

"Oh! That's awful nice of you. I'll take some, but you probably need this more than I do," the robed man said. He reached carefully into the farmer's hand to take a couple silver from the sad pile. As he did, the farmer took notice of the ring in greater detail. The three yellow gemstones were more like small, gelatinous eyes that swiveled around with small, slitted pupils. As if realizing this, the eyes turned to look at the farmer as well.

"Eeeyagh!" shouted the farmer. His hand retracted and dropped the coins it had been holding. The robed man raised a curious eyebrow, casually holding the silver between two fingers.

The robed man's expression turned from puzzled to a laugh. "Oh! Ha, you met my ring. Yeah, they're a piece of work. Don't mind them, they're just nosy. Well, they would be, if they had one!"

He chuckled quietly as his own small joke and bent over to pick up the dropped coins. He handed them back to the farmer."They hate getting poked, though. At least, that's what they told me," he said with a bright smile. "I still poke 'em anyway, though. Keep 'em in check, you know?" He winked.

He deposited the coins in the farmer's hand and got up. He dusted his robe and began to turn away.

"Wait!" said the farmer, "What's your name, kind stranger?"

The man turned around and smiled, "You can call me Irith."